Typical lists of famous homeschoolers are filled with early U.S. presidents and historical figures, but hey—we here at Shmoop are not typical. Besides, back in the homesteading, prairie days of U.S. history (and in the pre-institutionalized education era in most cultures), pretty much everyone was homeschooled. So really, how impressive is a list that includes George Washington, Joan of Arc, and Alexander the Great?

"Wait, Alexander the Great was homeschooled? I could swear I saw his photo in the 340 B.C.E Macedon High yearbook."

See what we mean?

Here's our list of 12 famous (and famous-ish) folks who went the homeschool route when it wasn't the default method of education.

1. Erik Demaine, homeschooled from his birth in 1981 until he enrolled in college, which, for him, was in 1993 at age 12. This mathematician and eventual Macarthur Fellow (took him all the way till age 22 to book that achievement) became the youngest MIT professor in history when he landed the gig at age 20.

2. Thomas Edison, inventor of like, everything, went to school for just three months. After his teacher was overheard calling him "addled," Edison was removed from school and educated at home. It seems to have worked out for him. And for everyone who enjoys the benefits of things like, oh, for example, the light bulb.

 

The proof is in the pudding: if you are homeschooled, you will invent the light bulb.

3. Blake Griffin, professional basketball player, was homeschooled from first through eighth grade in the 1990s and early oughts. We presume it was during those years that he first perfected his dunk, possibly over the family car. (You can bet they had a hoop in the driveway.)

4. Jamie Wyeth, contemporary American painter, attended six years of public school in the 1950s after which, at his request, he was tutored at home instead so that he could concentrate on his art. Given the fact that his family tree is full of famous artists (father Andrew Wyeth, grandfather N.C. Wyeth, and aunt Carolyn Wyeth), we're thinking he had some pretty good teachers to work with on the homefront.

5. Christopher Paolini, American author, was homeschooled for his entire education and was recognized as the youngest author of a bestselling book series by those masters of world records over at Guinness. That happened back in 2011, thanks to his Inheritance Cycle. He wrote and self-published the first book in the series, Eragon, in his mid-to-late teens, and it was "discovered" by author Carl Hiaasen and republished by Knopf in 2003.

6. Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas, otherwise known as the Jonas Brothers, in case you've been living under a rock, are American musicians and teen idols who were homeschooled at various points by their mom, Denise. You can hear her chat about it in this interview on HomeschoolRadio.com. There's also a pre-recorded greeting from the J-Bros themselves pitching their Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience movie to fellow homeschoolers. That part is a little embarrassing, actually, but don't let it take away from their obvious musical talents and homeschool history. Aren't we all shameless hucksters when we need people to see our 3-D movies?

7. Venus and Serena Williams, professional tennis players, began homeschooling in their pre-teen years so that they could focus on their tennis instruction. And we'll just go out on a limb and say it didn't do them wrong.

8. Tim Tebow, professional football player, was homeschooled throughout his education in Florida in the 1990s and early oughts. In 2007, Tebow became the first homeschooled student to receive the Heisman Trophy. Way to go, Tebow.

9. Julian Assange, the oh-so-dastardly founder of WikiLeaks, was a part-time homeschooler, logging time in and out of school throughout his early years in the 1970s and early '80s due to his family's extensive travel (they ran a traveling theater when he was young). Must have been a very leaky childhood.

10. Taylor Swift, singer and hit-maker across musical genres, style maven, Tourism Ambassador to New York City, and darling of social media sites and pop culture debates the nation wide, was homeschooled for her junior and senior years of high school. Why? To accommodate her touring schedule, of course. We're not sure that's a common reason for homeschooling (although looking at this list, you might get the idea that it is). Still, homeschooling is homeschooling, and T-Swift was a practitioner, even if only for a short time.

11. Justin Timberlake, musician and actor and everyone's favorite former boy-bander, was homeschooled during his middle and high school years. This was when he was also appearing on The Mickey Mouse Club (with Britney Spears) and setting the groundwork for his ultimate breakthrough in *N Sync. Can we just say that we really appreciate that *N Sync correctly placed an apostrophe or star or something at the start of their name? They could have left it out (artistic license or whatever), but clearly good grammar mattered to these young musicians—or their managers. Maybe Justin learned that in homeschool?

12. Akiane Kramarik, American poet and artist, was homeschooled in rural Illinois in the 1990s and 2000s. Considered a child prodigy, Kramarik was first thrust into the media spotlight at age 9, when her talents were discovered by Oprah Winfrey. Way to go, Akiane.

13. Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and author of such famous works as The Handmaid's Tale, The Edible Woman, and Alias Grace, was homeschooled up until seventh grade. Which gave her lots of time to spend with her entomologist father (a situation that may seem familiar to you if you've read Cat's Eye). Not a bad way to spend a childhood and work your way to bestselling author status.