Where Do They Find The Time?
It’s hard enough for a regular person to get a doctorate degree—but there are quite a few celebrities who made their way to the top of the academic food chain before, or sometimes even after, they got famous…and there are some surprising names on the list.
Sir Brian May
He may be best known as the lead guitarist of Queen, but Sir Brian May also holds a PhD in—of all things—astrophysics from Imperial College London.
Bill Ingalls, Wikimedia Commons
Shaquille O’Neal
The basketball superstar stands 7’1” tall, but he’s not just brawn—he’s also got brains. O’Neal holds a Doctor of Education from Barry University in Florida.
MarkScottAustinTX, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn was an Old Hollywood stalwart whose career lasted nearly six decades, best known for roles in The Magnificent Seven, Bullitt, and The Man from UNCLE. In 1970, while in his late 30s, he got his PhD in communications for a thesis on the practice of blacklisting in American theater during the era of the HUAC. It’s been lauded for how “complete and intelligent” it is.
NBC Television, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Michael Crichton
The bestselling author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and Congo also has a Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard University, though he never got a license to practice medicine, instead focusing on his writing.
Jon Chase, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ken Jeong
Before he came to prominence in The Hangover and Community, actor and comedian Ken Jeong was a medical doctor, having received his MD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But in contrast to his comedic work, Jeong was super serious when he was a practicing doctor, saying, “I would bark orders to my nurses. I was hard-core. […] I was perfectly trained to be a physician. You know, it wasn't a fluke. I worked hard at it”.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
George Miller
The creator of the Mad Max franchise has an MBBS in medicine from University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jackie Fox
Talk about taking a walk on the wild side. Fox was a Merit scholar who’d already been accepted to early admission at UCLA when she got the opportunity to join the girls group the Runaways, the group that launched Joan Jett’s career. She played with the band for a few years and worked in the music industry before going back to school, eventually getting her JD from Harvard, studying alongside future President Barack Obama.
David Johnson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Fred Thompson
Speaking of law degrees, Fred Thompson doesn’t just play a lawyer on TV as DA Branch on Law & Order—he actually is one. Thompson has a JD from Vanderbilt, and was the United States Senator from Tennessee from 1994-2003.
United States Senate, Wikimedia Commons
Chad Allen
Though his name may not sound familiar, 90s TV fans will remember Allen for his role as Matthew in Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman. And speaking of doctors, Allen has his PhD in clinical psychology from Antioch University New England in New Hampshire.
Greg Hernandez, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mayim Bialik
It’s no wonder she was cast on The Big Bang Theory and did a stint as the host of Jeopardy!. Bialik has the academic bona fides befitting those jobs, having got her Doctor of Philosophy degree in neuroscience in 2007 from UCLA.
Chief National Guard Bureau, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Michael Burns
Burns was a wholesome teen star who appeared alongside Jimmy Stewart in Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation and was a guest star in scores of Western TV series. He wasn’t all good looks though—he went on to get his Doctor of Philosophy in history at Yale University and spent years as a history professor afterward.
Revue Studios, Wikimedia Commons
Don S Davis
Davis was one of the finest character actors of his generation, and is instantly recognizable for his turns in Stargate SG-1, Twin Peaks, and The X-Files. And he took his profession seriously, attaining both a Master’s and a PhD in theater from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Albert L. Ortega, Getty Images
Cheddar Gorgeous
This Drag Race UK alumnus, AKA Michael John Atkins, has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Manchester.
DVSROSS, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Harold Gould
Gould might be most recognizable for his turns as Martin Morgenstern on the 70s sitcom Rhoda, or as Miles on The Golden Girls. He also had his PhD in theater from Cornell.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Sterling Morrison
Morrison was the guitarist of the avant-garde rock band The Velvet Underground. Toward the end of his tenure in the band, around 1971, he started his graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin in medieval literature. Some 15 years later, in 1986, he finally got his PhD.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
Miuccia Prada
The fashion designer and entrepreneur—best known for her work within the family’s brand, as well as her own label, Miu Miu—took a strange path to get where she is today. In her early life, she trained to become a mime and practiced for five years. Then, in 1978, she got a PhD in political science at the University of Milan.
Jared Van Snellenberg
The Canadian actor appeared in a handful of comedies throughout the 90s and 2000s, including Happy Gilmore, Saving Silverman, and Rat Race. Van Snellenberg also has a PhD in psychology from Columbia University, where he performed functional neuroimaging research with schizophrenia patients.
Universal, Happy Gilmore (1996)
Sophie Ward
Ward has been steadily appearing on film and TV screens since the late 70s, when she was just a teen. She played the lead in Young Sherlock Holmes and Lady Ward in 2011’s Jane Eyre. She’s also a novelist and has a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Rena Brannan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Peter Weller
As the lead of Robocop and its sequel, Peter Weller needs no introduction. Later in life, he decided to broaden his horizons and got a PhD in Italian Renaissance art history from UCLA.
Mike Muegel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan Miller
Miller was a fixture in the British comedy and theater scene, and became famous as a performer in the Beyond the Fringe comedy troupe alongside Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. But before that, he got a medical degree in the UK, called an MBBChir, from the University of Cambridge.
Open Media Ltd., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Haing S Ngor
The story of Haing S Ngor is absolutely heartbreaking. Ngor was born in Cambodia, and got his MD from the University of Toulouse. He practiced as an OB-GYN in Cambodia before the rise of the Khmer Rouge—after which he had to hide his education and work due to the regime’s hostility toward intellectuals. He was eventually put in a concentration camp, where his wife died during childbirth.
After escaping, he was cast in The Killing Fields, a role for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the first actor of Asian descent to win the award. Sadly, in 1996, he was killed outside his home in Los Angeles.
Larry Bessel, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bill Bruford
Is it any surprise that a member of two of the prog genre’s most notable bands, Yes and King Crimson, is a huge music nerd? Bruford, who also toured with Genesis, got his PhD in Music from the University of Surrey.
Steven Rieder, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Peter Ostrum
Remember Charlie Bucket from the original 1971 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory? Well, he went on to get his DVM in veterinary medicine from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. After nearly 40 years of practice, he retired in 2023.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hill Harper
This actor, known for his roles on the shows The Good Doctor and CSI: NY also has a JD from Harvard University!
Marcus Qwertyus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
William Sanderson
If you remember the joke from Newhart that goes, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl,” then you know William Sanderson, who played Larry. The prolific character actor may have played a bit of a dummy on that show, but he actually holds a JD from Memphis State University.
John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
It’s no wonder that the creator of Sherlock Holmes was so adept at creating such intricate mysteries. He spent years studying the greatest mystery of all—the human body—when he was a student at the University of Edinburgh Medical School.
The Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons
Britt Baker
This wrestling superstar, the former AEW Women’s World Champion, has beauty and brawn—but she also has brains. She has a DMD in dentistry from the University of Pittsburgh.
Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Michael Bishop
Gwar—the heavy metal band of which Bishop is a member—definitely seems more style and substance. After all, they’re known for their elaborate costumes and the gross-out antics they perform at stage shows. However, they’ve got musical chops as well—as evidenced by Bishop’s PhD in music from the University of Virginia.
swimfinfan, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Staci Keanan
Like her My Two Dads castmate Chad Allen, sitcom star Staci Keanan also has an advanced degree, having got her JD from Southwestern. She returned to her alma mater as adjunct associate professor in 2021.
Graham Chapman
This Monty Python cast member has an MBBS degree, the UK’s version of a medical degree, from St Bartholomew’s Medical College in London, England.
Bill Cosby
The disgraced comedian has an EdD in education from University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Wikimedia Commons
Milo Aukerman
Any punk rockers reading this will recognize the name Milo from the band The Descendants. Aukerman serves as lead singer of the band and a caricature of him is used as the band’s mascot. Aukerman has a PhD in biology from UC San Diego and has continued his post-doc work in molecular biology.
IllaZilla, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
William Fawcett
Fawcett was a prolific character actor who only started acting at the age of 52, in 1946 and found steady guest roles on TV until the early 1970s. Fawcett drove an ambulance during WWI and later got his PhD in Elizabethan drama at the University of Nebraska.
TV episode screenshot (CBS), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sir Lenny Henry
Henry is a British comedian who was prolific in the late 70s and the 80s. He went on to found the British charity Comic Relief, and has a PhD in media arts from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Jane McCormick Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dan Grimaldi
Grimaldi has had plenty of roles, but he might be best known for playing the Parisi twins on The Sopranos. He also holds a PhD in data processing from the City University of New York.
Dexter Holland
The frontman for the pop punk band The Offspring also has a PhD in molecular biology from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
Pixel Focus, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mark Kermode
He may not be as familiar on this side of the Atlantic, but Kermode is a popular film critic and radio presenter in the UK. He has a PhD in English literature from the University of Manchester.
Julie Edwards, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Loretta Long
You may not know her name at first—but does the character of Susan Robinson on Sesame Street mean anything to you? Long played Robinson for nearly 50 years—but appropriately, she also has a PhD in urban education from UMass Amherst.
Christopher Nowinski
During his time in the early 2000s in the WWE as a wrestler, Nowinski was known as Chris Harvard—and for good reason. He has a PhD in behavioral neuroscience…but it’s from Boston University. He only went to Harvard for undergrad.
Sgt. 1st Class Doug, Wikimedia Commons
Robert Schneider
Schneider, the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for indie darlings Apples in Stereo, had a PhD in mathematics from Emory University.
Joe Loong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sam Shepherd
No, not the famous playwright and actor. This Sam Shepherd is an electronic music producer, and he had a degree in neuroscience from University College London.
basic_sounds, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Aditi Govitrikar
In 2001, Govitrikar became the first Indian woman to win the title of Mrs World. She translated that win into Bollywood stardom—but she also has an MBBS, a medical degree, from Grant Medical College in Mumbai, India.
Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan LaPaglia
LaPaglia has had steady work in film and TV since his debut in 1996, appearing in shows like Law & Order, The Sopranos, and NCIS. But it’s more likely that you’d recognize his brother, Anthony LaPaglia. However, Jonathan is the brother with an advanced degree. He has his MBBS in medicine from the University of Adelaide.
Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Denny Greene
You know the song “Louie Louie”? Well, it was a hit for the group Sha Na Na—and not one, but two of the group’s members appear on this list. Greene got his JD at Yale University.
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Wikimedia Commons
Alan Cooper
Cooper, another member of Sha Na Na, also has an advanced degree from Yale—a PhD in religious studies. However, the group actually all met at Columbia while studying for their respective bachelor’s degrees.
William Morris Agency, Wikimedia Commons
Greg Graffin
Yet another punk rocker on the list, Graffin is notable as the singer and only constant member of the legendary group Bad Religion. Graffin also holds a PhD in evolutionary biology from Cornell.
Stefan Brending, Wikimedia Commons
Ellen Cleghorne
Cleghorne put in four solid and hilarious years as a Saturday Night Live cast member in the early 1990s, and she also has a PhD in performance studies from NYU.
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