Some of the most successful people in the world are high school dropouts.
This includes everyone from Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg (both of which are billionaires).
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There are even famous faces you might not expect, such as Harry Styles and Jennifer Lawrence.
Here, come see which 10+ celebs failed at school (but clearly won at life).
1. Mark Wahlberg
The actor is a true underdog. After he dropped out of high school at 13, he wasted away many years of his life selling drugs and behind bars.
But it was after this that he turned his life around and started his career in the movie industry.
In 2013, he even received his high school diploma after taking online classes.
“Most high school dropouts don’t end up with successful careers in Hollywood. I was lucky,” he wrote in an op-ed for the Huffington Post .
2. Harry Styles
Harry was attending Wilmslow High School in Cheshire, U.K. when he auditioned for The X Factor at 16.
But since One Direction was formed and took off, he never returned . We’d say the screaming fans and Grammy nominations make it worth it.
3. Richard Branson
The business mogul always had big dreams. He dropped out of school at 16 to start his first business — a magazine ironically called Student .
When he did, his headmaster told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. The latter won.
4. Gisele Bündchen
After she was discovered in her home country of Brazil, the model took a chance and left school at just 14 .
This was a risky decision to make so young, but she’s now married to Tom Brady and one of the most recognizable models in the world.
5. Simon Cowell
He’s the smartest man in the room when it comes to discovering talent, but the same couldn’t be said about school.
He ended up dropping out at 16 . After working in the mailroom at his father’s music business, he worked his way up to talent scout.
6. Drew Barrymore
When the actress was forced to go to rehab at just 13 , she decided not to carry on with school when she got out.
Despite this, she’s one of the most recognizable actresses around with her new talk show and production company.
7. Leonardo DiCaprio
Since the Oscar-winning actor hated school so much, he dropped out and attended free local drama classes instead.
This certainly paid off, as he’s one of the highest-paid and most talented actors today. He even earned his GED later in life.
8. Adam Driver
If you can believe it, the Oscar-nominated actor was initially rejected from Julliard for acting.
He also didn’t do well in high school. Thankfully, he was accepted years after when he auditioned for a second time.
9. Carey Mulligan
Like Adam Driver, the Oscar-nominated actress was rejected by drama school . But not just one, three!
After meeting a casting agent through a screenwriter friend, she ended up kick-starting her incredible career with her first role in Pride & Prejudice .
10. Whoopi Goldberg
The Sister Act star is one of the many celebs in Hollywood who suffered from dyslexia growing up.
Unfortunately, this made school difficult, which led to her dropping out during her teens . She struggled with substance abuse after this.
Everything changed for the star when she discovered acting.
While her dyslexia still impacts her ability to memorize lines, she’s one of 20 people in Hollywood today who have earned an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) throughout their career.
11. Lawrence
The American Hustle actress considers herself “self-educated” after she dropped out of middle school at 14 years old.
“I struggled through school. I never felt very smart,” she explained in an interview with 60 Minutes .
Over a decade later, this is a decision the Oscar-winning actress doesn’t regret.
“I wanted to forge my own path. I found what I wanted to do and I didn’t want anything getting in the way of it,” she explained.
12. Rihanna
RiRi was only 16 when she signed her first record deal and left Barbados.
“When I left Barbados, I didn’t look back. I wanted to do what I had to do, even if it meant moving to America,” she told Social Magazine .
This meant living in music producer, Evan Rogers’, home before she met Jay-Z and got her big break.
Since then, she has taken over not only the music industry but the fashion and beauty industries as well with her Fenty lines.
13. Johnny Depp
When the actor dropped out of school at 15 , it wasn’t for acting. It was for music!
After playing with his band, The Kids, for several years, he eventually met Nicholas Cage who suggested he try acting. The rest is history.
14. Jay-Z
Judging by his billionaire status, you might not believe that the rapper is a high school dropout.
But it’s true: he dropped out to focus on dealing drugs… Eventually, he got into music, met his wife Beyoncé, and has since taken the industry by storm.
15. Cameron Diaz
After getting discovered for modeling at 16, Diaz dropped out of Long Beach Polytechnic High School (the same school as Snoop Dogg) to pursue modeling.
This soon led to a career in acting, which has served her extremely well before she retired.
