Six Celebrities Who Have a Business Degree

Those considering earning an online business degree are in good company. Here are six celebrities and other notables who have a college-level business education.

1. John Grisham
   One of America’s best-selling writers earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a specialty in accounting from Mississippi State University and went on to become a practicing lawyer. It’s likely that this 10-year career inspired his fictional courtroom thrillers, such as The Firm and A Time to Kill.
   
2. Wanda Sykes
   While best known for her stand-up comedy, Sykes earned a marketing degree from Hampton University in Virginia before ever taking the stage. After graduation, she worked as a contracting specialist for the National Security Administration in her Washington, DC hometown, where she started doing stand-up in the early 90s before moving to New York City to pursue an entertainment career in earnest.
   
3. Kevin Costner
   Before starring in some of the biggest blockbusters of the 1990s, Costner earned a bachelor’s degree in business from California State University, Fullerton. While he worked as a marketing executive, his business career lasted only a month before the acting bug bit.
   
4. Shaquille O’Neal
   O’Neal is one of the few celebrities on this list to pursue higher education after becoming famous. After his NBA career, the basketball player earned a master’s in business administration from Louisiana State University.
   
5. Cate Blanchett
   Although Blanchett’s degree in fine arts from the University of Melbourne foreshadows her destiny as an Academy Award-winning actress, few know that she had a dual major with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
   
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger
   Before his days as The Terminator and long before becoming a Governor of California, Schwarzenegger earned a degree in Business and International Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Superior via correspondence courses, an early precursor to an online business degree.

The divergent career paths of these celebrities show that an online business degree is a preparation for success in a range of fields.