30 Celebrities Who Went to Ivy League School, Including Shonda Rhimes, Julie Bowen & More

Some of Hollywood’s most gifted stars happen to be Ivy League scholars.

John Legend earned his academic credentials at the University of Pennsylvania while also pursuing his music career. Natalie Portman took a break from acting to attend Harvard after rising to fame in the Star Wars franchise. When Emma Watson wasn’t casting spells as Hermione Granger, she still kept her head in her books, eventually graduating from Brown University.

Does your favorite celebrity have a prestigious academic background? Read on to see who else has pursued higher education at some of our nation’s top schools.

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Yara Shahidi

How serious was grown-ish star Yara Shahidi about her Harvard studies? For the 2021 Emmys in Los Angeles, she told Entertainment Tonight that she requested to present a trophy early in the night so she could catch a flight back to Boston in time for her Monday classes.

The actress — who graduated from Harvard University in 2022 — studied within the university's social studies and African American studies departments and told Vogue her concentration was "Black political thought under a neocolonial landscape."

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Aoki Lee Simmons

Model Aoki Lee Simmons, daughter of Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons, scored a Harvard admission at just 16 years old — and somehow still found the time to model amid her studies.

In November 2021, she gave a glimpse of her "girly, fun" Harvard dorm room, decked out with the help of Pottery Barn Teen. After years of hard work, she graduated in June 2023 with a bachelor of arts degree, concentrating in classics, according to AfroTech.

"I feel grateful, proud and relieved — in that order! It's a surreal feeling to be done with something that was such a huge part of my life. Now, like every other graduate, I'm on to the next chapter," Aoki Lee told PEOPLE after graduation.

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Bridgit Mendler

Wizards of Waverly Place alumna Bridgit Mendler was also a wizard in the classroom. Her academic journey started at the University of Southern California, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 2016. She then became an Ivy League scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, concentrating on technology and social engagement. In May 2024, Mendler graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

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Brooke Shields

One of Hollywood's most famous college grads, Brooke Shields graduated from Princeton University in 1987 with a bachelor of arts degree in French literature. Even the comforts of academia didn’t allow the supermodel much privacy, as she was constantly hounded by the paparazzi.

“The paparazzi tried to sneak onto campus, dressed like what they thought college students looked like, and follow me around,” Shields wrote in her 2014 memoir, There Was a Little Girl. “One photographer hid in a vent to photograph me walk to a class; another attempted to bribe a Mathey College freshman to take a camera into the showers and snap me in the nude. They would have been in for a surprise if they tried, because I had taken to showering in a one-piece bathing suit!”

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Jodie Foster

Another star who famously took a break from acting to pursue higher education, Nyad actress Jodie Foster graduated from Yale in 1985. At Yale, Foster studied African American and African studies, “African oral narrative in particular,” she told LitHub in 2018.

“I was just so moved and changed by that experience,” she said of her time at Yale. “It was something that I’d never really known anything about, and eventually, I found my way to Toni Morrison, and I did my senior essay on Song of Solomon.”

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Tracee Ellis Ross

Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross graduated from Brown University in 1994 with a degree in theater. In 2015, Ross returned to her alma mater, where she received an honorary doctorate of fine arts. The honor was to recognize the actress’s contributions to the arts and television, especially for her memorable role as Dr. Rainbow Johnson on the hit ABC series.

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John Legend

You'd think Legend (known by his birth name, John Stephens, as a student) would have studied music in college, right? Nope. Surprisingly, he actually majored in English at the University of Pennsylvania, where he developed his music fix as a member of the a cappella group Counterparts, where sharpened his vocal talents and stage presence before becoming an EGOT.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal

The Lost Daughter director and longtime actress Maggie Gyllenhaal graduated from Columbia University, where her younger brother, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, also went — though he left after two years to pursue his acting career. She graduated from the university with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature, which helped develop the skills that have made her the critically acclaimed filmmaker and performer she is today.

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Rashida Jones

Sunny star Rashida Jones graduated from Harvard in 1997 with a degree in philosophy and a concentration in religion. She also wrote for The Harvard Lampoon and participated in student activities. In 2016, she returned to her alma mater to address the graduating class to share insights from her broad career in writing, producing and acting.

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Julie Bowen

Returning to her alma mater, Brown University, in 2012, Modern Family alumna Julie Bowen commended her professors and humorously reflected on her college experience, joking that she “did everything all students have ever done.” Bowen, who majored in Renaissance studies, graduated from the university in 1991.

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Angela Bassett

Honorary Oscar recipient Angela Bassett earned both her bachelor of arts degree in African American studies and her master of fine arts degree from Yale University in the early ‘80s — despite her aunt cautioning her not to “waste” her education on theater, she told O, The Oprah Magazine in 2008. Bassett later returned to the university in 2018 to accept an honorary doctorate degree.

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Mira Sorvino

In a 2002 interview with The Harvard Crimson, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion actress Mira Sorvino talked about her decision to stay in school rather than leave to pursue an acting career.

"I'm so glad that I went back and finished my education because I had the best time at Harvard," she said. "It was the best four years of my life; it was just fantastic. When I came back, I rowed crew, I directed a play and I kept singing with the Veritones."

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Natalie Portman

The same year Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace was released and the May December actress shot to fame, she enrolled at Harvard, despite critics saying it would be a career setback. "I'd rather be smart than a movie star," Portman told Vanity Fair in 2016. Of course, her time at Harvard, which concluded in 2003, didn't ruin her career — quite the opposite! The Oscar winner returned to her alma mater in 2015 to deliver an inspiring commencement speech to the graduating class.

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John Krasinski

IF writer-director-actor John Krasinski enrolled at Brown University after taking a gap year in Costa Rica, where he taught English as a second language and studied theater. He also was a member of the sketch comedy group Out of Bounds. The multihyphenate — who called his time at Brown “the cornerstone of my life and career” — returned to the university to address the graduating class during its Commencement and Reunion Weekend in 2019.

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Mindy Kaling

The Office cast sure knew how to pick them! In 2018, 2001 Dartmouth graduate Mindy Kaling returned to campus to give a hilarious commencement address.

“I know that going into the real world sounds scary, but it’s exciting too. Finally, you’ll be in control of your own lives. No longer will there be an irrational Board of Trustees telling you you can’t have hard liquor on campus for the ridiculous reason that they don’t want you to die,” Kaling joked. “Come tomorrow, no one can stop you from filling your apartment with $4.99 handles of Uncle Satan’s Unfiltered Potato Vodka. Go crazy.”

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Julia Stiles

Despite her teenage popularity, 10 Things I Hate About You star Julia Stiles opted to study English at Columbia University. "College will help me as an actress because it makes me more interesting," she told Rolling Stone in 2001. Four years later, she graduated with a degree in English literature.

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Shonda Rhimes

Before becoming the queen of TV behind Bridgerton and Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes graduated from Dartmouth in 1991 with a major in English literature and film studies. She returned in 2014 to deliver an inspiring commencement speech about achieving work dreams, using platforms for good and the real meaning of "having it all."

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Emma Watson

The Little Women star and activist, who attended Brown University, didn’t have a typical college experience. Watson first had to delay the start of her college career to film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She also did a yearlong "study abroad" (although for her, it was really more like "study at home") at Worcester College at Oxford University. She took five years to finish because she took two semesters off for acting jobs. In 2014, she graduated from Brown with a degree in English.

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Connie Britton

Before she charmed audiences on Friday Night Lights, Nashville and White Lotus, actress Connie Britton attended Dartmouth College, where she majored in Asian studies with a concentration in Chinese. This academic focus led her to pursue a study abroad opportunity in Beijing, where she was roommates with none other than U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

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Allison Williams

Before she was in Get Out and M3GAN, Allison Williams — the daughter of MSNBC anchor Brian Williams — attended Yale University, where she was a member of the improv comedy group Just Add Water. She graduated in 2010 — and months later, she landed the role of Marnie on Girls. Not exactly your average entry-level job!

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Conan O’Brien

No wonder Conan O'Brien has such a quick wit: He's a Harvard grad! The late-night host earned a history and literature degree — magna cum laude — in 1985. While at the university, he wrote for the comedic magazine The Harvard Lampoon. This student gig was perfect preparation for one of his first jobs out of college as a writer for Saturday Night Live. Fifteen years after walking the stage to receive his degree, O’Brien returned to the university to deliver a heartfelt and hilarious commencement speech to the graduating class of 2000.

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Elizabeth Banks

Before she was a bankable Hollywood star (get it?), Elizabeth Banks was a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in communications and minored in theater. She was also a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.

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Ellie Kemper

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper graduated from Princeton in 2002 with a degree in English. She started off her Ivy League career playing field hockey, though she didn't get much time actually on the field.

"I sat on the bench for roughly 97 percent of my field hockey career at Princeton," she told the Princeton Alumni Weekly in 2009. Kemper eventually left the team to commit more time to comedy and improv. She returned to her alma mater to speak at Princeton’s 2019 Class Day event.

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Jenny Slate

Actress-comedian Jenny Slate attended Columbia University, where graduated in 2004 with a bachelor of arts degree in literature. The It Ends With Us star was also an active member of the university’s improv comedy group, Fruit Paunch.

“Being at Columbia was about finding a community of creative people that I really connected with and understanding that I didn’t have to compromise and I could still be a person,” Slate said of her college experience during the 2023 Spartan Speaker Series. “Reading books, into literature, would all feed into making me a better performer.”

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Tatyana Ali

While her Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character, Ashley Banks, might have chosen to attend the fictional University of Los Angeles, actress Tatyana Ali opted for Harvard University. She graduated in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in government and African American studies.

"This is something that people don't know about Harvard. There's actually a pretty substantial population of students of color," Ali told BET.com in 2011 of her experience as a Black student at the prestigious university. "There are signature Black events at Harvard like Apollo Night, for example, and it's time for performance and it's really integrated. It's Apollo Night, Black students are throwing it, but everybody comes and everybody performs."

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Colin Jost

Colin Jost graduated from Harvard in 2004 with a degree in history and literature (Russian and British). While there, the future comedian honed his skills as president of The Harvard Lampoon, the university’s humor magazine, which undoubtedly helped pave the way for him to become a staff writer on Saturday Night Live. (Fun fact: He was dormmates with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg!)

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Anderson Cooper

CNN broadcast journalist Anderson Cooper attended Yale University, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science. The political commentator returned to his alma mater to deliver the Class Day address in May 2016.

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Lupita Nyong'o

A Quiet Place: Day One star Lupita Nyong'o graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 2012 with a master of fine arts in acting. Just a year later, she landed a breakthrough role in 12 Years a Slave, which earned her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

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Ashley Judd

Actress and activist Ashley Judd earned a mid-career master of public administration degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2010.

Judd, whose Ivy League education focused on public policy and global affairs, shared her motivation for attending the prestigious university in a July 2010 interview with The New York Times: “I didn’t go to Harvard Kennedy School to be approved of by anyone, but to immerse myself in some very serious, earnest, practical learning with people who have literally dedicated all they have to public service.”

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Dean Cain

Years before portraying Superman on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, actor and reserve police officer Dean Cain was a student at Princeton University. He graduated in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in history and was also a star football player.