5 celebs who went to law school (and 3 who dropped out)

Celebrity, News

It’s common knowledge that Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer before becoming one of the greatest figures of the 20th century and that John Grisham practiced law before writing bestselling legal thrillers. And it’s unsurprising that many presidents and other politicians have graduated from or dropped out of law school. But did you know that the following celebrities attended law school, too?

5 celebs who passed the bar

Gerard Butler. The star of “300” and “The Ugly Truth” went to law school at the University of Glasgow. He got a position at an Edinburgh firm as a trainee but was fired a week before qualifying as a lawyer and, luckily for us, turned his attentions to Hollywood.

Rebel Wilson. The Australian comedian and actress of “Pitch Perfect” and “Bridesmaids” fame studied arts as well as law at the University of New South Wales. She decided to pursue acting after malaria treatment caused her to hallucinate winning an Oscar. 

John Cleese. As the co-founder of Monty Python, creator of the “Fawlty Towers” television series, and star of movies like “A Fish Called Wanda,” Cleese has an incredible comedy resume. His serious side is equally impressive. Cleese studied law at Cambridge University, though he never ended up using his degree. Instead he got involved with the legendary Footlights theatrical group and went on to a career in comedy.

Julio Iglesias. Spanish songwriter and singer Iglesias is one of the best-selling artists of all time. In addition to playing soccer professionally for a time, he studied law in his hometown of Madrid but never pursued a legal career. He discovered his talent for music after a terrible car accident left him hospitalized and temporarily unable to walk. A nurse gave him a guitar, and the rest is history.

Vladimir Lenin. That’s right, the Communist leader studied law at Kazan University and later worked with peasants in Samara before eventually taking over Russia.

3 famous law school dropouts

Gene Kelly. The images of Gene Kelly dancing with a cartoon mouse in “Anchors Aweigh” or splashing through puddles in “Singing in the Rain” show a man who was born to dance. That’s why it’s hard to believe that this Philadelphia boy studied economics at the University of Pittsburgh before attending law school there for two months. He dropped out to become one of the great movie stars of the ‘40s and ‘50s. 

Gabriel García Márquez. The late author of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Love in the Time of Cholera” studied law in Colombia before becoming a journalist and a Nobel Prize-winning writer. 

Ted Bundy. The infamous serial killer went to law school at the University of Utah but stopped going right around the time women in the area began disappearing.

More famous celebrity law school dropouts.

3 actors-turned-lawyers

Jeff B. Cohen. Better known to you as Chunk from ‘80s classic “The Goonies.” After leaving the limelight, Jeff Cohen became an entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills.

Joshua D. Saviano. Better known to you as Kevin’s friend Paul on the ‘80s show “The Wonder Years.” He now practices corporate law and intellectual property law in New York.

Charlie Korsmo. Also known as the son in “Hook,” the son in “What About Bob?” or the nerd out for revenge in “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Korsmo turned out to be an academic superstar, earning a physics degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a law degree from Yale. He’s so great, even President Barack Obama took notice.