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Lisa Kudrow -

Before Kudrow began her showbiz career, she was also on a slightly different path, having completed a psychobiology degree.

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Lisa Kudrow -

Psychobiology is what's commonly referred to now as behavioral neuroscience. She got her degree at Vassar College in New York and was going to go into research with her father until she met Conan O'Brien at a theater group.

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Bonnie Hunt -

Before Hunt was appearing in films like 'Rain Man' (1988), 'Jumanji' (1995), and 'Jerry Maguire' (1996), Hunt worked as an oncology nurse.

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Bonnie Hunt -

Way back in the 1980s (15 years before this photo was taken), Hunt worked as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She reportedly auditioned for 'Rain Man' on her lunch break!

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Pau Gasol -

The two-time NBA champion was enrolled in medicine in his home city at the University of Barcelona, intending to follow in his parents' footsteps.

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Pau Gasol -

But the bilingual baller's basketball career took off shortly into his studies, and he left university to play in the big leagues.

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Ken Jeong -

'The Hangover' star completed his M.D. (doctor of medicine) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Ken Jeong -

He gained a following by doing stand-up gigs in his spare time while working as a resident doctor in New Orleans.

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Deepak Chopra -

Deepak Chopra is a popular Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. However, before all of this, he was a qualified surgeon.

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Deepak Chopra -

Chopra worked as a senior cardiologist in New Delhi and as a surgeon with the British Army in India. His training was at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

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Tina Turner -

Before the singer was blowing everyone away with her powerful voice on stage, Tina Turner was working as a nurse's aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Missouri.

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Tina Turner -

It's debated as to whether she continued to work as a registered nurse there, too. She worked in the hospital by day as a teen and sang in clubs at night in St. Louis.

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Jennifer Stone -

Stone has been acting since childhood, working on shows like 'Wizards of Waverly Place' and 'Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars'. Since 2020, she's a nurse, too.

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Jennifer Stone -

She was made a registered nurse just in time to start helping on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic and said she was inspired to become a nurse so she could better understand diabetes, a condition she personally suffers with.

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Jay Sean -

Singer Jay Sean was raised in West London and graduated secondary school with high enough grades to study medicine at Queen Mary, University of London.

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Jay Sean -

However, in 2003 Sean decided to drop out in order to further pursue his music career. He's since gone on to collaborate with Pitbull, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj.

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Julie Walters -

When Julie Walters was 18 (a decade before this photograph was taken), she worked as a student nurse for almost two years before leaving to pursue her career in acting.

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Julie Walters -

The British actress has been on the scene for decades, and is most well-known these days for playing Molly Weasley in the 'Harry Potter' movies.

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Graham Chapman -

You may be well aware of Graham Chapman as one of six member of the Monty Python comedy group, but did you know that he's educated as a doctor?

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Graham Chapman -

After graduating from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, he turned down a career as a doctor to be a comedian instead.

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Mayim Bialik -

Did you know that 'The Big Bang Theory' actress has a PHD in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles?

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Mayim Bialik -

After graduating, she eventually came to the conclusion that a career as a neuroscientist would be incompatible with her busy home life and continued to pursue an already well-established career in acting. She had previously worked on 'Blossom' in a lead role for five seasons.

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Sonya Eddy -

Sonya Eddy must have had a lot to draw from while playing Nurse Epiphany Johnson in soap opera 'General Hospital,' what with being an actual licensed nurse!

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Sonya Eddy -

Although it's clear that the actress is a a licensed vocational nurse, it was never stated where she practiced or trained.

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Michael Crichton -

American author and filmmaker Michael Crichton received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969, but didn't pursue the career. He famously wrote the 'Jurassic Park' books.

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Michael Crichton -

He had been steered away from a career in writing due to bad grades in English, but started writing again in medical school. It took off!

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Ernesto "Che" Guevara -

You've probably heard of Che Guevara as being a revolutionary, but did you know he was once enrolled in medical school?

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Ernesto "Che" Guevara -

After the untimely death of his grandmother, Guevara decided not to pursue engineering and instead enrolled in medical school at the University of Buenos Aires.

Sources: (Screen Rant) (Top Universities)

See also: Odd jobs Hollywood stars had before fame

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