IF somebody asked you to name the smartest celebrity to come into your head, it’s likely you’d go for someone like Carol Vorderman or Rachel Riley.
But the brainy Countdown stars, who graduated from the prestigious Cambridge University, aren’t the only VIPs who have impressive qualifications to their name.
In fact, many of our biggest names, from the UK to Hollywood, have expertise and degrees in everything from languages to neuroscience.
Some might initially take you by surprise as they’ve gone down a completely different route, including the Kardashian who walked away with degrees in theatre and Spanish.
Meanwhile, a Page 3 beauty has proven she’s much more than just a pretty face, excelling at school and beyond and smashing her exams as she went.
Here, we reveal all of these famous faces’ secret education achievements – and why they could have had very different careers.
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Rhian Sugden
Long before she graced The Sun’s Page 3, former glamour model Rhian Sugden was a self-confessed “school geek".
She flew through her GCSEs, passing nine with distinction, and later enrolled to study Law, Psychology and IT and Media at A Level.
However, just as she was about to excel once again, she developed a phobia of exams – even passing out in her school sports hall.
Then, aged 19, she signed up to a glamour modelling agency – the same one said to have discovered Jordan, aka Katie Price.
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Now, former Big Brother contestant Rhian, 36, has an OnlyFans account and is on a journey to become a first-time mum with husband Oliver Mellor via IVF.
Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian and her family are barely out of the gossip columns thanks to the explosive dramas on their addictive shows.
But before Kourtney and her sisters were the world’s most famous reality family, the US star was pursuing a totally different path.
After graduating from an all-girls school in LA, the 44-year-old mum-of-three initially applied to law school.
But she then decided to study Theatre Arts with a minor in Spanish, graduating from the University of Arizona, alongside classmates like Nicole Richie.
Since, she’s continued to use her brain and masterminded a career as a businesswoman, earning millions of dollars.
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Emma Watson
Much like her famous Harry Potter character Hermione Granger, actress Emma Watson was the top of her class.
And even when, aged nine, she was propelled to global fame thanks to J.K Rowling’s magical franchise, she continued with her studies.
In 2014, when she was already a household name, Emma, 33, enrolled at the illustrious Brown University in Rhode Island, America to study English Literature.
At the time she said: “For someone who has missed as much school as I have, I want to go back and discover what else there is.
“I always loved school – I was a proper, proper nerd. I just want that back again.”
I always loved school – I was a proper, proper nerd. I just want that back again
And despite having countless film credits to her name, Emma has recently chosen to return to studying once more.
It recently emerged that she’d enrolled in a MA Creative Writing course at Oxford University that began in September 2023. She was also named an Associate Fellow for the University in 2019.
Kate Beckinsale
Few can dream of getting the grades to make it into Oxford University – but Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale is one of them.
The 50-year-old actress was accepted to study French and Russian Literature and was enjoying every second.
One of her classmates was TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, who described Kate as “whip-clever, slightly nuts and very charming”.
However, during her second year, tragedy then struck when a fellow student and “dear friend” of Kate’s died in an accident.
As a result, she never returned to finish her degree, but she’s recently revealed she plans to do exactly that.
Mum-of-one Kate explained: “I took my kid to my college and my French tutor was still there. She said, ‘You know you can come back any time?’”
Emeli Sande
Scottish singer Emeli Sande has made a name for herself in music and knows what makes a number one.
But the 36-year-old almost gave her music for medicine after dreaming of becoming a doctor.
She previously explained: “I had these dreams but what was more important to me was to feel that I had safety and security in my life.
“That meant not thinking about being a singer and focusing on studying to be a doctor.”
That meant not thinking about being a singer and focusing on studying to be a doctor
So that’s exactly what she did and she went on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow, before specialising in Neuroscience. After three years, she earned a degree in Clinical Neuroscience.
But while at Uni, Emeli wrote the music for her single Diamond Rings, which she went on to collaborate with Chipmunk on. And the rest is history.
But she did return to her chosen University in 2013 when the singer-songwriter was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University for her outstanding contribution to the music industry.
Shakira
Music fans will already know that pop diva Shakira can speak – and sing – in both Spanish and English.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg of the Latin hitmaker’s talents, as she speaks a whopping total of five different languages – adding Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic to her roster.
And when she’s not busy translating her music, she’s kept her studies up – even completing a degree in Ancient Philosophy in the lockdown period of Coronavirus.
At the time, she wrote on social media: “I just graduated from my four week Ancient Philosophy course with the University of Pennsylvania.
“I know… my hobbies are very impractical, but it took a lot of house after the kids were asleep.”
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She added: “Thank you Plato and predecessors for all the ‘fun’ over the past month.”
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