20 Famous People Who Are College Dropouts

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Usually we image college dropouts as bums and street walkers. Or at the most, they can set up small businesses and just about get by in life. However, a lot of people have reached the very zenith of success in spite of being college dropouts. How many celebrity college dropouts do you know? Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg? It is not just computer wizards who did not finish their education, there are many more.

For example, did you have any idea that Brad Pitt is a celebrity college dropout? And so were Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey. It makes you wonder how much we actually know about the educational qualifications of celebrities. However, the case of celebrity college dropouts proves that a college degree is not a passport to success. There are many more things in life beyond college education.

The great philosopher Mark Twain famously said, "I never let my schooling interfere with my education". On that note, education is not something restricted to schools and colleges. Life itself can educate you. At least that is what has worked for these famous people who are college dropouts. Their lack of a college degree has been more than compensated by fame and wealth.

Here are some of the famous people who are college dropouts.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln quit school at the age of 12 to administer his family farm. And he became the most loved President of United States!

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel is every fashion designer's inspiration. She created the brand Chanel which is still one of the best fashion brands in the world. Coco Chanel never went to school after her 18th year.

Al Pacino

Veteran actor Al Pacino was not just a college dropout, he was actually thrown out of New York School for failing in every subject other than English.

Oprah Winfrey

The great Oprah Winfrey did not complete college. She dropped out of Tennessee University to become the most famous television personality in the world.

Ted Turner

Ted Turner, the owner of CNN who sold the concept of 24-hours news channels to the world is a college dropout. In fact he was asked to leave college for getting caught with a girl in his room.

Woody Allen

Woody Allen failed IN most of subjects in NYU and then dropped out of New York City College himself to pursue a career in film making.

Steve Jobs

Now there are two 'apples'; one that inspired Newton to write his laws and one that inspired Steve Jobs to start his empire. But the man who has given so many jobs to people all over the world is a college dropout.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt was studying to be a journalist. But he quit college just 2 weeks before his final exams!

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga dropped out of the prestigious NYU because she was too busy updating her Twitter account.

Dhirubhai Ambani

The Indian multi-millionaire Dhirubhai Ambani was a high school dropout from his native village. And then he built one of biggest business empires in India.

John Mayer

John Mayer may have failed miserably on account of getting a degree from a Music College. But he surely learned how to floor all the ladies!

Adele

Adele was all set to go to college. But then she was signed for her first recording album and then it was bye-bye to studies.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is obviously not the kinds who can fit into normal college environments. No wonder he ended his formal education at 16.

Tom Hanks

Love to work on the stage took Tom Hanks away from his education. He dropped out of college to be a full-time intern at the Great Lake Theater Festival.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates dropped out of the famous Harvard University so that he could give the world a software like Microsoft.

John Lennon

John Lennon was rusticated from Liverpool college. And he went on to build the biggest boys band in the world; we mean Beatles!

Walt Disney

Walt Disney dropped out of high school when he was 16 to join the war effort in Europe. He obviously came back as a changed man!

Bryan Adams

British singer and song-writer Bryan Adams and his famous track, 'summer of 69' was partly a segment of his own 'dropout days'.

Marck Zuckerberg

If you are on Facebook, you owe this guy for your distraction. If Mark Zuckerberg would not have left Harvard, we wouldn't have had Facebook today.

Matt Damon

We have another co-Harvard dropout in Hollywood. Chicago boy, Matt Damon was just days away from graduating from Harvard University when he decided that he had enough of formal education.