One of the best things about going to school when you’re growing up is the sweet freedom of summer vacation. Picture it: No school night curfew, no homework, no pop quizzes and, most importantly of all, no 8 a.m. school bell ringing in your ear.
While a daily school routine is the norm for many of us, it isn’t always the case for some of society's more famous faces. Many of our favorite celebs gave up having a typical high school experience in order to pursue their dreams in Hollywood. Instead of final exams and homework, they had auditions and screen tests. Rather than a high school graduation, they had award show ceremonies like the Grammys and the Academy Awards.
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Whether the dream was to act on the silver screen or start a bustling music career, these celebs proved you can still be successful regardless of what academic background you come from.
Take a look at 15 celebrities who didn’t graduate high school, below.
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Keanu Reeves
Although Keanu Reeves launched his acting career at age 9, he didn’t pursue the dream full-time until getting expelled from high school when he was 16. "It was a very small school, and I guess I didn't fit in," Reeves revealed to the Daily Mail. "I had conflicts and run-ins with the staff. The principal and I didn't see eye to eye.” Reeves has gone on to have a successful career with roles in John Wick, Point Break and The Matrix. He most recently became the “Internet’s boyfriend” with his role in the Netflix rom-com, Always Be My Maybe.
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Jennifer Lawrence
At the age of 14, Jennifer Lawrence dropped out of middle school in order to pursue her dream of acting full-time. “I don’t technically have a GED or a diploma," the actress revealed in an interview with 60 Minutes. "I am self-educated." Lawrence’s dream came true and she went on to have career-making roles in films like The Hunger Games franchise, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
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Robert Downey Jr.
Actor Robert Downey Jr. dropped out after his junior year of high school when his father told him to "either show up [to school] every day or quit and get a job." During his successful acting career, he famously transformed into Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Avengers franchise and had other roles in films like Tropic Thunder, the Sherlock Holmes franchise and The Soloist.
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Rihanna
After auditioning for music producer Evan Rogers when she was 15, Rihanna left her home in Barbados just one year later to chase her dream of becoming a recording artist. She moved to the U.S. to live with Rogers and his wife in Connecticut as she worked on her demo. The hard work paid off because Rihanna went on to release six successful full-length albums, along with her successful makeup line Fenty Beauty, becoming one of the biggest stars in the world in the process.
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Ryan Gosling
When he was just 13, actor Ryan Gosling landed a role on Disney’s All-New Mickey Mouse Club. A few years later, Gosling decided to leave high school so he could move to New Zealand to film Young Hercules. The actor has since been featured in films like The Notebook, La La Land and Drive.
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Katy Perry
Pop singer Katy Perry originally got her start as a Christian singer before dropping out of high school to pursue music full-time. Since 2001, Perry has received her GED and released five full-length albums.
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Seth Rogen
Actor Seth Rogen left high school at 16 after landing the role of Kenneth in the TV series Freaks and Geeks. “I think, honestly, if you have a career in mind that isn't academically oriented, then high school is probably not going to lead you to what you want to be," the actor revealed to CNN. To this day, Rogen is still making audiences laugh in films like This Is The End, Superbad and Pineapple Express.
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Emma Stone
Emma Stone left high school life behind to chase her dream of becoming an actress. She moved to Los Angeles and worked part-time in a dog bakery before making it big. Ironically, some of her first major films like Easy A and Sueprbad actually took her back to high school. Since then she’s had roles in La La Land, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Favourite.
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Jude Law
Actor Jude Law decided to quit high school when he was 17 after he was cast in the soap opera Families. He continued his acting career with roles in the Sherlock Holmes franchise, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
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Kate Winslet
In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the Late Show, actress Kate Winslet shared she quit school at 16 to work in a deli to fund her train rides to London for auditions. Not long after, Winslet was cast in Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. She went on to land other starring roles in films like Titanic, Revolutionary Road and the Divergent franchise.
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Harry Styles
While most teens are busy getting their license at 16, musician Harry Styles was gearing up to audition for The X Factor. Styles ended up dropping out of school when his boy band One Direction took off so he could focus on his music career. In May 2017, he released his self-titled solo album featuring tracks like “Sign of the Times” and “Two Ghosts.”
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Jessica Chastain
Actress Jessica Chastain revealed she dropped out of high school during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Eventually I got my adult diploma, but I did not graduate,” she said. “And it wasn’t that I just dropped out and never went back — at the end of the year I had too many absences to graduate.” Chastain later attended New York City’s Julliard after receiving a scholarship from fellow actor Robin Williams. The actress has since appeared in films like Interstellar and Dark Phoenix, and will portray the adult Beverly Marsh in 2019’s IT: Chapter 2.
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Tracy Morgan
In an interview with the NY Post, actor and comedian Tracy Morgan revealed he was "glad" he left high school behind to pursue his dream. "I’m glad I dropped out of high school, man. I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I would have had a net," Morgan noted. "I’m glad I didn’t have anything to fall back on, man, because that made me go for my dreams that much harder." He’s best known for his roles on Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock and Cop Out.
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Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe made a name for himself as a magical wizard in the Harry Potter franchise after being cast at the age of 11. Radcliffe decided to focus on his acting full-time in 2006 and has since went on to have roles in Now You See Me 2, Victor Frankenstein and The Woman in Black.
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Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp decided to drop out of school when he was 15 to pursue his dream of being a rock star. He later ended up becoming an actor with his first role as Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Depp never gave up his sights on music and formed the rock group Hollywood Vampires in 2015 alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.
15 CELEBRITIES WHO ARE PRO-CHOICE
For years, celebrities who support abortion have discussed their political views surrounding the controversial topic. So, after news broke that multiple states in the U.S. passed extreme anti-choice bans, stars like Billie Eilish, One Direction's Liam Payne and Halsey all weighed in to support women's right to choose.
As a result of news surrounding the "heartbeat" bill, Alabama's near-total ban on abortions in the state and other similar events, many of Hollywood's A-listers have taken to their social media accounts to express their outrage and encourage their followers to educate themselves on the topic.
Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus have shown their support by donating large sums of money to Planned Parenthood, an organization fighting the implementation of these laws. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner signed a letter stating she won't work in any states that carry out restrictive abortion bans.
Below, discover 15 celebrities who publicly support the right to abortion access.
Celebrities Who Support Abortion
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Billie Eilish
17-year-old Billie Eilish recently shared her thoughts on the restrictive anti-abortion laws that have been passed in states like Alabama and Georgia, calling the ban “unbelivable.” She told Variety, “It makes me, like, red. It makes my ears f---ing steam out of my head. Women should say, should do and feel and be exactly what they want. There should be nobody else telling them how to live their life, how to do s---. It just makes me so mad that if I start talking about it, I won’t stop. Men should not make women’s choices—that’s all I have to say.”
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Rihanna
Rihanna was among the many celebrities who joined the backlash against the new abortion laws passed in the state of Alabama. The “Work” singer shared an image of the 25 all-male, white Republicans who signed the bill alongside the Instagram caption, “Take a look. These are the idiots making decisions for WOMEN in America.” She even called out Governor Kay Ivey who later signed the bill into a law, writing, “SHAME ON YOU!!!!”
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Sophie Turner
Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner also made her feelings about the new anti-choice laws clear by revealing she signed a boycott letter stating she would no longer work in states, like Geogia and Alamaba, who implement strict abortion laws. “I have yet to tell my agents I signed it,” she told Sky News. “They’re going to be like: ‘What? You can’t work in these states?’ Yeah I can’t work in these states.”
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Chris Evans
In the wake of Alabama's recent ban on abortion, Avengers star Chris Evans used his platform to inform his followers just how important it is for them to vote. "This is absolutely unbelievable,” he wrote on Twitter. “If you’re not worried about Roe v. Wade, you’re not paying attention. This is why voting matters!!" The actor’s fans praised him for speaking up on behalf of abortion rights, with one person even tweeting, ”Captain America for President.”
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Lady Gaga
Hours after the Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in the country, Lady Gaga labeled it a “travesty” on Twitter. In a lenghty note, she wrote: “It is an outrage to ban abortion in Alabama, period, and all the more heinous that it excludes those who have been raped or are experiencing incest, non-consensual or not. So there’s a higher penalty for doctors who perform these operations than for most rapists? This is a travesty, and I pray for all these women and young girls who suffer at the hands of this system.”
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Reese Witherspoon
Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon shocked her conservative fans when she called the new anti-abortion laws an “attack on women’s fundamental rights.” She tweeted, “I’m beyond upset about the passing of new abortion bans in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, and Ohio. This is unconstitutional and abhorrent. We can not tolerate this attack on women’s fundamental rights.” The actress also revealed she’d be donating to pro-choice organizations like Planned Parenthood to help them fight these unconstitutional laws.
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Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus let her feelings about the new anti-choice laws clear by posting a photo of herself licking an “Abortion is healthcare” cake on Instagram. The singer also teamed up with fashion designer Marc Jacobs to release a $175 pink hoodie that reads "Don't F--k With My Freedom,” with all proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.
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Hayley Williams
Following Alabama's controversial near-total abortion ban, Paramore's Hayley Williams urged men to speak out "against the current war on women's bodies/minds” and compared the country’s current political climate to The Handmaid’s Tale. “If you’re a man and you think that The Handmaid’s Tale is a well-crafted show but maybe not the best way for a modern society to operate then it’s a really good time to start speaking out against the current war on women’s bodies/minds. We need your allyship,” she tweeted.
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John Legend
John Legend called the new anti-abortion laws “awful," saying he believes the GOP are “waging all-out war on women and their right to control their reproductive decisions.” In a recent interview, the singer also said the fact that any state or government would want this kind of power over women "is just unconscionable.” He added,"There's no way we can have equality in any other realm if women don't have the ability to make these kinds of decisions on their own without the state getting involved.”
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Ariana Grande
Though Ariana Grande did not share her own personal thoughts surrounding the new abortion bans in the country (other than retweeting a message shared by the ACLU), she let her stance on the subject matter be known when she donated nearly $250,000 to Planned Parenthood. In an official press release from the organization, they revealed she gave them all “the proceeds from her June 8 concert in Atlanta, Georgia.”
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Pink
Pink is another celebrity who compared the country’s current political climate to The Handmaid’s Tale, a show about a dystopian future in which women have no rights whatsoever. Following Alabama’s new abortion ban, the singer shared her outrage on Instagram by posting a photo of the 25 male senators who signed the bill, writing, “Welcome to the real-life Handmaid’s Tale!” Even Pink’s husband Carey Hart chimed in, commenting, “It’s the sad truth. Why are these men making laws on behalf of women? Just sad.”
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Cole Sprouse
Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse used his huge social media platform to urge everyone to educate themselves about the topic of abortion and its “future repercussions” on women’s rights. “Don't be fooled by a representative claiming to be 'protecting the life of the unborn' when it is almost always carried with a blatant disregard for the life, voice and choice of the living woman deciding what she does with her own body,” he wrote.
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Halsey
Halsey is also one of the many celebrities to speak out against the new abortion bans. She teamed up with the ACLU to create a short video that spreads the word on the current attack on women’s rights. "Across the country, politicians are attacking our constitutional right to abortion," the "Without Me" singer declared in the PSA. "Let’s be clear about this. Abortion is a constitutional right. Abortion is healthcare. And abortion is my decision.”
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Tiffany Haddish
Comedian Tiffany Haddish took a stand against Georgia's abortion law by postponing her show in Atlanta until the state overthrows the ban, stating, "I cannot in good faith perform there." The Girls Trip actress also later told TMZ her decision to cancel her performance “wasn't tough at all" because she’s read the bill "and it looks like new slavery to me."
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Liam Payne
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne shared his thoughts on the abortion bans by questioning whether the U.S. is still the land of the free. In a lengthy message posted to Instagram, he revealed that experiencing his ex Cheryl’s pregnancy made him realize how tough it is for a woman and how privileged men are. “This whole abortion law thing in America is a mess, I mean you’re completely taking away the rights of women and the ownership of the bodies that belong to them,” he wrote. “How can we even comment or decide what women should or shouldn’t go through, it is total BS that anyone is even given that power
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