If you’ve considered studying abroad, it appears that you’re in rather good company. These ten celebrities took the plunge and moved to foreign countries to master their art – and just look at them now!
1 – Penelope Cruz
The beautiful (and multi-talented) Penelope Cruz stepped away from her homeland of Spain to study acting in New York at the prestigious Cristina Rote’s acting school.
2 – Bill Clinton
The USA is known as the land of opportunity, yet for this future President it was England that provided the university education that would see him to become arguably the most powerful politician in the world.
3 – Gwyneth Paltrow
American actress Gwyneth Paltrow has been reported to have said that the one year she spent in Spain as an exchange student changed her life and gave her a lust for travel. Today she’s a globally recognised actress and flits between her native USA and her more permanent home in England.
4 – Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper appears to have more than a mere natural ability for acting, as following a short, six-month placement studying French in Aix-en-Provence he reputedly became fluent.
5 – Desmond Tutu
Amongst the actors and traditional celebs on our list is one Desmond Tutu – a man that has continually worked for the better good of his South African homelands. However his work may not have been possible without his experience at King’s College London – he himself says that this was the experience that opened up a whole new world to him.
6 – JK Rowling
It’s hard to know where the world of Children’s literature would be without Harry Potter – and JK Rowling gained part of her literary degree in France, where she was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by serving president Sarkozy.
7- Isla Fisher
It seems that there’s a running theme with those who’ve found success following a stint of study in France, and as yet another example of this is Isla Fisher. This actress spent a term studying at the L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
8 – Matthew McConaughey
As a Golden Globes and Oscar winner, Matthew McConaughey is today known the world over – and is the only celeb on our list to have studied overseas, down under in Australia.
9 – Chris Pine
Chris Pine (most commonly associated with his star role as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek films) studied English at the University of Leeds as part of his three year degree.
10 – Dan Brown
Dan Brown shook the literary world when he released his ground breaking DaVinci Code and is another alumni from studying in the lands of Spain (namely in Seville). Unfortunately Dan Brown may well be one of the few upon our list not to have raved about his experience – featuring Seville in his book Digital Fortress. The picture he painted his readers of the city promoted politicians to invite him to re-visit the city to consider ‘revising his opinion’.
photo credit: Wikipedia
