Appearances are deceiving: 10 foreign stars with unexpectedly high IQ (11 photos)

Usually, people with a bright appearance are not associated with high intelligence. It so happened that intellectuals mostly look modest, unremarkable, and sometimes even sloppy.





Most show business representatives are not associated with intelligence and education (some even dropped out of school). It is understandable: these people earn money in a different way. But there are exceptions. And quite unexpected ones. Reddit users shared interesting information on this matter. Some facts about the rich and famous turned out to be very, very unexpected.

1. Peter Weller



In 2004, at the age of 57, the actor who played Robocop returned to school and received a master's degree in Roman and Renaissance art from Syracuse University. In 2013, Peter Weller received his PhD in Italian Renaissance art history from the University of California, Los Angeles. Since then, he has combined acting and producing with studying art history.

2. Dolph Lundgren





Dolph Lundgren has a master's degree in chemical engineering and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to attend MIT.

3. Dexter Holland



The Offspring's lead singer has a PhD in computational molecular virology and has conducted research on HIV.

4. Brian May



Brian May, guitarist for Queen, is a world expert on interplanetary dust clouds. He hand-built the legendary Red Special guitar, earned a PhD in astrophysics after a 37-year hiatus, founded an anti-fox hunting organization, and was knighted by King Charles III. Brian is a true Renaissance man.

5. Ice Cube



Ice Cube got a degree in architecture just in case hip-hop group N.W.A didn't make it. A few years ago, he curated a tour of the Eames House, a famous example of modernist architecture in Los Angeles.

6. Marilyn Monroe



Monroe loved books. She had more of them than dresses, including works by Dostoevsky, Kafka, Tolstoy, Faulkner, and Joyce. Her husband, Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Miller, called her one of the smartest people he knew. She wrote profound, philosophical letters, but the world saw her as a dumb blonde. Her last roles were an attempt to shed this image, but death preceded the changes.

Her quotes are a cry of despair:

I'm just a pretty girl who will soon be forgotten.

You want me to lie?.. I don't know what happiness is.

She understood how the industry was using her, but she didn't have time to change it.

7. Jodie Foster



Jodie Foster speaks four languages, graduated from Yale with honors in African-American literature, and dubs herself in French.

8. Shaquille O'Neal



He's clearly not the kind of person you'd call a natural intellectual, but he's built his career on the advice of those smarter than him. Unlike many athletes who squander millions, Shaq is a marketing genius and a successful investor. He's openly told his children that he'll pay for their education (they'll have to get two degrees) and then invest a certain amount in their business. They won't receive any inheritance beyond that.

Here's an example of a basketball player's investment acumen. A few years ago, Shaq was unhappy with the cost of installing home security cameras. One day, he came across an early version of a Ring camera in a store, was amazed by its simplicity, and immediately met with the head of the company, becoming one of the first investors. A year later, Amazon bought Ring for a billion dollars.

9. Ben Affleck



The actor was banned from several casinos because he learned to count cards in poker. Casinos can actually kick out a customer for playing too well, for counting cards, although it is not technically cheating.

10. Lisa Kudrow



To millions, she will always be the eccentric Phoebe Buffay, but few know that she has a bachelor's degree in psychobiology. Before becoming an actress, she worked with her father, a famous physician researcher, on clinical studies of headaches. If acting and success in Friends had not happened in Lisa's life, she would have made a career in medicine.