# List of artists and entertainers with advanced degrees

This is a list of artists and entertainers with advanced degrees (PhDs and other academic degrees leading to the title of Doctor). Excluded are honorary degrees.

## Research doctorate

| Person | Known for | Degree | Field | Institution |
| Chad Allen | Actor | Psy.D. | Clinical psychology | Antioch University New England |
| Robert Allan | Member of the band Glasvegas | PhD | Music | Glasgow University |
| Milo Aukerman | Member of the band Descendents | PhD | Biology | University of California, San Diego |
| Mayim Bialik | Actress | PhD | Neuroscience | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Michael Bishop | Member of the band Gwar | PhD | Music | University of Virginia |
| Pietro Boselli | Model, engineer, and lecturer at UCL | PhD | Computational fluid dynamics | University College London |
| Ian Bostridge | Opera and lieder singer | DPhil | History | University of Oxford |
| Michael Burns | Actor | DPhil | History | Yale University |
| Bill Bruford | Member of the bands Yes, King Crimson and U.K. | PhD | Music | University of Surrey |
| Ellen Cleghorne | Actress and comedian | PhD | Performance Studies | New York University |
| Alan Cooper | Member of the band Sha Na Na | PhD | Religious Studies | Yale University |
| Max Cooper | Music producer | PhD | Computational biology | University of Nottingham |
| Bill Cosby | Actor and comedian | EdD | Education | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Brian Cox | Television presenter, physicist and former member of the bands D:Ream and Dare | PhD | Particle physics | University of Manchester |
| Don S. Davis | Actor | PhD | Theatre | Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
| William Fawcett | Actor | PhD | Elizabethan drama | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| Runhild Gammelsæter | Member of the bands Thorr's Hammer and Khlyst | PhD | Cell physiology | University of Oslo |
| Cheddar Gorgeous (Michael John Atkins) | Drag Queen | PhD | Anthropology | University of Manchester |
| Harold Gould | Actor | PhD | Theatre | Cornell University |
| Greg Graffin | Member of the band Bad Religion | PhD | Evolutionary biology | Cornell University |
| Dan Grimaldi | Actor | PhD | Data processing | City University of New York |
| David Grubbs | Member of the bands Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. | PhD | English | University of Chicago |
| Sir Lenny Henry | Actor and comedian, co-founder of Comic Relief | PhD | Media Arts | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Dexter Holland | Member of the band The Offspring | PhD | Molecular biology | Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California |
| Vijay Iyer | Jazz pianist and composer | PhD | Technology and the Arts | University of California, Berkeley |
| Paul Janz | Member of the band Deliverance and a professor of systematic theology | PhD | Philosophical Theology | University of Cambridge |
| Brendan Kavanagh | Pianist | PhD | English | University College Cork |
| Mark Kermode | Film critic | PhD | English Literature | University of Manchester |
| Akash Khurana | Actor | PhD | Social Sciences | Tata Institute of Social Sciences |
| Wagner Lamounier | Former member of the band Sepultura | DSc | Applied Economics | Federal University of Viçosa |
| Robert A. Leonard | Member of the band Sha Na Na | PhD | Linguistics | Columbia University |
| CN Lester | Singer-songwriter | PhD | Music | University of Huddersfield |
| Annbjørg Lien | Musician | PhD | Hardanger fiddle | University of Agder |
| Ria Lina | Comedian and writer | PhD | Viral bioinformatics | University College London |
| Loretta Long | Actress | PhD | Urban education | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| David Lowrey | Member of the bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker | EdD | Education | University of Georgia |
| Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo aka "Sammus" | Rapper | PhD | Science and Technology Studies | Cornell University |
| Sir Brian May | Member of the band Queen | PhD | Astrophysics | Imperial College London |
| Naeem Mohaiemen | Filmmaker, Artist, Writer | PhD | Anthropology | Columbia University |
| Roy Montgomery | Composer and member of the bands The Pin Group and Dadamah | PhD | Theatre and Film Studies | University of Canterbury |
| Sterling Morrison | Member of the band The Velvet Underground | PhD | Medieval studies | University of Texas at Austin |
| Christopher Nowinski | Professional wrestler | PhD | Behavioral Neuroscience | Boston University |
| John O'Brien | Soccer player | PhD | Clinical psychology | Alliant International University |
| Niall O'Flaherty | Member of the band The Sultans of Ping | PhD | History of political thought | King's College, Cambridge |
| Shaquille O'Neal | Basketball player, actor, and rapper | EdD | Education | Barry University |
| Ethan Port | Member of the band Savage Republic | PhD | Mathematics | University of Southern California |
| Miuccia Prada | Fashion designer and businesswoman | PhD | Political science | University of Milan |
| Priyadarshini | Singaporean-Indian playback singer | PhD | Film music | University of Mysore |
| Rahul Ram | Member of the band Indian Ocean | PhD | Environmental Toxicology | Cornell University |
| Dilshad Said | Kurdish musician | PhD | Music history | Mozarteum University Salzburg |
| Robert Schneider | Member of the band The Apples in Stereo and record producer | PhD | Mathematics | Emory University |
| Serrini | Singer-songwriter | PhD | Literary and Cultural Studies | University of Hong Kong |
| Sam Shepherd | Electronic music producer | PhD | Neuroscience | University College London |
| Rose Simpson | Member of the band The Incredible String Band | PhD | German Literature | Aberystwyth University |
| Dan Snaith | Canadian musician, best known by the stage name Caribou | PhD | Mathematics | Imperial College London |
| Billy Taylor | Jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator | EdD | Music Education | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Alejandro Toledo | Composer, saxophonist, and ethnomusicologist | PhD | Music performance | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Gregg Turner | Member of the band Angry Samoans | PhD | Mathematics | Claremont Graduate University |
| Jared Van Snellenberg | Actor and neuroscientist | PhD | Psychology | Columbia University |
| Gala Varo (Jesús Meza Arroyo) | Drag queen and television personality | PhD | Biomedicine | University of Guadalajara |
| Robert Vaughn | Actor | PhD | Communications | University of Southern California |
| Indre Viskontas | Opera singer | PhD | Cognitive neuroscience | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Sophie Ward | Novelist and actress | PhD | English and Comparative Literature | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Brian Wecht | Member of the band Ninja Sex Party | PhD | Particle physics | University of California, San Diego |
| Peter Weller | Actor | PhD | Italian Renaissance art history | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Graham Wiggins | Musician | DPhil | Solid State Physics | University of Oxford |
| Warren Zanes | Member of the band The Del Fuegos | PhD | Visual and Cultural Studies | University of Rochester |

## Medical degree

In many countries, the first medical degree is the MBBS (with MD being reserved for higher doctorates), yet holders of this degree are addressed as "doctor" while practising.
| Person | Known for | Degree | Field | Institution |
| Mohan Agashe | Bollywood actor | MBBS, MD | Medicine, Psychiatry | B. J. Medical College |
| Britt Baker | Professional wrestler | DMD | Dentistry | University of Pittsburgh |
| Alexander Borodin | Classical composer | MD | Medicine and chemistry | Medical-Surgical Academy [de; ru], St Petersburg |
| Edgar Buchanan | Actor | DDS | Dentistry | North Pacific College School of Dentistry |
| Graham Chapman | Member of the British comedy group Monty Python | MBBS | Medicine | St. Bartholomew's Medical College |
| Meiyang Chang | Bollywood actor, television host and singer | BDS | Dental Surgery | Vokkaligara Sangha Dental College & Hospital |
| Michael Crichton | Novelist and screenwriter | MD | Medicine | Harvard Medical School |
| Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Author, creator of Sherlock Holmes | MBCM, MD | Medicine | University of Edinburgh Medical School |
| Graeme Garden | Scottish comedian and member of The Goodies | MBBS | Medicine | King's College London |
| Aditi Govitrikar | Bollywood actress | MBBS | Medicine | Grant Medical College |
| Harry Hill | Actor and comedian | MBBS | Medicine | University of London |
| Ken Jeong | Actor and comedian | MD | Medicine | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Kamran Rashid Khan | Rapper | DO | Osteopathic Medicine | Michigan State University College of Human Medicine |
| Shriram Lagoo | Bollywood film and theatre actor | MBBS | Medicine | B. J. Medical College |
| Jonathan LaPaglia | Actor | MBBS | Medicine | University of Adelaide |
| James Lilja | Member of the band The Offspring | MD | Medicine | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine |
| George Miller | Film director and screenwriter | MBBS | Medicine | University of New South Wales |
| Sir Jonathan Miller | Actor, writer, theatre director, and humourist | MBBChir | Medicine | University of Cambridge |
| Arko Pravo Mukherjee | Singer-songwriter and music composer | MBBS | Medicine | Burdwan Medical College. |
| Haing S. Ngor | Actor and gynecologist | MD | Medicine | University of Toulouse |
| Peter Ostrum | Actor | DVM | Veterinary Medicine | Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine |
| Sai Pallavi | Actress and dancer | MBBS | Medicine | Tbilisi State Medical University |
| Palash Sen | Member of the band Euphoria | MBBS | Medicine | University College of Medical Sciences |
| Pedro Juan Vázquez Bragan | Rapper and songwriter | MD | Medicine | Universidad Central del Caribe |
| Daryl Wilson | Member of the band The Bollweevils | MD | Medicine | Stritch School of Medicine |
| Peter Wingfield | Actor | MD | Medicine | Robert Larner College of Medicine |

## Other professional doctorates

In some countries, the Juris Doctor is the standard professional degree required to practise law, although the holder is usually not addressed as "doctor".
| Person | Known for | Degree | Field | Institution |
| Jackie Fox | Member of the band The Runaways | JD | Law | Harvard Law School |
| Denny Greene | Member of the band Sha Na Na | JD | Law | Yale University |
| Hill Harper | Actor and writer | JD | Law | Harvard Law School |
| Staci Keanan | Actress | JD | Law | Southwestern Law School |
| Bridgit Mendler | Actress and singer-songwriter | JD | Law | Harvard Law School |
| Tom Rapp | Member of the band Pearls Before Swine | JD | Law | University of Pennsylvania Law School |
| William Sanderson | Actor | JD | Law | Memphis State University |
| Fred Thompson | Actor and U.S. Senator | JD | Law | Vanderbilt University |
| Steve Young | American football player | JD | Law | Brigham Young University |

## Incomplete or revoked doctorates

Rapper Roxanne Shante publicly claimed in the early 2000s to have received a master's and PhD in psychology from Cornell University. A 2009 investigation by Slate found no evidence she had received either degree, or a bachelor's. Shante then apologized, stating she had never received a PhD.
| Person | Known for | Degree | Field | Institution | Notes |
| Ella Al-Shamahi | Stand-up comedian and television presenter | PhD | Anthropology | University College London | Studying as of 2021 |
| Mira Aroyo | Member of the band Ladytron | DPhil | Molecular genetics | University of Oxford | Dropped out |
| Rowan Atkinson | Actor and comedian | PhD | Electrical Engineering | University of Oxford | Dropped out |
| Alan Coren | Humourist and writer | PhD | American literature | Yale University University of California, Berkeley | Dropped out |
| David Duchovny | Actor | PhD | | Yale University | Dropped out |
| James Franco | Actor and filmmaker | PhD | English | Yale University | Studying as of 2011 |
| James Franco | Actor and filmmaker | PhD | Creative Writing and Literature | University of Houston | Admitted as of 2012 |
| Art Garfunkel | Singer and actor, member of the band Simon & Garfunkel | PhD | Mathematics Education | Teachers College, Columbia University | Dropped out |
| Hong Jin-young | South Korean trot singer and entertainer | PhD | Business Administration | Chosun University | Revoked |
| Ashley Judd | Actress | PhD | Public Policy | University of California, Berkeley | Studying as of 2016 |
| Bridgit Mendler | Actor and singer-songwriter | PhD | Technologies & Social Machines | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Studying as of 2020 |
| Kim Min-seok | Singer and actor | PhD | Culture and Arts | Hoseo University | Studying as of 2017 |
| Ben Miller | Actor | PhD | Solid state physics | University of Cambridge | Dropped out |
| Jay Sean | Singer-songwriter | MBBS | Medicine | Queen Mary University of London | Dropped out |
| John Sessions | Actor | PhD | English Literature | McMaster University | Dropped out |
| Zhai Tianlin | Actor | PhD | Film Science | Beijing Film Academy | Revoked |
| Lee Young-ae | Actress | PhD | Theater and Cinema | Hanyang University | Studying as of 2009 |