Jessica Chastain is trading in set life for the classroom.
Indeed, the Zero Dark Thirty actress is taking classes at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government as part of its Master’s program for Public Administration, multiple outlets reported.
E! News has reached out to Jessica’s reps for comment but as not heard back.
In fact, the Ivy League degree will simply be an addition to the actress’ already impressive list of academic accomplishments, which include an honorary doctorate from her alma mater Julliard.
“Dr Chastain has a nice ring to it,” the Academy Award winner captioned a May 2024 Instagram video that featured the cap and gown ceremony. “Thank you @julliardschool for this honor and the custom hat. Congrats class of 2024!”
For Jessica education isn’t just another accolade, it is a testament to breaking generational barriers.
“Theatre became my lifeline,” The Martian alum said at the 38th Annual American Cinematheque Award in December. “It was a way to feel seen, to use my voice and to break free from the expectations that had bound my family for generations.”
“I was the first in my family to not get pregnant as a teenager, the first to finish high school and the first to attend college,” she continued. “And attending Julliard School didn’t just change my life. It showed my family that a different path was possible.”
The 48-year-old—who shares daughter Giuletta, 7, and son Augustus, 5, with husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposula—attended Sacramento City College and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before graduating from Julliard in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.
And she isn’t the only celebrity to pursue academia as Emma Watson has been studying for a graduate degree at Oxford University since 2023. In fact, the Harry Potter alum has even taken up extra-curriculars as she served as a coxswain for the school’s rowing team at their Summer Eights regatta May.
Keep reading for more celebrities who have pursued careers outside of Hollywood.
Nev Schulman
The Catfish host obtained his salesperson license in New York and announced in September 2025 he had begun to work as a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Warburg, following in the footsteps of his dad, a longtime broker at the company.
Kate Gosselin
While Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum Kate Gosselin lamented the fact that so much of her savings went toward paying lawyers in her battle with ex-husband Jon Gosselin, the evidence would suggest she’s enjoyed her return to nursing.
“I am an RN, I work in PEDs home health care,” Kate detailed in an August 2025 TikTok. “I work with one family currently. The patients already know my name and some things about me so before I come into their home, they know who I am. And I imagine they already know me.”
What she knows, though, is that helping others is quite fulfilling.
“It’s actually been a really rewarding and fun job,” Kate continued. “To come in and relieve a family of their medically challenged child so that they can spend time with their other kids and do other things.”
Drew Barrymore
For Drew Barrymore, a day of work has never been missed. Though her current gig helming The Drew Barrymore Show fills her days now, when the child star found herself emancipated from mom Jaid Barrymore at age 14, she scrambled to pay the bills.
Noting her friend worked at a coffee shop in the Valley, the actress shared in her 2015 memoir Wildflower that she had to find something closer to their rental because she didn’t have a driver’s license.
“It was the start of the 1990s, and coffeehouses were where everyone hung out,” she detailed of working at L.A. hot spot the Living Room. “People poured out on to the street every night.” Unfortunately, she continued, “I wasn’t great at my job. I wasn’t really great at anything. I had only done two things: acted and had wild life experiences.”
She served up the tea on one tense experience in her book.
“I could tell my boss, who had hired me on the novel idea of having a washed-up former child actor behind the counter, was patient with all my learning curves, but was also irritated with me,” she wrote, revealing how he walked in while she was doing the dishes “and said, very sharply and exasperatedly, ‘Don’t use the abrasive side of the brush! All the pastry cases are getting scratched and foggy, and you can’t see what’s inside!'”
Leah Kateb
Yep, Love Island USA alum Leah Kateb has an office job. In July 2025, she became the Chief Creative Officer for the fragrance company Skylar, describing herself as a “re-founder” of the brand.
Noah Schnapp
Lifeguard on duty!
When Stranger Things‘ Noah Schnapp isn’t battling supernatural beings in the Upside Down, he spends his time saving others in another way. In a 2022 interview with Flaunt magazine, the actor revealed he had a part time job as a lifeguard at his local pool during the summer.
“It’s kind of a ‘just for fun thing,'” he explained. “I’ve kind of grown up with a normal life and normal friends and stuff outside of Stranger Things, so it’s kind of kept me grounded.”
Erik von Detten
In the late ’90s and early ’00s, Erik von Detten captured the hearts of teens everywhere thanks to his roles in Escape to Witch Mountain, Brink! and The Princess Diaries. But after last acting credit in 2010 (a voiceover in Toy Story 3), von Detten’s career trajectory took a turn, landing him in the financial industry.
“Simultaneously when things started to slow down in acting in my early 20s, another opportunity presented itself for me with a company that I started working with at age 25,” von Detten shared in a rare interview with E! in 2021. “And I’ve been with that company ever since. It’s a sales position with a company working in finance. I’ve grown into a management position and it’s worked out really well.”
Nikki Blonsky
Several years after starring in the 2007 movie adaptation of Hairspray, Golden Globe nominee Nikki Blonsky made headlines when it was reported she was working as a makeup artist at a beauty salon on Long Island.
“Its true Im workin@ Superstar Salon as a makeup artist & more Im proud 2 b workin & helpin pay bills,” Blonsky wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in 2011. “BUT ill NEVER loose sight of my dreams.”
Erik Estrada
After starring as California Highway Patrol officer Ponch on TV series CHiPs, which ran from 1977 to 1983, Erik Estrada went on to become a reserve police officer for the Muncie Police Department in Indiana. The actor later moved to Virginia, where he worked as an investigator for the I.C.A.C. (Internet Crimes Against Children) before once again working as a reserve police officer in St. Anthony, Idaho in 2016.
Clayton Snyder
Ethan Craft serving as your real estate agent? That’s what dreams are made of!
Lizzie McGuire heartthrob Clayton Snyder chose not to pursue a career in acting after the Disney Channel series ended. Why? He wanted to focus on water polo, later playing for California’s Pepperdine University.
“Frankly, when the show wrapped up, I was kind of thankful,” Snyder admitted to E! News in 2022. “I was like, ‘Okay, phew, going into high school, new chapter, that’s done. We’re going to see what this is going to be like.'”
Snyder now works in real estate in Los Angeles, though his past as a child star does occasionally come up.
“I would really like it to be you want to work with me because I’m really good at what I do and if it’s a nice piece of trivia that I’m ‘that guy’ then that’s wonderful,” he said. “We’ve had plenty of clients of where halfway through showing them homes they’re like, ‘My wife and I just found out who you are and we can’t believe it!’ But that makes me feel good because I know that’s not why they’re working with me.”
Kevin Jonas
We bet you didn’t know that the oldest Jonas Brother owned and operated his own construction company in New Jersey during The Jonas Brothers‘ eight-year hiatus? Plus, Kevin Jonas also became the co-CEO of The Blu Market, an influencer marketing company.
Charlie Korsmo
Child actor Charlie Korsmo, known for his turn in Hook and the teen drama Can’t Hardly Wait, left Hollywood behind to become a lawyer. And now, he is also a professor of corporate law and corporate finance at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.
President Barack Obama nominated Korsmo as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in 2011.
Peter Orstrum
Yep, Charlie gave up the chocolate factory.
Peter Ostrum made his acting debut as Charlie Bucket in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which would ultimately be his only onscreen role. After graduating from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984, Ostrum went on to become a veterinarian.
Jennifer Stone
Wizards of Waverly Place scenestealer Jennifer Stone traded in her character Harper Finkle’s funky wardrobe for a pair of scrubs when she became a registered nurse in 2019. The former Disney Channel actress then joined the health care workers who are on the front lines fighting against coronavirus.
“A very good friend of mine (@maiarawalsh ) pointed out to me that today is #worldhealthday . It is also the day I went from a volunteer, then a student nurse, and now an RN resident,” Stone shared on Instagram in 2020. “I just hope to live up to all of the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines now as I get ready to join them.”
Ross Bagley
Former child star Ross Bagley, known for his roles as Buckwheat in The Little Rascals and Nicky Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, now works as a real estate agent in Los Angeles.
Jeff Cohen
So long, Truffle Shuffle, hello, habeus corpus.
After playing Chunk in the classic ’80s movie The Goonies, Jeff Cohen quit acting to become an attorney, working as an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles.
Teddy Dunn
After his one-season stint as the brooding Duncan Kane on Veronica Mars, Teddy Dunn became a lawyer and served as an Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office District of Columbia.
Phoebe Cates
Known for her breakout turn (and pool exit) in The Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as well as her roles in Gremlins and Drop Dead Fred, Phoebe Cates left the acting world behind in the ’90s after welcoming two children with her husband, actor Kevin Kline.
Cates went on to open Blue Tree, a gift boutique on New York City’s Madison Avenue, in 2005.
Reed Alexander
Following his time as Nevel on the popular Nickelodeon series iCarly, Reed Alexander went on to become a journalist, working for outlets such as Business Insider and the Wall Street Journal.
