9 Celebrities Who Were High School Valedictorians
9 Celebrities Who Were High School Valedictorians
Joyann JeffreyMon, April 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC
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Alicia Keys; Conan O'Brien; Cindy Crawford.Credit: Emma McIntyre/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty
High school never ends.
Before some celebrities made it big in Hollywood, they were ruling their high school cafeterias and getting the best marks on their tests. Some of them even credited their former teachers for helping them find success after they left with their diplomas.
From Alicia Keys to Conan O'Brien, here are nine celebrities who graduated as valedictorian of their high school.
01 of 09
Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.Credit: Getty
In 1981, Conan O'Brien graduated at the top of his class from Brookline High School in Boston. While giving a commencement speech to the graduating class of Stuyvesant High School in 2006, he recalled what he was like when he was a high school senior.
"I went to a public high school, and I was a bright, ambitious, hard working kid who wanted more than anything to go to a good college. The only problem is, I was much more interested in succeeding than in really learning," he said.
O'Brien said he joined clubs just because they looked good on his college applications. It wasn't until later he learned that he should only do things that excite him or sparks his curiosity.
"I’ve had a lot of highs, I’ve had my share of lows, but if I hadn’t allowed myself to experiment and risk doing something without a clear career payoff, I might have missed out on so much," he said.
02 of 09
Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford at the 2026 WWD Style Awards.Credit: Getty
Cindy Crawford graduated as the valedictorian of DeKalb High School in 1984. She received a scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern, but later dropped out to pursue modeling.
"Growing up, I wanted to be the first woman president of the United States," she told OK! Magazine in a February 2026 interview. "Then I wanted to be a doctor or maybe a teacher. Even now I could imagine myself in a job like that. I loved school. I was a straight A student so I had big aspirations to do something big."
"I was valedictorian. I went to college but as soon as I dropped out to do modelling, people immediately treated me like I was dumb. I wasn’t," she added.
03 of 09
Weird Al Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic at an AppleTV+ Primetime Emmy Party.Credit: Elyse Jankowski/Variety via Getty Images
Weird Al Yankovic graduated from California's Lynwood High School in 1975. At the time, the comedian was 16 years old. In a Facebook post, he wrote he was "pretty awkward, shy and nerdy" when he was a kid.
04 of 09
Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys at She Is The Music's Sharing The Spotlight at Delilah.Credit: Getty
Alicia Keys was valedictorian of New York City's Professional Performing Arts School in the 1990s.
In 2024, she took a tour of her old school during a segment on CBS Mornings.
"I've always been pretty social. I'm definitely a troublemaker," she said while reminiscing about her life as a teen. "Like in the sense of like, I test people and I like, challenge people. I was definitely challenging the teachers for sure."
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Keys noted that her former music teacher, Linda Aziza Miller, was the one who helped her become an entertainer.
"She taught me so much about how to arrange music, how to arrange a song. Those are the things that I took, and I put into the music," she said.
05 of 09
Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen at Variety's TV FYC Fest.Credit: Getty
Tiffani Thiessen was a valedictorian, too. The actress graduated at the top of her class in 1992. She attended Valley Professional High School (now known as Brighton Hall School) in California.
By the time Thiessen graduated, she already had three seasons of Saved by the Bell under her belt, in which she played Kelly Kapowski.
06 of 09
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos during day 2 of the America Business Forum.Credit: Getty
Jeff Bezos was the smartest kid at Miami's Palmetto High School. According to CNBC, he graduated with 680 students in 1982 and spoke about the future of space travel in his valedictorian speech.
07 of 09
Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster during day 2 of the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival on November 29, 2025 in Marrakech, MoroccoCredit: Getty
In 1980, Jodie Foster graduated from Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles as the valedictorian of her class. However, the Oscar winner had already made a name for herself in Hollywood five years earlier for her performance in Taxi Driver.
08 of 09
Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase at Radio City Music Hall.Credit: Getty
In 1960, Chevy Chase graduated as valedictorian from Massachusetts' progressive Stockbridge School.
“I was never the class clown, but I was definitely funny," the Saturday Night Live alum told Bedford & New Canaan Magazine in 2024.
09 of 09
Cody Simpson
Cody Simpson at the Australia cast announcement for "Guys And Dolls."Credit: Getty
In 2014, Cody Simpson graduated as valedictorian from his Atlanta high school.
On Instagram, he posted excerpts from his speech.
“It is possible to finish high school amidst having a very busy schedule and amidst working relentlessly towards chasing my wildest dreams,” the Surfboard singer said.
He added, "Intelligence is the sexiest thing in the entire world."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
