Have you ever wondered if celebrities are just glorified not-so-smart people? The truth is that while many of them are famous for their talent, bodies, scandals, or luxurious lives, some of them really are superior to your average Joe. They’ve got both the looks and brains to prove it. While survival and success in the entertainment industry is dependent on various kinds of smarts, you will be shocked by some of the most unexpected celebrities who prove they were “intellectually smart” before they were “industry smart.”
Cindy Crawford
While she is famous for her killer poses on famous magazines and intangible modelling career, becoming a supermodel Cindy Crawford earned a scholarship to the Northwestern University to study (not just any program) Chemical Engineering.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman is very famous for her groundbreaking roles in movies like Star wars, or V for Vendetta but she’s also secretly very smart. She had a 4.0 GPA in high school which she gained by skipping the premiere of the Stars Wars: The Phantom Menace to study for her finals. She has an allegedly recorded IQ of 140 making her a genius and among the smartest people in Hollywood.
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow has a registered IQ of 154 making her a genius, and among the top percent of test takers. Despite portraying on screen characters that do not reflect her intellectual capabilities (i.e. her roles in Friends, Neighbors, Easy A), she is a very smart woman. She holds a degree in Biology from Vassar and worked was a medical researcher specializing in headaches before she joined the cast of Friends as Phoebe.
Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean
Most millennials grew up watching the hilarious, witty, and goofy Mr. Bean on television. Did you that Rowan has a Master degree in Electrical Engineering? He attended Newcastle University for his bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering and Oxford University for his master’s in Electrical Engineering.
James Franco
James Franco has a poker face that makes him look perpetually high. He is an uber-nerd as he enrolled for 62 course credits in UCLA whose usual limit is 19. In addition to being a successful actor and director, he doubles up as a writer, fashion photographer, art exhibitionist and poet. Did you know that he simultaneously enrolled at four universities at the same time?
Dolph Lundgren
Lundgren is the perfect stereotype of a European meathead; he is blond, tall, ripped and fits the characters he plays so well you would think he conducts himself the same way in real life. Although the truth is the precise opposite! He graduated top of his class with a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the University of Sydney in Australia.
Shakira
Who said brains, beauty and so much talent cannot be given to one person? Despite her hips not lying, her raspy voice and beauty, Shakira has a recorded IQ of 140 according to MENSA. She is pursuing a course in the History of Western Civilization at UCLA.
Conan O’Brien
Did we know that our favorite floppy-haired ginger is also a genius? Conan O’Brien graduated valedictorian of his high school class and further as magnum cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in History and Literature. Conan allegedly has an IQ of 160 and is regarded as one of the most intelligent celebrities.
James Wood
James Wood could as well be the smartest person in Hollywood. This veteran film and voice actor has an allegedly whopping IQ of 184. During his high school years he almost scored a 100 percent in his SATs getting the perfect 800 in the verbal section and an impressive 779 in math.
Brian May
Who knew that a wicked guitar player of one of the bestselling bands was a genius? Despite his IQ not being known, legendary Queen Guitarist has brains to go with his nerdy Isaac Newton look. Dr. Brian May has a PhD from the prestigious Imperial College London in astrophysics.
Rashida Jones
One would think that being the daughter of music mogul Quincy Jones would make Rashida a spoiled rich blonde. This however is not the case with Rashida Jones, who graduated from Harvard with a degree in religion and philosophy after enrolling to study law. She also displayed immense theatrical and music writing talents as she performed in on-campus plays.
Kate Beckinsale
In addition to her bad ass acting skills as evidenced in the movie series Underworld and gorgeous looks, Kate Beckinsale is intellectually superior. According to her grade school, she recorded intelligence levels of an 11-year old when she was just six years old! She attended the prestigious Oxford University where she studied Drama and French and Russian literature.
Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster is no stranger to acting as she started acting at the tender age of 3. The actress has been dubbed as freakishly smart by people that know her. She graduated from French-speaking Lycee Francais de Los Angeles as valedictorian. Jodie Foster was able to impressively juggle acting as a child and learning in a foreign language-based school.
Sharon Stone
Sharon, the dazzling co-stars alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall is the total package of beauty, brains and strength. Sharon Stone has previously described herself as a nerdy, ugly duckling. However this is does not match her brains and intellectual prowess seeing as she has a reputed IQ of 154.
Nolan Gould
Sharon, the dazzling co-stars alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall is the total package of beauty, brains and strength. Sharon Stone has previously described herself as a nerdy, ugly duckling. However this is does not match her brains and intellectual prowess seeing as she has a reputed IQ of 154.
Dexter Holland
Dexter himself used to be one very serious guy, earning himself some very prestigious education. He graduated as class valedictorian from the Pacifica High School in Garden Grove California and he then attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a bachelor of science in biology and a master of science in molecular biology.
Ben Stein
Ben had immense success in writing, politics and public speaking. How many Hollywood stars, for instance, can say that they have written speeches for two of the U.S. Presidents? Well, Ben Stein did; for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. California, where he earned a bachelor of science in biology and a master of science in molecular biology.
Mayim Bialik
What’s the reason she is so comfortable in the role of a genius neuroscientist? The fact that she is one. Yes, really. Namely, Mayim attended the UCLA where she studied and obtained her PhD degree back in 2007. Her dissertation was a study of the activity of the hypothalamus in patients suffering from Prader-Willi syndrome.
Jordana Brewster
When it comes to being super smart and educated, Jordana simply could not fail, considering the fact that her paternal grandfather was president of Yale University at one point and also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Elisabeth Shue
She was lauded as a sex symbol while also earning nominations for Golden Globe, BAFTA and even an Academy Award. However, not many people realize that Elisabeth is also one of the most intelligent celebrities of all time who managed to get into her high school’s Hall of Fame. She was also an accomplished gymnast and she attended Wellesley College.
Tommy Lee Jones
He hails from a modest family and he attended the St. Mark’s School of Texas on a scholarship. He continues his ties with the school to this day and he is currently on its board of directors. He later enrolled in Harvard on a need-based scholarship where he had a room across Al Gore, who would later become Vice President of the United States.
Kris Kristofferson
During his early life, Kris was torn between education and life in military, which was something his father, a U.S. Air Force Major General insisted on. Kris solved this by pursuing both. He joined the Army where he achieved the rank of Captain. He also managed to enroll in Pomona College where he graduated summa cum laude with a BA in 1958, in Literature.
Mira Sorvino
You might say that Mira was destined for a career in movies. However, she is much more than just another actress. For instance, when she was still just a girl, she wrote her own plays that she and her childhood friend would then play in.
Steve Martin
Steve is described as highly intelligent, almost a genius, by anyone who has known him for some time and he really is a member of MENSA, thanks to his IQ of 142. Before getting into entertainment, Steve wanted to become a philosophy professor and he even studied philosophy at the Long Beach State College.
Nicole Kidman
Back in Australia, she attended Lane Cove Public School as well as North Sydney Girls’ High School where she did ballet and showed great promise for acting. She later studied at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Australian Theatre for Young People.
