I'm looking for famous people with college degrees that upper elementary students would recognize. So far I have Michael Jordan, David Robinson, and Bill Nye . Ashton Kutcher and Brad Pitt got close, but didn't graduate. Danica McKellar (Winnie from "The Wonder Years") I believe is about to get a Phd in math, but I don't think my studetns would know who she is. Can anyone help me find some more?
I would think most of our politician would have college degrees--ie Hilary Clinton etc because many of them are lawyers. ( I don't know what kind of role model some of them would be though.)
If you go to the college website I bet they might list some of their famous graduates.
Both Jodi Foster and Brooke Shields went to prestigious (sp?) colleges - maybe Princeton?
I just saw a quote by someone famous recently, saying, "I would rather be smart than beautiful." (or maybe she said, "or famous") - I think it was Natalie Portman.
John Krasinski from The Office graduated w/ honors as a playwright from a really good school - Brown, I think?
I wonder if there is a website devoted to this (there is to just about everything else!)
Don't forget David Duchovny (sp?) the X-Files guy. Also, Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, Phyllisa Rashad, the girl that played Blossom is a professor, Peyton Manning, Natalie Merchant. Oprah Winfrey- did she go to college? That's all I think of right now.
Okay, so this post has me curious and I've looked about on the internet, so here are a few more people:
Julia Stiles (Columbia), Claire Danes attend two years at Yale, but then dropped out to concentrate on her career, Matt Groening (Simpsons creator) attended a college in Washington state. Jay Leno graduated from Emerson.
Natalie Portman graduated from Harvard and here are two quotes attributed to her
"I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful." - Natalie Portman
I'm going to college. I don't care if it ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star." - Natalie Portman
Okay, I have to go for my morning walk, but this is an interesting post!
Jodie Foster and Angela Bassett graduated from Yale.
Fred Gwynn (actor, Herman Munster) graduated from Harvard.
Annabeth Gish (actress) and Elizabeth Dole (U. S. Senator, former head of the American Red Cross, former Secretary of the Treasury) graduated from Duke.
Mike Krzyzewski (aka Coach K, Duke basketball coach, U. S. Olympic basketball coach) graduated from West Point (U. S. Military Academy).
Sasha Baron Cohen (from Borat) graduated from Cambridge.
J. K. Rowling graduated from Exeter University.
Sandra Bullock graduated from East Carolina University.
Carl Hiaasen (author of Hoot) graduated from the University of Florida.
Christopher Paul Curtis (author) graduated from the University of Michigan - Flint.
Lauren Graham (from Gilmore Girls) graduated from Barnard College and got a Masters from SMU.
Steve Carell graduated from Dennison College.
Lots of famous actors are on that site! Renee Zellweger, Denzel Washington, Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, David Duchovny, Ashley Judd, Hugh Grant, Angela Bassett.
And the interesting part of his story is that he took most of his classes in the professional basketball off-season. Don't remember where he got the degree though!!
There are many musicians who got college degrees, but for the life of me I can't remember them!!
Shaquille O'Neal - I thought I remembered hearing on that show he had for obese children that he had completed his MBA, and was working on a doctorate???
I was so impressed when I heard that. Just goes to show you're never too old to learn.
Y'all Rock! I was so excited to log on tonight and see all these replies. Thanks so much!!
Hifiman, Ashtun Kutcher majored in biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa. But he quit when he won a modeling contract or something like that. According to Wikipedia he was, " motivated by the desire to find a cure for his brother's heart ailment."
That site with the degrees was rather interesting... surprised that John Cleese (who I love!) has a law degree and Jimmy Stewart had a degree in architecture from Princeton.
OMG... I just noticed that Gene Simmons has a degree in education! And speaks four languages... can you imagine having HIM for a teacher...
I believe Sean "P Diddy/Puff Daddy" Combs has a business degree. My husband teaches social studies at a pretty urban high school and likes to use him as an example of an African American (who the kids love!) who used intelligence and hard work to achieve fame. Unfortunately, a lot of his students still strive to be like the "thugs" in the industry.
I am doing a workshop this fall on this same thing-- famous college graduates, where they went to school, and what they majored in. Here is what I have come up with so far. Hope this helps!
Famous Person College Major
Adam Sandler New York University Fine Arts
Bill Clinton Georgetown Univ. (DC) International Affairs
Billy Graham Wheaton College (IL) Anthropology
Brad Pitt U. of Missouri Communications
Conan O'Brien Harvard History & Amer. Lit.
Hillary Clinton Wellesly College Political Science
Howard Stern Boston University Communications
Jay Leno Emerson College Speech Communications
Jerry Seinfeild CUNY Queens Communications & Theatre
Jodie Foster Yale English Lit.
Kofi Annan Macalester College (MN) Economics
Monica Lewinsky Lewis & Clark College (OR) Psychology
Mr. Rogers Rollins College (FL) Music Composition
Pete Rozelle Compton Community College English
Robin Williams Indiana Univ. Sociology
Homer Simpson Springfield College Nuclear Physics 101
Arnold Schwarzennegar Santa Monica City College Business
Barry Bonds Arizona State University Criminal Justice
Carson Daly Loyola Marymount University Theology
Colin Powell City College of the CUNY Geology
George W. Bush Yale History
Jerry Springer Tulane Political Science
John Elway Stanford University Economics
Natalie Portman Harvard Psychology
Oprah Winfrey Tennessee State Univ. Speech Communications
Tom Anderson (Myspace founder)UC Berkeley Rhetoric and English
Martin Luther King, Jr. Morehouse College Sociology
Kareem Abdul JabaarUCLA History
Julia Stiles Columbia English Literature
Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons) Evergreen State
J.K Rowling Exeter College French and Classics
Denzel Washington Fordham University Drama and Journalism
Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) Cambridge Universtiy History
Ashton Kutcher University of Iowa Biochemical Engineering
P. Diddy Howard University Business
mmayes
Join the conversation! Post as a guest or become a member today. New members welcome!
> 
08-17-2007, 09:03 PM
. Ashton Kutcher and Brad Pitt got close, but didn't graduate. Danica McKellar (Winnie from "The Wonder Years") I believe is about to get a Phd in math, but I don't think my studetns would know who she is. Can anyone help me find some more?
.
