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Famous people who attended top-notch schools, have multiple degrees, or even abandoned formal education and found success anyway.

Smarts

The smartest celebrities are those who have documented high IQs, multiple degrees from distinguished universities, and a history of long hours spent studying complicated subjects. Some of these celebs, like Matt Damon, even star&nbsp;in the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-about-geniuses/ranker-film">best movies about geniuses</a>. A number of famous actors are members of the &quot;high IQ society&quot; Mensa - or, at least, a number of online sources say they are. Those people are included here, as are businessmen, musicians, and even wrestlers with impressive academic r&eacute;sum&eacute;s, and Bond girls like <a href="https://groovyhistory.com/jill-st-john-young-now-bond-girl-career" target="_blank">Jill St. John</a>. For example, Swedish-born action star Dolph Lundgren, aka <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-blonde-villains/carlybobarly">Ivan Drago</a>, has a master&#39;s degree in Chemical Engineering and was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to M.I.T. Likewise, Oscar winner Natalie Portman has a Harvard degree, has lectured at Columbia University, and can speak five languages. And Bill Gates founded Microsoft. Which of these most brilliant celebrities surprises you most?

For brevity, this list does not include career politicians or widely recognized geniuses in academia.

&nbsp;

Celebrities who went to Ivy League schools are those smarty pants actors, musicians, and other famous people in the entertainment industry who at one point in their careers attended one of the most prestigious universities in the country. All of these stars scored big for their work in Hollywood but judging by their schooling, they would have likely been successful in other fields as well.Perhaps the most prestigious of them all, Harvard University, was once home to many of our <a href="/list/the-best-actors-working-today/bustermcdermott" target="_blank">favorite current actors</a> and TV stars such as Conan O' Brien, Matt Damon, <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tommy-lee-jones-trivia-facts/lisa-waugh?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Tommy Lee Jones</a>, and Jack Lemmon. Yale University is no different with numerous famous alumni such as Meryl Streep, Edward Norton, James Franco, Claire Danes, Jodie Foster, Leiv Screiber, Paul Newman, and Anderson Cooper.Hundreds of famous people have attended other <a href="/list/all-ivy-league-schools/sportsyeah" target="_blank">Ivy League schools</a> too, like Brown University, which was attended by Emma Watson, John Krasinski, and Julie Bowed, or Columbia University, once a place where Kathryn Bigelow, Jake Gyllenhaal, Christopher Reeve and Casey Affleck formerly studied. To round out the eight Ivy League schools, Cornell University has its share of stars, like Bill Nye, Bill Maher, and Jane Lynch, as does Dartmouth College, with alumni such as Mindy Kaling, Aisha Tyler, and Mr. Rogers, Princeton University, formerly home to Brooke Shields, David Duchovny and Ethan Cohen, and the University of Pennsylvania, with esteemed former attendees such as John Legend, actress Elizabeth Banks, Donald Trump, and Candice Bergen.So while these celebrities who attended Ivy League schools might seen like some of your typical Hollywood airheads, all have high quality educations to fall back on should that whole TV, movies, or music thing not work out. Not a bad plan B when you have a prestigious degree! Can you imagine these celebs as students? Who do you think are actually educated graduates?&nbsp;Share your thoughts on these celebrity Ivy Leagers&nbsp;and&nbsp;famous college grads.

Celebrity Facts

This list contains information about <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-went-to-ivy-league-schools/celebrity-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">celebrities who went to Harvard University</a>, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Several famous actors, musicians and politicians attended Harvard University. Some of these celebrities attended Harvard as undergrads while others went to Harvard Law School. One famous actor lived with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore while he attended Harvard.Who is the most famous person who attended Harvard? Natalie Portman tops this list. The actress graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. degree in psychology in 2003.&nbsp;Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky earned a degree in social anthropology from Harvard University in 1991.<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tommy-lee-jones-trivia-facts/lisa-waugh?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Tommy Lee Jones</a> graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard University in 1969. He roomed with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore as an upperclassman. Matt Damon studied English and Theater at Harvard University from 1988 to 1992, but he did not graduate. He left in his senior year so that he could appear in the TV film &quot;Geronimo.&quot;Do you think that attending Harvard gave these celebs a leg up in their careers? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

College

This list contains information about celebrities who went to Yale University, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Several famous actors, musicians, and politicians attended Yale University. Some of these celebrities received degrees from the Ivy League school, while others dropped out to focus on their careers. Several U.S. Presidents attended Yale University including a father and son.Who is the most famous person who attended Yale? Meryl Streep tops this list. Streep earned an M.F.A. from the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-yale-school-of-drama-alumni-and-students/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Yale School of Drama</a> in the 1970s. Jennifer Connelly studied English at Yale from 1988-1989. She later finished out her college education by studying drama at Stanford UniversitySeveral famous men also went to Yale. George H. W. Bush graduated from Yale with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1948. While there, he was a member of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/skull-and-bones-secret-society-facts/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Skull and Bones secret society</a>. Bush's son, George W. Bush, also attended Yale.Do you think that attending Yale helped these celebrities succeed in their careers? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Several famous actors, politicians, athletes, and musicians have furthered their education by earning doctorates and Ph.D.s. Some of these celebrities earned Ph.D.s in the arts, while others pursued scientific degrees. One famous comedic actress has a Ph.D. in neuroscience.&nbsp;This list of famous people with Ph.D.s is loosely ranked by fame and popularity.&nbsp;Who is the most famous person with a Ph.D.? Martin Luther King, Jr. tops our list. The civil rights activist earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University in 1955. His dissertation was entitled &quot;A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman.&quot;&quot;The Big Bang Theory&quot;&nbsp;actress Mayim Bialik earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. She wrote the book,&nbsp;Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way in 2012.Are you surprised that so many celebrities have earned Ph.D.s? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

List of Famous People Who Were Teachers ranked by fame and popularity. There is an old saying, “those who can't do, teach.” That is not the case for these famous people who have spent time teaching. Some celebrities teach until their careers take off, while others went back to teaching long after they were successful.Who is the most famous person who was a teacher. Oprah Winfrey tops our list. Oprah Winfrey always said that if she wasn't a talk show host, she would be a teacher. She finally got her chance when she opened The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Oprah teaches lessons by using a web cam and a computer. Other famous people who became teachers after they were successful include comedian Billy Crystal, Spike Lee, Steve Miller, Gene Simmons, and Wyclef Jean.Other famous people got their start as teachers. Movie star Jon Hamm taught an acting class for 8th graders in Missouri. One of his students, Ellie Kemper, went on to have great success of her own starring in The Office&nbsp;and Bridesmaids.&nbsp;Mr. T, Hugh Jackman, and Sylvester Stallone were all gym teachers before they were famous and Sheryl Crow used to teach music. Featuring history teachers, English teachers, math teachers, and more, this <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-should-be-more-famous/swiperight?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">list of celebs</a> who were former teachers has them all.&nbsp;Why do you think so many famous people have experience with teaching? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

This list of famous people who went to law school is loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Several famous actors, musicians, and athletes have attended law school. Some of these celebrities studied law before they were famous while others waited until they retired to focus on higher education. Several <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-former-child-stars/carlybobarly?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">former child stars</a> went on to become successful lawyers.Who is the most famous person who studied law? Nelson Mandela tops this list. The former President of South America attended&nbsp;law school at the University of Witwatersrand.Many child&nbsp;actors went on to study law. &quot;The Wonder Years&quot; cast member Josh Saviano received his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. The Goonies actor Jeff Cohen received his law degree from UCLA School of Law in 2000. He now works as an entertainment lawyer.Are you surprised that so many celebrities have studied law? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Rappers

From the East Coast to the West Coast, and from the Dirty South to the city of Paris, famous rappers all over the world have received college degrees. Some of these hip-hop stars <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-with-strange-college-degrees/donn-saylor" target="_blank">earned their degrees</a> after attending four years of college, while others were presented with <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-with-honorary-degrees-from-harvard/celebrity-lists" target="_blank">honorary degrees</a> for their contributions to the arts.

Who is the most famous rapper with a degree? Lil Wayne tops our list. In 2008, Lil Wayne received an honorary degree from the University of Houston. Likewise, LL Cool J received an honorary degree from Northeastern University in 2014. At the time, <a href="https://www.musictimes.com/articles/6036/20140510/ll-cool-j-receives-honorary-degree-from-northeastern-university.htm" target="_blank">LL Cool J said</a>:&nbsp;&quot;For them to recognize my body of work and my contributions to the world of art is an amazing feeling.&quot;&nbsp;

Other rappers attained degrees&nbsp;via matriculation. M.I.A. has a degree in fine art, film, and video from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Lil Jon spent two years studying at St. Joseph&#39;s University in Philadelphia before going on to finish college at Ohio State University in 1993.

Are you surprised that so many rappers have degrees? Take a look at this list and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Celebrities

Here are some of the Notable Salutatorians and Valedictorians from High Schools and Colleges. This list highlights numerous successful professionals, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Jimmy Carter, Albert Einstein, Carrie Underwood and Hillary Rodham Clinton.&nbsp;The top graduate with higher grades is referred to as Valedictorian, whereas the honor of becoming a Salutatorian requires the highest overall GPA as well as the mastery on effective public speaking, excellent language skills and strength in extracurricular activities. Princeton University chooses a &quot;Latin Salutatorian&quot; based on the ability to write and deliver a speech to the audience in that language. The title &quot;Salutatorian&quot; comes from the salutatorian&#39;s traditional role as the first speaker at the graduation ceremony, delivering the salutatory speech.The Valedictorian usually delivers the &quot;valedictory&quot; address (i.e. bidding farewell and good bye) while the Salutatorian delivers the &quot;salutatory&quot; address (i.e. expressing welcome to the new world) to fellow students, teachers and families in the audience.

Wealthy

The richest college dropouts - billionaires who never graduated college - are all listed here, with photos. If money is an indicator of success, it's safe to say that these are the most <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-college-dropouts/celebrity-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">successful college dropouts</a> in history. Plenty of athletes become millionaire college dropouts when they go pro, though their lack of an education doesn't always serve them well afterwards. Obviously the experiences of rich people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and recently, Mark Zuckerberg, show us that sometimes you just have to leave school to pursue your dreams.Who are some billionaires who didn't finsih college? This list proves that a college degree isn't always the best indicator of future success.

List of Celebrities Who Dropped Out of College, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. You don't need a college diploma to pursue your dreams. Several famous people enrolled in college, only to drop out so they could attend the school of life. Some celebrities who dropped out of college went on to make over a billion dollars.Who is the most famous person who dropped out of college? Brad Pitt tops our list. The “Fight Club” actor dropped out of the University of Missouri, where he was majoring in journalism. He left college a mere two weeks before earning his degree. Pitt moved to Los Angeles, took acting lessons and the rest is history. Other famous college dropouts include rapper Kanye West, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and conservative commentator Glenn Beck.Several college dropouts have started companies that have earned them billions of dollars. Apple founder Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College. At the time of his death in 2011, Jobs' estimated net worth was over $10 billion. Other billionaire college dropouts include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft inventor Bill Gates and “Jurassic Park” director Steven Spielberg.Do you think these celebrities were successful because they dropped out of college? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Several famous actors, athletes, musicians, and politicians have attended medical school. Some of these celebrities graduated with M.D.s while others dropped out of college to pursue alternative careers. One of the NBA's biggest stars even went to medical school before focusing on basketball. This list of famous people who went to med school has been loosely ranked by fame and popularity.&nbsp;Who is the most famous person who attended medical school? Che Guevara tops our list. The revolutionary figure attended medical school at the University of Buenos Aires in the late-1940s. It was while Guevara was traveling South America for medical school that he became inspired to fight for the rights of people in Latin America.Several athletes also went to medical school. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson received her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2006 and gymnast Amy Chow graduated with her medical degree from Stanford in 2007.&nbsp;Two-time NBA Champion Pau Gasol is an example of a&nbsp;celebrity dropping out of medical school to pursue a different career. Other celebs who were initially&nbsp;pursuing medical degrees from prestigious colleges include Dexter Holland and Jay Sean. &nbsp;Are you surprised that so many famous people went to med school? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

This list rounds up information on teen celebrities who still finished college even after becoming stars. Several young celebrities went on to graduate from college. Some of these teen celebrities who graduated from college went to <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/all-ivy-league-schools/sportsyeah?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Ivy League schools</a>, while others stayed closer to home. Many famous people in college decided to pursue degrees in art, literature, and acting.Who is the most famous person on this teen celebrities who still finished college list? Natalie Portman takes the cake. She had already appeared in such films as L&eacute;on: The Professional, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Beautiful Girls by the time she graduated from Harvard University in 2003. Emma Watson, known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, graduated from Brown University in 2014, after the film series wrapped up.Several famous young men also went on to graduate from college. James Franco, who first achieved notice as a teen actor on Freaks and Geeks, graduated from UCLA in 2008 and went on to receive his MFA from Columbia in 2010. <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/haley-joel-osment-facts/jonathan-kantor?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Haley Joel Osment</a> and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also earned their college degrees long after they were famous.Would you go back to college if you were famous? Take a look at this list and get in on the conversation in the comments section.

Several famous actors, actresses, athletes, and musicians have furthered their education by earning Master's Degrees. Some of these celebrities earned Masters of Fine Arts while others pursued scientific degrees.&nbsp;This list of famous people with Master's Degrees has been loosely ranked by fame and popularity.&nbsp;Who is the most famous person with a Masters Degree? James Franco tops our list.&nbsp;The Spring Breakers actor earned his M.F.A. from Columbia University in New York. He is also studying for a Ph.D. in English at Yale University.&nbsp;Ashley Judd earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2010.Adult film star Ron Jeremy has a Master's Degree in Special Education from Queens College in New York. Singer Art Garfunkel earned a M.A. in mathematics from Columbia University in 1967.Are you surprised that so many famous people have Master's Degrees? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

College isn't for everybody. Some don't find specialized schooling necessary for carving out their dream careers. Instead, they opt to work as hard as they can perfecting their own craft without the help of private or public schooling.&nbsp;So what about community college? For many, community college can be a stepping stone towards further education at a four-year institution. For others, it can be a sign that a university education isn't necessary to accomplish what they want to achieve. While some celebrities who attended community college rave about their experience, others didn't stick around long enough to garner the same enthusiasm. The celebrities listed below represent a broad spectrum of opinions on the community college experience: some dropped out, some found success at four-year institutions, and some stuck around to see what community college education had to offer. To understand these different experiences, here are 17 celebrities who went to community college.

This list contains information about celebrities who have received honorary degrees from Harvard University, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Harvard University was established in 1636 and is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. Several famous actors, musicians, authors, and politicians have been awarded honorary degrees from Harvard, which are awarded annually.Who is the most famous person with an honorary degree from Harvard? Oprah Winfrey tops this list. The talk show queen received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 2013. She also delivered a commencement speech to the graduating class.J. K. Rowling received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 2008. She delivered the commencement address at the ceremony as well. Al Gore received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 1994. The former U.S. Vice President previously graduated cum laude from the prestigious university. Many former U.S. Presidents have received honorary Harvard degrees as well.What do you think are the qualifications for earning an honorary degree? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

This list contains information about celebrities who were in the National Honor Society, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Several famous actors, musicians, athletes, and politicians were members of the National Honor Society during high school. Some of these celebrities attended schools in New Jersey, while others got educated in Illinois.Who is the most famous person who was in the National Honor Society? Cindy Crawford tops our list. The supermodel was a member of the National Honor Society when she attended DeKalb High School in Illinois. Tina Fey was a member of the National Honor Society when she attended <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-upper-darby-high-school-alumni-and-students/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Upper Darby High School</a> in Pennsylvania, and Carrie Underwood was a member of the National Honor Society when she attended Checotah High School in Oklahoma.Several famous men were also in the National Honor Society. “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart was a member of the National Honor Society when he attended Lawrenceville High School in New Jersey. Former President Gerald Ford was a member of the National Honor Society when he attended Grand Rapids South High School in Michigan.Do you think that being in the National Honor Society helped prepare these celebrities for success? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Jodie Foster

A list of the world&#39;s sexy lady geniuses, ranked by hotness. OK, maybe they&#39;re not all &#39;geniuses&#39; by your fancy standards (probably an IQ of 140+), but every woman on this list is a hell of a lot smarter than most people. Many of these gals are even members of the high IQ society Mensa International, including&nbsp;actress&nbsp;Asia Carrera&nbsp;and respected <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/geena-davis-movies-and-films-and-filmography/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">actress Geena Davis</a>. &quot;IQ tests don&#39;t mean anything,&quot; you say? &quot;Which IQ test did they take, exactly?&quot; you demand to know? No one has&nbsp;the answers - but when researching, I did see a comment on one article that suggested it was possible to study for an IQ test. I don&#39;t think that guy had ever taken one. Anyway, other ladies on this list are just some of the smartest female celebrities, proving so by being multilingual, earning degrees from top universities, and/or studying and working in all sorts of complicated academic fields. These hot female geniuses are not only some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/most-beautiful-women-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best looking women</a> on earth, but they have the brains to match.

While many on this list of the smartest famous women won&#39;t surprise you - like obviously Jennifer Connelly is a whiz; just look at her perceptive eyes - a few of the brilliant beauties on this list may come as a shock. For example, blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield was known for her knockout body and sultry pout, but underneath all that platinum hair, she was reportedly one of few female celebrities with a genius-level IQ. Likewise, controversial-but-enduring entertainer Madonna&#39;s IQ reportedly hovers well above average, and sexy Sharon Stone&#39;s is even higher. And, of course, my girlfriend&nbsp;Natalie Portman had a 4.0 GPA, went to Harvard, and can tell me she loves me in 5 languages. But you already&nbsp;knew that, didn&#39;t you? She&#39;s perfect.

This list includes public figures and celebrities who went to Ivy League schools and famous female alumni of other top colleges, as well as several of the smartest entertainers&nbsp;and smartest actresses.&nbsp;Vote up the sexiest smart women to move them forward in this slideshow, and you know what? Don&#39;t vote down anyone. That&#39;s rude. These ladies never did anything to you.

Check out these pics of hot smart girls. These sexy smart girls are basically rocket scientists-ish. And not only that, they are some of the most <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-beautiful-women-in-hollywood?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">attractive female celebrities</a> and public figures around.

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Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.
In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.
Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.

Jack Black

Jack Black (born Thomas Jacob Black; August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, and media personality. His acting career has been extensive, starring primarily in comedy films. Black is known for his roles in High Fidelity (2000), Shallow Hal (2001), School of Rock (2003), King Kong (2005), Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006), The Holiday (2006), the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016), Tropic Thunder (2008), Gulliver's Travels (2010), Bernie (2011), Goosebumps (2015), and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017). For his work in School of Rock and Bernie, he gained Golden Globe nominations, and was inducted into Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2018. Black is the lead vocalist of the Grammy Award-winning comedic rock duo Tenacious D which he formed in 1994 with friend Kyle Gass. They have released the albums Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny, Rize of the Fenix, and Post-Apocalypto.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born April 16, 1947) is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time.After winning 71 consecutive basketball games on his high school team in New York City, Alcindor was recruited by Jerry Norman, the assistant coach of UCLA, where he played for coach John Wooden on three consecutive national championship teams and was a record three-time MVP of the NCAA Tournament. Drafted with the first overall pick by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After leading the Bucks to its first NBA championship at age 24 in 1971, he took the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Using his trademark "skyhook" shot, he established himself as one of the league's top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the final 14 seasons of his career and won five additional NBA championships. Abdul-Jabbar's contributions were a key component in the "Showtime" era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career, his teams succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and got past the first round 14 times; his teams reached the NBA Finals on 10 occasions.
At the time of his retirement at age 42 in 1989, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored (38,387), games played (1,560), minutes played (57,446), field goals made (15,837), field goal attempts (28,307), blocked shots (3,189), defensive rebounds (9,394), career wins (1,074), and personal fouls (4,657). He remains the all-time leader in points scored and career wins. He is ranked third all-time in both rebounds and blocked shots. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the "greatest player in college basketball history", and in 2016, they named him the second best player in NBA history (behind Michael Jordan). Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a basketball coach, and a best-selling author. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U.S. global cultural ambassador. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, musician and director. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.After beginning his acting career with a play, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries and was offered his own show, titled The Ben Stiller Show, which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. Having previously acted in television, he began acting in films. He made his directorial debut with Reality Bites. Throughout his career he has written, starred in, directed, or produced more than 50 films including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander, The Cable Guy, There's Something About Mary, the Meet the Parents trilogy, DodgeBall, Tropic Thunder, the Madagascar series, and the Night at the Museum trilogy. He has also made numerous cameos in music videos, television shows, and films.Stiller is a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as the Frat Pack. His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. Throughout his career, he has received various awards and honors, including an Emmy Award, multiple MTV Movie Awards, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award.

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA All-Star and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2016–17 season. He is also an eight-time All-NBA Team member, led the league in scoring in 2014–15 and 2016–17, and won back-to-back NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player awards in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, the year he won the league MVP award, Westbrook became one of two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season, along with Oscar Robertson in 1962. He also set a record for the most triple-doubles in a season, with 42. He went on to average a triple-double the following two seasons also, as well as lead the league in assists and become the first player to lead the league in points and assists in multiple seasons. He ranks second all-time in career triple-doubles in NBA history.

James Dean

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor from Indiana. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956).
After his death in a car crash, Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list.

Jim Morrison

James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter and poet, who served as the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, wild personality, unpredictable and erratic performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, his fame has endured as one of popular culture's most rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture.Together with Ray Manzarek, Morrison co-founded the Doors during the summer of 1965 in Venice, California. The band spent two years in obscurity until shooting to prominence with their number-one single in the United States, "Light My Fire," taken from their self-titled debut album. Morrison wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including "Light My Fire", "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", "The End", "Moonlight Drive", "People Are Strange", "Hello, I Love You", "Roadhouse Blues", "L.A. Woman", and "Riders on the Storm". He recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all of which sold well and received critical acclaim. Though the Doors recorded two more albums after Morrison died, his death severely affected the band's fortunes, and they split up in 1973. In 1993, Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doors.
Morrison was also well known for improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. Morrison was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and number 22 on Classic Rock magazine's "50 Greatest Singers in Rock". Manzarek said Morrison "embodied hippie counterculture rebellion".Morrison developed an alcohol dependency during the 1960s, which at times affected his performances on stage. He died unexpectedly at the age of 27 in Paris. As no autopsy was performed, the cause of Morrison's death remains unknown.

Steve Martin

Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, filmmaker, and musician. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. Since the 1980s, having branched away from comedy, Martin has become a successful actor, as well as an author, playwright, pianist, and banjo player, eventually earning him Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy awards, among other honors.
In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics. He was awarded an Honorary Academy Award at the Academy's 5th Annual Governors Awards in 2013.While he has played banjo since an early age, and included music in his comedy routines from the beginning of his professional career, he has increasingly dedicated his career to music since the 2000s, acting less and spending much of his professional life playing banjo, recording, and touring with various bluegrass acts, including Earl Scruggs, with whom he won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2002. He released his first solo music album, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, in 2009, for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

Kevin Love

Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning USA men's national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The son of former NBA player Stan Love, Love was a top-ranked prospect out of Lake Oswego High School in Oregon. He played one season of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and led the team to a Final Four appearance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Love was named a consensus First Team All-American and was voted player of the year in the Pac-12 Conference. He elected to forego his remaining three years of college eligibility and entered the 2008 NBA draft. He was taken fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night for the third overall selection, O. J. Mayo, in an eight-player deal. During the 2010–11 season, Love established the longest streak for consecutive games recording double figures in points and rebounds since the ABA–NBA merger. He was traded to the Cavaliers in 2014.

Reggie Miller

Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American retired professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-point shooting, especially in pressure situations and most notably against the New York Knicks, for which he earned the nickname "Knick Killer". When he retired, he held the record for most career 3-point field goals made. He is currently second on the list behind Ray Allen. A five-time All-Star selection, Miller led the league in free throw accuracy five times and won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Miller is widely considered the Pacers' greatest player of all time. His No. 31 was retired by the team in 2006. Currently, he works as an NBA commentator for TNT. On September 7, 2012, Miller was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.



Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola (, Italian: [ˈkɔppola]; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, film composer, and vintner. He was a central figure in the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
After directing The Rain People in 1969, Coppola co-wrote Patton (1970), earning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay along with Edmund H. North. Coppola's reputation as a filmmaker was cemented with the release of The Godfather (1972). The film revolutionized movie-making in the gangster genre, and was adored by the public and critics alike. The Godfather won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Mario Puzo).
The Godfather Part II, which followed in 1974, became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Highly regarded by critics, the film brought Coppola three more Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture, and made him the second director (after Billy Wilder) to be so honored three times for the same film. The Conversation, which Coppola directed, produced and wrote, was released that same year, winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film, Apocalypse Now (1979), which notoriously had a lengthy and strenuous production, was widely acclaimed for its vivid depiction of the Vietnam War. The film won the Palme d'Or, making Coppola one of only eight filmmakers to have won that award twice.
While a number of Coppola's ventures in the 1980s and 1990s were critically lauded, he has never quite achieved the same commercial success with films as in the 1970s. His best-known films released since the start of the 1980s are the dramas The Outsiders and Rumble Fish (both 1983), the crime dramas The Cotton Club (1984) and The Godfather Part III (1990), and the horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). A number of Coppola's relatives and children have become famous actors and filmmakers in their own right: his sister is the actress Talia Shire; his daughter Sofia Coppola and granddaughter Gia Coppola are actresses and directors, and the actors Jason Schwartzman and Nicolas Cage are his nephews.

Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade (born October 29, 1972) is an American actress, activist, and author. She began her career in the 1990s, appearing on television sitcoms, before landing supporting roles in teenage comedic films She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). Her breakthrough role was in the 2000 film Bring It On.  In 2019 she joined the hit TV show America's Got Talent as a judge. 
Union is also known for her performances in the romantic comedy films The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Think Like a Man (2012) and Think Like a Man Too (2014). She also had starring roles in the CBS medical drama series City of Angels (2000) and films Bad Boys II (2003), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), the critically acclaimed Neo Ned (2005), Cadillac Records (2008), Top Five (2014) and Breaking In (2018). In 2013, Union began starring as lead character in the BET drama series Being Mary Jane, for which she has received critical acclaim and an NAACP Image Award. She co-starred in the 2016 film The Birth of a Nation, and next appeared in Almost Christmas (2016) and Sleepless (2017).
Union is also the author of a memoir, We're Going to Need More Wine (2017), and an activist who works on issues around women's health and violence against women.

John Williams

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest American composers of all time, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history in a career spanning over six decades. Williams has composed for many critically acclaimed and popular movies, including the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. He has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but five of his feature films. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island.Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor. Williams has won 24 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, he is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005 the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The Library of Congress also entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. He has composed the score for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles.
Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980. He was ranked World No. 1 by Harry Hopman in 1968 and by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and World Tennis Magazine in 1975. In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in May 1976.In the early 1980s, Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery. Ashe publicly announced his illness in April 1992 and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia at age 49 on February 6, 1993.
On June 20, 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the United States President Bill Clinton.

Mark Harmon

Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American television and film actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles since the early 1970s. Initially achieving fame as a college football player, his role on St. Elsewhere led to his being named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People in 1986. After spending the majority of the 1990s as a character actor, he discovered newfound fame for his portrayal of Secret Service special agent Simon Donovan in The West Wing, receiving a 2002 Emmy Award nomination for his acting in a four-episode story arc.Harmon was cast in a similar role a year later. The creator of both JAG and NCIS had seen Harmon in The West Wing and decided to cast him in NCIS. Harmon's character of NCIS special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs was first introduced in a guest starring role in two episodes of JAG. Since 2003, Harmon has starred in NCIS as the same character.

Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL). The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as the starting quarterback with the Cowboys, the greatest number of seasons by any Cowboy quarterback. During his career he was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, led the team to three Super Bowl victories, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII. Aikman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and to the College Football Hall of Fame on December 9, 2008 in New York City.Currently he works as a television sportscaster for the Fox network. He is also a former joint owner of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing team Hall of Fame Racing along with fellow former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, and was a part-owner of the San Diego Padres.

Carol Burnett

Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer and writer, whose career spans seven decades of television. She is best known for her groundbreaking comedy variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, originally aired on CBS. It was the first of its kind to be hosted by a woman. She has achieved success on stage, television and film in varying genres including dramatic and comedic roles. She has also appeared on various talk shows and as a panelist on game shows.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Burnett moved with her grandmother to Hollywood, where she attended Hollywood High School and eventually studied theater and musical comedy at UCLA. Later she performed in nightclubs in New York City and had a breakout success on Broadway in 1959 in Once Upon a Mattress, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She soon made her television debut, regularly appearing on The Garry Moore Show for the next three years, and won her first Emmy Award in 1962. Burnett had her television special debut in 1963 when she starred as Calamity Jane in the Dallas State Fair Musicals production of Calamity Jane on CBS. Burnett moved to Los Angeles, California, and began an 11-year run as star of The Carol Burnett Show on CBS television from 1967 to 1978. With its vaudeville roots, The Carol Burnett Show was a variety show that combined comedy sketches with song and dance. The comedy sketches included film parodies and character pieces. Burnett created many memorable characters during the show's run, and both she and the show won numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
During and after her variety show, Burnett appeared in many television and film projects. Her film roles include Pete 'n' Tillie (1972),  The Front Page (1974), The Four Seasons (1981), Annie (1982), Noises Off (1992), and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). On television, she has appeared in other sketch shows; in dramatic roles in 6 Rms Riv Vu (1974) and Friendly Fire (1979); in various well-regarded guest roles, such as in Mad About You, for which she won an Emmy Award; and in specials with Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Beverly Sills, and others. She returned to the Broadway stage in 1995 in Moon Over Buffalo, for which she was again nominated for a Tony Award.
Burnett has written and narrated several memoirs, earning Grammy nominations for almost all of them, and a win for In Such Good Company: Eleven Years Of Laughter, Mayhem, And Fun In The Sandbox.In 2005, she was recognized as "one of America's most cherished entertainers" and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom "for enhancing the lives of millions of Americans and for her extraordinary contributions to American entertainment."

Bill Walton

William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American retired basketball player and television sportscaster. Walton played for John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins in the early 1970s, winning three successive College Player of the Year Awards. He led the UCLA  Bruins to two NCAA Championships in 1972 and 1973. He had a prominent career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning an NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and two NBA championships. His professional career was significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries, requiring numerous surgeries. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993

Giada De Laurentiis

Giada Pamela De Laurentiis (born August 22, 1970) is an American chef, writer, and television personality. She is the host of Food Network's Giada at Home. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods. She is a winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and the Gracie Award for Best Television Host.

Danielle Panabaker

Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films Stuck in the Suburbs (2004), Sky High (2005) and Read It and Weep (2006), the latter alongside her younger sister Kay Panabaker, and in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls (2005). She won three Young Artist Awards: for guest-starring in an episode of the legal drama television series The Guardian (2004), for her lead role in the TV film Searching for David's Heart (2005) and for her ensemble performance in the family comedy film Yours, Mine & Ours (2005).
She came to wider attention as a cast member alongside James Woods in the CBS legal drama series Shark (2006–08) and is also noted as a scream queen, having starred in the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks (2007) and the horror films Friday the 13th (2009), The Crazies (2010), John Carpenter's The Ward (2010) and Piranha 3DD (2012).
After recurring roles on the drama series Necessary Roughness (2011–13), the crime series Bones (2012–13) and the crime drama Justified (2014), Panabaker guest-starred as Dr. Caitlin Snow on The CW television series Arrow in April 2014. The character was spun off into the main cast of The Flash which premiered that October, and in season two, Panabaker began playing the character's alter ego Killer Frost in different capacities in conjunction with her role as Snow. The role has led to subsequent guest appearances on Arrow and other Arrowverse series Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.

George Takei

George Hosato Takei (; born Hosato Takei, April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author, and activist. He is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek. He also portrayed the character in six Star Trek feature films and one episode of Star Trek: Voyager.
As of April 2018, his Facebook page has attracted over 10 million followers since he joined in 2011, and the account frequently shares photos with original humorous commentary. Takei is a proponent of LGBT rights and is active in state and local politics. He has won several awards and accolades in his work on human rights and Japan–United States relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum.
Takei's work on the Broadway show Allegiance, as well as his own internment in a US-run internment camp during World War II, has given him a platform to speak out against the Trump administration's rhetoric about immigrants and immigration policies.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Chaya Bialik ( MY-əm bee-AH-lik; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and neuroscientist. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom Blossom. Bialik later played neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory from 2010 to 2019. Outside of her acting career, she holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience. For her role as Fowler, Bialik has been nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2016.

Mike Douglass

Mike Douglass may refer to:

Mike Douglass (urban planner), American urban planner and social scientist
Mike Douglass (American football) (born 1955), former American football linebacker

Mariska Hargitay

Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is an American actress  known for her role as New York Police Department Lieutenant Olivia Benson on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  For her role on the show, Hargitay has received multiple awards and nominations, including a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe.
The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, Hargitay made her film debut in the 1985 horror comedy film Ghoulies and her major television debut in the 1986 adventure drama series Downtown. She appeared in numerous roles in film and television shows throughout the late 1980s and 1990s before being cast as Olivia Benson, a role that led to her founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which provides support to women and men who have been sexually abused.

Billy Kilmer

William Orland Kilmer, Jr. (born September 5, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and  Washington Redskins.  He played college football at UCLA.


 
 
 List of Top 800+ Alumni of UCLA, ranked by the combined opinions of 2730 people as of January 2021. Add your votes to this ultimate ranking.
 
