The College Dropouts
Hall of Fame

You don't have to go to college to be a success. Even if you go for awhile, you don't have to graduate to be a success. Here are just a few of the people who have become famous and/or successful without graduating from college and/or high school.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - XYZ

Sinead O'Connor, singer. Never attended college.

Rosie O'Donnell, comedienne, talk show host. Dropped out of Dickinson College and Boston University.

Chris O'Dowd, actor. Studied politics at University College, got involved in acting and producing plays, but never graduated. Then attended drama school in London but never graduated there either.

George Alan O'Dowd, aka Boy George, singer, songwriter, fashion designer, photographer. High school dropout. Never attended college.

David Ogilvy, advertising copywriter and executive. Was thrown out of Oxford University at the age of 20 in 1931 during the Great Depression. Began working as a lowly cook in a hotel restaurant. Eventually became a world-class chef. Left that job to sell upmarket kitchen stoves, which led to a job in advertising.

Ashley Olsen, actress and fashion designer. Has not yet attended college.

Mary-Kate Olsen, actress and fashion designer. Has not yet attended college.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. first lady, book editor. Dropped out of Vassar before eventually graduating from George Washington University.

Timmy O'Neill, climber, guide, comedian, percussionist, slackliner, mountain biker, class V paddler, BASE jumper, backcountry skier. Started climbing at the age of 19. Did not graduate from college.

Yoko Ono, artist, singer. Dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College.

David Oreck, multimillionaire founder of The Oreck Corporation that builds those wonderful vacuum cleaners. When the U.S. entered World War II, he quit college to enlist in the Army Air Corps. After the war, college seemed to tame to him, so he started working as a salesman at a Manhattan appliance distributor. That job eventually led him to founding his own company.

Amancio Ortega, fashion retailer, Spain's richest man, billionaire. Dropped out of high school at the age of 14 to run errands for mom-and-pop shirt stores.

George Orwell (aka Eric Blair), author of Animal Farm and 1984. Instead of attending university after graduating from Eton, he joined the Imperial Police and worked in Burma. When he returned, he worked in restaurant kitchens, slept in homeless shelters, and eventually documented the condition of miners. All the time, he was writing reviews, essays, novels, and a regular newspaper column. His Animal Farm has sold more than 10 million copies.

Aimee Osbourne, actress, singer. Did not finish high school.

Jack Osbourne, music manager, reality TV star. Did not finish high school.

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne, heavy metal singer, songwriter, and reality TV star. Left school at the age of 15.

Kelly Osbourne, reality TV star, actress, singer, fashion designer. Did not finish high school.

Joel Osteen, TV pastor and host of the most-watched inspirational TV show in the U.S. Dropped out of Oral Roberts University after one year to care for his mother (who was recovering from cancer). Has sold more than 4 million copies of Your Best Life Now.

Dropouts with last names starting with P

Drop out of school before your mind rots from our mediocre educational system. — Frank Zappa, musician, liner notes from the Freak Out album

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