- The heavyweight boxer, Vitali Klitschko, holds a Ph.D. from the Ukraine and his brother, another heavyweight boxer, Wladimir Klitschko, holds a Ph.D. from Kiev National University.
- Brian May, Guitarist of Queen (Astronomy Ph.D.): He wrote his thesis on zodiacal dust clouds
- Greg Graffin (Singer, Bad Religion) has a PhD from Cornell University. The PhD dissertation was entitledMonism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology.
- Dexter Holland (singer & guitarist: The Offspring) was a PhD candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Southern California.
- Dan Snaith (records as Caribou) has a Ph.D. in Mathematics
- Mayim Bialik (Blossom, Big Bang Theory) has a Ph.D. in 2008 from U.C.L.A. in neurobiology. She did her dissertation on Prader-Willi syndrome.
- Milo Aukerman (Punk band "The Descendents") got a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin. Dissertation title: "Analysis of Opaque-2 Function in Maize".
- Miuccia Prada (Head of the Prada fashion house) has a P.D. in political science.
- Condoleezza Rice has her PhD in political science from the Graduate School of International Studies at University of Denver, USA.
- Gordon Brown has his PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh, UK.
- Martin Luther King Junior received a PhD in systematic theology from Boston University, USA
- General David Petraeus has a PhD from Princeton.
- German chancellor Angela Merkel has a doctorate degree in physical chemistry.
- Robert Vaughn (The man from U.N.C.L.E): Vaughn earned a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Southern California, in 1970. In 1972, he published his dissertation as the book, Only Victims: A Study of Show Business Blacklisting.
- The only president of the United States with a Doctorate was Woodrow Wilson, who received his in History and Poli Sci from Johns Hopkins in 1886.
- Dan Grimaldi (Patsy Parisi) on The Sopranos has a PhD in Data Processing from City University of New York.
- Peter Weller. In 2013, Weller successfully defended his Ph.D. at UCLA in Italian Renaissance art history titled Alberti Before Florence: Sources Informing “De Pictura".
- Shaquille O’Neal: In 2012, the former NBA basketball star defended his Ph.D. in leadership and education from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. Title: How Leaders Utilize Humor or Aggression in Leadership Styles.
- Tennis player Mikhail Youzhny completed his Ph.D. in philosophy from Moscow University in 2010.
- Former Major League pitcher “Iron Mike” Marshall obtained his Ph.D. in kinesiology from Michigan State University in 1978. His dissertation was entitled, A Comparison of an Estimate of Skeletal Age With Chronological Age When Classifying Adolescent Males for Motor Proficiency Norms.
- Former quarterback Frank Ryan completed his Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University in 1964.
- Rachel Maddow received her Ph.D. in 2001. Maddow’s dissertation focused on AIDS health care reform in prisons.
- Miuccia Prada (Prada Fashion House) earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Milan in 1973.
- Former US secretary of defense Robert Gates obtained his Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history at Georgetown University in 1974.
Actors working on a PhD:
- James Franco is a Ph.D. student in English at Yale University. He also received his MFA from Columbia University in 2010.
Actors with Medical Doctor Degrees (M.D.):
- Ken Jeong (Community, The Hangover), M.D.
- Graham Chapman (Monty Python), M.D.
- Jonathan LaPaglia ("Cold Case"), M.D.
- Jonathan Miller ("Beyond the Fringe"), M.D. As reported in IMDB, "As well as being a qualified doctor, he is a satirist, sculptor, photographer, author, television presenter, performer, and theatre, opera & film director."
- George Miller ("Mad Max", "Babe", "Happy Feet" ), M.D. (Director)
- In 1976, Bill Cosby earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree from the University of Massachusetts. For his doctoral research, he wrote a dissertation entitled, "An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning".
Here is a list of celebrities with academic degrees (mostly B.A.s).
Here is a list of comedians with academic degrees (mostly B.A.s and M.A.s).
Here is a list of professional wrestlers with academic degrees (mostly B.A.s).
