Homeschooling: 30 US celebrities who were taught at home

According to the US Department of Education, 3.4% of American children are homeschooled, and that number is growing. Families choose homeschooling for many reasons, including wanting more control over the curriculum, avoiding bullying at school and fitting school around the demands of a professional career as a child. Homeschoolers often get a bad rap, but the 30 famous people on this list prove that homeschooling can lead to massive success.

1Christina Aguilera

Few singers enjoy a career as long as Christina Aguilera's. After appearing as a child on Star Search and Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club, Christina went back to her public school, only to face relentless teasing from her classmates. In ninth grade, her parents finally let her switch to homeschooling. Shortly after finishing high school, Christina sang "Reflection" for the Mulan soundtrack, signed with RCA and released the first of many award-winning, chart-topping albums.

2Jamie Anderson

Olympic snowboarding champion Jamie Anderson was homeschooled along with her seven brothers and sisters while growing up in South Lake Tahoe. But while most homeschooled kids are still expected to focus on basics like reading and math, Jamie's experience was a little different. As her mother put it: "I didn't push my kids to read or write. I wanted them to be kids, playing outside, running and jumping, not sitting indoors at a desk. They needed to be free, build their bodies, protect their spirits and not be pushed or pressured. There was no big push for them to read and write and do math. I wanted them to learn how to get along with each other and for life to be their teacher. Building character mattered more than academic achievement."

3Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber was just 12 years old when he was discovered on YouTube and launched into the world of fame. He had attended a public elementary school in his native Canada, but by the time his first hit played on the radio, he had started homeschooling. He kept taking online courses while touring the world and building his music career, and he finished high school in 2012.

4Simone Biles

Simone Biles started homeschooling at age 13 so she could focus fully on elite gymnastics. Simone admits she missed out on the typical high school experience, but she doesn't seem to regret it. The flexibility of learning from home sent her career soaring. Today she is the most decorated American gymnast, with a total of 41 Olympic and World Championship medals (as of Paris 2024).

5Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland is a ballet dancer. In 2015 she became the first African American woman in the history of American Ballet Theatre, one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the USA, to be promoted to principal dancer, the company's highest rank. While living with a family of dance coaches, Misty began homeschooling in 10th grade to gain more time for dance training.

6Miley Cyrus

Even as the daughter of country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus, singer and actress Miley Cyrus lived a fairly normal life until she became a household name as Disney Channel star Hannah Montana. Between acting and singing, Cyrus was so busy that she started homeschooling to manage her time better. With the help of tutors, she even graduated early.

7Hilary Duff

Former child star Hilary Duff is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Disney's hit show Lizzie McGuire. From the age of eight, she was homeschooled by her mother. In her teens, Duff found great success as a singer and actress. She is still in the spotlight today, though she says her first priority is her son Luca.

8Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning landed her first film role at age five. She not only came through an entire childhood as a successful actress, she did it with grace, class and a real commitment to her education. Dakota's mother homeschooled the young actress from grade 2 to grade 8, after which Dakota began "to long for a traditional high school experience." She graduated from a high school in Los Angeles, where she was also a cheerleader, and then enrolled at NYU. She is still acting today.

9Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez is another child star who traded public school for homeschooling to focus on her booming career. Before she was setting chart-topping records, Gomez worked with a tutor to make sure all her schoolwork got done on time while she was filming her various movie and TV roles.

10Ryan Gosling

At 10, Ryan Gosling still couldn't read. He was often in trouble at school, was badly bullied and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Even though she was a single mother, Ryan's mom decided to pull him out of school and teach him at home. Two years later he got his big break with a two-year contract on Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club. Homeschooling, Ryan says, gave him "a sense of autonomy that I've never really lost."

11Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin was homeschooled through elementary and middle school. He then attended high school at Oklahoma Christian School so he could join its basketball team. Griffin entered the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He spent nine seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, winning Rookie of the Year with them, before being traded to the Detroit Pistons in 2018.

12Bethany Hamilton

Born in Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany Hamilton is one of the best-known surfers in the world and an inspiration to people everywhere. At just 13, Bethany was attacked by a tiger shark while surfing, and the tragic encounter cost her her left arm. Less than two months later, she was back on her board, determined to keep surfing competitively. Her discipline and dedication to the sport almost certainly had something to do with being homeschooled from 6th grade on.

13Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas

The three Jonas Brothers first became famous as a band, then in their own singing and acting careers. All of them were homeschooled from an early age. According to their mother Denise, the devout Christian family would have chosen homeschooling even if the brothers had never pursued success in entertainment.

14Sage Kotsenburg

Sage Kotsenburg is a Utah-based professional snowboarder who was homeschooled through Alpha Omega Academy. The second of five children, he started snowboarding at age five. Sage remains one of the most dominant forces in snowboarding, with an Olympic gold medal from the 2014 Sochi Games, a silver medal from the 2012 Winter X Games and a bronze medal from the 2011 Winter X Games.

15Joey Logano

You don't have to be a NASCAR fanatic to know the name Joey Logano. The successful NASCAR Sprint Cup driver joined the Cup Series at the tender age of 18. He has since won three NASCAR Cup Series championships (2018, 2022 and 2024). Logano was homeschooled from a young age and stuck with flexible learning once it became clear he was a racing prodigy.

16Demi Lovato

Singer and former Disney star Demi Lovato started out in public school but left because of bullying. The switch worked for Lovato, who has managed to stay in the spotlight despite some struggles. In 2008, Lovato reflected on her decision to leave school for homeschooling, telling Ellen DeGeneres: "I never really understood why [I was bullied] until I looked back ... I had a different lifestyle than everyone else."

17Bode Miller

Bode Miller grew up in a log cabin on a 450-hectare farm in New Hampshire, where his parents homeschooled him until third grade. It was during those years of learning at home that he took up skiing. Now retired, Miller remains the most successful American ski racer of all time, with Olympic gold, 33 World Cup wins and four world titles.

18Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini holds the Guinness World Record as the youngest author of a bestselling book series. He was still a teenager when he wrote his fantasy series, the Inheritance Cycle, which begins with Eragon. Paolini was homeschooled throughout his entire education.

19Maria Sharapova

Russian tennis phenomenon Maria Sharapova was just four when she first picked up a racket. At nine, she enrolled at the renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and it didn't take long before she became a force to be reckoned with. When she was 11, her parents decided her mother would homeschool her so the young athlete could focus on tennis. At 13, Maria won her first international junior championship, quickly followed by the prestigious Rising Star Award. She went on to win an Olympic silver medal and is the only Russian woman to hold a career Grand Slam.

20Hailee Steinfeld

At 12, child actress Hailee Steinfeld decided to leave public school for homeschooling. She had already appeared in a few TV commercials and guest spots, and she hoped the flexibility would let her go to more auditions. The gamble paid off: the following year she landed the role of Mattie Ross in True Grit, which earned her an Oscar nomination. Steinfeld kept homeschooling until graduation and now has a successful acting and singing career.

21Taylor Swift

When you're a 14-year-old superstar, school tends to take a back seat to fame. Once she no longer had time to attend school regularly, Taylor Swift switched to homeschooling. With her trademark focus and the help of a few tutors, she kept learning wherever her work took her. She got so far ahead that she even finished high school early.

22Tim Tebow

Football star Tim Tebow, who also played professional baseball for a while, has never made a secret of being homeschooled. His parents were missionaries and chose to teach their children at home because of their faith. Growing up in Florida, Tim could still take part in sports at the local public schools, football included. In his second year of college he won the Heisman Trophy, the first homeschooler ever to do so. It was, he said, "an honor."

23Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake grew up in a small town in Tennessee and went to public school. Everything changed when he was cast in Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. From sixth grade until he graduated high school, Timberlake was homeschooled so he could focus on his booming entertainment career.

24Emma Watson

Emma Watson, perhaps best known as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, has lived in the public eye since she was 10. Like her young Potter castmates, she worked with a tutor on set and was taught at home when she wasn't filming. After graduating, Watson kept acting while attending both Brown University and Worcester College, Oxford.

25Venus and Serena Williams

Tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams were homeschooled together by their parents from early elementary school through high school. That gave the talented sisters the time they needed to build the skills that would make them two of the most famous athletes on the planet.

26Shaun White

Thanks to his striking red hair, Shaun White is affectionately known as the "Flying Tomato." He is one of the athletes credited with turning snowboarding into the sensation it is today. Born in San Diego, Shaun took his first snowboarding lessons at 6 and was so good he had sponsors within a year. From elementary through high school he studied at home through independent courses so he could focus on his rising career, while keeping up with his peers at the local public school.

27Michelle Williams

Actress Michelle Williams started auditioning for film and TV roles at nine, when her family moved from Montana to San Diego, California. After appearing in the film Lassie, she went back to public school, only to face relentless teasing from her classmates. In one run-in with bullies, she was asked whether she had played the dog in the film. After finishing ninth grade, Williams got her parents' blessing to leave school and start homeschooling. The next year she was legally emancipated from her parents to get around child labor laws, and she earned her GED (high school equivalency) in just nine months. Williams has gone on to enormous success as an actress.

Homeschooling is firmly established in the USA. Find out how it works on our page Homeschooling in the USA, and compare the rules in 12 states in our homeschooling overview. What a move to the US means for choosing your children's school is covered under Moving and schools, and you'll find more in our Life in the USA hub.

In short

• According to the US Department of Education, 3.4% of American children are homeschooled.
• Families choose homeschooling for more control over the curriculum, to escape bullying at school, or because of a career that starts in childhood.
• Athletes such as Simone Biles, Venus and Serena Williams and Tim Tebow used the flexibility for their training.
• Musicians and actors such as Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling studied at home alongside the stage and the set.

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