From Natalie Portman to Meryl Streep: Find Out Where These Celebrities Went to College

Have you ever imagined studying at the same university as your favorite celebrity? Several well-known names like Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Oprah Winfrey attended college and some of them even took courses after they became known worldwide. Read on to find out what they studied and where.

Known for playing the disciplined and studious Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, real life isn't that far off from fiction when it comes to Emma Watson's academic career. In 2014 the actress finished a degree in English Literature at Brown University. The actress began college in 2009, even as she continued working in Hollywood.

In 2003, Natalie Portman graduated in Psychology at the prestigious Harvard University. In 2015, the actress returned to campus to deliver a speech and revealed that she didn't care if college hurt her career. "I'd rather be smart than a movie star."

Although she began acting at a very young age, she was still a baby for her first role in the series All in the Family, L'OFFICIEL star Lily Collins graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California.

The beloved Oprah graduated from Tennessee State University, after winning a scholarship in Speech Communication and Performing Arts.

Award-winning actress Meryl Streep has pursued her dream of becoming an actress since college. She graduated from the theater program at Vassar College in 1971. But her studies didn't stop there, as Streep also has a master's degree in Dramatic Arts from Yale University.

Streep also attended a semester at Dartmouth University as an exchange student, according to the institution's website.

Cate Blanchett has an impressive resume. In 1992, the Australian graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, but in addition, Blanchett received two Honoris Causa (honorary degrees) in Letters, one from the University of New South Wales in 2009, and another from the University of Sydney in 2012.

Could you imaging Gigi Hadid as a criminal psychologist? In an interview on Live! With Kelly and Michael, Hadid revealed that she was taking a break from her studies at the New School because it was difficult to balance with her modeling work.

With a prolific career in the music business, Shakira didn't leave her studies behind. In 2007, the Colombian took a course entitled “Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Around 843 AD” at the University of California, and in 2020 she took another course, this time for four weeks, at the University of Pennsylvania in ancient philosophy.