24 celebrities that dropped out of school — and made it big anyway

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There are a lot of child stars out there — and a lot of them ended up graduating high school, obtaining their GED, or even continuing on to college.
But these 24 famous figures decided to forego finishing school altogether. Some had already gotten their big break, others chose to ditch school to focus on their dreams, while others again found that academia simply wasn’t for them.
While we officially recommend staying in school, from Eminem to Jessica Chastain, see which celebs made their professional lives work without a high school degree.

Jennifer Lawrence didn’t even finish middle school — she started pursuing acting when she was just 14.

Jennifer Lawrence didn't even finish middle school — she started pursuing acting when she was just 14.
Jennifer Lawrence snagged an Oscar nom at age 20.
Lawrence was 20 when she received her first Oscar nomination for her role in “Winter’s Bone,” but she had been trying to make it as an actress since she was 14.
“I dropped out of middle school. I don’t technically have a GED or a diploma. I am self-educated,” Lawrence said during a “60 Minutes” interview, “I struggled through school, I never felt very smart.”

Rihanna was only 16 when she left Barbados to pursue a record deal in the US.

Rihanna was only 16 when she left Barbados to pursue a record deal in the US.
Rihanna recently revealed the launch of a new lingerie line.
The “Love on the Brain” singer revealed to Social Magazine that “when I left Barbados, I didn’t look back. I wanted to do what I had to do, even if it meant moving to America.”
She was just a teenager when she moved into famed music producer Evan Rogers’ house in Connecticut. One year later, she was auditioning for Jay-Z (a fellow dropout) and well on her way to stardom.

Ryan Gosling was a child star on the “Mickey Mouse Club,” but dropped out of high school to move to New Zealand and film “Young Hercules.”

Ryan Gosling was a child star on the
According to the Washington Post, Gosling had so much trouble with school that his mother had to home-school him for the fifth grade.
Gosling was 17 when he moved to New Zealand to shoot ’90s historical-fantasy show “Young Hercules.”

Jay-Z is a vocal supporter of the importance of education, even though he doesn’t have a degree himself.

Jay-Z is a vocal supporter of the importance of education, even though he doesn't have a degree himself.
The rapper hails from Brooklyn.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
When he announced that he was performing at Carnegie Hall in 2011 to benefit his Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, he talked about his own history with school. “Education is super important,” Jay-Z said. “I don’t have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still for me to articulate, I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts.”

Johnny Depp dropped out to pursue a musical career, and now his daughter is following in his footsteps.

Johnny Depp dropped out to pursue a musical career, and now his daughter is following in his footsteps.
Depp is still a musician, in addition to being an actor
Depp dropped out of school at 16 to join a garage band called The Kids, and eventually ended up dead broke, living out of a friend’s car. Clearly, things turned around for him, though he did have second thoughts. He told James Lipton on “Inside the Actors Studio,” “I thought, ‘You know what? This is crazy, I should go back.’ I went back and I spoke to the dean of the school and he said… ‘I know that you have this music thing… That’s your passion, so you should go with that.'”
His daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, is following in her famous father’s footsteps, whether he likes it or not. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she revealed that she has also ditched school to pursue her career. “They [her parents] were in no position to tell me, ‘Get your diploma first,'” she told the magazine.

Roseanne Barr was in a car accident that lead to her being institutionalized at 16. When she was released, she almost immediately left school.

Roseanne Barr was in a car accident that lead to her being institutionalized at 16. When she was released, she almost immediately left school.
The accident caused nightmares and memory loss.
In addition to lot of physical pain, Barr’s car accident caused a traumatic head injury that led to memory loss and nightmares. Her parents eventually had her committed for eight months because of it. When she returned home, Barr almost immediately left school and began working as a “salad girl” in a restaurant until she was 18, according to People, and started doing stand-up comedy.

Harry Styles was only 16 when he auditioned for “The X Factor” — he’s the youngest member of One Direction.

Harry Styles was only 16 when he auditioned for
He’s doing okay for himself now.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Styles, according to Metro, was studying his “A Levels in Law, Sociology, and Business, and wanted to become a physiotherapist” before auditioning for “The X Factor.” He dropped out of school shortly after, when One Direction took off.
Now he’s 23 and worth $75 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Whoopi Goldberg had an undiagnosed learning disability that lead to her dropping out of high school at age 17.

Whoopi Goldberg had an undiagnosed learning disability that lead to her dropping out of high school at age 17.
She’s one of a few actors that has an EGOT
Goldberg spoke with the Child Mind Institute, revealing that she wasn’t able to keep up with her studies due to dyslexia (which she wasn’t diagnosed with until later in life). It lead to her dropping out of high school, though a lack of high school diploma hasn’t slowed her down one bit: in fact, she’s one of 12 people in history to have won an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

John Travolta was already honing his craft in high school, and was forced to leave his high school sweetheart behind when he moved to New York.

John Travolta was already honing his craft in high school, and was forced to leave his high school sweetheart behind when he moved to New York.
Travolta’s first big role was as a high school student in “Welcome Back, Kotter.”
According to Travolta, he was “an average student” and his peers couldn’t identify with him “going to acting studios at night.” He eventually left school and moved to New York, which resulted in a break-up with an unnamed high school sweetheart.
When Travolta was 21, he was cast as Vinnie Barbarino, an unruly high school student, in “Welcome Back, Kotter,” and famously played high school student Danny in “Grease.”

Daniel Radcliffe was only 11 when he was cast as Harry Potter, and he has been working ever since.

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He was in the “Harry Potter” movies for almost a decade
EDUinReview reports that Radcliffe decided to take a break from schooling in 2006 to focus on his acting career, and hasn’t returned since.
In an interview with Parade, Radcliffe revealed that he wasn’t that great in school anyway. “I wasn’t very good in school at all,” Radcliffe said. “I was kind of useless. I found the work really, really difficult.”

Robert Downey Jr. dropped out of school when he was 16 to move across the country to live with his mom in New York (his parents were divorced).

Robert Downey Jr. dropped out of school when he was 16 to move across the country to live with his mom in New York (his parents were divorced).
RDJ is one of Hollywood’s most famous comeback stories.
Theo Wargo, NBC/Getty Images
Much of the focus on Downey’s life has been on his substance abuse and jail time, so it’s easy to forget he dropped out of high school as a teen.
Soon after, at age 20, he was added to the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” but was fired after just one season. Obviously, this didn’t affect his prospects too much — “Avengers: Infinity War” just had the biggest opening weekend of all time.

Seth Rogen dropped out to film “Freaks and Geeks,” which is ironically about high school students.

Seth Rogen dropped out to film
Rogen’s first role was as a high school student.
Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Rogen has been open about his opinions on education, telling CNN, “I dropped out of high school and went and worked on a TV show. We were writing a script all throughout high school. I probably worked harder than most people who were just doing high school stuff, honestly. I did stand-up comedy all throughout high school. I think, honestly, if you have a career in mind that isn’t academically oriented, then high school is probably not going to lead you to what you want to be.”

Jude Law left school to appear on a soap opera when he was 17.

Jude Law left school to appear on a soap opera when he was 17.
Law has been steadily working ever since.
Frazer Harrison/Golden Globes
Law was 17 when he began working on “Families,” a British soap opera. Ten years later, he was internationally recognized for his role in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

Hilary Swank is well-known for her role as a high school teacher in “Freedom Writers,” but she didn’t even get her diploma.

Hilary Swank is well-known for her role as a high school teacher in
Swank said she felt supported by her mother in her decision.
Getty/Larry Busacca
As a high school dropout playing a high school teacher, Swank got asked some tough questions during her press tour for “Freedom Writers.”
She admitted, “I’m not proud to say I’m a high-school dropout […] 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.”

Jim Carrey left school at age 16 to help provide for his family.

Jim Carrey left school at age 16 to help provide for his family.
Carrey grew up in Canada.
Getty Images
Carrey dropped out of school at age 16 to work as a janitor in order to help support his family. However, he had been performing stand-up since the age of 15, and was already opening for big comedy acts like Rodney Dangerfield.
At the age of 18, Carrey found his first credit with TV series, “The All-Night Show.”

Drew Barrymore was in rehab at age 13 and had emancipated from her mother at 14 — since she was legally independent, she decided to quit school.

Drew Barrymore was in rehab at age 13 and had emancipated from her mother at 14 — since she was legally independent, she decided to quit school.
Barrymore has been famous since her “E.T.” days.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Barrymore was was already a big-screen actress at age 3, and playing Gertie in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” by age 7.
She spoke to the Guardian about her unconventional childhood, stating that her “life was not normal. I was not a kid in school with normal circumstances.”
In her memoir “Wildflower,” Barrymore reflected on her experiences as an emancipated 14-year-old. “Once I was emancipated, I had simply dropped out of school,” she wrote, “I decided to create my own school, to self-educate: I will buy a dictionary and study every word. I will steep myself in all the things I love. I decided right then and there I would not be defeated. I would create my own curriculum. And so I did just that: I read, I cleaned, I worked.”

Patrick Dempsey “dropped out of high school […] to run away with the circus, basically.”

Patrick Dempsey
Dempsey received a high school degree and a doctorate in the same weekend.
Getty Images
Dempsey originally tried to make it as a juggler, but quickly turned to acting instead. His most well-known character, Derek Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy,” attended Bowdoin College, and the school decided to honor him with an honorary doctorate.
Dempsey shared that once his high school got wind of his college degree, they decided to give him his high school diploma as well. “I graduated high school on Friday and got the doctorate on Saturday. It was a remarkable weekend,” said Dempsey.

Marlon Brando was sent to military school after being an “incorrigible” student — but he was expelled.

Marlon Brando was sent to military school after being an
He attended military school briefly.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Brandon described himself as “a bad student, chronic truant, and all-around incorrigible,” which lead to his father sending him to military school in Minnesota. Not even military school could change his behavior, and he was quickly expelled.
When he arrived in New York City at age 18, he slept on the streets until he found work. In a true rags-to-riches story, Brando would eventually become one of the most well-known actors in history.

Nicolas Cage left school after taking a summer acting class when he was 15.

Nicolas Cage left school after taking a summer acting class when he was 15.
Cage is part of the Coppola film dynasty
Biography.com reports that Cage took an acting class over the summer when he was 15, and promptly dropped out of school to pursue that dream.
His first acting credit came a year later, in a TV movie called “Best of Times,” in which he was still credited as Nicolas Coppola (his real name). His first credit with his stage name came two years later for his role as Randy in “Valley Girl.”

Kate Winslet revealed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that she left school at 16 to go work in a deli.

Kate Winslet revealed on
She was saving money for the train to London.
Winslet told Colbert that she was 16 and “working at a delicatessen” to save money for the train ride into London for auditions. By 17 she had been cast in a film directed by Peter Jackson called “Heavenly Creatures.”

Marilyn Monroe dropped out when she was 15 and was married by 16.

Marilyn Monroe dropped out when she was 15 and was married by 16.
Monroe had a difficult childhood
Monroe’s mother struggled with mental illness, and her father was unknown, leaving her to bounce around between foster care and orphanages until the age of 11, which made a consistent education difficult.
Biography.com states that Monroe dropped out of school when she was 15, and that by age 16 she was married to her 21-year-old neighbor, James Dougherty.

Eminem had trouble in school — he failed the ninth grade three times.

Eminem had trouble in school — he failed the ninth grade three times.
Eminem aka Marshall Mathers.
Even though he’s a lyrical genius, Eminem had a rough time in school. He was constantly moving around and switching schools, making it difficult for him to keep his grades up. He actually failed the ninth grade three times before dropping out at 17 to pursue music.

Avril Lavigne was signed by famed producer LA Reid when she was 15 — and she immediately dropped out of school in Canada to move to the US.

Avril Lavigne was signed by famed producer LA Reid when she was 15 — and she immediately dropped out of school in Canada to move to the US.
Lavigne has been famous since she was a teen.
In an interview with “Private Sessions,” Lavigne recalled her origin story. She was on a trip to New York to sing for a producer, when LA Reid (who has worked with Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and OutKast, to name a few) heard her singing and signed her right then and there. She then moved from Canada to New York and dropped out of school when she was 15.
Lavigne released her first album when she was 18, titled “Let Go.”

Jessica Chastain didn’t exactly drop out — she wasn’t able to graduate because she was absent too much.

Jessica Chastain didn't exactly drop out — she wasn't able to graduate because she was absent too much.
Chastain has played brainy characters, but she didn’t love school herself.
“I dropped out of high school. I was not a hard worker. […] It wasn’t that I just dropped out and never went back — at the end of the year I had too many absences to graduate,” Chastain revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Source: Business Insider


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