Kirk Daniel Cousins was a three-sport athlete in high school playing football, basketball, and baseball (pitcher/third baseman). The 6'3 competitor took his talents to Michigan State University in 2007 where he was redshirted that same year. The following year, he played backup quarterback behind Brian Hoyer. In 2009, he won the starting quarterback job and led the Spartans 28-12 record during his tenure at the institution and a 4-0 record against the school's rival in the Michigan Wolverines.
Cousins went on to be drafted 102nd overall in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins under a rookie contract of just $2.5 million. Which came to be a surprise being that the Redskins had drafted Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III, the year before. After Griffin suffered some career-altering injuries in 2014, Cousins stepped up and set several franchise records as the team's starting quarterback for the next three seasons before signing an $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. With a signing bonus of $3 million, endorsements, and incentives Cousins has accumulated a career earning of $100.6 million thus far.
Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.
Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.
Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.