Most celebrities tend to stick to the career path that made them famous. Some of them, however, get a degree, dedicate themselves to a hobby, or start a second career that’s highly impressive.
Here are 13 celebs who are accomplished in completely unrelated fields:
1.
Filmmaker James Cameron is a deep-sea explorer. In 2012, he became the second person in history (and the first since 1960) to dive to the deepest known point in the world — Challenger Deep, 35,787 ft beneath the Pacific in the Marianas Trench. His expedition was important because it led to more scientific research in the ocean depths.
2.
Queen lead guitarist and founding member Brian May is an award-winning astrophysicist.
3.
Singer/songwriter and the Queen of Neo-Soul Erykah Badu is also a doula who’s delivered more than 50 babies since 2001.
4.
Actor Kal Penn left House to work as the associate director in the White House office of public liaison under the Obama administraiton.
5.
Actor and singer/songwriter Bridgit Mendler graduated from Harvard Law School in 2024. She also got her master’s from MIT in 2020 and is currently a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab. Additionally, she’s the CEO of Northwood Space, a startup with its “sights on building a data highway between earth and space.”
6.
After adopting her two kids, actor Jamie Lee Curtis invented a diaper with an attached moisture-proof pocket for baby wipes. She patented it in 1988.
7.
Singer/songwriter Neil Young is also an inventor whose name is on seven patents related to model trains.
8.
Actor Jeremy Renner is a successful real estate developer who’s flipped dozens of houses in Southern California.
9.
After moving to Australia with her family in 2014, The Real Housewives of New York City star Alex McCord studied to become a psychologist, earning her degree in 2017. Then, in 2020, her research won the Australian Psychological Society’s Elsie Harwood Award.
10.
Glee actor Chris Colfer is a New York Times bestselling author. His most well-known work is the children’s series The Land of Stories.
11.
Actor John Travolta is a pilot with eight jet licenses. He won the American Institute of Aeronautical Engineers (AIAA) award for excellence in aviation and world-wide promotion of the airline industry.
12.
Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor Leelee Sobieski retired from the spotlight in 2012. Under the name Leelee Kimmel (her married name), she emerged as an artist with her debut show, which attracted prominent art collectors, in 2018.
13.
And finally, Old Hollywood actor Hedy Lamarr was an inventor. In 1941, she patented a frequency-hopping technology. Her invention was a forerunner to Bluetooth, GPS, and secure wi-fi.
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