PEOPLE
Celebrities who went to Ivy League colleges
Anika Reed
USA TODAY
March 18, 2019, 8:04 a.m. ET

When choosing a college, these celebrities went with an Ivy League education. Actress Meryl Streep was one of them, earning her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Yale University in 1975.
Dan MacMedan, Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY NETWORKLupita Nyong'o is another Yale graduate, earning her MFA in 2012.
Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty Images For SXSWNyong'o's "Black Panther" and "Us" co-star Winston Duke received his MFA the following year.
Dan MacMedan, Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY NETWORKHenry Winkler took home his MFA from Yale in 1970.
Rodin Eckenroth, Getty ImagesAngela Bassett is a Yalie through and through, graduating with a bachelor's degree in African-American Studies in 1980 before getting her MFA in 1983.
Daniele Venturelli, WireImageJodie Foster earned magna cum laude honors in received her bachelor's degree in literature from Yale in 1985.
Robert Hanashiro, Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY NETWOSam Waterston graduated as a Yale Bulldog in 1961.
VALERIE MACON, AFP/Getty ImagesTommy Lee Jones, whose roommate was former Vice President Al Gore, graduated from Harvard in 1969.
Takashi Aoyama, Getty ImagesJohn Lithgow graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in history and literature in 1967.
Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty ImagesBefore she was creating some of the biggest shows on television, Shonda Rhimes was graduating from Dartmouth in 1991.
Dia Dipasupil, Getty ImagesConnie Britton was a Dartmouth girl as well, graduating from the school in 1989 with a major in Asian studies.
George Pimentel, WireImageMindy Kaling is another notable Dartmouth grad, earning her degree in playwriting in 2001.
Dia Dipasupil, Getty ImagesBefore graduating from Dartmouth in 1992, Aisha Tyler co-founded and sang in the female a capella group the Dartmouth Rockapellas.
Jesse Grant, Getty Images For Disney"Saturday Night Live" star Vanessa Bayer graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, majoring in communications and French.
Monica Schipper, Getty Images For NetflixWhile at UPenn, EGOT winner John Legend was president and musical director of a jazz and pop a cappella group called the Counterparts.
NINA PROMMER, EPA-EFEMaury Povich graduated from UPenn with a degree in television journalism in 1962.
DAVID BJERKE, NBCBefore making people laugh on "The Office," John Krasinski was in the sketch comedy group Out of Bounds during his years at Brown.
Rodin Eckenroth, Getty ImagesLaura Linney graduated from Brown in 1986.
Dan MacMedan, Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY NETWORKJames Franco got his MFA from Columbia University in 2010 – years after he was already famous.
Richard Shotwell, Richard Shotwell/Invision/APMaggie Gyllenhaal studied literature and Eastern religions before earning her degree from Columbia in 1999.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin, FilmMagicLike Franco, Julia Stiles was already famous when she graduated from Columbia with a degree in English literature in 2005.
VALERY HACHE, AFP/Getty ImagesEmmy Rossum was also a working actor when she earned her degree from Columbia in 2008.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin, FilmMagicBill Maher received his bachelor's degree in English at Cornell in 1978.
Janet Van HamTurns out that Bill Nye was a science guy in college as well, graduating from Cornell with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images, Frederick M. Brown, Getty ImagesJane Lynch received her MFA in theater from Cornell in 1984.
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images
Brooke Shields has the looks and the brains, graduating from Princeton University in 1987 with a degree in French literature.
Todd Plitt, USA TODAYDavid Duchovny attended Princeton just a few years earlier than Shields, graduating summa cum laude in English literature in 1982.
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