you stepped into school and singing
nobody does it ever schools not for
everyone and these successful celebs
proved that a high school diploma isn't
always necessary welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we're counting
down our picks for the top 10
celebrities who never graduated from
high school for this list we're looking
at celebs who decided to follow their
dreams instead of their education or who
were forced to leave school because of
some sort of hardship education but in
their cases it looks like things worked
out for the best
was I talking about number 10 Quentin
Tarantino mr. Brown was a little too
close to mr. [ __ ]
you may know him as the brilliant
screenwriter actor producer and director
behind some of modern cinemas greatest
hits including Reservoir Dogs Pulp
Fiction and Django Unchained
however Tarantino cinematic background
was not learned in school he dropped out
of Nar bone high school sometime after
the ninth grade and decided to take a
more hands-on approach to his film
education but you know what's on my mind
right now it ain't the coffee in my
kitchen he subsequently took on a few
acting classes
community theater worked as an usher at
an adult movie theater and took a
video-store gig before making it big
number nine Robert Downey jr. I am Iron
Man
this actor famous for making Charlie
Chaplin and Iron Man come to life and
whose charming persona has broken our
hearts and films like less than zero and
busted our guts in films like Tropic
Thunder never made it to his graduation
around the age of 16
this child actor and son of Robert
Downey senior dropped out of Santa
Monica High School and decided to move
back to New York City to pursue acting
instead let's face it this is not the
worst thing you've got me done 1985
turned out to be a breakout year in his
post academic acting career with roles
in films like tough turf and weird
science foreshadowing the talent we've
come to expect from Downey jr. I've got
to give it a try
otherwise what have I been doing number
eight Robert De Niro you talking to me
you're talking to me yes we're talking
about him although today he's considered
one of the greatest actors alive with
beloved and critically acclaimed roles
in Raging Bull taxi driver and the
Godfather Part 2 to name only a few De
Niro's beginnings were somewhat humble a
child of divorced parents he drifted
from school to school in his youth but
even at a young age displayed his
aptitude for acting before turning 17
Bobby d decided to drop out of high
school entirely and instead studied
acting at the Stella Adler conservatory
and Lee Strasberg actress studio the
rest is history
number seven Nicolas Cage oh gosh kind
of a lots happened since then the nephew
of director Francis Ford Coppola Cage
has shown that he can hold his own
without using his famous family name
with his award-winning performance in
leaving Las Vegas as well as appearances
in Smash Hits like the rock and national
treasure
that was brilliant
however few know that at the age of 16
the young Nicholas Coppola obsessed with
James Dean and with big dreams of acting
dropped out of Beverly Hills High School
there we go yes let's do it to it early
on in his career he changed his last
name to Kage and before long he landed a
minor role in Fast Times at Ridgemont
High number 6
Tom Cruise all right can you picture
this handsome and successful actors
sitting with you in a confessional
that's almost what happened to Cruz who
grew up poor in an abusive family and
who moved to over a dozen different
schools in his childhood maybe I'm just
too old to be a student although we
enjoyed playing sports like floor hockey
and football
his real aspiration was to become a
Catholic priests going so far as to
study at a seminary but by his mid-teens
this dyslexic student left academics
altogether to pursue acting in New York
City no goddamn thing any water service
makes a difference on the street his
first bit part was in 1981 s endless
love and it was only a few years later
that films like risky business and Top
Gun made him a superstar
number five Hilary Swank what you get
suspended for oh it's a long story I'll
tell you later at a young age the
athletic Swank was busy between school
community theater programs gymnastics
the Junior Olympics and the Washington
State Swimming Championships she didn't
have time for much else after the
separation of her parents however Swank
went with her mother to Los Angeles to
pursue acting though she initially went
to South Pasadena High School her
feeling of isolation from her fellow
students finally compelled her to leave
yeah I should just forget about school
forget about my life I can't I just lock
myself in my room and listen to music
all day she probably doesn't look back
at her choice with regret after her
first leading role in the next Karate
Kid
she has since won two Academy Awards I
know if you trained me right I'm gonna
be a champ I've seen you looking at me
yeah out of pity don't you say that
don't you say that if it ain't true
number four Jim Carrey excuse me could
you tell me how to get to the medical
school I'm supposed to be doing a
lecture in about 20 minutes and my
drivers a bit lost imagine having this
comedy legend in your class when you
hear the most annoying sound in the
world yes Carrie was a class clown go
figure who got straight A's back in the
day excuse me I'd like to ask you a few
questions however with the onset of hard
times a fifteen-year-old Carrie was
compelled to leave school and work as a
janitor to help take care of his family
it was only later that he chose to give
comedy a tribe and are we ever glad he
did this choice led to hilarious
classics like Dumb and Dumber and Ace
Ventura as well as more serious ventures
like The Truman Show and Eternal
Sunshine of the spotless mind in case I
don't see ya good afternoon good evening
and good night
number three Diana Princess of Wales at
the age of 19 you always think you're
prepared for everything and you think
you have the knowledge of what's coming
ahead just because you're a princess
doesn't mean you're a high honors
graduate Diana Spencer who later became
the beloved Princess of Wales was not
considered a very good student at West
Heath girl school in fact when
attempting to complete her Oh level
exams a series of tests given to high
school students in England to determine
their academic ability she managed to
fail all of them twice she did try and I
think she hadn't a clue why she wasn't
good I think the underlying troubles at
home in her family just affected her
concentration
despite moving to a finishing school in
Switzerland she never finished six
months and the 19 year old became
engaged to Prince Charles and quickly
married him
eventually using her newfound status to
champion humanitarian causes
number two nicole kidman how long have
you known when her mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer the
seventeen-year-old Kidman dropped out of
high school to help provide for her
family by working in massage therapy I'm
going to do whatever it takes if I have
to work harder longer hours for Less pay
than I'm willing to do that of course I
am
shortly after she decided to pursue a
career in acting
inspired by Margaret Hamilton's
portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the
West in The Wizard of Oz and ended up
going back to school to study her craft
although naturally shy she went on to
make her debut in an Australian remake
of the film Bush Christmas though her
breakthrough internationally acclaimed
role was a few years later in dead calm
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
number one Richard Branson I would say I
had the luckiest person in the world
surely any billionaire must have made
his money thanks to years of intense
schooling right well maybe not this poor
student who suffered from dyslexia and
subsequently received poor grades
eventually dropped out to start up his
own magazine at the age of 16 using that
money I left school and Louis this
magazine then a mail-order record
business by the age of 20 and eventually
a chain of record stores called Virgin
Records if you have a passion for what
you're doing you're gonna be able to do
it to do it that much better
today he's the proud founder and face of
virgin group a multinational comprising
over 400 companies and one of the top 10
richest people in the UK fulfilling the
prophecy of the schoolmaster who told
him that he would either end up in jail
or become a millionaire something of the
headmaster of your school said about you
when you were just a teenager What did
he say I think he said I'll either go to
prison or I'll become a multimillionaire
do you agree with our list which
celebrity high school dropouts to you
envy the most for more fascinating top
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