Celebrities with High IQs

A person’s Intelligence Quotient – or IQ – is determined using a series of standardized tests that have been designed to assess an individual’s intelligence. The tests themselves are a source of controversy with some suggesting the IQ is not an accurate measure of intelligence but generally speaking, a person’s IQ can play a big role in what kind of career path they choose and how well they do in that field.

Above, you’ll see that basic outline of what IQ means and how most of the world stacks up. That mountain in the middle represents where most of us would rank. Let’s put it in perspective by looking at the expected career paths of individuals within specific IQ ranges:

• IQ of 87: Unskilled workers (no special training or special skills)
• IQ of 92: Semi-skilled workers (truck drivers, factory workers etc)
• IQ of 101: Skilled workers (clerical workers, sales professionals, electricians, craftsmen and foremen etc)
• IQ of 104: Managers and administrators (received 1-3 years of college education in a specific field)
• IQ of 112: Professional or technical workers (estate agents, surveyors, environmental or forensic scientists, educators etc)
• IQ of 125: Lawyers, doctors (PhDs, JDs, MDs)
• IQ of 135: Neurosurgeons, research scientists, university professors

Of course, the above is just an average representation of the practical application of IQ scores. While there are very few college graduates that fall below an IQ of 90, it is not completely unheard of. In addition, having a high IQ does not necessarily mean the individual will choose to pursue a career in science, medicine or education. There are exceptions to every rule. The celebrities on this list are just a mere sampling of those exceptions. I’ve listed these smart celebrities in order from lowest IQ to highest IQ. Enjoy!

Jodie Foster

Profession: Actress
IQ: 132
Notable Achievements:

• Academy Award winner
• Bachelor’s Degree from Yale

  

Nicole Kidman

Profession: Actress
IQ: 132
Notable Achievements:

• Academy Award winner
• Companion of the Order of Australia recipient
• Good will ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (2006)
• Good will ambassador for UNICEF (1994)

  

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Profession: Actor, bodybuilder, politician, businessman, director
IQ: 135
Notable Achievements:

• The Governor of California (2003-2011)
• Multiple Saturn Award nominations
• Annual bodybuilding competition, Arnold Classic, in his honor
• Youngest bodybuilder to become Mr. Olympia (1970, age 23)
• Won Mr. Olympia contest seven times (1970-1975, 1980

  

Geena Davis

Profession: Actress
IQ: 140
Notable Achievements:

• Member of Mensa
• Olympian (archery)
• Academy Award winner
• Fluent in Swedish
• Bachelor’s degree in drama from Boston University
• Founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

  

Madonna

Profession: Musician, actress, director, business woman, icon
IQ: 140
Notable Achievements:

• Grammy award winner
• Golden Globe nominee
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
• Best selling female rock artist of the 20^th century
• Founder of Maverick (entertainment company)
• I could go on all day

  

Shakira

Profession: Musician
IQ: 140
Notable Achievements:

• Highest selling Colombian artist of all time
• First artist to reach number one on Billboard Mainstream and Latin charts at the same time
• Nominated for Goodwill Ambassador by Pope John Paul II in 1998
• Named Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year (2011)
• Awarded medal by the UN’s International Labor Organization
• Opened a school in her hometown
• Guest speaker at the University of Oxford (previous honorees include US presidents, Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama XIV and Einstein)
• UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
• Statue of her stands in her hometown

  

Steve Martin

Profession: Actor, writer, comedian, musician
IQ: 142
Notable Achievements:

• Emmy award winner
• Grammy award winner
• American Comedy award winner
• Host of the Academy Awards

  

Scott Levy AKA: The Raven

Profession: Professional Athlete (wrestling), actor, musician
IQ: 143
Notable Achievements:

• Member of Mensa
• Member of Theta Chi Fraternity
• 2 time ECW World Heavyweight Champion
• 4 time ECW Tag Team Champion
• NWA Central States Heavyweight Champion
• USA Pro Champion
• VCW World Heavyweight Champion
• WCW Light Heavyweight Champion
• WCW United States Heavyweight Champion
• WCW World Tag Team Champion
• 26 time WWE Hardcore Champion

  

Asia Carerra

Profession: Adult film star
IQ: 156
Notable Achievements:

• Member of Mensa
• Received full academic scholarship to Rutgers University
• Performed at Carnegie Hall twice before age 15
• Taught English in Japan before age 16
• Star of roughly 370 adult films
• AVN Performer of the Year (1995)
• AVN Best Couples Sex Scene (2000)
• AVN Best Actress nominee (2000)
• AVN Hall of Fame inductee

  

Laura Shields

Profession: Model, actress
IQ: 158
Notable Achievements:

• Member of Mensa
• Degree in chemical engineering from Leeds University
• Miss UK International winner
• Miss Europe contestant (3^rd runner up)
• Briefcase model on Deal or No Deal

  

Dolph Lundgren

Profession: Actor
IQ: 160
Notable Achievements:

• Degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden
• Master’s Degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney
• Fulbright Scholarship recipient
• Two time European Kyokushin karate champion (1980, 1981)
• Captain of Sweden’s Kyokushin karate team at the World Open Tournament (1979)
• 3^rd Dan Black Belt in Kyokyshin karate

*Dolph has claimed his IQ is not 160 but has declined to further clarify. All sources I could find state 160 is accurate*

Quentin Tarantino

Profession: Writer, director, actor
IQ: 160
Notable Achievements:

• Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival Critic’s Choice Award recipient
• Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival
• Academy Award Winner
• Academy Award Nominee
• Empire Awards Icon of the Decade (2005)
• Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic recipient

  

Reggie Jackson

Profession: Professional athlete (baseball)
IQ: 160
Notable Achievements:

• Batted .550 and pitched several no hitters in his senior year in high school
• Excelled at football, baseball, track and field and basketball in school
• Scouted by colleges in Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma
• Several trips to the World Series
• Member of 500 Home Run club
• One of the top 300 home run hitters in baseball
• Leader in career stolen bases
• Hall of Fame inductee (1993)
• One of eight players to have his number retired by more than one team
• One of three players to have two different numbers retired by two Major League Baseball teams
• Plaque dedicated to him in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium

  

James Woods

Profession: Actor
IQ: 180
Notable Achievements:

• Is ambidextrous
• Emmy award winner
• Academy Award nominee
• Member of Mensa
• Member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity
• Placed 24^th at the L.A. Poker Classic
• Hollywood Walk of Fame star recipient
• Received full scholarship to MIT but dropped out to pursue acting
• Enrolled in the UCLA linear algebra course while in high school
• Scored 800 on verbal portion of SATs (perfect) and 779 on the math portion

Of course there are many highly intelligent celebrities I haven’t included on this list as I wanted to focus specifically on IQ. Natalie Portman, Mayim Bialik and James Franco are all incredibly intelligent celebrities who have accomplished a lot in both their entertainment and education careers but I wasn’t able to find information on an actual IQ score.