After Emma Watson announced that she would not return to Brown University to finish her college education, we breathed a heavy sigh and muttered, 'another one bites the academic dust.' But just months later, she reneged on her previous statement and said she would, in fact, head back to Rhode Island to complete her degree -- but Watson's educational persistence is a far cry from the Hollywood norm.
Actors who decide to head back to academia after they've become a household name have ideas of grandeur -- pencils to sharpen, teacher's pet places to fill and frat party keg stands to perform -- but calling it quits after a semester or two seems to be Hollywood's reality. Celebs like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and "Gossip Girl" star, Connor Paolo couldn't hack it when it came to juggling their career and class curriculums.
But Hollywood does have its few beauty and brains dual-degree earners who have managed to outsmart their own fame and double dip into the "normal" academic experience while still maintaining the perks of their famous faces -- James Franco, Natalie Portman and Haley Joel Osment all put their impressive resumes aside to pick up a new, off-camera role as student.
Check out these famous faces who headed back to class for a semester or a PhD.
