20 Celebs We Had No Idea Dropped Out Of School Before They...

20 Celebs We Had No Idea Dropped Out Of School Before They Made It Big

By Gem Hiro -
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Education is always going to be important as we get older, but a lot of people don’t really consider that there is more than one way to learn.These celebrities either didn’t fit in with their high school crowd or had bigger dreams in mind and left to pursue a life of the rich and famous, and it worked!

1. Lady Gaga graduated from high school and attended a musical theater training conservatory.

When she was 19, she decided to drop out because she really wanted to focus on her music. That was clearly the best decision for her, wouldn’t you agree?
Instagram | @ladygaga

2. Brad Pitt was majoring in journalism before he dropped out just two weeks shy of graduating.

“It wasn’t leaving something behind, it was heading for something that was nascent and ill-defined. I did not know what it would be when I got to L.A., and to me not knowing that has always been the most exciting thing about making a trip,” he explained.

3. Christina Applegate had acted occasionally as a child, but it wasn’t until she landed the spot on Married… With Children that she dropped out of school.

She was just 16 at the time, but you’d be a fool to turn down an opportunity like that!

4. Cameron Diaz gave up her high school education to begin modeling when she was 16.

Her first acting role didn’t come until she was 21 when she landed the part in The Mask with Jim Carrey.

5. Cindy Crawford was her high school valedictorian, and even earned a scholarship to study chemical engineering.

She ended up dropping out after one semester to pursue a modeling career instead, and clearly, that was the right call.

6. At one point, Chris Pratt was actually homeless after he dropped out of his community college.

He happened to be waiting on an actress, Rae Dawn Chong, who helped him get his start in acting, and everything fell into place from there.
Instagram | @prattprattpratt

7. Catherine Zeta-Jones dropped out of high school when she was just 15 years old to pursue acting.

She then moved to London to continue her career, and things took off from there!

8. Mark Wahlberg had a rough upbringing. With a history of drug abuse by just 13 years of age, he didn’t end up completing his education.

He has since turned his life around and has admitted that he regrets his former mistakes.

9. At the young age of 14, Kate Moss was signed to a modeling agency.

She didn’t even get the chance to drop out of school! Luckily, she’s one of the most well-known models out there.
Instagram | @katemossagency

10. Jim Carrey had to drop out of school to support his family who was going through some financial struggle at the time.

I’m actually so happy that other people recognized Jim’s comedic talents and that he was able to rise to fame.

11. There are a lot of big names in the world of technology who dropped out of school to pursue their real dreams.

Bill Gates, for example, left Harvard to launch his company, Microsoft.
Instagram | @melindafrenchgates

12. Steve Jobs dropped out of college and took a calligraphy course, instead.

He would return empty bottles for money and sleep on his friend’s dorm floors.”If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts,” he once said.

13. Even Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard after becoming the Chief Executive of Facebook.

I think it’s important to note that dropping out of college won’t automatically make you a billionaire; these men got really lucky and were really smart.
Instagram | @zuck

14. Seth Rogen had already started writing the draft for Superbad when he was just 13. He knew that comedy was his calling and dropped out of high school to focus on it.

Things worked out, and he began working for Judd Apatow, eventually becoming the main breadwinner in his family by the time he was 16.
Instagram | @sethrogen

15. Hilary Swank dropped out of high school because she felt like such an outsider and suffered from ADHD.

“I felt like I needed a lot of help, and I didn’t understand why the teachers couldn’t see it,” she explained.

16. Robert Downey Jr. lived in California until he dropped out of high school and moved to New York to pursue acting.

We all know that he has had his share of troubles in the past, but he has since done amazing things in his career. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect Iron Man!
Instagram | @robertdowneyjr

17. Ryan Gosling had troubles while in elementary school, and at one point he was homeschooled by his mother.

He went to high school but then dropped out when he was 17 to pursue a career in acting.

18. At 15 years old, Quentin Tarantino dropped out of high school and began working at a movie theater.

He eventually took acting classes where, funnily enough, he would meet people that were featured in his later films. Aint it strange how life works like that?

19. Charlie Sheen was actually expelled from his high school just before he was supposed to graduate.

He channeled his energy into acting instead and obviously ended up doing pretty well for himself, career-wise.

20. Eminem repeated ninth grade three times before dropping out when he was 17.

His upbringing definitely left him facing some pretty big challenges, but he persevered and focused on his music, which ultimately lead him to his rap career. 

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