{"id":203,"date":"2013-05-03T06:38:06","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T13:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dropoutnotes.com\/?page_id=203"},"modified":"2013-05-03T06:41:50","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T13:41:50","slug":"famous-dropouts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dropoutnotes.com\/?page_id=203","title":{"rendered":"Famous Dropouts"},"content":{"rendered":"

High School and Elementary School Dropouts<\/span>
\nA
\nAbigail Adams…….wife of the 2nd U.S. President John Adams; America’s 2nd First Lady (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nAnsel Adams………American wilderness photographer; best-selling photography book author; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
\nBryan Adams……Oscar-nominated songwriter-singer.
\nSheldon Adelson……self-made billionaire American hotel and casino businessman.
\nMiguel Adrover…..Spanish-born fashion designer.
\nChristina Aguilera….rock star.
\nJack Albertson……Oscar-winning actor.
\nPeter Allen………Oscar-winning Australian songwriter-composer-singer.
\nRick Allen . . . rock star; member of “Def Leppard.”
\nDhirubhai Ambani….self-made billionaire Indian businessman.
\nAnthony Andrews…..actor.
\nJulie Andrews…….Oscar-winning actress-singer; best-selling British author (as Julie Andrews Edwards); bestowed the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the year 2000 (United Kingdom: Dame Julie Andrews).
\nChristina Applegate……actress.
\nEdwin Apps………British artist.
\nJoan Armatrading….singer-songwriter.
\nLouis Armstrong…..singer-musician.
\nEddy Arnold………country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
\nCliff Arquette (“Charlie Weaver”)….comedian-entertainer; American author.
\nBrooke Astor……..wealthy American socialite-philanthropist-author; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
\nJohn Jacob Astor……self-made multimillionaire German-born early American businesssman; America’s first multimillionaire.
\nChet Atkins………country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nJane Austen……best-selling British author (elementary school dropout).
\nGene Autry……Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter; the first “singing cowboy”; wrote and co-wrote over 200 songs, including “Back in the Saddle Again” and “Here Comes Santa Claus”; recorded famous rendition of the Johhny Marks song “Rudolph, the Red- Nosed Reindeer”; actor-producer; self-made multimillionaire American businessman; author; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; National Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee; only person to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in honor of career achievements in five entertainment fields.
\nRichard Avedon……American photographer-author.
\nWilly Aybar…..baseball player.<\/p>\n

B
\nKevin Bacon…….actor-singer-songwriter; member of the band “The Bacon Brothers”.
\nPearl Bailey……..singer-actress; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; American author.
\nJosephine Baker…..singer-dancer-actress.
\nLucille Ball……..actress-comedienne-producer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; American author.
\nHubert Howe Bancroft….American historian-bookseller.
\nBrigitte Bardot…..actress; former model; French author.
\nRoseanne Barr…….actress-comedienne-producer-director; American author.
\nFantasia Barrino……singer-actress; American author; American Idol television talent show contest winner (season 3; 2004).
\nDrew Barrymore……actress-producer; American author.
\nJohn Bartlett…….best-selling American author.
\nJean-Michel Basquiat……artist-actor.
\nShirley Bassey……singer; British author; bestowed the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the year 2000 (United Kingdom: Dame Shirley Bassey).
\nBill Bartman……..self-made billionaire American businessman.
\nCount Basie………bandleader-pianist.
\nSean Bean……actor.
\nBeck (Beck Hansen)….rock star.
\nBoris Becker…..tennis player; three-time Wimbledon champion.
\nAnne Beiler……self-made multimillionaire American businesswoman; founder of “Auntie Anne’s Pretzels” fast-food restaurant chain.
\nJean-Paul Belmondo….actor.
\nJack Benny……….comedian-actor-violinist.
\nIrving Berlin…….Oscar-winning American songwriter-composer; film story writer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nYogi Berra………baseball player-coach-manager; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; best-selling American author; famous quote: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
\nClaude Berri……..Oscar-winning French film director- producer.
\nLuc Besson……….French film director-writer-producer (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element, etc.); knighted (France: Chevalier [Knight] of the Legion of Honor; Chevalier [or Chev.] Luc Besson).
\nJoey Bishop………comedian-entertainer.
\nClint Black………country music star; American author.
\nNorman Blake….musician; guitarist.
\nWilliam Blake…….British poet.
\nMary J. Blige……singer-songwriter.
\nHumphrey Bogart…..Oscar-winning actor.
\nPeter Bogdanovich….Oscar-nominated American film director-screenwriter (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, Mask, etc.); book author.
\nMichael Bolton……singer-songwriter; American author.
\nSonny Bono………..singer-songwriter-actor; U.S. Congressman (California U.S. Representative); best-selling American author.
\nDaniel Boone……..early American frontiersman (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nJohn Boorman……..Oscar-nominated British film director (Deliverance, Excalibur, etc.).
\nBjorn Borg……….tennis player; five-time Wimbledon champion; Swedish-born author.
\nDaniel Boulud…..chef, American restauranteur; French-born cookbook author and television personality.
\nClara Bow….early Hollywood actress
\nDavid Bowie………singer-songwriter-musician-actor; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; British author.
\nBoy George……….rock star; British author.
\nBarbara Taylor Bradford….best-selling British romance author.
\nBilly Bragg……rock star.
\nMarlon Brando…….Oscar-winning actor; American author.
\nRichard Branson…..self-made billionaire British businessman; founder of “Virgin Atlantic Airways,” “Virgin Records,” etc.; best-selling British author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Richard Branson).
\nJacques Brel…….singer-songwriter.
\nJoseph Brodsky…….Nobel Prize-winning Russian-born American poet.
\nCharles Bronson…..actor.
\nGary Brooker…….rock star.
\nLouise Brooks…….silent-film actress; American author.
\nPierce Brosnan……actor.
\nMargaret Brown…..American socialite; Titanic survivor (“the Unsinkable Molly Brown”).
\nGisele B\u00fcndchen…..actress; supermodel.
\nGeorge Burns……..Oscar-winning actor-comedian; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nPete Burns…….rock star (elementary school dropout).
\nEllen Burnstyn……Oscar-winning actress.
\nRaymond Burr…….actor.
\nTerry Butters…..singer-musician; pianist.<\/p>\n

C
\nSebastian Cabot…..actor.
\nSammy Cahn……….Oscar-winning American songwriter-composer; American author.
\nMartin Caidin…….American author; aviation expert; psychokinesis researcher; literary works include the novels “Cyborg” on which the TV series “The Six Million Dollar Man” was based and “Marooned,” the basis for the 1969 Oscar-winning movie about astronauts trapped in space.
\nMichael Caine…….Oscar-winning actor; best-selling British author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Michael Caine).
\nGlen Campbell…….country music star; American author.
\nNeve Campbell…….actress.
\nMarth Jane Canary (“Calamity Jane”)……..American Old West frontierswoman (no formal education).
\nEddie Cantor……actor-singer-comedian-producer; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nJennifer Capriati……tennis player.
\nGeorge Carlin…….comedian-actor; best-selling American author.
\nAndrew Carnegie…..self-made multimillionaire American businessman-philanthropist (elementary school dropout).
\nJim Carrey……….actor-writer-comedian.
\nKit Carson…..early American frontier guide; trapper; soldier; Indian agent (no formal education; learned to read and write in his mid 50s).
\nGiacomo Casanova….Itlaian-born author; diplomat, spy; playboy.
\nJohn Chancellor…..American television journalist; evening news anchorman; author.
\nCharlie Chaplin…..Oscar-winning actor-writer-director- producer; British-born author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Charlie [or Charles] Chaplin) (elementary school dropout).
\nRay Charles………singer-pianist; one of the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees; American author.
\nCher……Oscar-winning actress-singer; best-selling American author.
\nMaurice Chevalier….Oscar-winning actor-singer; French-born author; French Legion of Honor inductee\/Medal recipient (note: rank bestowed in 1938 [Knight?] still being researched; if you know this detail or can research French-language websites and find out, please send the missing information the webmaster).
\nAgatha Christie……best-selling British author; bestowed the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the year 1971 (United Kingdom: Dame Agatha Christie) (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience; studied singing and piano at age 16).
\nLiz Claiborne…….fashion designer.
\nEric Clapton……rock star; British author.
\nJohn Clare……..British poet (elementary school dropout).
\nSamuel L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”)….best-selling American author; humorist (elementary school dropout).
\nRoberto Clemente….baseball player; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
\nKurt Cobain……..rock star; lead singer of the band “Nirvana.”
\nEddie Cochran…..rock star.
\nJackie Cochran…..pioneering American female aviation pilot; Aviation Hall of Fame inductee; author (elementary school dropout).
\nJoe Cocker…….rock star.
\nWilliam Cody (“Buffalo Bill”)….Pony Express rider; U.S. Army scout; Wild West show founder (elementary school dropout).
\nHarry Cohn…..American film producer; early Hollywood pioneer; co-founder of Columbia Pictures.
\nToni Collette…….Oscar-nominated actress.
\nJackie Collins……best-selling British-born author.
\nPhil Collins……..Oscar-winning songwriter-singer.
\nChristopher Columbus….Italian explorer (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nPerry Como……….singer.
\nBilly Connolly……comedian-actor-musician; Scottish author.
\nJoseph Conrad……best-selling Polish-born British author (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nRuss Conway…..pianist; composer.
\nJames Cook……..British explorer (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nJack Kent Cooke…..self-made billionaire Canadian-born American media businessman.
\nElvis Costello…….rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nNoel Coward………Oscar-winning actor-director-producer- playwright-composer; British author knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Noel Coward) (elementary school dropout).
\nSimon Cowell……music producer; oncamera judge on the television series American Idol and Pop idol (UK).
\nJoan Crawford…….Oscar-winning actress; American author; former dancer.
\nMichael Crawford….actor-singer; British author.
\nDavy Crockett…….early American frontiersman; U.S. Congressman (Tennessee U.S. Representative); died at the battle of the Alamo (little formal education [six months]; home schooling\/life experience).
\nBen Cross……..actor.
\nRussell Crowe……Oscar-winning actor.
\nTom Cruise……….Oscar-nominated actor.
\nCharles E. Culpeper….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early 1900s’ owner and head of “The Coca Cola Bottling Company.”<\/p>\n

D
\nJim Dale…………Oscar-nominated songwriter-singer-actor.
\nJerry Daley……artist.
\nRoger Daltry……..singer-actor; member of the rock group “The Who.”
\nBeverly D’Angelo…..actress
\nSammy Davis Jr……singer-dancer-actor-entertainer; American author (elementary school dropout)
\nRobert De Niro……Oscar-winning actor-producer; knighted (France: Chevalier [Knight] of the Legion of Honor; Chevalier [or Chev.] Robert De Niro).
\nFelix Dennis……..self-made multimillionaire British magazine publisher (“Maxim” magazine, etc.).
\nLloyd Dennis….Canadian author; teacher; lecturer; awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario
\nReginald Denny……actor.
\nGerard Depardieu….Oscar-nominated actor; knighted (France: Chevalier [or Chev.] Gerard Depardieu) (elementary school dropout).
\nJohnny Depp………Oscar-nominated actor.
\nBo Derek…………actress; American author.
\nRichard Desmond…..self-made billionaire British publisher
\nDiana……..Princess of Wales.
\nCharles Dickins…..best-selling British author (elementary school dropout).
\nBo Diddley……….rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nMatt Dillon……Oscar-nominated actor.
\nJoe DiMaggio……..baseball player; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; American author.
\nCeline Dion…….Oscar-winning singer; Canadian-born author.
\nThomas Dolby……..musician-composer; music producer.
\nFrancis Drake…….British explorer; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Francis Drake) (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nTheodore Dreiser…..American author
\nPatty Duke……Oscar-winning actress; best-selling American author; former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
\nIsadora Duncan……dancer; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nCharles Durning…..Oscar-nominated actor.<\/p>\n

E
\nJames B. Eads……early American engineer; bridge builder; inventor of the diving bell.
\nJeanne Eagels…..Oscar-nominated early Hollywood actress; Broadway actress.
\nSteve Earle…..country music star.
\nDale Earnhardt Sr…….race-car driver.
\nGeorge Eastman……self-made multimillionaire American inventor-founder of the “Kodak” roll film camera and corporation.
\nEazy-E (Eric Lynn Wright)……American rap singer.
\nThomas Edison…….self-made multimillionaire American inventor; electrical power usage pioneer; filmmaker; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; knighted (France: first bestowed the rank of Chevalier [Knight], then later upgraded to Officer, then Commander; Commander [or Cmdr.] Thomas Edison) (elementary school dropout).
\nDuke Ellington……Oscar-nominated American composer- bandleader; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; author.
\nMichael Elliot…….American screenwriter-producer.
\nJames Ellroy……..best-selling American author.
\nEminem……Oscar-winning songwriter-singer; rap music singer; actor.
\nRobert Evans……Oscar-nominated American film producer (Chinatown, Marathon Man, Urban Cowboy, Popeye, etc.); movie studio executive; author.
\nOliver Evans…….American inventor (little formal education).
\nRupert Everett……actor; British-born author.<\/p>\n

F
\nAdam Faith……rock star; actor.
\nLola Falana………singer.
\nNick Faldo……….golfer; British author.
\nMichael Faraday……British physicist; chemist.
\nColin Farrell…….actor.
\nJose Feliciano……singer-guitarist.
\nTom Felton……..actor.
\nJoschka Fischer…..German politician; Foreign Minister.
\nBobby Fischer…….world chess champion.
\nScott Fischer……world-class mountain climber-guide; expedition business owner.
\nCarl G. Fisher……self-made multimillionaire American businessman; land developer; original developer of Miami Beach, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, etc. (elementary school dropout).
\nElla Fitzgerald…..singer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
\nJames Flagg…..magazine and poster illustrator; artist of the famous “Uncle Sam” World War II “I Want You\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. for U.S. Army” recruiting poster; American author
\nErrol Flynn…….actor; Tasmanian-born author.
\nHenry Ford……….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; auto manufacturing pioneer; founder of the “Ford Motor Company.”
\nGeorge Foreman……Olympic Gold Medal boxer; best-selling American author; businessman.
\nRedd Foxx………..actor-comedian.
\nA. J. Foyt………race-car driver; American author.
\nPeter Frampton…..rock star.
\nAretha Franklin….singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nBenjamin Franklin….American politician-diplomat-author-printer-publisher-scientist-inventor; co-author and co-signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; one of the founders of The United States of America; face is pictured on the U.S. one-hundred dollar bill (little formal education [less than two years]; home schooling\/life experience).
\nJoe Frazier……..Olympic Gold Medal boxer; American author.
\nNick Frost…….British actor.
\nSamuel Fuller……American film director-writer-actor (director: Merrill’s Marauders, The Big Red One, etc.).
\nFuruzan…….Turkish-born female author (elementary school dropout).<\/p>\n

G
\nClark Gable……..Oscar-winning actor.
\nEva Gabor……….actress.
\nKaba Gandhi…….father of Indian political leader Mohandas “Mathatma” Gandhi (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nKarasandas Gandhi…..older brother of Indian political leader Matahma Gandhi (left school when he and his brother were married to girls in arranged marriages; his brother, the future political leader returned to school a year later at age 14).
\nGreta Garbo……..Oscar-winning actress.
\nMary Gauthier…….singer-songwriter.
\nMarvin Gaye……..singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nHenry George……best-selling American author; economist (elementary school dropout).
\nGeorge Gershwin….Oscar-nominated American songwriter-composer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nAmadeo Peter Giannini….American-born founder of “Bank of America.”
\nAndy Gibb……….rock star (elementary school dropout).
\nBarry Gibb………rock star; member of “The Bee Gees”; British author.
\nMaurice Gibb…….rock star; member of “The Bee Gees.”
\nRobin Gibb………rock star; member of “The Bee Gees.”
\nLillian Gish…….Oscar-winning actress; early Hollywood pioneer; American author.
\nJackie Gleason…..Oscar-nominated actor-comedian-entertainer.
\nWhoopie Goldberg….Oscar-winning actress-comedienne; best-selling American author.
\nSamuel Gompers…..U.S. labor leader pioneer (elementary school dropout)
\nCuba Gooding Jr……..Oscar-winning actor.
\nBenny Goodman…..bandleader-clarinetist; American author.
\nMaksim Gorky……Russian author (elementary school dropout).
\nMarjoe Gortner….actor; former child evangelist.
\nJay Gould……self-made multimillionaire American financier and railroad builder.
\nGraham Gouldman…..rock star.
\nLew Grade………British film\/TV producer (TV: The Avengers, The Saint, Secret Agent, The Prisoner, The Muppet Show, etc.); Russian-born British author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Lew Grade).
\nCary Grant……..Oscar-winning actor.
\nW.T.Grant………self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the “W.T. Grant Company” department store chain.
\nHorace Greeley….American newspaper publisher-editor; U.S. Congressman; 1872 U.S. Presidential candidate; co-founder of the Republican party in the United States.
\nAshley Greene……actress.
\nRoy Greensmith….British politician; Sheriff of Nottingham 1995-1996; Lord Mayor of Nottingham 1997-1998, 2001-present.
\nD.W. Griffith…..Oscar-winning American film director; early Hollywood pioneer.
\nDave Grohl……rock star; founding member of the band “Foo Fighters”; former member of the band “Nirvana.”
\nWoody Guthrie…..folk singer-songwriter; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.<\/p>\n

H
\nThomas Haffa……self-made billionaire German media businessman (double- digit billionaire in the late 1990s.)
\nMerle Haggard…..country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nWang Hai……..Chinese consumer advocate.
\nBill Haley…..rock star; founding member of the band “Bill Haley and His Comets; recorded famous rendition of the song “Rock Around the Clock; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nPete Hamill……journalist; best-selling American author.
\nLaird Hamilton…..surfer; surfing video producer-consultant; former model.
\nSusan Hampshire….actress; best-selling British author.
\nDian Hanson……American magazine publisher and editor.
\nJean Harlow……actress.
\nJet Harris……rock star.
\nGeorge Harrison….Oscar-winning songwriter-singer-guitarist; former member of “The Beatles”; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nJohn Harrison……British inventor of the first naval chronometer; inventor and maker of clocks and watches (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nBeth Hart……..singer-songwriter-pianist.
\nLaurence Harvey….Oscar-nominated actor.
\nRutger Hauer……..actor.
\nPaul Hawkin……..American businessman-author.
\nSterling Hayden….actor; American author.
\nThomas Hearns……boxer.
\nMargaux Hemingway……actress-model.
\nArthur Henderson….Nobel Prize-winning British Politician; co-founder of the Labour Party; Foreign Secretary 1929-1931; peace conference president (1934 Nobel Peace Prize) (dropped out of school at age 12 to work in a locomotive parts iron foundry).
\nKenneth Hendricks……self-made billionaire American businessman.
\nLance Henriksen…….actor.
\nMilton Hershey . . . self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company; namesake of Hershey, Pennsylvania (dropped out of school in the fourth grade).
\nKarl Hess………American author; political speechwriter; former “Newsweek” magazine editor.
\nBenny Hill………comedian-entertainer; TV comedy-show host.
\nAl Hirschfeld……caricaturist; American author.
\nJimi Hocking……rock star.
\nEric Hoffer…….American author-philosopher; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
\nPaul Hogan………Oscar-nominated screenwriter-actor.
\nJames Hogg…….Scottish poet (elementary school dropout).
\nBillie Holiday…..singer (elementary school dropout).
\nLarry Holmes…….boxer; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nSoichiro Honda……self-made multimillionaire Japaneses businessman; motorcycle industry pioneer; founder of the Honda Motor Company.
\nBeland Honderich (Beland Hugh Honderich)…….Canadian newspaper publisher; businessman.
\nJohn Lee Hooker….blues singer-musician; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nFiona Horne………rock star; Australian-born author; “Australia’s most famous witch.”
\nLena Horne………singer-actress.
\nHarry Houdini…..magician; escape artist; paranormal investigator; Hungarian-born American author.
\nDjimon Hounsou……Oscar-nominated actor; former model.
\nBobby Hull………hockey player; Canadian author.
\nJ.B. Hunt . . . self-made American multimillionaire transportation businessman (elementary school dropout).
\nH.L. Hunt……..self-made billionaire American oil industrialist (elementary school dropout).
\nJohn Huston……..Oscar-winning American film director-actor (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, etc.); book author.<\/p>\n

I
\nJanis Ian…….singer-songwriter; American author.
\nIman……..actress-model; Somalia-born author.
\nNatalie Imbruglia……rock star; actress.
\nB. K. S. Iyengar……Indian yogi (yoga guru).<\/p>\n

J
\nWolfman Jack…….radio-show host; television personality; actor; American author.
\nTony Jacklin…….golfer; British author.
\nPeter Jackson……Oscar-winning New Zealand film director-writer-producer (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Frighteners, etc.).
\nAllen W. Jacobson…..early Boeing Company executive; directed American warplane development and production during World War II.
\nElizabeth Jagger….runway\/photography model; daughter of rock star Mick Jagger and model Jerry Hall.
\nJay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)….American rap singer; music producer.
\nBilly Joel………rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nElton John………Oscar-winning songwriter-singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; British author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Elton John).
\nAndrew Johnson…..17th U.S. President (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nCatherine Zeta-Jones……Oscar-winning actress-singer-dancer.
\nDavy Jones……….singer; actor; member of the band “The Monkees.”
\nGeorge Jones…….country music star; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nJohn Paul Jones…..Scottish-born American Revolutionary War U.S. navy commander; famous quote: “I have not yet begun to fight.” (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth.)
\nRickie Lee Jones….pop-jazz singer-songwriter.
\nTom Jones……….singer.
\nLeon Jouhaux…….Nobel Prize-winning French labor leader pioneer (1951 Nobel Peace Prize).<\/p>\n

K
\nJoshua Kadison…….singer-songwriter-musician.
\nHenry J. Kaiser….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of “Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation,” “Kaiser Steel,” etc.
\nHitomi Kanehara….Japanese writer.
\nGarson Kanin…….Oscar-nominated screenwriter; playwright- stage director; American author.
\nLi Ka-shing……self-made billionaire Chinese-born businessman.
\nCarmen Kass……..supermodel.
\nMathieu Kassovitz……French film director-actor-producer.
\nMiura Kazuyoshi……Japanese-born soccer player.
\nKirk Kerkorian……self-made billionaire American businessman.
\nChaka Khan………rock star.
\nNicole Kidman……Oscar-nominated actress.
\nKid Rock (Robert Ritchie)……rock star; actor.
\nJean-Claude Killy….Olympic Gold Medal skier; French author.
\nAlan King……….comedian-producer; American author.
\nB.B. King……..singer-guitarist; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nGeorge Kirby…….comedian-impressionist.
\nEartha Kitt……..singer-actress; author.
\nEvel Knievel…….motorcycle daredevil; American author.
\nGladys Knight……rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nJ. Fred Knobloch…….country music star.
\nYaphet Kotto…….actor.
\nKane Kramer……British inventor of the technology behind the iPod.
\nRay Kroc………..self-made billionaire American businessman; founder of the “McDonald’s” fast-food restaurant chain; author.
\nKarolina Kurkova…….supermodel.<\/p>\n

L
\nJimmy Lai……self-made multimillionaire Chinese-born Hong Kong businessman; newspaper and magazine publisher; founder of the “Giordano” clothing store chain (elementary school dropout).
\nFrederick “Freddy” Laker….self-made multimillionaire British businessman; airline entrepeneur; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Frederick [or Freddy] Laker).
\nBarbara La Marr…..early Hollywood actress-screenwriter
\nLouis L’Amour……best-selling American author of Old West stories and novels; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nBurton Lane……..Oscar-nominated American songwriter- film\/stage composer.
\nCleo Lane……….singer-actress.
\nTommy Lasorda……baseball team manager; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nRod Laver……….tennis player; four-time Wimbledon champion; tennis’s first millionaire; Australian author.
\nJude Law……….Oscar-nominated actor.
\nSteve Lawrence…..singer-actor-entertainer.
\nRichard Leakey…….paleoanthropologist; Nairobi-born author.
\nDavid Lean………Oscar-winning British film director (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr.Zhivago, etc.); knighted (United Kingdom: Sir David Lean).
\nHenrietta Leaver…..Miss America 1935.
\nHeath Ledger……..Oscar-winning actor.
\nAlbert Lee…….rock star.
\nJason Lee………actor.
\nEdward Leedskalnin….American sculptor of the Coral Castle in Florida (elementary school dropout).
\nAnton van Leeuwenhoek….Dutch microscope maker; world’s first microbiologist; discoverer of bacteria, blood cells, and sperm cells).
\nJennifer Jason Leigh….actress.
\nJarod Leto……..actor.
\nOscar Levant…….American composer-pianist-actor.
\nJoseph Levine……American film producer (The Graduate, The Lion in Winter, etc.).
\nAdolph Lewis……self-made multimillionaire American businessman; inventor of the “Slim Jim” meat stick snack in the 1940s.
\nJerry Lewis……..actor-comedian-singer-entertainer- humanitarian; American author; knighted (France: Chevalier [or Chev.] Jerry Lewis).
\nJoe Lewis……..self-made billionaire British businessman.
\nThomas Lincoln…….father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (no formal education) (see son in Equivalency list below).
\nCarl Lindner…….self-made billionaire American businessman.
\nFrank Lindner……artist.
\nMark Lindsay…….rock star; member of “Paul Revere & the Raiders.”
\nLittle Richard…..rock star; one of the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
\nBrian Littrell…….rock star; member of “Backstreet Boys.”
\nLL Cool J (James T. Smith)……rock star.
\nJohn Llewellyn…..U.S. Labor leader pioneer; for 40 years until his retirement, president of the United Mine Workers’ Union.
\nMarcus Loew……..self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early Hollywood pioneer; founder of the “Loews” movie- theater chain; co-founder of “MGM” studios (elementary school dropout).
\nDave Lon……….musician.
\nJulie London…….singer-actress.
\nTrini Lopez……..singer-actor.
\nTraci Lords……..actress-singer-songwriter; American author.
\nSophia Loren…….Oscar-winning actress; best-selling Italian- born author; former model (elementary school dropout).
\nJoe Louis……….boxer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; American author.
\nCourtney Love……Oscar-nominated actress; rock star.
\nDaniel Ludwig……self-made billionaire American businessman (graduated 8th grade; no high schooling).
\nBela Lugosi…….actor.
\nLoretta Lynn…….country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nShelby Lynne……singer-songwriter.
\nMary Lyon………American women’s education pioneer; early American teacher; founder of Mount Holyoke College (America’s first women’s college).<\/p>\n

M
\nGwendolyn MacEwen….Canadian poet.
\nJohn Major………British Prime Minister 1990-1997; author.
\nThomas Karran Maltby….Australian politician; Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 1947-1950; knighted (Sir Thomas Karran Maltby).
\nShirley Manson…..rock star.
\nSophie Marceau……actress-director; French-born author.
\nAudrey Marnay……French top runway\/photography model.
\nEvan Marriot…….actor; former model; original “Joe Millionaire” of the reality TV series of the same name.
\nJean Marsh………actress; British author.
\nWanda Marsh…….artist; woodcarver; American author.
\nDean Martin……..singer-actor-entertainer.
\nHarry Edmund Martinson….Nobel Prize-winning Swedish author (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nMoa Martinson…..Swedish author.
\nLee Marvin………Oscar-winning actor.
\nGroucho Marx…….Oscar-winning actor-comedian; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nHenry Maudslay…..British engineering inventor.
\nRobert Maxwell…..self-made billionaire British publisher.
\nElaine May……….Oscar-nominated screenwriter-actress- director-comedienne; American author.
\nOseola McCarty……American author (elementary school dropout).
\nPatrick McGoohan……actor.
\nEwan McGregor……actor.
\nRod McKuen………best-selling American poet (elementary school dropout).
\nFlorence Melton…..American inventor-businesswoman- philanthropist; inventor of the foam-lined slipper and removable shoulder pad.
\nHerman Melville….best-selling American author (Moby Dick, etc.).
\nNatalie Merchant……rock star.
\nMelina Mercouri….Oscar-nominated actress; Greek-born author; Greek politician.
\nGeorge Michael…..rock star.
\nAlyssa Milano……actress.
\nFrankie Miller……blues singer-songwriter.
\nMax Miller……..British comedian-actor.
\nRoger Miller…….country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee (elementary school dropout).
\nHeather Mills……British model; television presenter; author; humanitarian; 1996 Nobel Peace Prize nominee; wife of rock star Paul McCartney.
\nLiza Minnelli……Oscar-winning actress-singer.
\nRobert Mitchum…..Oscar-nominated actor; American author.
\nTina Modotti……Italian-born photographer; early Hollywood actress (elementary school dropout).
\nClaude Monet…….artist; French painter (elementary school dropout).
\nBill Monroe…..country music star; given the title “the Father of Bluegrass Music”; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee (elementary school dropout).
\nMarilyn Monroe…..actress-singer; former model.
\nYves Montand…….singer-actor; Italian-born French author (elementary school dropout).
\nJohn Mooney….blues singer-musician.
\nAlan Moore…..comic book writer.
\nDemi Moore………actress-producer; former model.
\nRoger Moore……..actor; United Nations goodwill ambassador; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Roger Moore) .
\nGarrett A. Morgan….American inventor of the gas mask; one of the early inventors of and first to patent the automatic traffic signal.
\nVan Morrison…….rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nSamantha Mumba…..rock star.
\nEarl Muntz……self-made multimillionaire businessman; auto dealer; auto manufacturer; inventor; developer of the car stereo tape deck player; television set manufacturing pioneer; coined the term “TV.”
\nDavid H. Murdock….self-made billionaire American businessman; chairman and CEO of Dole Food Company, Inc.; American author. Also known as David Murdock.
\nVali Myers…….artist; former ballet dancer.<\/p>\n

N
\nWalter Nash…….New Zealand Prime Minister 1957-1960; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Walter Nash).
\nNelly (Cornell Haynes Jr.)……rap music singer;actor.
\nHelmut Newton……German-born fashion photographer; photography book author.
\nWayne Newton…….singer-actor-entertainer; American author.
\nOlivia Newton-John….singer-actress; British-born Australian author.
\nPhi Nhung…….Vietnamese-born (Amerasian) American singer.
\nFlorence Nightingale….nursing pioneer; best-selling Italian-born British author (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nAnais Nin………French-American author.<\/p>\n

O
\nAnnie Oakley…….American Old West sharpshooter; Wild West show performer (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nSean O’Casey…….Irish playwright (elementary school dropout).
\nAdolph Ochs…….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early owner and publisher of The New York Times newspaper.
\nSinead O’Connor….singer-songwriter.
\nGil Ofarim……..rock star.
\nJuan Carlos Onetti…..Uruguayan writer.
\nBobby Orr……….hockey player; Canadian author.
\nBrian Orser……..Olympic Silver Medal ice-skater; Canadian author.
\nAmancio Ortega……self-made billionaire Spanish fashion businessman. Also known as Amancio Ortega Gaona.
\nKelly Osbourne…..rock star; daughter of Ozzy Osbourne.
\nOzzy Osbourne……rock star; British-born author.
\nPeter O’Toole……Oscar-winning actor; Irish-born author.<\/p>\n

P
\nAl Pacino……….Oscar-winning actor.
\nThomas Paine…….American Revolutionary War era political theorist; best-selling British-born American author; famous quote: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nCharlie Parker…..jazz musician; saxophonist.
\nDorothy Parker…..American author; theater critic.
\nGordon Parks…….American film director (Shaft, The Super Cops, etc.); “Life” magazine photographer; author.
\nHenry Parks……..English-born Australian newspaper publisher; politician; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Henry Parks).
\nRosa Parks………U.S. civil rights activist-pioneer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; American author.
\nJack Parr……….television talk-show host; early television pioneer.
\nBanjo Patterson….best-selling Australian poet (“Waltzing Matilda,” etc.); face is pictured on the Australian ten dollar bank note.
\nFloyd Patterson….Olympic Gold Medal boxer; American author.
\nNeil Peart………rock star; member of “Rush.”
\nPele………soccer player; Brazilian-born author (elementary school dropout).
\nOren Peli . . . writer-director-producer (filmmaker behind the “found footage” movie Paranormal Activity).
\nTeddy Pendergrass…..American R&B\/soul singer and songwriter.
\nJoe Pepitone…….baseball player; American author.
\nEvita Peron……..First Lady of Argentina 1946-1952; former stage and radio actress.
\nJoe Pesci……….Oscar-winning actor.
\nJon Peters………American film producer (Rain Man, The Color Purple, Batman, Caddyshack, etc.) (elementary school dropout).
\nPhillippe Petit….high-wire artist.
\nTom Petty……….rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nMackenzie Phillips……actress; singer; American author.
\nSam Phillips…….rock-and-roll music industry pioneer; founder of Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952; music producer- talent scout credited with discovering Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, etc; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nJoaquin Phoenix….Oscar-nominated actor.
\nEdith Piaf…….French singer; author.
\nSlim Pickens…….actor.
\nMary Pickford……Oscar-winning actress; early Hollywood pioneer; co-founder of “United Artists Corporation”; Canadian-born American author (little formal education [six months]; home schooling\/life experience).
\nFran\u00e7ois Pinault……self-made billionaire French businessman.
\nPink (Alecia Moore)……rock star.
\nDonald Pleasance….actor.
\nSydney Poitier…..Oscar-winning actor; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nSara Polley…….actress-singer.
\nTeri Polo……..actress.
\nAlexander Pope….early British poet (no formal education; self educated).
\nPaulina Porizkova……actress; former supermodel.
\nPaula Poundstone…..comedienne.
\nLuther Powell……father of U.S. Secretary of State\/former General Colin Powell.
\nCat Power (Charlyn Marshall)…..singer-songwriter.
\nCharley Pride…….country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; American author.
\nPrince……….Oscar-winning songwriter-composer-musician; actor; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nRichard Pryor…….actor-comedian; American author.
\nRobert John Pryse….British author (little formal education, reportedly just four days of schooling).
\nWolfgang Puck…….chef-restauranteur; best-selling Austrian-born author.
\nTito Puente………musician-bandleader; American author.
\nDavid Puttnam…….Oscar-winning British film producer (Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, etc.); knighted (United Kingdom: Sir David Puttnam).<\/p>\n

Q
\nAnthony Quinn…….Oscar-winning actor; Mexican-born American author.<\/p>\n

R
\nDaniel Radcliffe……actor.
\nOtis Redding……singer-songwriter; musician.
\nKeanu Reeves……..actor-musician.
\nLeah Remini…….actress.
\nPaul Revere………rock star; lead member of “Paul Revere & the Raiders.”
\nBusta Rhymes……rock star; actor.
\nBuddy Rich……….bandleader-drummer; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nTex Rickard…….American Old West lawman; casino owner; prize-fight promoter (elementary school dropout).
\nHarold Robbins……best-selling American author.
\nBill Robinson (“Bojangles”)….dancer-actor; vaudeville performer (elementary school dropout).
\nAnn Marie Roberts….Australian Olympic athelete in clay target shooting (Sydney 2000 summer games).
\nNora Roberts……best-selling American author.
\nChi Chi Rodriguez….golfer; Puerto Rican-born author.
\nRoy Rogers……….actor-singer-guitarist; American author.
\nWill Rogers………humorist-lecturer-actor-entertainer; best-selling American author; famous quote: “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
\nKjell Inge Rokke…..self-made billionaire Norwegian businessman.
\nAxl Rose……..rock star.
\nFrederick Henry Royce….self-made multimillionaire British businessman; co-founder-designer of the “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Company”; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Frederick Henry Royce) (elementary school dropout).
\nJa Rule (Jeffrey Atkins)….rap music singer; actor.
\nTheresa Russell…..actress; former child model.
\nRene Russo……….actress; former top model.<\/p>\n

S
\nEdmond Safra…….Lebanese-born billionaire banker-philanthropist.
\nDerek Sanderson…..hockey player; Canadian-born author.
\nGene Sarazen…….golfer; American author (elementary school dropout).
\nDavid Sarnoff……Russian-born American radio and television pioneer; given the title “Father of American Television” by the Television Broadcasters Association (completed elementary school, but did not attend high school).
\nWilliam Saroyan…..Oscar-winning screenwriter; Pulitzer Prize- winning American playwright; book author.
\nCatya Sassoon…….actress; former model.
\nVidal Sassoon…….self-made multimillionaire British businessman; founder of “Vidal Sassoon” hairstyling salons, academies, and hair-care products; British author.
\nHeinrich Schliemann….German archaeologist; wealthy businessman.
\nArnold Sch\u00f6nberg….Austrian-born composer.
\nSeal (Seal Henry Samuel)……rock star.
\nCharon Severian…..rock star-actress.
\nWilliam Shakespeare….British playwright; best-selling British author.
\nGeorge Bernard Shaw….Nobel Prize-winning best-selling Irish-born British author; playwright.
\nPercy Shaw……self-made millionaire British inventor.
\nCharlie Sheen…..actor-writer-producer.
\nWillie Shoemaker….jockey; American author.
\nSid Vicious (John Ritchie)……rock star.
\nJohn Simplot……self-made billionaire American agricultural businessman. Also known as J.R. Simplot.
\nFrank Sinatra…….Oscar-winning actor-singer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nIsaac Merrit Singer….American sewing machine inventor; self-made multimillionaire founder of “Singer Industries,” “I.M. Singer and Company,” etc. (elementary school dropout).
\nRed Skelton…..actor-comedian-entertainer; TV comedy-show host; artist; American author; Television Hall of Fame inductee (elementary school dropout).
\nAlfred E. Smith…..New York Governor; 1928 Democratic U.S. Presidential candidate (elementary school dropout).
\nAnna Nicole Smith….model-actress; 1993 “Playboy” magazine “Playmate of the Year.”
\nSammi Smith…….country music star.
\nHoward Solomon……American sculptor of Solomon’s Castle in Florida.
\nSammy Sosa……….baseball player (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nJohn Philip Sousa….American composer-conductor (elementary school dropout).
\nHenry M. Stanley….British explorer of Africa; author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Henry M. Stanley) (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nScott Stapp……..rock star; lead singer of the band “Creed.”
\nCasey Stengel…….baseball player-coach-manager; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
\nRingo Starr………Oscar-winning songwriter-musician-singer; actor; former member of “The Beatles.”
\nEdward Steichen…..American photographer; Belgian-born American author; knighted (France: Chevalier [or Chev.] Edward Steichen).
\nGary L. Stevens……jockey; sports personality; actor; American author.
\nHiram Stevens…….American-born engineering inventor; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Hiram Stevens).
\nJackie Stewart……race-car driver; British author knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Jackie Stewart).
\nRobert Stigwood…..Australian film\/TV\/record producer (films: Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, etc.); author.
\nTom Stoppard……Oscar-winning Czechoslovakian-born British screenwriter; playwright.
\nLarry Storch……..actor.
\nLyle Stuart……..American publisher-author.
\nDonna Summer……..rock star.
\nKiefer Sutherland….actor-director.<\/p>\n

T
\nQuentin Tarantino….Oscar-winning American film writer-director (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, etc.); book author.
\nJames Taylor……..singer-songwriter-musician; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
\nKoko Taylor……blues singer-songwriter (elementary school dropout).
\nZachary Taylor……12th U.S. President (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience).
\nMiguel Tejada…….baseball player.
\nCharlize Theron……Oscar-winning actress; former model.
\nDanny Thomas……..actor-producer-humanitarian (actor: Make Room for Daddy\/The Danny Thomas Show; co-producer: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, etc.); Congressional Gold Medal recipient; American author.
\nRob Thomas……rock star.
\nUma Thurman………Oscar-nominated actress; model.
\nAlberto Tomba…….Olympic Gold Medal skier.
\nRandy Travis……..country music star-actor; American author; arrested in 2012 near Dallas, Texas for driving while intoxicated, a problem for which others have used a Dallas DWI lawyer for representation.
\nJohn Travolta…….Oscar-nominated actor.
\nRob Trower…….rock star.
\nFran\u00e7ois Truffaut….French film director-producer-writer- actor (director: Fahrenheit 451 [1967], etc.; actor: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, etc.); book author.
\nTanya Tucker…..country music star; American author.
\nRon Turcotte……..jockey.
\nTwiggy (Lesley Hornby)….actress; British author; former supermodel.
\nSteven Tyler……rock star; member of “Aerosmith.”<\/p>\n

U
\nTracey Ullman…….actress-writer-producer-comedienne-singer; British-born author.
\nCharles Urban…….American-born early documentary\/travel\/news film producer; pioneer of the movie theater governor industry in the United States and Great Britain.
\nLesser Ury…….German-born artist; painter.
\nPeter Ustinov…….Oscar-winning actor-writer-director; British author; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Peter Ustinov).<\/p>\n

V
\nFernando Valenzuela….baseball player.
\nJean-Claude Van Damme….actor; martial artist.
\nCornelius Vanderbilt……self-made American multimillionaire steamship and railroad builder (elementary school dropout).
\nGloria Vanderbilt….designer-artist; American author.
\nVincent Van Gogh……artist; Dutch painter.
\nStevie Ray Vaughan…..blues musician; guitarist.
\nDiana Vreeland……fashion editor; French-born American author.<\/p>\n

W
\nKen Wahl……actor; US magazine’s 1989’s “Sexiest Man on TV.”
\nEddie Walker…..folk singer-songwriter; guitarist.
\nNancy Walker……..actress.
\nSteve Waller…rock star.
\nEstella Warren…..actress-model.
\nGeorge Washington….1st U.S. President; former general; Chairman of the Constitutional Convention; U.S. nickname: “The Father of Our Country”; face is pictured on the U.S. one dollar bill and twenty-five cent coin (quarter) (no formal education; home schooling\/life experience; went to sea in his youth).
\nDoc Watson…….folk singer (blind); guitarist; awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton in 1997 (elementary school dropout).
\nNaomi Watts…….actress.
\nDel E. Webb……..self-made multimillionaire American businessman; homebuilder; former co-owner of the New York Yankees baseball team 1945-1965 during 10 World Series wins.
\nJimmie Wedell……early American aviator; airplane manufacturer; aviation school co-owner.
\nWeegee (Arthur Fellig)……Polish-born early American photographer; author.
\nLawrence Welk…….bandleader; TV musical-variety show host; American author.
\nKitty Wells…..country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
\nMae West……….actress; American author.
\nBarry White……singer-songwriter; American author.
\nRon Whitehead…..American poet.
\nWalt Whitman……best-selling American poet (elementary school dropout).
\nHank Williams……country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
\nMichelle Williams……..Oscar-nominated actress.
\nAugust Wilson……Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright.
\nKemmons Wilson…….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the “Holiday Inn” hotel chain; author.
\nWilliam Bauchop Wilson….U.S. labor leader pioneer; U.S. Congressman (1907-1913); first U.S. Secretary of Labor (elementary school dropout).
\nKate Winslet……..Oscar-nominated actress.
\nHarry Winston…….jeweler; American author.
\nErnie Wise……..British comedian.
\nJohn Woo…….Chinese-born film director (Mission Impossible 2, Broken Arrow, Windtalkers, etc.).
\nElijah Wood……actor.
\nIan Woosnam……..golfer.
\nSam Worthington……actor.
\nOrville Wright……aviation pioneer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nRichard Wright…..best-selling American author.
\nWilbur Wright…….aviation pioneer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
\nTammy Wynette…….country music star; American author.<\/p>\n

Y
\nAngus Young……rock star; co-founder of the band AC\/DC.
\nMalcom Young……rock star; co-founder of the band AC\/DC.
\nNeil Young……….Oscar-nominated songwriter-singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.<\/p>\n

Z
\nMildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias….Olympic Gold Medal track- and-field athelete; golfer; women’s sports pioneer; National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee (won six Gold Medals and broke four world records at the Los Angeles 1932 summer games).<\/p>\n

Dropped Out, But Later Received High-School Diploma Equivalency Status<\/p>\n

(months, years, or decades later: equivalency diploma, honorary diploma, admission to a college or university, or other schooling or training of high merit)<\/p>\n

A
\nMortimer Adler……American author; educator-lecturer; former editor of “Encyclopedia Britannica” (left school at 15 to work; later attended Columbia University in New York).
\nSteven-Elliot Altman….American author (high-IQ high-school dropout; left school after beginning 10th grade and ran away from home; later earned equivalency diploma and entered college at 16, earning a degree at 19).
\nHans Christian Andersen…..best-selling Danish author; wrote the stories “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “Thumbelina,” “The Ugly Duckling,” etc.) (first attended a school for poor children; left home at 14 to find work; later obtained a scholorship and continued his education, which included attending Copenhagen University).
\nWalter Anderson…..American publishing executive-author; editor of “Parade” magazine (equivalency diploma).
\nMario Andretti……race-car driver; Italian-born author (equivalency diploma).
\nDanni Ashe………self-made multimillionaire American businesswoman; adult entertainment website operator; producer-model; fomer dancer (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

B
\nEtta Moten Barnett….singer-actress (dropped out of school to get married; six years later enrolled and eventually graduated from the University of Kansas).
\nAndre Benjamin……rock star (equivalency diploma).
\nChuck Berry….rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author (equivalency diploma, in 1963 at age 37).
\nKaren Black………Oscar-nominated actress-screenwriter- producer-songwriter-singer (high-IQ high-school dropout; left school to get married; divorced and earned admission to Northwestern University at age 16, then left at 17 to pursue acting in New York City).
\nOrlando Bloom…….actor (left high school at 16 to study acting; later won a scholarship to the British American Dramatic Academy).
\nHerbert Brown…..Nobel Prize-winning British-born American chemist (dropped out of school to help support his family after his father died; later returned and graduated from high school and college).
\nAbner Burnett…….singer-guitarist (equivalency diploma).
\nAugusten Burroughs…….best-selling American author (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

C
\nNicolas Cage……..Oscar-winning actor (equivalency diploma).
\nAlbert Camus….Nobel Prize-winning Algerian-born French author; playwright (dropped out of school at age 17 due to illness\u2014tuberculosis; later resumed his formal education and graduated from the University of Algiers).
\nGeorge Carey……..103rd Archbishop of Canterbury (dropped out at 15 to work; joined Royal Air Force at 18; later earned a college degree in divinity).
\nRichard Carmona……U.S. Surgeon General; physician; university professor; SWAT team police officer (dropped out of school at age 14; later joined the U.S. Army and became a Green Beret; earned an equivalency diploma and eventually a medical degree from the University of California at San Francisco).
\nViki Carr……..singer (equivalency diploma).
\nGurbaksh Chahal (Gurbaksh Singh Chahal)…..Self-made American multimillionaire businessman; best-selling author (Honorary Doctorate degree in Commercial Science from Pace University, April 29, 2010).
\nGrover Cleveland…..22nd and 24th U.S. President; face is pictured on the U.S. one-thousand dollar bill (no longer printed) (dropped out of school to help family earn income; later studied law while a clerk at a law firm and became a lawyer).
\nSean Connery……..Oscar-winning actor; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Sean Connery) (dropped out of school at age 13; at age 78 on June 19, 2009 received an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh Napier University, a school located a few miles away from the one he left as a youth).
\nBill Cosby……….actor-producer-comedian-entertainer; best-selling American author (dropped out in the tenth grade; later joined the U.S. Navy as an adult; earned an equivalency diploma and eventually won a scholarship to Temple University).
\nDaniel Craig…….actor (dropped out at age 16; later at age 23 in 1991 graduated from the Guildhall School of Music).<\/p>\n

D
\nVic Damone……..singer (dropped out to help support family; received honorary diploma from hometown high school at age 68).
\nMajandra Delfino…..actress-singer-songwriter (equivalency diploma).
\nLeonardo DiCaprio….Oscar-nominated actor (equivalency diploma).
\nWalt Disney………Oscar-winning American film\/TV producer; animation and theme park pioneer; self-made multimillionaire founder- spokesperson of “The Walt Disney Studios\/Company”; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; French Legion of Honor admittee\/Medal recipient (note: rank bestowed in 1936 [Knight?] still being researched; if you know this detail or can research French-language websites and find out, please send the missing information to the webmaster) (received honorary high-school diploma from hometown high school at age 58).
\nRobert Downey Jr…..Oscar-nominated actor (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

E
\nEasy-E (Eric Wright)……rap music star (equivalency diploma).
\nAlbert Einstein…..Nobel Prize-winning physicist; “Time” magazine’s “Person of the Century” (20th century); best-selling German-born American author (after dropping out of high school, he studied on his own and passed the entrance exam on his second try to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology).
\nPhilip Emeagwali….supercomputer scientist; lecturer; one of the pioneers of the Internet (high-IQ high-school dropout; left school in native Nigeria due to war conditions and lack of tuition money; continued to study on his own and earned an equivalency diploma; later won a scholarship to Oregon College of Education in the United States; transferred after one year to Oregon State University).<\/p>\n

F
\nWilliam Faulkner….Nobel Prize-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning best-selling American author; screenwriter (dropped out of high school in second year; later attended University of Mississippi but did not graduate).
\nMillard Fillmore…..13th U.S. President (little formal education [six months]; home schooling\/life experience; later studied law while a clerk with a judge and at a law firm and became a lawyer).
\nCarrie Fisher……actress-writer; TV show host; best-selling American author (dropped out of high school; later attended Sarah Lawrence College).
\nMichael J. Fox……actor; best-selling Canadian-born American author (equivalency diploma, at age 32).
\nWilliam Fox…….father of actor Michael J. Fox (left school in the sixth grade; later had a brief career as a jockey and then a career in the Royal Canadian Army Signal Corps).
\nSteve Francis……basketball player (equivalency diploma).
\nJohn Fusco…..American screenwriter-producer (Young Guns, Young Guns II, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, etc.) (left school at 16 to work; later earned an equivalency diploma and went to New York University).<\/p>\n

G
\nMohandas “Mathatma” Gandhi….Indian political and spirital leader (left school at age 13 when he got married to a girl, also 13, in a marriage arranged by his parents, as was the custom; later returned and finished high school and went on to receive a university education.
\nJennie Garth……actress (equivalency diploma).
\nDaniel Gilbert……Harvard University psychology professor (equivalency diploma).
\nDizzy Gillespie…..musician-composer; American author (received honorary diploma from high school he attended).
\nBerry Gordy……..self-made multimillionaire American businessman; music producer; founder of “Motown Records”; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nKelly Green……..evangelist (male) (dropped out of high school, then later returned; graduated from Mobile College, Alabama).
\nSergio Gutierrez……State of Idaho Appeals Court judge (dropped out of high school; later went to college and earned a law degree and became an attorney).<\/p>\n

H
\nAmber Heard……..actress; model (equivalency diploma).
\nPatrick Henry…….American Revolutionary War era politician; Virginia’s first governor; famous quote: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” (little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; later studied on his own and earned a law degree).
\nParis Hilton……actress; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nBob Hope…….Oscar-winning actor-writer-producer; comedian; TV host; British-born American author; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Bob Hope) (left school at age 12 before beginning high school; received an honorary high school diploma from Palm Springs High School at age 87 in June 1990).
\nBob Hoskins…….Oscar-nominated actor (dropped out to receive commercial artist training; later took a three-year course in accounting and graduated).
\nJon Huntsman, Jr…….former governor of the U.S. state of Utah; former U.S. ambassador to China; 2012 U.S. presidential candidate (dropped out of high school at 15 to join a rock band, later earned an equivalency diploma, then a degree in international politics from the University of Pennsylvania.
\nZora Neale Hurston….American author (removed from school by her father at age 13 so that she could help care for her older brother’s children; later resumed her formal education, graduating from high school and earning a two-year degree from Howard University).<\/p>\n

J
\nDavid L. Jackson….American Olympic athelete in boxing (Sydney 2000 summer games) (equivalency diploma).
\nJoshua Jackson……actor (equivalency diploma).
\nPeter Jennings……Canadian-born American television journalist; evening news anchorman; author (equivalency diploma).
\nWaylon Jennings…..country music star; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nJoan Jett……..rock star; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (equivalency diploma).
\nWilliam W. Johnstone……American author (dropped out of school at 15 and joined a carnival; returned to school later and graduated).
\nAngelina Jolie…..Oscar-winning actress; United Nations goodwill ambassador; American author; former model (high-IQ high school dropout; dropped out of school in her sophomore year; returned in a special program and graduated a year early; later attended New York University).
\nJenny Jones……television talk-show host; Canadian-born author; former stand-up comedienne (equivalency diploma in 1996 at age 49\/50).<\/p>\n

L
\nJaron Lanier…….American computer scientist; musician- composer-artist-author; coined the computer term “virtual reality” (high-IQ high-school dropout; took advanced math classes at New Mexico State University at age 14).
\nCyndi Lauper……..rock star (equivalency diploma).
\nFran Lebowitz……..best-selling American author; humorist; actress (equivalency diploma).
\nJuliette Lewis……..Oscar-nominated actress (equivalency diploma).
\nAbraham Lincoln…..16th U.S. President; face is pictured on the U.S. five dollar bill and one-cent coin (penny) (little formal education [Lincoln himself estimated about one year]; home schooling\/reading books\/life experience; later received three honorary law degrees after becoming president: 1860, Knox College; 1861, Columbia College [now Columbia University], 1864, College of New Jersey [now Princeton University]).
\nLindsay Lohan……actress (equivalency diploma).
\nJack London…….best-selling American author (dropped out at 14 to work; later gained admission to the University of California; left after one semester).<\/p>\n

M
\nTobey Maguire…….actor (equivalency diploma).
\nJena Malone……..actress (equivalency diploma).
\nKelly McGillis……actress (equivalency diploma).
\nAlexander McQueen…..fashion designer (left school at 16; later earned a masters degree from the Central St. Martins School of Art and Design in London).
\nRuth Ann Minner…..Governor of Delaware 2001-present; Delaware’s first woman governor (equivalency diploma, at age 32).
\nJohn Michael Montgomery….country music star (equivalency diploma).
\nArthur Ernest Morgan….American flood-control engineer; college president; author; appointed by President Roosevelt to be director of the Tennessee Valley Authority public works project (left high school after three years; later attended the University of Colorado for six weeks).
\nTracy Morgan……actor; comedian; American author (honorary diploma in 2002 from DeWitt Clinton High School, as recalled in his 2009 autobiography I\u00a0Am\u00a0the\u00a0New\u00a0Black.
\nAnne Murray…….singer; Canadian author (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

N
\nJames Naismith…..Canadian-born inventor of basketball (dropped out of high school, then returned after four years; later went to McGill University).
\nTommy Nunez…….basketball referee; American author (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

O
\nWilliam Owens…….baseball player (elementary school dropout; received honorary high-school diploma at age 94).<\/p>\n

P
\nJimmy Page…..rock star; member of the bands “The Yardbirds” and “Led Zeppelin” (dropped out of high school; later attended art college for a year and a half).
\nTyler Perry……writer-producer-director-actor; businessman (equivalency diploma).
\nMadeleine Peyroux……singer-songwriter; guitarist (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

R
\nJames Randi………magician-lecturer; Canadian-born American author (received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at age 67 from the University of Indianapolis, USA in 1995).
\nManny Ramirez…..baseball player (equivalency diploma).
\nJ.J. Reneaux……singer-songwriter-storyteller; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nMary Lou Retton….Olympic Gold Medal gymnast; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nOral Roberts……..evangelist; founder of “Oral Roberts University”; best-selling American author (dropped out of high school; later returned and went on to college).
\nChris Rock………comedian-actor; American author (equivalency diploma).
\nJohn D. Rockefeller Sr…..self-made billionaire American businessman-philanthropist; co-founder of “The Standard Oil Company”; history’s first recorded billionaire (dropped out of high school two months before graduation; took business courses for ten weeks at Folsom Mercantile College [a chain business school]).
\nNorman Rockwell……artist; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient (left high school at age 15, enrolled in various art courses; later graduated from the Art Students League of New York).
\nMichelle Rodriguez….actress (equivalency diploma).
\nJames E. Rogan……politician; U.S. Congressman (California U.S. Representative) (dropped out of high school, returned, and eventually earned a law degree from UCLA).
\nSeth Rogan……actor-writer-producer (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

S
\nCarl Sandburg…….Pulitzer Prize-winning best-selling American author (little formal education; later passed entrance exam to Lombard College and graduated).
\n“Colonel” Harland Sanders….self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder-spokesperson of the “Kentucky Fried Chicken\/KFC” fast-food restaurant chain (fifth-grade elementary school dropout; later earned a correspondence course law degree).
\nJos\u00e9 Saramago…..Nobel Prize-winning Portugese author (dropped out of high school due to his family’s financial situation; later attended a technical school where he received training in auto repair).
\nArnold Schwarzenegger…..actor-producer; Governor of California; Austrian-born American author (left school at age 14 to begin bodybuilding training and carpentry apprenticeship; later in 1979 as an adult in the United States graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior).
\nAlicia Silverstone….actress (equivalency diploma).
\nAlastair Sim…..actor (left school at 14 to work in his father’s store; later went to a university and became a teacher of speech and drama; played the title role of “Scrooge” in the classic 1951 holiday film.)
\nChristian Slater…..actor (equivalency diploma, at age 32).
\nWalter L. Smith…..former president of Florida A&M University (equivalency diploma, at age 23).
\nJamie Lynn Spears…..actress (equivalency diploma).
\nPatrick Stewart…..actor-writer-producer-director; former captain of the Enterprise on TV’s Star Trek: The Next Generation and in films; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Patrick Stewart) (appointed Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, in his home county of Yorshire, England in 2003).
\nW. Clement Stone….self-made multimillionaire (some sources indicate billionaire) American businessman-author; founder of “Success” magazine (elementary school dropout; later attended high- school night courses and then some college).
\nHilary Swank…..Oscar-winning actress (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

T
\nValentina Tereshkova….Russian cosmonaut; space travel pioneer; first woman in space (at age 26; June 16, 1963); first woman to orbit the earth; first woman to conceive and give birth to a baby on earth [a daughter, 1964] after having been in space; first space traveler who was not first a pilot; awarded the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace (early formal education delayed until age 10 due to her family’s financial situation; left school at age 16 to work in a textile factory as a loom operator; later at age 24 graduated as a cotton spinning technology expert from the Light Industry Technical School by means of a correspondence course in her spare time; a skilled amateur parachutist, she wrote a letter to the space center volunteering for space flight and after an examination was accepted for training and given a military rank; her education continued after her historic flight [one flight only] and she graduated from the Zhuykosky Air Force Engineering Academy).
\nDave Thomas………self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder-spokesperson of the “Wendy’s” fast-food restaurant chain; best-selling American author (equivalency diploma, at age 60).
\nRasta Thomas…….dancer-actor; martial artist (equivalency diploma).
\nAndrea Thompson….television show host; former news reporter; former actress and model (equivalency diploma).<\/p>\n

V
\nMartin Van Buren….8th U.S. President (little formal education; later began studying law at age 14 while an apprentice at a law firm and became a lawyer)
\nNguyen Van Hiev….top Vietnamese physicist (completed elementary school education and then dropped out of various schools thereafter due to his family’s financial situation; later earned a degree in physics from the Teachers Training University)
\nEddie Vedder…….rock star (equivalency diploma).
\nAntonio Villaraigosa……California state politician (dropped out of high school; later attended night school and then went to UCLA and earned a law degree).<\/p>\n

W
\nMark Wahlberg…….actor; former model and singer (equivalency diploma).
\nDamon Wayons……..actor-writer-producer-comedian (equivalency diploma).
\nH.G. Wells…….best-selling British author (dropped out to help family earn income; later returned and went on to college).
\nLucinda Williams….singer-songwriter (equivalency diploma).
\nGretchen Wilson….singer-songwriter: American author (left school in the ninth grade; took and passed equivalency diploma test in 2008 at age 34).
\nAlicia Witt…….actress-pianist (high-IQ high-school dropout; left school to pursue acting; took and passed equivalency diploma test at age 14).<\/p>\n

Dropped Out, Joined Military, & Eventually Received Diploma Equivalency Status<\/p>\n

A
\nDanny Aiello……..Oscar-nominated actor (16, U.S. Army).
\nWally Amos………self-made
\nmultimillionaire businessman; founder of the “Famous Amos” brand cookie business; former William Morris talent agent; American author (17, U.S. Air Force).<\/p>\n

B
\nArt Bell…….radio talk-show host; best-selling American author (17, U.S. Air Force).
\nRoy Benavides……injured Green Beret Vietnam war hero; U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient (17, U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

C
\nBen Nighthorse Campbell….politician; Colorado U.S. Senator (17, U.S. Air Force).
\nCesar Chavez…….U.S. farm labor leader pioneer (17, U.S. Navy; elementary school dropout).
\nJim Clark……..self-made billionaire American businessman; founder of “Netscape”; first Internet billionaire; American author (17, U.S. Navy).<\/p>\n

D
\nJimmy Dean……….singer-songwriter-actor; self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the “Jimmy Dean Foods” brand sausage business (16, U.S. Merchant Marines; 18, U.S. Air Force).<\/p>\n

F
\nJames Florio…….Governor of New Jersey 1990-1994 (17, U.S. Marines).
\nLarry Flynt………self-made multimillionaire American publisher; American author (15, U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

G
\nJerry Garcia……..rock star; American author (17, U.S. Army).
\nJames Garner…….Oscar-nominated actor (U.S. Army; dropped out of high school and later got diploma in Army.).
\nAlan Gerry……self-made billionaire American businessman (17, U.S. Marines).
\nRobert Guillaume….actor (17, U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

H
\nGene Hackman……..Oscar-winning actor; best-selling American author (16, U.S. Marines).
\nBo Hopkins……..actor (16, U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

I
\nDon Imus……..radio-show host; photographer; best-selling American author (17, U.S. Marines).<\/p>\n

J
\nAndrew Jackson……7th U.S. President; face is pictured on the U.S. twenty dollar bill (13, U.S. Continental Army; orphaned at 14; little formal education; home schooling\/life experience; studied law in his late teens and became a lawyer).<\/p>\n

K
\nHarvey Keitel…….Oscar-nominated actor (17, U.S. Marines).<\/p>\n

L
\nRichard Lynch…….actor (16, U.S. Marines).<\/p>\n

M
\nMike Mansfield…..politician; U.S. Senator (Montana; longest-serving U.S. Senate Majority Leader, 15 years) (14, U.S. Navy).
\nRichard Marcinko……best-selling American author (17, U.S. Navy).
\nSteve McQueen……..Oscar-nominated actor (17, U.S. Marines).
\nJoseph Moakley……..politician; U.S. Congressman (Massachusetts U.S. Representative) (15, U.S. Navy).
\nEric Morley…….British entertainment businessman; founder of the “Miss World” pageant (orphaned at 11; Royal Navy training ship “Exmouth”).<\/p>\n

N
\nLeRoy Neiman………artist; American author (15, U.S. Army).
\nWillie Nelson…….Oscar-nominated songwriter-singer; Country Music Hall of Fame inductee; American author (17, U.S. Air Force).<\/p>\n

P
\nDave Pelzer…..best-selling American author; lecturer (dropped out before graduation, 18, U.S. Air Force).
\nJoseph Pulitzer…….self-made multimillionaire Hungarian- born American businessman; early American newspaper publisher; founder of the Pulitzer Prize and the School of Journalism at Columbia University (17, American Union Army).<\/p>\n

R
\nCharles Rangel…..politician; U.S. Congressman (New York representative) (18, U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

S
\nHenry William Sands….retired civil-rights attorney (17, U.S. Air Force).
\nRobert F. Scott…..British Antarctic explorer; author (13, Royal Navy).
\nJerry Stanley…….American author; university professor (17, U.S. Air Force).
\nRod Steiger………Oscar-winning actor (16, U.S. Navy).<\/p>\n

T
\nLee Trevino…….golfer; American author (17, U.S. Marines; elementary school dropout).<\/p>\n

U
\nLeon Uris……….best-selling American author (Exodus, etc.) (17, U.S. Marines).<\/p>\n

W
\nClint Walker……actor (16; quit school to work in a factory, then joined the U.S. Merchant Marines at 18).
\nFlip Wilson………comedian-TV variety show host (16, U.S. Air Force).<\/p>\n

– End Lists –<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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