Famous stars who worked as teachers before becoming celebrities

Before the movie roles, hit songs, bestselling books, and award shows, some celebrities stood in front of classrooms.

Some were full-time school teachers. Some worked as substitute teachers, teaching assistants, college instructors, music teachers, drama teachers, or language teachers. A few only taught for a short time before entertainment took over, while others spent years in education before becoming famous.

Here are 21 celebrities who were teachers before fame.

1. Hugh Jackman

Before becoming Wolverine, Hugh Jackman worked in education.

During a gap year in 1987, Jackman worked at Uppingham School in England. Business Insider describes him as a gym teacher there, while PEOPLE notes that he also worked as a teaching assistant at the British boarding school. He later had a funny red-carpet reunion with one of his former students.

Years later, Jackman became famous through X-Men, Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman, and major stage roles.

2. Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow was a music teacher before becoming a Grammy-winning singer.

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree connected to music, performance, and teaching, Crow taught music classes for children with special needs for two years before moving to Los Angeles. PEOPLE also notes that she taught music during the week while performing gigs on weekends.

Her classroom years came before hits like “All I Wanna Do,” “If It Makes You Happy,” and “Soak Up the Sun.”

3. Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm was a high school drama teacher before becoming famous.

Before Mad Men turned him into one of television’s most recognizable actors, Hamm taught drama at the high school level. Business Insider reported that Hamm has even said he “might still” return to teaching someday.

His teaching background makes sense when you look at his calm presence, voice control, and confidence on screen.

4. Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik did not just play a neuroscientist on The Big Bang Theory. She also taught science.

Bialik earned a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007 and later taught college-level biology, chemistry, and neuroscience classes. Business Insider notes that she used that academic background before returning to acting as Amy Farrah Fowler.

Her career is one of the clearest examples of education and entertainment crossing over naturally.

5. Jesse Williams

Before Grey’s Anatomy, Jesse Williams worked as a teacher.

Williams taught mostly high school, but he also worked as a substitute teacher for kindergarten and seventh grade. He has spoken positively about connecting with students, especially high school students.

That teaching experience came before he became widely known as Dr. Jackson Avery.

6. Sting

Before becoming the frontman of The Police, Sting was a teacher.

Born Gordon Sumner, Sting studied teaching and worked as a teacher in England before his music career took off. He taught at St Paul’s First School in Cramlington in the 1970s, while he taught English for two years.

Later, he became one of the most successful musicians of his generation.

7. Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal worked as a substitute teacher before becoming a comedy star.

Business Insider and PEOPLE both report that Crystal worked as a substitute teacher at his former Long Island middle school. He covered different subjects and later joked about being young enough that he still found it hard to call former teachers by their first names.

That came before When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, and years of hosting the Academy Awards.

8. Gene Simmons

Before KISS made him famous, Gene Simmons taught sixth grade.

PEOPLE reports that Simmons spent several months teaching sixth grade at a public school on New York City’s Upper West Side. He later traded the classroom for huge stages, makeup, costumes, and rock fame.

9. Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone worked as a gym teacher before Rocky.

According to PEOPLE, Stallone was hired at 18 by a Swiss boarding school for girls as a gym teacher and dorm bouncer. That experience came before he studied drama and eventually wrote and starred in Rocky.

His teaching job was an early chapter before one of Hollywood’s most famous underdog stories.

10. Stephen King

Stephen King was a high school English teacher before becoming a bestselling author.

PEOPLE reports that King taught English at Hampden Academy in Maine beginning in 1971 while working on his writing career. He continued teaching until the sale of Carrie allowed him to write full-time.

That classroom experience came before The Shining, It, Misery, and dozens of other famous works.

11. J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling worked as a teacher before Harry Potter became a global phenomenon.

After returning to the U.K., Rowling taught in Edinburgh schools while writing whenever she could. She trained as a teacher and taught languages at Leith Academy in Edinburgh during the 1990s.

Her teaching years came before one of the most successful book series in history.

12. Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson trained to become a teacher before becoming an action star.

Business Insider reports that Neeson taught at St Mary’s College in Fenham, England. He spent two years training to become a teacher and later described teaching as one of the most difficult jobs he had taken on.

He later became known for Schindler’s List, Taken, Michael Collins, and many more films.

13. Lin-Manuel Miranda

Lin-Manuel Miranda taught seventh-grade English while working on In the Heights.

Miranda taught English and had students perform Shakespeare in class. At the same time, he was writing the musical that would help launch his Broadway career.

That classroom chapter came before Hamilton, Moana, and his rise as one of modern theater’s biggest names.

14. Brian May

Before becoming Queen’s legendary guitarist, Brian May taught physics.

Brian May taught at London’s Stockwell Manor School after graduating, before his music career became his main path.

His science background later remained part of his public identity, especially because he also completed advanced academic work in astrophysics.

15. Romesh Ranganathan

Before becoming a popular comedian and TV presenter, Romesh Ranganathan taught maths.

Ranganathan became a qualified mathematics teacher and taught for nine years at schools including Hazelwick School and The Beacon School.

His teaching background now adds another layer to his comedy, especially when he talks about pressure, discipline, and everyday life.

16. Greg Davies

Greg Davies was a drama teacher before becoming a comic actor.

Davies spent 13 years teaching drama in secondary schools before his entertainment career took off. His later role as a teacher in The Inbetweeners became even funnier because he had actually worked in classrooms before fame.

He later became known for Taskmaster, Man Down, and British comedy panel shows.

17. Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson was a schoolteacher before becoming a respected actor.

Gleeson taught English and Irish at Belcamp College in North County Dublin during the 1980s and remained a schoolteacher until age 35.

He later became known for Braveheart, In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin, and the Harry Potter films.

18. Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack taught before becoming a Grammy-winning singer.

GEICO lists Flack among famous people who worked in education, noting that she taught music and English in Washington, D.C., before her music career took off.

She later became known for songs such as “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

19. Andy Griffith

Andy Griffith worked as a teacher before becoming a TV icon.

Griffith taught music and drama at a North Carolina high school before becoming famous.

He later became a beloved television figure through The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock.

20. Barack Obama

Before becoming president, Barack Obama taught constitutional law.

While he is not a Hollywood celebrity, Obama is a globally famous public figure, so he fits a broader celebrity version. Obama is among of those influential people whose careers included teaching.

His teaching background became part of his public image as a speaker, writer, and political leader.

21. Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel taught before becoming widely known as part of Simon & Garfunkel.

He is often included in lists of famous former teachers, including education-focused celebrity roundups. His teaching background adds a surprising detail to the career of a musician known for one of the most famous voices in folk-rock.