Wildly Successful Celebrities Who Dropped Out of School
Wildly Successful Celebrities Who Dropped Out of School
There's no one path to success—and these celebrities are proof. Rihanna was just 16 when she signed her first record deal, and went on to have her own fashion and beauty empire. Jennifer Lawrence ended her formal education at age 14, and is now one of the top actresses in Hollywood. So...is education really everything? Here, click through to see 32 wildly successful celebs who never finished high school.
Gisele Bündchen
After being discovered at a shopping mall in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the model left school when she was just 14 to pursue her career. According to Forbes, Bündchen was the world's 5th highest paid model in 2018.
Ryan Gosling
Gosling dropped out of Lester B. Pearson High School in Canada when he was 17 and went on to star in Disney's All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
Cameron Diaz
Diaz dropped out of high school to pursue modeling full time at age 16. She soon went on to land her first acting gig, and become one of Hollywood's best-known actresses.
Leonardo DiCaprio
The Oscar-winner dropped out of school after his junior year and started studying at a free local drama center instead.
Nicole Kidman
The actress dropped out of school in Australia when she was 16 to pursue acting full time.
Jay-Z
The rapper and producer bounced around high schools in Brooklyn and New Jersey before eventually dropping out. He is currently the 5th wealthiest celebrity in America with a net worth of $900 million, according to Forbes.
Catherina Zeta-Jones
The actress dropped out of school at 15 to study acting full time.
Harry Styles
Styles dropped out of school when One Direction took off because he, understandably, didn't have time for much else.
Jennifer Lawrence
Lawrence ended her formal education when she was 14 and dropped out of middle school.
"I dropped out of middle school. I don’t technically have a GED or a diploma,"she explained during a 60 Minutes interview. "I am self-educated."
Rihanna
Rihanna was just 16 when she signed a record deal with Def Jam and left school. Since then, she has dropped countless hits and built a fashion and beauty empire with her Fenty lines. She is also reportedly launching a luxury fashion house.
Jude Law
Law dropped out of high school when he was 17 to star in the soap opera Families.
Paris Hilton
Hilton was expelled from the boarding school she attended in Connecticut.
Patrick Dempsey
He famously played a doctor on TV, but Dempsey dropped out of school at 17.
Drew Barrymore
Barrymore's career took off at an early age with her starring role in E.T. at just age 7. After that, she became too busy in her career to ever finish school.
Johnny Depp
Depp dropped out of school when he was 15 to pursue a career as a rock star. Apparently, acting was his fallback plan.
Hilary Swank
After dropping out of high school at age 16, the actress now says she regrets it.
“I’m not proud to say I’m a high-school dropout,” admitted Swank. “I’m not proud that that’s something that happened, but it happened. I think school is really, really important and we have an education problem in this country and it’s a shame. It’s a shame for any kid to feel hopeless about their future.”
Whoopi Goldberg
The EGOT winner is a high school dropout—but things worked out okay for her.
Robert Downey Jr.
The Iron Man star dropped out of Santa Monica High School after his junior year when his father gave him an ultimatum to "either show up [to school] every day or quit and get a job." The move definitely worked out for the A-List actor.
Keanu Reeves
Reeves dropped out of school because he never fit in.
"It was a very small school, and I guess I didn't fit in," Reeves told The Daily Mail in 2008. "I had conflicts and run-ins with the staff. The principal and I didn't see eye to eye," he said. "I was one of those 'Why?' kids—I asked too many questions about everything. I couldn't stop even if it got me into trouble."
Tom Cruise
Cruise originally planned to become a priest, but dropped out of high school when he decided to be an actor instead.
Avril Lavinge
Avril dropped out of school at 17 when she signed her record contract.
Daniel Radcliffe
The Harry Potter star never finished high school (just like Harry never technically finished Hogwarts).
Christina Applegate
Applegate dropped out of high school her junior year and quickly found success on Married...With Children.
Tracy Morgan
Morgan dropped out of high school to pursue his career, and he says he's very happy he made the decision to do so.
"I’m glad I dropped out of high school, man. I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I would have had a net. I’m glad I didn’t have anything to fall back on, man, because that made me go for my dreams that much harder."
Seth Rogen
Rogen dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy instead. He went on to star in Superbad, and is now one of Hollywood's favorite funny guys.
Chris Rock
Rock dropped out of high school in tenth grade. He went on to get his GED and after working a series of odd jobs, began to pursue his dream career in comedy.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey dropped out of school not to pursue acting, but to help support his family financially.
Damon Wayans
Wayans dropped out as a freshman to follow his older brother to Los Angeles. He later became the star of his brother's hit sketch-comedy show, In Living Color.
Al Pacino
The Oscar winner attended the High School of the Performing Arts in New York City, where he reportedly struggled in everything but English. Realizing that all he wanted to do was act, he soon dropped out and pursued his career.
Walt Disney
Disney dropped out of school at 16 to join the army, but because he was too young to enlist, he joined the Red Cross instead. After founding his multimillion Walt Disney Company and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he received an honorary high school diploma at age 58.
Marlon Brando
The legendary actor's rule breaking habits didn't sit well with his schooling. Brando was first expelled from high school for riding a motorcycle down the hallway. He was then sent to a military academy, where he again faced expulsion and never returned.
There's no one path to success—and these celebrities are proof.