5 Hollywood Celebrities Who are Actually VERY Smart

Sometimes, people think that Hollywood stars primarily made it big in the industry because of their good looks and toned body. Many do not know that many actually came from the Ivy League universities before or at the same time that they were establishing their names in the big screen.

Here is a list of five celebrities who are also known to possess big brains.

1. Natalie Portman

Portman graduated from Harvard University and went on to finish courses at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She speaks six languages. She used her birth name, Natalie Herschlag, during her time at Harvard, but people may have easily noticed because this was around the time she was filming for her role as Queen Amidala for Star Wars. The "Black Swan" Academy Award-winning actress impressed her university professors and has been published several times in scientific journals.

2. Conan O'Brien

The talk show host also graduated from Harvard University with a degree in history and literature. Since his college days, O'Brien was already popular for being a funny man, being the president of the Harvard Lampoon.

3. Matt Damon

One of Damon's best works, "Good Will Hunting" was actually initiated while he was studying at Harvard University. He dropped out of school to focus on film but he was nevertheless given the Harvard Arts Medal after several successful roles in the movie industry.

4. Sharon Stone

Stone is widely known for having an IQ of 154. When she was only 15 years old, she was given a college scholarship and attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing and fine arts before she became famous worldwide for her age-defying beauty.

5. Edward Norton

The Oscar-nominated star of "American History X" and "Hulk" attended Yale University. He previously studied history before a back injury forced him to retire from the school's rowing team and try theatre instead. After finishing his degree at Yale, he went to Osaka, Japan where he learned the Japanese language, as well as operated a foundation started by his grandfather.

Other stars have also made their mark for having a very high IQ and speaking several languages such as Dolph Lundgren, who garnered a Fulbright Scholarship at MIT, James Woods, who topped his SATs, siblings Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, who both attended Columbia University, and Kate Beckinsale, who speaks four languages.