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Celebrity Brainiacs
May 14, 2010 [14:10]
May 14, 2010 [14:12] updated 		bitsofstardust  
Most celebrities are smart, or else they would have made it to where they are. There
are different kinds of intelligence, not just book smarts, or PhD's, but also street smarts.
Here I am interested in celebrities who have done something interesting outside of what they are normally known for - and you may not expect it!

My favorite brainiac celebrities:

1. Danica McKellar - actress from the Wonder Years who has a degree in math from UCLA and published a math paper and two best selling books on why math is cool. danica-mckellar-math How come I never had any math teachers who looked like that.


2. Heavyweight Boxing Champion Vitali Klitschko - has a PhD in sports science. Better to refer to him as "doctor" or he will pummel you! Wladimir Klitschko

3. Geena Davis - is a multi-talented actress, former model, producer, athlete and is member of MENSA.
She speaks several languages and can play a few different musical instruments.

4. Dolph Lundgren - action hero movie star has a masters Degree in Chemical Engineering and won a Fulbright scholarship to MIT. He is also a Karate champion, and was a member of Sweden's elite marines, so is a true
action man.


The rest of the list:
Natalie Portman - actress, has a degree from Harvard and has co-authored two science papers.
Jodie Foster - has a degree from Yale and has acted in French films.
James Woods - actor went to MIT and is a member of MENSA
Rachel Maddow - talk show host was a Rhodes Scholar and has a PhD from Oxford.
Sharon Stone - actress - is a member of MENSA
Matt Damon - actor went to Harvard, but dropped out shortly before graduating.
Kate Beckinsdale - studied at Oxford and has published poetry.
Elizabeth Shue, actress and director - graduated from Harvard.
Alicia Keys - singer - graduated high school at 16 and attended Columbia University.
Stephen Colbert - smart and funny TV host
Ed Begley Jr - environmentalist, actor and host of Living with Ed on Planet Green

Have I missed any? Please add your comments below.




Brainiacs viewed: 3376 | Comments: 13

 

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Comments
Cynergy    05 May 2010 19:46
Paris Hilton: [I]very[/I] smart businesswoman.

curlygurlywurly    05 May 2010 11:11
Mayim Bialik from Blossom has a PhD in neuroscience.

Leni    05 May 2010 17:25
Steven Fry - a personal favourite - Cambridge university, one of the wittiest and most erudite of people but a wide ranging knowledge as well. watch QI and enjoy

bitsofstardust    05 May 2010 17:53
Often those playing dummies are not:

Lisa Kudrow from Friends has a degree in biology from Vassar and
Rowan Atkinson - Mr Bean has a masters degree in electrical engineering from Oxford.
John Cleese studied law at Cambridge and was a science teacher.

Jupiter    05 May 2010 18:14

But how about Greg Graffin founder of punk rock band Bad Religion.
He has a phd from Cornell and lectures in life sciences and paleontology at the University of California between concert tours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Graffin


Jupiter    05 May 2010 18:28
Also Sterling Morrison one of the founding members of Velvet Underground with Lou Reed and John Cale. Had a doctorate in Medieval studies.


mok    05 May 2010 18:19
Brooke Shields - Princeton

Emma Watson - Brown

spocklogic    05 May 2010 00:30
Bill Cosby has a real doctorate, many honorary ones, has written a number of books and been involved a good part of his life in the education of young people. An activist as well, he has been controversial, but certainly deserves a high place on this list - I might argue he deserves the #1 spot.

Jupiter    05 May 2010 11:08
Also too I would add Tracy Chapman.

From wiki..
Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio where she was raised by her mother. Despite not having much money, her mother recognized Tracy's love of music and bought her a ukulele at the age of three.[2] Tracy Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eight. She says she may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the TV Show Hee Haw.[3]

Chapman was raised Baptist and went to an Episcopalian high school.[4] She was quickly accepted into the program A Better Chance, which enabled her to attend Wooster School in Connecticut; she subsequently attended Tufts University.[5] At Tufts she graduated with a B.A. degree in anthropology and African studies.[6]

In the mid-90s Chapman dated author Alice Walker.[7]

In May 2004, Tufts honored her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, for her strongly committed contributions as a socially conscious and artistically accomplished musician.

Chapman often performs at and attends charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle.

bitsofstardust    06 June 2010 08:12
Some new additions that were sent to me by non-members:

Hill Harper - actor and author. Harper graduated from Brown University and from Harvard Law School. He also has a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Harper currently stars as Detective Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CSI:NY

Megyn Price who stars on the CBS sitcom, "Rules of Engagement" is a graduate of Stanford where she got a degree in Economics and worked in the field of Finance before a successful career in Hollywood. This past Winter she totally crawled out of her comfort zone and competed in the 2010 Toyota Grand Prix Celebrity Race in Long Beach. She was 1 of 2 celebrity women in the race. Megyn is also a gourmet cook who grows her vegetables and fruit in her 4 level organic terrance garden

Bill Cosby - comedian and actor. He has a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts.

Vivienne    06 June 2010 05:43
Quentin Tarantino, Shakira, and Steve Martin are also members of Mensa

Vivienne    06 June 2010 05:46
Oh, and don't forget the members of Monty Python with their Oxford and Cambridge degrees!

Jeano    01 January 2012 21:47
No one remembers Julie Newmar? I was so lucky to meet her one time. When I lived in LA, her maid used to work for me, too. (Gee that sounds awful!) But it was fun to meet her at the comic book store and say, "Maxie says HI!" And she was delighted to hear that.