15 Famous Celebrities who didn’t Go to College: 2022

Intense study sessions lead to a fruitful career, right? Not for these famous faces. Yes, celebrities like Gabrielle Union and John Legend are graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles and University of Pennsylvania, respectively. But well-earned degrees aren’t required when you can sing and dance as well as Beyoncé or, like Prince Harry, became royalty at birth. You’re likely to earn significantly more if you go to college and get your bachelor’s degree, or make it even further, according to government statistics. But for the richest of the rich, the normal rules don’t seem to apply.

Whether through innate ambition and skill or sheer luck, a number of extremely wealthy leaders like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson made it to where they are without the traditional educational credentials. In fact, research firm Wealth-X found in 2016 that nearly a third of the world’s billionaires didn’t have a bachelor’s degree.

Here are 15 insanely successful people that you may not realize never went to college, or abandoned higher education once they got there:

15. Beyonce

Everybody is familiar with Beyoncé and her contributions to the world of music. She has performed for years and even entertained us with her amazing performance at a Super Bowl Halftime Show. While Beyoncé did not actually attend college, that doesn’t mean that she did not have quite the impressive education. The first school that she ever attended was Saint Mary’s Elementary School in the state of Texas. There, the aspiring performer realized that she had a passion for music and the arts. She began taking dance classes and working on the skills that would eventually lead her to superstardom. Eventually, Beyoncé transferred to a new elementary school, this time enrolling at Parker Elementary School.

This was a place where she could truly concentrate on her musical talents, and that is exactly what she did. She emerged as a rising star, and everyone who met her knew that there was something spectacular in the making. She has influenced countless people through her strength and her endeavors and has more than proved that she has serious staying power. As we can see, even without a formal college education, Beyoncé was more than able to pursue her dreams.