Tinseltown’s Top 10 Celebrity Valedictorians

These are some of Hollywood’s most talented celebs, but these stars aren’t only bright on the big screen, stage or political arena. They’re also successful academics. Scan through Tinseltown’s top ten celebrity valedictorians and let us know which story surprised you the most. Guess which A-list valedictorian was also a member of his high school’s Volcano Worshippers club.

1. Hillary Clinton

The 2016 Presidential candidate was a teacher’s favorite growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois. Clinton attended Maine East High School, where she participated in student council, the school newspaper, and was selected for the National Honor Society. During her senior year she was redistricted to Maine South High School and graduated in the top five percent of her class of 1965. The former First Lady went on to attend Wellesley College where she majored in political science and served as president of the Wellesley College Government Association for two years. In 1969, she graduated at the top of her college class with a Bachelor of Arts with departmental honors in political science. She also became the first student in Wellesley College history to deliver a commencement speech.

2. Kevin Spacey

The House of Cards actor grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. Spacey attended Northridge Military Academy, Canoga Park High School (in tenth and eleventh grades), and then Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California where he graduated as the valedictorian of his class. Following high school graduation, Spacey attempted to succeed at comedy for several years, before studying drama at the Juilliard School.

3. Weird Al Yankovic

Parodist Weird Al was raised as an only child in Lynwood, California. He was an adept student who began kindergarten a year early and skipped second grade. “My classmates seemed to think I was some kind of rocket scientist so I was labeled a nerd early on.” Yankovic attended Lynwood High School where he was a member of the National Forensic League, the yearbook committee, and the Volcano Worshippers club. Weird Al graduated in 1975 as the valedictorian of his senior class. He later attended California Polytechnic State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

4. Jodie Foster

The Academy-award winning actress is not only talented on the big screen, she’s also a very successful scholar we’re not surprised to find as one of the celebrity valedictorians. Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at the age of three. She graduated first in her class from the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school. Then to escape the film business, Foster attended Yale University where she majored in literature and graduated with a B.A. in 1984. Little fun fact: Foster had already been nominated for an Oscar, for her role as a teenage prostitute in 1976’s Taxi Driver, when she was named her school’s top student.

5. Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford is known as one of the world’s most successful supermodels, but you may not know that the this beauty has brains too. In 1984, Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in Illinois, as valedictorian. She went on to win an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University, which she only attended for one quarter. Crawford dropped out in order to pursue a full-time modelling career. Smart move.

6. David Duchovny

The Californication star graduated from the Collegiate School in New York City in 1978, where he was classmates with John F. Kennedy Jr. Following his graduation from high school, the X-Files actor went on to receive an undergraduate degree from Princeton University in English Literature. He spent a year working on a novel before being awarded a fellowship to attend Yale. At Yale, Duchovny received his master’s degree in English literature, he went on to pursue a Ph.D before catching the acting bug.

7. Conan O’Brien

The late-night-talk-show host attended Brookline High School in Massachusetts, where he served as the managing editor of the school newspaper. After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, O’Brien enrolled in Harvard University where he concentrated in history and literature and graduated magna cum laude. Today, Coco is one of the most successful hosts on television and currently has his own show entitled Conan on TBS.

8. Tiffani Thiessen

Although Thiessan is best remembered for playing ditzy cheerleader Kelly Kawpowski on Saved by the Bell, the 41-year-old actress is far from dumb. In 1992, Thiessen graduated as valedictorian at Valley Professional High School in Studio City, Los Angeles. She was starring on the hit show at the time too. Talk about time management.

9. America Ferrera

The Ugly Betty star is actually pretty nerdy in real life. The 31-year-old actress is another of our celebrity valedictorians. She graduated at the top of her class from El Camino Real High School in 2002. Following high school, Ferrera enrolled in the University of Southern California on a presidential scholarship, double majoring in theater and international relations. Ferrera was added to the cast of the upcoming NBC sitcom Superstore. She’ll also be co-producing the comedy series.

10. Alicia Keys

The talented singer-songwriter grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan. Alicia attended various music and dance classes and studied classical piano from age seven. Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at 14. Ms. Keys graduated in 1997 as valedictorian of her class. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after and at the same time she was accepted into Columbia University. Alicia attempted to manage both, but after one month, she dropped out of college to pursue her musical career full-time.