Some celebrities have educational backgrounds apart from their IMDB ratings, including law degrees. While the majority gave up law to pursue careers in entertainment full-time, some still apply for their degree today. Nothing better exemplifies this than this list of well-known figures who attended college to study law.
It’s clear from the diversity of job paths people have chosen after studying law, from musicians to comedians, there are many alternatives available after earning this degree; you aren’t limited to being an attorney or a barrister.
Here’s a list of celebrities who attended law school.
Gemma Chan
Studied: Law at Oxford University
Actress Gemma Chan is from England. Born and reared in London, Chan went to the Newstead Wood School for Girls and Worcester College in Oxford to study law before enrolling at the Drama Center London to pursue a career in acting.
The “Crazy Rich Asians” actress graduated from Oxford University with a law degree. She was surprised to discover that her demanding coursework had aided her move to acting. Knowing the law, according to her, was very beneficial for memorizing. She had to remember around 2,000 cases, so she was skilled at quickly picking up scripts.
John Cleese
Studied Law at: Downing College, University of Cambridge
Famous comedian and actor John Cleese is undoubtedly best remembered for his part as one of the members of the cult movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” and his role as co-writer and star of the sitcom “Fawlty Towers.” Cleese first got into comedy while he was a student by joining Cambridge’s renowned Footlights amateur theater club. He connected with fellow Python Graham Chapman through Footlights; the rest is history.
Cleese’s choice of the university appears to have had a more significant impact on his career path (though he believes in another life, he might also become an excellent barrister). Nevertheless, his legal training appears to have influenced other choices.
For instance, Cleese is a strong advocate for Amnesty International. This group works to protect human rights, and in 1976, he co-founded the Secret Policeman’s Ball, a series of benefit performances that raised money for their cause.
The Secret Policeman’s Ball had a significant and long-lasting impact on fundraising benefit performances and inspired many well-known performers to become ardent supporters of Amnesty International.
Ben Stein
Studied Law at: Yale Law School, graduating in June 1970
American writer, attorney, comedian, actor and political and economic critic Benjamin Jeremy Stein also practices law. Before making his way into the entertainment industry as an actor, comedian, and game show host, he started writing speeches for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Ben Stein graduated from Yale as the class valedictorian. Before appearing in “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” he taught at Yale Law School and served as a trial attorney for the Federal Trade Commission.
Geraldo Rivera
Studied Law at: Brooklyn Law School in 1969
American journalist, lawyer, author, political analyst, and former television anchor Geraldo Rivera also practices law. As a conservative Fox News host, Geraldo Rivera became well-known and hosted a daytime chat show before signing on with the network.
In 1969, Rivera graduated from Brooklyn Law School with a law degree. After graduating, he went to work for a Puerto Rican activist organization. He caught the eye of the regional news director and agreed to work as a reporter. Rivera decided to pursue a career in journalism after that. From 1987 to 1998, he presented on Geraldo’s tabloid talk show. He achieved notoriety with the Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults.
Jerry Springer
Studied Law at: Northwestern University’s School of Law
Gerald Norman Springer is a British-American journalist, actor, producer, former politician, and broadcaster. He is also a former lawyer. Between September 30, 1991, and July 26, 2018, he served as the host of the tabloid talk show Jerry Springer. In 2015, he launched the Jerry Springer Podcast.
The television personality is well-known for his “who’s the daddy” segments and family strife tales. He received a political science degree from Tulane University in 1965, and three years later, he graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Law with a law degree. After finishing a brief term as Cincinnati, Ohio’s mayor, Springer’s political studies prompted him to break into daytime talk TV in 1991.
Andrea Bocelli
Studied Law at: the University of Pisa
Andrea Bocelli OMRI OMDSM is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. Congenital glaucoma caused him to be visually impaired from birth, and at the age of 12, a football accident caused a brain hemorrhage that caused Bocelli to go entirely blind.
One of the most beautiful voices in the world is credited to the well-known Italian opera singer. Bocelli’s parents encouraged him to study law while studying at the University of Pisa. To make a little extra money before graduating and becoming a court-appointed attorney, Bocelli played in neighborhood piano bars. Bocelli quit the law when he got his first break in the music business in the early 1990s and hasn’t looked back since.
Julio Iglesias
Studied Law at: Complutense University in Madrid
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and former professional footballer. With more than 100 million records sold globally in 14 languages, Iglesias is the most commercially successful Spanish artist in the world and among the top record sellers in music history.
If a severe vehicle accident hadn’t occurred, one of the greatest Latino singers of all time might not have entered the music industry. When he had an automobile accident and became disabled, Julio was a regular student in law school. After that accident, the guitarist spent many years mastering the guitar before launching a lucrative music career. Iglesias started attending school in the 1960s but did not graduate until 2001 when he received his degree.
Josh Saviano
Studied Law at: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
Josh Saviano is an American attorney and former child actor who appeared in “The Wonder Years” on ABC.
Josh Saviano may be recognizable to fans of 1980s television. From 1988 through 1993, Saviano portrayed Kevin Arnold’s closest friend. Before securing a brief cameo appearance on “Law and Order: SVU,” this was his final part. Saviano graduated from Yale University in 1998.
He graduated from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2000 with a law degree, after which he was admitted to the New York bar.
Ozzie Nelson
Studied: Law at: Rutgers in 1930
An American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor, and bandleader, Oswald George Nelson created and starred in the radio and television series “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” with his wife Harriet and their two kids, David and Ricky Nelson.
In 1930, Ozzie Nelson graduated from Rutgers with a law degree. But practicing law was not a good idea during the Great Depression, and Nelson decided to work in the entertainment industry.
He was one of the most well-liked men in Hollywood in the 1930s. Nelson started his career as a bandleader, where he met his future wife, Harriet Hillard, before transitioning to television. “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” ran from 1952 to 1966.
Jeff Cohen
Studied Law at: UCLA in 2000
American lawyer and former child actor Jeffrey Bertan Cohen is best known for playing Chunk in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film “The Goonies.”
Despite appearing in “Family Ties” and “Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School,” the young actor struggled to obtain consistent work.
Cohen decided to stop acting and pursue a J.D. Upon receiving a law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2000, Cohen and Gardner were co-founded in Beverly Hills two years later. He is now a prosperous entertainment attorney.
Charlie Korsmo
Studied Law at: Yale University
Charles Randolph Korsmo is a lawyer and actor from the United States. In the 1990s, he was a famous child actor most remembered for playing the Kid in the “Dick Tracy” film adaptation, “What About Bob,” and Jack Banning in “Hook.”
Korsmo took a break from acting to pursue physics at MIT after finishing the filming of Hook. He tried acting again while attending MIT and appeared in the movie Can’t Hardly Wait. But Korsmo discovered performing wasn’t for him once more. He went back to school this time to earn a law degree. Currently, he is a law professor at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University.
Gerard Butler
Studied Law at the University of Glasgow
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor and film producer. Butler studied law at the University of Glasgow and served as the law society’s president before landing the role of King Leonidas of Sparta in the movie 300. After completing his legal studies, he began acting in the mid-1990s and gained prominence as the star of films like “300” and “White House Down.”
He even served as the law society’s president! The Scotsman earned a position at a prestigious legal firm in Edinburgh after receiving high honors in 1992, where he remained until deciding to pursue his Hollywood goals. He then decided to try his luck in Hollywood.
Rebel Wilson
Studied Law at: University of New South Wales
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Wilson started as Toula in the SBS comedy series Pizza after graduating from the Australian Theater for Young People in 2003. She then had an appearance in the sketch comedy program The Wedge.
Before landing parts in blockbuster films like the “Pitch Perfect” series and “Isn’t It Romantic,” Rebel Wilson had visions of a career as a lawyer or politician. Wilson earned a B.A. from the University of New South Wales before she became a famous movie starlet. Both a Bachelor of Laws and a degree in theater and performing studies. Rebel claims that when fighting malaria in Africa years ago, she hallucinated that she had won an Oscar, which led her to believe that acting was what she was supposed to do instead of law.
Later, Rebel decided to combine the two, and by her second year of law school, she had already appeared on television. She said that she never gave legal advice in exchange for payment. She had appeared on Australian television by about year two, despite a law degree taking five years to complete. She had to work extremely hard and wait a long time to be admitted to law school.
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first came to the public’s attention as a friend and stylist to Paris Hilton, but her fame grew after the sex tape Kim Kardashian, Superstar in 2007, which was recorded in 2002 with her then-boyfriend Ray J.
Kim passed the “baby bar” and intends to complete her current apprenticeship to earn a law degree rather than enroll in a formal law program.
Like her late father, she hopes to practice law someday. She has been an effective spokesperson for prison reform, assisting in releasing numerous convicts from unfair terms. This reality star, who thrives on being misunderstood, managed to do so while having four children, keeping a filming schedule, and managing several businesses, including one that sells shapewear and another that sells cosmetics.
Author Bio: Lyle Solomon has extensive legal experience, in-depth knowledge, and experience in consumer finance and writing. He has been a member of the California State Bar since 2003. He graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, in 1998 and currently works for the Oak View Law Group (https://www.ovlg.
