13 Famous Black Women With Ivy League Ties

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Fall back if you can’t handle a strong woman with a highly regarded education pedigree. We rounded up 12 sisters with Ivy League ties who handled everything that came along with attending the country’s eight most famous private institutions of higher education.

See who graduated, didn’t really need their degree, and what they majored in before embracing fame in movies, television, and politics. These women embody the phrase higher learning.

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photo: WENN

Michelle Obama – Princeton

Our first lady graduated from Princeton with a B.S. in Sociology, and she also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.

photo: WENN

Tyra Banks – Harvard

And now to Tyra Banks’ hotly-contested Harvard “degree.” No shade, as Tyra is clearly business savvy and did attend classes on the Harvard Business campus. She holds a certificate from Harvard’s Owner/President Management Program. It’s a pretty big deal, but it’s also not a degree.

photo: WENN

Alicia Keys – Columbia

Back when she was 16-year-old Alicia Cook, the multiplatinum songstress and pianist got a full ride to Columbia. She eventually left school to pursue a music career, which looks like a smart move in hindsight.

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Lupita Nyong’o

That Oscar dress might’ve been fake, but the acting chops are very real courtesy of Nyong’o’s master’s degree from Yale’s School of Drama.

photo: WENN

Tracee Ellis Ross – Brown University

That would be Brown University graduate (class of 1994) Ms. Tracee Ellis Ross, who majored in Theatre Arts.

photo: WENN

Sanaa Lathan – Yale University

Sanaa improved her already considerable acting chops with a M.F.A. in Drama from Yale.

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Shonda Rhimes – Dartmouth

Can you tell Rhimes majored in English Literature with Creative Writing? After her 1991 graduation, she also went back and gave an epic commencement speech in 2014.

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Angela Bassett – Yale University

Not only did Bassett attend Yale for her B.S. in African-American Studies, she also holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.

photo: WENN

Tatyana Ali – Harvard

Ashley Banks attended Harvard from 1999 through 2002 and majored in Afro-American history and government.

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Rashida Jones – Harvard

Quincy’s baby girl studied acting, but let’s not throw shade on an Ivy League degree…regardless of the concentration.

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Yaya DaCosta – Brown University

Former America’s Next Top Model runner up was well prepared for all the shade after that Whitney Houston biopic. She majored in Africana Studies at Brown.

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Aisha Tyler – Dartmouth College

Talk about being well rounded. Tyler studied Government and Environmental Policy at Dartmouth, but she also performed improv and studied French, Russian, and Swahili.