Your favourite Hollywood celebrities who are also proud holders of university degrees

While it is rare for most celebrities to have attended university, there are exceptions to every rule.

Some of them did it before making it big, others did it while they already were — university education was the true calling for a number of acting greats, and they answered.

Here’s the prestigious list of a few such famous names from Hollywood:

Dakota Fanning

Being an established child star and having worked with other Hollywood heavyweights like Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington before she even entered her teens, Dakota Fanning took a short break to attend New York University in 2011, where she attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study — allowing her to continue acting alongside studying — and earned a degree in women’s studies by 2016.

Chris Martin

The Coldplay frontman attended University College London — where he met all of his future bandmates actually — and completed a first-class degree in ancient world studies, specialising in Greek and Latin.

Eva Longoria

Television royalty Eva Longoria attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville for undergrad and as her choice of discipline, she studied kinesiology, earning a bachelor of science in the subject.

Cole Sprouse

Former Disney star Cole Sprouse, and one half of the Sprouse twins, sprung back into the spotlight with Riverdale — but not before earning a degree in archeology from NYU.

Meryl Streep

One of the greatest living actors of our time, Meryl Streep completed her university education before dipping her toes in the world of acting, impressively receiving two degrees from two separate disciplines — a bachelor’s in drama and costume design from Vassar College in 1971 and then a master of fine arts in drama from Yale.

Denzel Washington

Another Hollywood legend and one of the most eloquent performers alive, Denzel Washington holds a bachelor of arts degree in drama and journalism from Fordham University — the institute which also bestowed him an honourary doctorate in 1991, for his contributions to the film industry.

Emma Watson

Finally, an accomplished actor thanks to early stardom from the Harry Potter franchise, Emma Watson put everything on hold to earn her bachelor’s in English from Brown University in 2014, after taking two semesters off to honour her professional responsibilities, which meant that her education took five years to complete instead of the usual four.