These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything

These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Drew Barrymore became a big child star after starring in 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial', though the pressures of early fame had complications for her. After a stint in rehab at 13, she decided not to go back to school

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Charlie Sheen quit high school just before graduating, only getting his diploma 30 years later

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Rene Russo dropped out of school early and began working as a model. She admits that she was bullied as a youngster for being tall

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Mark Wahlberg had a troubled youth, leaving school at 13. He finally got his diploma at 42

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Rogen had written a first draft of 'Superbad' by the time he was 13. He appeared in 'Freaks and Geeks' at 16 and never went back to school

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Whoopi Goldberg always found school very difficult, and left at 17. Years later, she discovered she was dyslexic

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - John Travolta quit school for acting

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Simon Cowell quit school at 16, and got his first job in the music business several years later in 1979

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Many celebs take a risk and follow their dreams instead of finishing their education

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Nicole Kidman left school at 16 to pursue her interest in acting, starting out in theater

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Robert Downey Jr. was not a good student. He left school to try his chances as an actor in New York

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Cameron Diaz decided to leave school at 16, and began her route to stardom with small film roles

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Tom Cruise acted in several school plays. He left just before graduating in order to pursue a Hollywood career

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Eminem left school at 17, but today encourages youngsters to finish high school

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Gisele Bündchen left school at 14 to pursue her modeling career

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Johnny Depp dropped out of school at 15 to pursue a career as a musician. He ended up a successful actor!

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Charlie Sheen quit high school just before graduating, only getting his diploma 30 years later

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Mark Wahlberg had a troubled youth, leaving school at 13. He finally got his diploma at 42

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Whoopi Goldberg always found school very difficult, and left at 17. Years later, she discovered she was dyslexic

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - John Travolta quit school for acting

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything - Simon Cowell quit school at 16, and got his first job in the music business several years later in 1979

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These stars didn’t finish school, but show that books smarts aren’t everything

Many celebs take a risk and follow their dreams instead of finishing their education

17/04/17 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Celebrities

The fact that many celebrities didn’t finish high school, let alone college, might lead many people to think that this is a necessary step on the path to fame. In reality, such moves are always risky, and success always requires lots of luck, hard work and courage on the part of would-be stars.

Still, the reasons why so many stars leave school early isn’t as clear-cut as mere desperation for fame. While some were certainly focused on what they wanted and had to do to get there, there were others who had a variety of personal problems to deal with that interfered with studying. Others simply weren’t very good students.

Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio, Eminem, Gisele Bündchen and Johnny Depp are just some of the famous faces to have left high school early before going on to achieve success in their fields.

Click on the photo gallery to see examples of other celebrities who didn’t finish their education before going on to stardom.