Celebrity Who Found Success Without Degree

Whether students decide to carry on to further education or not, going to university is not the be all and end all.  (Education is important because most of them still get a degree after their success, guess is knowing what you really want to do and working hard at it.  May God show us the way.  Amen - Blogger K)

Perhaps the world would be slightly less colourful if  Richard Branson hadn't decided to pursue selling records aged 16 or Kanye West had continued his studies at Chicago State University instead of fulfilling his musical ambitions.

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, before completing his studies at Harvard University. In 2007, more than thirty years after he left Harvard, he received his degree (an honorary doctorate) from his alma mater.

Brad Pitt could have been a journalist had he not made a change in career path before completing his Journalism degree at the University of Missouri.

Ellen DeGeneres decided that university was not for her and left the University of New Orleans after one semester. Instead, Ellen seized the moment and started a career in stand up comedy, which lead to a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

George Clooney started out at the University of Kentucky and majored in Journalism before transferring to the University of Cincinnati and then opting to follow his dream of acting.

Jamie Dornan attended Teesside University, Middlesbrough, but made the bold decision to move to London and train as an actor.

After high school, Kanye West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to major in English. However, aged 20, the multi-talented star made the decision to leave university in order to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. 'The College Dropout' was Kanye's debut album winning a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Kate Beckinsale attended New College, University of Oxford where she studied French and Russian literature. However, Kate took the plunge when she landed a role in Much Ado About Nothing and began her successful acting career.

Madonna was a straight-A student at school. After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan.  In 1978, she dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. Her daughter Lourdes Leon will be starting at the University of Michigan in October 2014.

Internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg left Harvard to co-found Facebook. Mark became the CEO of Facebook in April 2013 and his personal wealth, as of July 2014, is estimated to be $33.1billion. However, the philanthropist now receives a one-dollar salary.

Internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg left Harvard to co-found Facebook. Mark became the CEO of Facebook in April 2013 and his personal wealth, as of July 2014, is estimated to be $33.1billion. However, the philanthropist now receives a one-dollar salary.

Oprah Winfrey made a bold move before completing her degree at Tennesse State University when she decided to take up a job offer working as a reporter in Maryland.

Philip Green, CEO of Arcadia Group, which owns Top Shop, BHS and Dorothy Perkins, left school aged 15 and worked for a shoe importer before travelling around Europe, the US, and Asia. On his return he set up his own business importing jeans from the Far East to retailers in London.

Richard Branson founded The Student, a magazine he distributed to his fellow students at Stowe School in England, aged 16. Instead of taking the traditional path of attending university Richard began selling popular records out of the church in which he ran the magazine, seeing the start of Virgin Records.

Music mogul Simon Cowell left school after taking his GCE O levels. He started working as a runner on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining before breaking into the music industry

Steve Jobs left Reed College to go on to become the father of Apple. After dropping out of his clases he took a calligraphy class that later inspired him to include a wide range of fonts on the first Macs.

Will Smith turned down an offer to start a pre-engineering programme at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in order to pursue a career in music. He started in the mid-eighties as the MC of DJ Jazzy Jeff and then starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Brad Pitt could have been a journalist had he not made a change in career path before completing his Journalism degree at the University of Missouri.