Top 10 Successful Celebrities Who Dropped Out of School

Walt Disney was very imaginative from childhood. As a teenager, he focused on drawing instead of assignments, leading to negative feedback from teachers. He dropped out at 16 to join the army but was too young, so he joined the Red Cross instead. After leaving, he founded The Walt Disney Company.

Disney changed not only animation but also television, amusement parks, society, business, and the world with creations like Steamboat Willie, Snow White, Disneyland, and Mary Poppins. He also planned a new type of city called EPCOT. Sadly, Disney died at 65 in 1966. He received his high school diploma at 58.

As a teenager, Marlon Brando was a troublemaker and was held back a year in school. He even rode a motorcycle in the hallways of Libertyville High School, leading to his expulsion. He was sent to Shattuck Military Academy, where he excelled in theater and academics.

One day, he sneaked out of town, and the school wanted to expel him, but his friends supported him, believing expulsion was too harsh. Brando returned the following year but decided to drop out to pursue his acting career. He became famous for roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, On the Waterfront, Sayonara, One-Eyed Jacks, The Ugly American, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, and A Dry White Season. Brando passed away in 2004.

Even during high school, Eminem was starting his rap career with rap battles. He failed freshman year three times and eventually dropped out to get a job to help his mother pay the bills. He also struggled with living in a rough neighborhood, being fired, and taking care of his daughter, Hailie Jade.

He made his first album, Infinite, in 1996 after releasing several mixtapes with his rap group, Soul Intent. The following year, he gained attention with his Slim Shady persona in the Slim Shady EP. A man who worked for Interscope got Eminem's demo after a rap battle, showed it to Jimmy Iovine, who then played it for Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre wanted Eminem immediately.

After they met and finished The Slim Shady LP, Eminem rose to fame and shocked rap fans by breaking racial barriers, despite predecessors like the Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, and 3rd Bass (though Vanilla Ice was not a positive influence). He became a superstar with The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. Today, he is famous and worth $230 million.

When Jay-Z was a teenager, he attended George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School with Busta Rhymes and The Notorious B.I.G., before moving to New Jersey to attend Trenton Central High School. During this period, he sold crack cocaine and was shot three times. He began his rap career in 1986 with the help of his mentor Jaz-O.

Over the next 10 years, he gained popularity through appearances with Jaz-O, rap battles, and features on albums by Big Daddy Kane and Big L. He also rapped with DMX and Ja Rule early in their careers. Jay-Z eventually founded Roc-A-Fella Records and released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. He was later signed to Def Jam and became one of rap's greatest artists.

Jay-Z also became a successful entrepreneur, owning restaurants, a tech company, a media streaming service, and a line of cannabis products.

Johnny Depp dropped out at 15 to pursue a career as a rock star, joining the group Rock City Angels. He later transitioned to acting, starting with 21 Jump Street. Depp has starred in Cry-Baby, Edward Scissorhands, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Don Juan DeMarco, Dead Man, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, and most famously, as Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Jim Carrey spent his late teenage years in poverty and dropped out of school to financially support his family. He then did impressionist work in Toronto, appeared on Letterman, gained fame on In Living Color, and achieved widespread critical acclaim starting with Ace Ventura.

Doing impressionist work might seem like an unusual path after dropping out of school, but I could be wrong.

Rihanna dropped out of school at 16 to sign a deal with Def Jam and moved to America from Barbados. Although she wanted to graduate, she chose to pursue music. After a series of successful albums and tours, she became a fashion designer, businesswoman, and entrepreneur. She founded the fashion house Fenty under the luxury fashion group LVMH. In 2015, she became the first non-white woman to appear in a Dior promotional image, marking her start in fashion.

Al Pacino, an associate of Marlon Brando, is known for his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy. He struggled in school, excelling only in English, and dropped out to pursue acting. He became famous for roles in The Godfather trilogy, Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon, and Heat.

Leonardo DiCaprio dropped out after his senior year to pursue acting and joined a local drama center. He went on to have a successful acting career with roles in The Basketball Diaries, Titanic, The Aviator, Inception, Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby, and The Wolf of Wall Street.