Celebs Who Never Got Their High School Diplomas
By Aaron Love
8 months ago
Bill Gates
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Bill Gates, well known as the billionaire who co-founded and now runs Microsoft is one of the richest men out there. Despite never getting his high school diploma, he still managed to get in to Harvard where he also dropped out in order to pursue his passion for software development.Mark Zuckerberg
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Like Bill Gates, Zuckerberg's passion for computing is what led to him prioritizing his work in place of his formal education instead. He also dropped out of Harvard University in 2004 and decided to put all of his hard work and effort in to the platform that would become known worldwide, Facebook.Quentin Tarantino
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Quentin Tarantino is well known for being one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and his own story began when he left high school back in the early 1980's. He always felt he had a passion for directing and this dream obviously came true as he's one of the most recognised of all time.Drew Barrymore
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Drew Barrymore faced numerous challenges in her first few years of high school and her difficult personal life ended up causing her to drop out. However, she managed to set herself back on the right path. From the Fountain Day School to being one of the leading ladies on our screen.Lindsay Lohan
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Lindsay Lohan is obviously well-known for being one of the most recognisable child stars of all time and the pressures of her early career meant she dropped out of Cold Spring High School in New York to pursue her career. She's had many difficulties across the years but she's still around.Eminem
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Marshall Mathers, or Eminem as we better know him left Lincoln High in Michigan as a teenager thanks to his turbulent upbringing and struggles. His interest and passion in music though helped direct him from the troubles and he grew to international fame.Jennifer Lawrence
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Jennifer Lawrence really broke on to our screens as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games series and has remained on our screens ever since. This is all despite her dropping out of Kammerer Middle school at the age of 14 as a show of dedication to creating a name for herself.Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp is the man behind some of the most iconic roles on our screens, perhaps most notably as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He actually left his Florida high school to follow his dream of becoming a musician; close enough though right?Cameron Diaz
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Cameron Diaz left the Long Beach Polytechnic High School back at the age of 16 in order to try and pursue a modelling career. She covered many a magazine and walked the runways throughout the fashion world before turning to becoming one of the most celebrated Hollywood stars out there.John Travolta
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John Travolta's path to becoming one of the most well-known actors to grace our screens began after he dropped out of Dwight Morrow High School. He left school to focus on his acting career and ultimately it paid off with his most notable roles coming in Grease and Pulp Fiction.Keanu Reeves
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Keanu Reeves is now best known for his iconic roles in films like The Matrix and the John Wick series, but if he never left high school at the age of 17 he might not have got to where he is now. A legend of our screens, his passion to follow his dreams in performing arts got him to where he is now.Tom Cruise
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Tom Cruise's life could have ended up a whole load differently than it did, he originally planned to finish high school and become a priest! Thankfully though, the madman himself dropped out of high school in order to try out acting and moved to New York in order to pursue his dream.Nicole Kidman
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Nicole Kidman dropped out of the North Sydney Girls High School over in Australia when she was 16 years of age. At the time she was going through auditions all the time in order to make a name for herself, something she has definitely managed to do in the years since.Charlize Theron
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Charlize Theron began her path to fame over in South Africa before leaving high school in order to pursue a modelling career first. A tumultuous period in her youth ended up leading her to quite the fruitful career in the end with critically acclaimed roles in films including Mad Max: Fury Road.Hilary Swank
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Although Hilary Swank went on to create a huge acting career for herself with roles in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, she is one of a few celebs that has actually admitted she regretted dropping out of high school. She even has her own clothing line on top of her acting too!Robert Downey Jr.
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Whereas many other have dropped out of school with the whole purpose of furthering their career or having some troubles, Robert Downey Jr. actually did so because his dad told him too! It was either go to school every day or find a job for himself, I'm bet he's glad he did so now!Jude Law
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British actor, Jude Law, left school at the age of 17 in order to begin acting in the show Families which was his breakthrough. Since then, he has had numerous captivating roles including in Fantastic Beasts and the Grand Budapest Hotel. He remains a prominent figure in the industry as the years continue too.Avril Lavigne
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Avril Lavigne dropped out of high school at the age of 16, soon after she signed her first record deal, one that came out of nowhere after a surprise sing-a-long with Shania Twain in front of 20,000 people! She had a number of massive hits throughout the 2000's too!Jessica Simpson
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Jessica Simpson dropped out of the J.J. Pearce High School in Texas in order to try and pursue her dreams. She has used her voice and charisma to speak out against numerous issues and success. She has her hands in all the baskets as well, singer, businesswoman and fashion designer all in one.Halle Berry
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Halle Berry is another Award winning actress who became one of Hollywood's leading ladies in the years after she dropped out of high school. She ultimately reached international acclaim for her roles in movies like X-Men, Monster's Ball and the DC screen remake of Catwoman.Jim Carrey
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Although pursuing an acting career was obviously part of his plan, Jim Carrey actually dropped out of high school in order to try and aid his family financially too. He went on to become one of Hollywood's favourite funny men with iconic roles in The Mask and The Truman Show amongst others.Rihanna
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Rihanna was aged just 16 when she signed her first record deal with the Def Jam label and for that reason left school quickly after. She probably doesn't think she made any form of mistake though with countless number ones and even a beauty empire in recent years with her Fenty Line.Al Pacino
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Al Pacino has obviously made a name for himself as being one of the most decorated and legendary actors of all time. He actually attended the High School of Performing Arts but struggled with all his subjects except English and decided to scrap it off and try and pursue his career instead.Leo DiCaprio
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Before Leonardo DiCaprio became one of the best and most recognised actors of all time he went through a troubled school period. After dropping out of high school in his junior year he decided to study at a free drama center instead and roles in Titanic and The Revenant amongst others have gained him immense fame.Walt Disney
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Back in the day, people would do anything to join the army. Walt Disney dropped out of school aged 16 to try and do so, but because he was too young he joined the red cross instead. And obviously, the rest is history, he went on to create one of the biggest companies of all time.Kanye West
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Kanye West has definitely become one of the most talked about people around the world, for both good and bad reasons. The controversial rapper left high school early in life in order to set off his successful career in music and no one can argue he's built something of a musical empire.Jay-Z
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Jay-Z didn't just drop out of High School when he was younger, he actually bounced around numerous high schools in the New Jersey and Brooklyn areas before doing so. Ultimately though, it paid off as he is now one of the wealthiest celebs in the US thanks to his production and rapping.Snoop Dogg
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Snoop Dogg is perhaps one of the most iconic and popular rappers and entertainers of all time. He's obviously passionate when it comes to his music and he has left a lasting impact on the rap genre too. He really shows that getting an education isn't all that it's made out to be.Harry Styles
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Understandably, after Harry Styles and his fellow bandmates joined forces on the British version of the X Factor, he dropped out of school. One Direction fever took over the world and even since the band have split up Harry has gone on to be one of the biggest names in the music industry today.Nicolas Cage
