I got to thinking with a couple about black entertainers with college degrees. It's a shame they don't shed more light on the positive. It puts a whole new slant on the "overnight celebrity" fantasy". Hard work people... Hard work & discipline. So here are some that I found on another website:

Angela Bassett - MFA Yale Drama School

Whoopi Goldberg - Masters and or PhD from New York University (I think it might an honorary one.)

Kent Masters-King - University of Southern California

Thandie Newton - Cambridge

Sanaa Lathan - BA from Berkeley and MFA from Yale Drama

Gabrielle Union - UCLA

Maya Rudolph - University of California, Santa Barbara

Denzel --- Fordham

Samuel L. Jackson -- Moorehouse

Robin Givens -- Sarah Lawrence

Holly Robinson Peete -- Sarah Lawrence

Alfre Woodward - Boston University

Anais Granofsky - New York University

Regina Taylor - Southern Methodist University

Jennifer Beals - Yale University

Sydney Tamia Poitier - New York University

Lynn Whitfield - Howard University

Lonette McKee - The New School in New York City

Nicole Ari Parker - New York University

Marianne Jean-Baptiste - The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts

Audra McDonald - Julliard

Biana Lawson - University of Southern California

Wendy Racquel Robinson - Howard University

CCH Pounder - Ithaca College

Rowena King - The London Drama School

Leslie Silva - Julliard & The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts

Aunjanue Ellis - B.A. from Brown University & MFA from NYU

Kimberly Elise - University of Minnesota & MFA from the American Film Institute

Loretta Devine - University of Houston & Masters from Brandeis University

Lela Rochon - California State University

Lynne Thigpen (RIP) - University of Illinois

Kenya Moore - Wayne State University

Kerry Washington - George Washington University

Kasi Lemmons - NYU, UCLA, and The New School for Social Research

Phylicia Rashad - Howard University

Tracee Ellis-Ross - Brown University

Penny Johnson Jerald - Julliard

Viola Davis - Rhode Island College and Julliard

Golden Brooks - Berkeley, Masters from Sarah Lawrence

Kerry Washington - George Washington University

Kasi Lemmons - NYU, UCLA, and The New School for Social Research

Phylicia Rashad - Howard University

Tracee Ellis-Ross - Brown University

Penny Johnson Jerald - Julliard

Viola Davis - Rhode Island College and Julliard

Golden Brooks - Berkeley, Masters from Sarah Lawrence

LaTanya Richardson - Spelman College, Masters from NYU

Cynda Williams - Ball State University

Lisa Gay Hamilton - NYU, Masters from Julliard

Rashida Jones - Harvard University

Lorraine Toussaint - Julliard

Taraji P. Henson - Howard University

Robinne Lee - Columbia University Law School; Yale University B.S. in Psychology

Anne-Marie Johnson - UCLA

Debbie Allen - Howard University

Troy Beyer - college in New York

Kristen Wilson - Syracuse University


Denise Nicholas - University of Southern California

Tamara Tunie - Carnegie Mellon University

Merrin Dungey - UCLA

Tatyana Ali - Harvard University

Keisha Knight-Pulliam - Spelman

Naomie Harris - Cambridge University

Vanessa Bell Calloway - Ohio University

S. Epatha Merkerson - Wayne State University


Marsha Thomason - Manchester Metropolitan University

Irma P. Hall - Briar Cliff College and Texas College

Regina Hall - Masters from New York University (journalism)

Renee Elise Goldsberry - Carnegie Mellon University, Masters from University of Southern California

Darryl Bell - Syracuse University (Finance)

Vanessa Williams - Syracuse University

Taye Diggs - Syracuse University

Boris Kodjoe - Virginia Commonwealth

Michael Clarke Duncan - Alcorn State University

Kim Coles - North Carolina Central University

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh - Florida A & M University

Kim Fields - Pepperdine University

Sabrina Le Beauf - Yale University

Tempestt Bledsoe - New York University

Halle Berry - Cuyahoga Community College (Clevland, Ohio)

Spike Lee - NYU Tisch School of The Arts (Masters), Moorehouse (Bachelors)

very impressive

fo sho

I wonder if Holly Robinson Peete and Robin Givens were in school together?

yep, they were. I believe they got into a big altercation years ago. I think the story was Robin accused Holly of stealing. I forgot the exact details.

Dang I at least thought they could have been friends but I guess that's impossible with Robin.

Excellent thread...

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Very good subject. I know of a few rappers who have masters degrees, but I don't know which schools
*Guru (of gangstarr)
*Defari (Columbia / Berkeley) (he was a teacher before he became a rapper)
*David Banner

I'm sure there's more, but these are the ones that come to my mind right now.

Hey did Brandy graduate? I read somewhere that she didn't finish....also didn't Ashanti accept a scholarship from Pepperdine but decided to pursue music instead?

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Very impressive -- some folks I didn't know truly had some sense are on that list! Haha. The majority of Black Hollywood is there -- go 'head, y'all!

And ya know...I knew there was something about that David Banner. I remember seeing him on Cribs, and he did something for me. Is that weird? I'm not sure if it was because he could talk and he seemed like he really appreciated what he has or even if it was his family featured with him! But, I seriously was like, "He seems like he'd be worth my time getting to know." :-) I like him... Don't think about him every day, but if I had the chance to meet him I bet he'd be able to carry on a good convo!

Yep, you are correct. Brandy didn't graduate Pepperdine, but Kim Fields did. She has two years left. She needs to get her butt back in school b/c latching onto Q isn't going to necessarily help her or her daughter. Her days of being the it-girl are over. Time to actually fall back on a brain.....

I think Tia and Tamara also graduated from Pepperdine.

As for Ashanti, I know she had gotten a track scholarship to either Brown or Columbia. Alicia Keys got a music scholarship to Columbia, but dropped out during the first week of classes to pursue music. Lauryn Hill didn't finish either.

And ya know...I knew there was something about that David Banner. I remember seeing him on Cribs, and he did something for me. Is that weird? I'm not sure if it was because he could talk and he seemed like he really appreciated what he has or even if it was his family featured with him! But, I seriously was like, "He seems like he'd be worth my time getting to know." :-) I like him... Don't think about him every day, but if I had the chance to meet him I bet he'd be able to carry on a good convo![/QUOTE]



I totally agree with you. Theres something about David Banner that I think is sooo sexy. He seems educatee & humble yet he still seems cool.

Also Davis Alan Grier went to Ya;e! That's a very impressive list!

Forest Whitaker too!

I would have said Joy Bryant too, but she dropped out to be a model. If Julia Styles can go to Columbia full-time and shoot films in between, so can Joy. It's just a matter of scheduling.

David Banner went to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore...not sure if he graduated but he did get booed at a lot of talent shows...if only they knew back then what they know now!