34 Smart Celebs Who Went To Ivy League Schools

    Work hard, play hard.

    Sheridan Watson
    by Sheridan Watson

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Sheridan Watson for BuzzFeed / Thinkstock
    Sheridan Watson for BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

    1. Julie Bowen

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    Class of: '91

    Major: Italian Renaissance Studies

    Fun fact: She studied abroad in Florence for a year.

    2. Yaya DaCosta

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    Class of: '04

    Major: Africana Studies and International Relations

    Fun fact: She speaks English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.

    3. Tracee Ellis Ross

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    Class of: '94

    Major: Theatre

    Fun fact: Not only did Tracee attend the storied Ivy league, but she also went to Institut Le Rosey, often called the most exclusive boarding school in the world.

    4. John Krasinski

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    Class of: '01

    Major: English

    Fun fact: He spent his first semester at Brown teaching English in Costa Rica.

    5. Laura Linney

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    Class of: '86

    Major: Theatre

    Fun fact: After graduating from Brown, Laura went on to study at Juilliard.

    6. Emma Watson

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    Class of: '14

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Emma took some time away from Brown to film a little something-something called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

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    7. Matthew Fox

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    Class of: '89

    Major: Economics

    Fun fact: Matthew played varsity football for Columbia.

    8. Maggie Gyllenhaal

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    Class of: '99

    Major: English

    Fun fact: One of Maggie's religion professors was Robert Thurman, aka actress Uma Thurman's father.

    9. Amanda Peet

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    Class of: '94

    Major: History

    Fun fact: Amanda's husband is David Benioff, a noted novelist who brought George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones to your TV. David went to Dartmouth, so this is really a ~power~ couple right here.

    10. Julia Stiles

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    Class of: '05

    Major: English

    Fun fact: When she entered Columbia, Julia was already famous for her roles in films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance.

    11. Brian Hallisay

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    Class of: '00

    Major: Economics and History

    Fun fact: Brian is married to Jennifer Love Hewitt. They have a daughter, Autumn, and are currently expecting their second child.

    12. Connie Britton

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    Class of: '89

    Major: Asian Studies

    Fun fact: Connie was roommates with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand during a summer abroad session in Beijing.

    13. Mindy Kaling

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    Class of: '01

    Major: Playwriting

    Fun fact: During her time at Dartmouth, Mindy drew a comic strip for the student newspaper called "Badly Drawn Girl."

    14. Aisha Tyler

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    Class of: '92

    Major: Government and Environmental Policy

    Fun fact: Aisha was a member of the a capella group Rockapellas at Dartmouth.

    15. Tatyana Ali

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    Class of: '02

    Major: African-American Studies and Government

    Fun fact: While at Harvard, Tatyana was a stepper.

    16. Rashida Jones

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    Class of: '97

    Major: Religion and Philosophy

    Fun fact: Before Harvard, Rashida attended the exclusive Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. Her classmates? None other than Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

    17. Tommy Lee Jones

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    Class of: '69

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Tommy roomed with the same dude during all four years he was at Harvard — Al Gore.

    18. Conan O'Brien

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    Class of: '85

    Major: American History

    Fun fact: At Harvard, Conan was president of the parody magazine, The Harvard Lampoon.

    19. Natalie Portman

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    Class of: '03

    Major: Psychology

    Fun fact: When Aaron Sorkin was writing The Social Network, he met with Natalie who told him some stories about her time at the Ivy League.

    20. Mira Sorvino

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    Class of: '89

    Major: East Asian Studies

    Fun fact: Mira is fluent in Mandarin.

    21. Courtney B. Vance

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    Class of: '82

    Major: History

    Fun fact: After Harvard, Courtney went to the Yale School of Drama, where he met his future wife Angela Bassett.

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    22. David Duchovny

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    Class of: '82

    Major: English

    Fun fact: You could call David a genius. After Princeton, he got his master's degree (also in English) at Yale.

    23. Ellie Kemper

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    Class of: '02

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Ellie acted throughout her time in school, which is awesome, considering the fact that her eighth grade drama teacher was Jon Hamm.

    24. Wentworth Miller

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    Class of: '95

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Wentworth sang with the a capella group the Princeton Tigertones during his undergrad years.

    25. Brooke Shields

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    Class of: '88

    Major: French Literature

    Fun fact: When she started at Princeton, Brooke was already famous because of her work in Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon, and Endless Love. And, of course, a very famous pair of Calvin Klein jeans.

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    26. Elizabeth Banks

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    Class of: '96

    Major: Communications

    Fun fact: Elizabeth was the first member of her family to graduate from college.

    27. John Legend

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    Class of: '99

    Major: English

    Fun fact: John was also accepted to Harvard, Georgetown, and Morehouse but chose Penn. He also graduated from college at age 20.

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    28. Angela Bassett

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    Class of: '80

    Major: African-American Studies

    Fun fact: With her undergraduate degree finished, Angela stayed at Yale to get her graduate degree in drama.

    29. Jordana Brewster

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    Class of: '03

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Jordana is the granddaughter of Kingman Brewster Jr., who was the president of Yale in the sixties and seventies.

    30. Jodie Foster

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    Class of: '84

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Before Yale, Jodie attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles school and became fluent is French.

    31. Paul Giamatti

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    Class of: '89

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Paul pulled an Angela Bassett and also attended the Yale School of Drama for his graduate studies.

    32. Sara Gilbert

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    Class of: '97

    Major: Art

    Fun fact: Sara juggled Yale with the last season of Roseanne.

    33. Edward Norton

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    Class of: '91

    Major: History

    Fun fact: Like a good Ivy boy, Edward participated in competitive rowing in college.

    34. Allison Williams

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    Class of: '10

    Major: English

    Fun fact: Allison was a member of the improv troupe Just Add Water during her time at Yale.

    Emma Watson took a leave of absence from Brown to film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." An earlier version of this post said it was "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Please don't send us to Azkaban.