Actress and political activist Ashley Judd recently announced that she’ll be returning to school to get her doctorate in public policy from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. She already boasts a master’s degree from Harvard University and an IMDB page that’s likely more impressive than any of her future classmates, not to mention her recent appointment as a goodwill ambassador by the United Nation. Judd’s decision to pursue higher education has prompted us at the Clog to start musing about what other celebrities could use a degree from one of UC Berkeley’s many esteemed graduate schools.
Actor Bryan Cranston won an Emmy Award for his role as Walter White in the hit drama “Breaking Bad” and a Tony Award for his turn playing U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in the play “All the Way.” As someone who has spent his time playing smart characters who both break and defend the laws, we think Bryan Cranston could benefit from a degree from UC Berkeley’s School of Law.
Practically everyone knows and loves Anne Hathaway, who first warmed our hearts as Princess Mia Thermopolis in the “Princess Diaries” movies. Though awkward in the first movie, she blossomed into a knowledgeable queen by the end of the sequel. Hathaway recently played a charming businesswoman in the movie “The Intern.” She clearly has a knack for taking on leadership roles in films, which is why we think Hathaway would do well with an MBA from the campus’s Haas School of Business.
Mindy Kaling has played a few infamous, and particularly ditsy, characters. As Kelly Kapoor on “The Office,” she mastered the art of customer service, and in “The Mindy Project” she played a proud obstetrician-gynecologist. In real life, Kaling has written a hilarious and realistic book, and has taken on major writing roles in the shows we mentioned. With such extensive writing experience, we think Kaling would be an excellent candidate for a doctorate in English.
The prodigious Lin-Manuel Miranda, most recently of “Hamilton” fame, and previously of “In the Heights” fame, has garnered quite the following lately. We at the Clog are pretty big fans of the Tony Award winner’s work, which is not only incredibly catchy and impressive, but also historically accurate. Since Miranda put so much time and energy into researching the life of his most recent musical’s title character — the first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton — we think he’d thoroughly enjoy getting a doctorate in history from UC Berkeley.
