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.
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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.