High School Dropouts Who Scored Big: Katy Perry, Johnny Depp and More

Ruthlessly bullied at an all-white high school, Chris Rock dropped out but kept his sense of humor and produced the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris based on his past.

Cameron Diaz abandoned Long Beach Polytechnic High after landing a modeling contract, then quickly starred with Jim Carrey in The Mask.

When other girls bullied her like a Monster, Charlize Theron pulled a Fast X one on them by dropping out and becoming an Oscar winner.

The Brat Packer's educational career was a real car Crash — Matt Dillon ditched school to take acting jobs not once, but twice.

Finding school too tough, Caryn Johnson dropped out, changed her name to Whoopi Goldberg, won an Oscar — and eventually discovered that she's dyslexic.

Jay-Z had an "Empire State of Mind" to overcome his youth, which included dropping out of school and dealing drugs before cleaning up his act.

If you think you don't have a Ghost of a chance of success after dropping out of school at age 16, just ask Demi Moore — her experience has real Substance.

Mere weeks before his high school graduation, Charlie Sheen was expelled for low grades and poor attendance … yet he became a Major League star!

Former child star Robert Downey Jr. ditched school at 16 and became an Iron Man strong enough to overcome addiction like a superhero.

Al Pacino didn't have a whiff of luck in school due to bad grades, but he came out smelling like a rose with his Oscar for Scent of a Woman.

At age 15, Katy Perry followed her Teenage Dream and left Santa Barbara's Dos Pueblos High to be a singer.

Leaving school due to substance abuse at a young age isn't the best path to success, but for the rapper turned actor turned producer Mark Wahlberg, it turned out just right.

Mission: Improbable: Tom Cruise was in school to become a priest, but he found a calling from a place a little lower than heaven… Hollywood.

Leaving Beverly Hills High to pursue acting ended in Nicolas Cage's Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas.

Ditching high school at a young age to pursue an acting career was an offer The Godfather II Oscar winner Robert De Niro couldn't refuse.

Before it was a pirate's life for Johnny Depp, he left school at 15 to become a musician, get married and work odd jobs. He turned to acting after meeting Cage in Los Angeles.

Too many absences left her unable to graduate, but Jessica Chastain was preparing for her Oscar-winning career — she was cutting class to read Shakespeare in her car.

Two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone's super-good move was to leave school so she could take a role in 2007's Superbad.

Like a story out of Pulp Fiction, John Travolta junked high school so he could move to L.A. and become an actor… a very successful one, at that!

Five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams changed schools so often that she gave up to pursue acting — at least she decided to get a GED at her own pace.