Hollywood loves a good origin story, and some of the strangest start with anatomy textbooks instead of headshots. Long before red carpets and box office weekends, a handful of famous faces planned lives in hospitals, not studios. In their late teens and early twenties, they chased medical degrees, memorised Latin terms, and survived brutal study schedules. Fame arrived later, often in the early 2000s, and changed everything. A few even circled back, enrolling in classes again once their acting careers settled. You read that right. While you’re binge-watching movies, some celebrities once worried about exams, not auditions. Talent clearly isn’t their only skill.
Adrian Holmes
Before his acting career took off, Adrian Holmes studied nursing in college as a backup plan. Now he’s had roles in several popular TV shows, including Bel-Air and 19-2.
Bonnie Hunt
Actress Bonnie Hunt was an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for five years before she got her big break in Hollywood. While the Jumanji star admitted she would have never gone into the medical field had it not been for pressure from her father, she also appreciates how it has kept her humble in such a “self-obsessed” industry.
David Lee Roth
You may be surprised to know that Van Halen’s lead singer, David Lee Roth, actually pursued a few different careers in medicine. The first was before he rose to fame as a rock star, when he worked as an orderly in California. The second was during a hiatus from music in the late 1990s, when he worked over 200 ambulance calls as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New York City.
Dexter Holland
Another rocker with a foot in the medical field is none other than the lead singer of The Offspring, Dexter Holland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in molecular biology while still touring with the band. When the Offspring blew up, he chose to put his music first, but he still managed to finish his PhD two decades later.
Emeli Sande
Singer and songwriter Emeli Sande has made a name for herself writing songs for some of the hottest artists of the 21st century. We’re sure you know, Rihanna and Alicia Keys. But before music became her full-time focus, Sande actually studied for a degree in clinical neuroscience. She even had an offer to study her final two years of her six-year medical degree at Glasgow University.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara
You may not be able to picture the revolutionist Che Guevara in a clean white coat with a stethoscope slung around his neck, but he was indeed an Argentinean physician. In fact, it was while travelling across South America as a medical student that he witnessed the poverty and inequality that would lead him to fight for social justice.
Eva Longoria
The beautiful Eva Longoria received a degree in kinesiology, but winning a beauty pageant changed the course of her career. The Desperate Housewives star already had plans to further her education in sports science, but fate had other plans for her.
George Miller
It’s strange to think that there could have been a world without the Mad Max franchise or the penguins of Happy Feet if filmmaker George Miller had never stumbled across a lecture that helped him realise he “wasn’t just a medical student“. He slowly embraced the change in profession by working as a doctor while making early short films and saving up to finance the first Mad Max film. The rest, as they say, is history.
Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman was studying medicine when he found success with the comedy group Monty Python. Even so, he completed his medical studies and became a fully qualified doctor, though he ultimately chose the life of a comedian and actor.
Jay Sean
Jay Sean is still enjoying the success of his music career, a career he chose over becoming a doctor. Sean was two years into a medical degree when he was offered a record deal. We got hits like Down and Do You Remember because of this big switch.
Jennifer Stone
Don’t be too surprised if you happen to see Jennifer Stone working in the emergency room at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre. The Wizards of Waverly Place alum was inspired to become a nurse after her own struggles with Type 1 diabetes. But that doesn’t mean she’s abandoned her acting career entirely.
Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy initially pursued a nursing career but had to drop out of the programme because of financial constraints. She ended up modelling for Playboy to earn some money and went on to a career in entertainment from there. Now, she seems to be ruffling up feathers in the medical industry as an anti-vaccine activist.
Jenny Thompson
Former competitive swimmer Jenny Thompson graduated from medical school in 2006 after racking up more Olympic medals than any other female swimmer in U.S. history. She is currently an anaesthesiologist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Centre.
Julie Walters
One of the grande dames of the British acting community, Julie Walters, has shared many amusing anecdotes about her time as a student nurse. The actress was halfway through her nursing course when she decided to give her love for acting a real chance. And what a versatile acting career she’s had.
Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong began his comedy career as a physician by day and a stand-up comic by night. That was until he made his film debut in the first Knocked Up movie. He even worked his experience in the medical field into a TV series called Dr Ken. They do say laughter is the best medicine.
Khaled Hosseini
While author Khaled Hosseini wrote his best-selling novel, The Kite Runner, he was also practising as a physician. He would wake up at four o’clock every morning just to work on his novel before a full day of treating patients. This apparently went on for a year and a half before the book was ready.
Kim Zolciak-Biermann
Kim Zolciak-Biermann is one of the more surprising celebrities to have pursued a career in medicine. The reality TV star started out as a licensed practical nurse before finding fame on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She has even posted throwback photos of her graduation on Instagram, captioned, “The day I graduated nursing school. I was so damn proud of myself”.
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow’s original career path was going to be academic research in medicine and neuroscience. The Friends star was all set to join her father in the field when she graduated with a degree in psychobiology from Vassar College. However, she was inspired to enter show business thanks to a family friend.
Mayim Bialik
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as brainy as her on-screen character, Amy Farrah Fowler. The Big Bang Theory actress has a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA and has published research articles in scientific journals.
Michael Crichton
After four years at Harvard Medical School, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker Michael Crichton chose to dive into a career in writing. Of course, his experience in the field helped him write some of his most famous works, including the hit TV series ER.
Naomi Judd
Naomi Judd worked as an ICU nurse before rising to fame as one-half of the famous country music duo The Judds. It was actually while treating producer Brent Maher’s daughter that she got a foot in the door at RCA Records.
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol was enrolled in medical school at the University of Barcelona when his basketball career took off. While he never earned his degree, he’s stayed in touch with the healthcare industry through investments in health tech and his own foundation for kids with obesity.
Robin Quivers
Robin Quivers is likely best known as Howard Stern’s long-time radio sidekick, but there’s a lot more to the radio personality than just her work with the legend of the airwaves. Quivers is also an author, actor, and, most importantly for this list, a registered nurse. She even worked as a nurse in the Air Force and reached the rank of captain.
Sonya Eddy
Actress Sonya Eddy likely drew on her experiences as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) for her character on General Hospital. She played the role of head nurse, Epiphany Johnson, for 17 years, until she died in 2022.
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is another surprising entrant on the list of celebrities who pursued careers in medicine. Turner was one of the most electrifying performers in music history. But before she was a global superstar, she worked as a nurse’s aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis. That is, until a chance meeting with Ike Turner changed her career trajectory.
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