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Home · Celebrity

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who've Attended Ivy League Schools

By Sydney Scott · Updated October 26, 2020
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As the school year winds down for many teens in the US, recent stories have gone viral about Black teens landing Ivy League acceptance letters. New Jersey student Ifeoma White-Thorpe and quadruplets from Liberty Township, Ohio, have all earned acceptance letters to America’s top universities.

The teens join a number of celebrities who’ve graced the halls of Ivy Leagues. From Sanaa Lathan to Hill Harper, here are 21 celebrities who’ve attended Ivy League schools. 

01
Brian White

The actor and former stockbroker graduated from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
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02
Shonda Rhimes

The television genius earned her bachelor’s at Dartmouth, where she joined the Black Underground Theater Association and directed and performed various productions.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Michael Rowe
03
Toni Morrison

Morrison earned her master’s at Cornell after graduting from Howard with a B.A. in English.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
04
lupita nyong’o headwrap

Nyong’o graduated with a master’s from the Yale School of Drama, where she earned the Herschel Williams Prize for her acting.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Karwai Tang
05
Bob Johnson

The BET founder earned his master’s in public affairs at Princeton University. 

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Ron Adar/Getty Images
06
Joy Bryant

Bryan attended Yale after graduating from the small, private Westminster School, a boarding school in Connecticut.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Frederick M. Brown
07
Sanaa Lathan

Lathan earned her bachelor’s at the University of California, Berkley, before a graduating from Yale with a master’s in drama.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
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08
Hill Harper

Harper has three Ivy League degrees. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, graduated cum laude with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Harvard Law School, and received a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. 

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
getty images
09
ryan leslie

The recording artist earned a perfect score on his SATs, which landed him acceptance letters from Stanford, Harvard, and all four University of California campuses. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in government, focusing on macroeconomics and political science. He was selected as the Harvard Male Orator, one of four seniors to deliver orations to the graduating class.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Laura Cavanaugh
10
Rashida Jones

Jones initially planned to become a lawyer before studying philosophy and religion while at Harvard.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Michael Tran/FilmMagic
11
Courtney B. Vance

The actor and Emmy winner earned his bachelor’s from Harvard University and later received his master’s at the Yale School of Drama.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Getty Images
12
Angela Bassett

The Golden Globe-winning actress has a degree in African American studies from Yale. She also obtained her master’s from the Yale School of Drama. 

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Michael Rowe
13
Tammi Terrell

Tammie Terrell, who was also a popular singer for Motown Records, was most known for her duets with Marvin Gaye. At just 24, Terrell lost her life due to brain cancer. 

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14
Aisha Tyler

Tyler graduated from Darmouth, where she was a member of The Tabard, a co-ed fraternity. She also co-founded and sang in the a cappella group, Dartmouth Rockapellas, an all-female group of singers spreading social awareness through music.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Barry King
15
Alicia Keys

The Grammy-winning singer graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School at 16 as valedictorian and later pursued an education at Columbia University. She left the school to focus on music after signing with Columbia Records.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Stephen Lovekin
16
John Legend

The Grammy-winning singer was offered admission to Harvard, Georgetown, and Morehouse, but decided to attend the University of Pennslyvania, where he studied English with a focus on African American literature.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Kevin Winter
17
Nikki Giovanni

The poet and activist attended graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
Kris Connor
18
Tyra Banks

Banks completed a nine-week program at Harvard Business School back in 2012, earning a certificate. She returned in 2014 for a non-degree certificate program while working on her beauty brand, Tyra Beauty.

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19
Tracee Ellis Ross
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20
Yaya DaCosta

The runner up during America’s Next Top Model’s third season and star of Chicago Med, DaCosta has a degree in Africana Studies and International Relations from Brown University.

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
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21
Tatyana Ali

Ali earned a degree in African-American studies and government from Harvard. 

Black And Brilliant: 21 Celebs Who’ve Attended Ivy League Schools
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