Jennifer Connelly is not only one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood, but she’s also one of the smartest. She landed her first major role in Sergio Leone’s 1980 masterpiece film, “Once Upon a Time in America.” That was the jump start of what would become an incredibly successful career, acting in films like “Labyrinth,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and countless others.
Connelly has won an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe, and has been nominated several times. What’s more, this astounding lady studied drama at Yale and Stanford University, and she speaks Italian and French fluently!
Unknown - Lupita Nyong'o
Born in Mexico, Lupita started her career in the early 2000s, as part of the production crew for many major films. She went on to make her debut as an actress in the short film, "East River." In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced her own documentary about the albino population in Kenya. Shortly after, she enrolled in the Yale School of Drama and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts.
Lupita got her big-screen breakthrough shortly after graduating when she was cast in Steve McQueen’s "12 Years a Slave." She even won an Academy Award for her performance. Nyong'o went on to star in award-winning films after that, including two "Star Wars" movies, "Black Panther," "Us," and more. She’s talented, AND a genius!
Unknown - Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd has been a Hollywood sweetheart since her role in the 1990s "Ruby in Paradise." She continued to earn recognition as a high-profile actress with her performances in "Frida," and " A Time to Kill." Her most recent roles have been few and far between as she decided to focus on humanitarian efforts instead. We can only bow down.
Judd has a Bachelor's degree in French from the University of Kentucky, a Mid-Career Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. And as if managing three majors wasn't enough, Judd has been doing humanitarian work for more than a decade, mainly focusing on gender equality and the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls. She has also narrated three documentaries for the Youth AIDS group.
130 - Ashley Rickards
Most of the people who know Ashley Rickards' face are young adults. These are the people who watched her play Jenna Hamilton on MTV's "Awkward" or Samantha Walker on "One Tree Hill." After graduating from high school at 15 years old, no one could deny the brains of this girl. Plus, as a freshly graduated teenager, she had all the time in the world to pursue an acting career. No one said the universe was fair.
With an intellect sharp enough to shave your legs, Rickards has also written a book and has been an advocate of human rights. The exact numbers aren't out just yet, but we do know that Rickards is a Mensa member. This means that her IQ is higher than 98 percent of the population!
154 - Danica McKellar
Danica McKellar, also known as Winnie Cooper from the "Wonder Years," took a break from acting to study Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she graduated summa cum laude in her class. There is even a mathematical theory with her name on it – the "Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem." Honestly, with an IQ of 154, it's hardly surprising.
Now, we were never really good at math so we won't try to explain the theory or figure out what it means, but we do know it sounds important. McKellar went on to author several mathematic books, three of which have made The New York Times children's bestseller list. She is an education advocate who strives to make math more approachable to adolescents; mainly teenage girls and young women.