23 Successful Actors Who Dropped Out Of High School

Sure Mark Wahlberg is a successful actor, having starred in big-time hits like "The Departed" and "The Fighter," but the Boston-bred star didn't earn his high school diploma until just this year.

Back in September, Wahlberg penned a column for the Huffington Post, explaining his motivations for finishing his degree.

"For almost a year, I've been taking classes and studying any chance I could get - on the set, traveling for work and at home," he wrote. "It has been both humbling and challenging, but I'm happy to report that I am officially a high school graduate, having received my diploma this summer."

And Wahlberg isn't the only big name who didn't graduate. 

In fact, Walt Disney himself didn't finish high school, even writing a letter to his school principal saying how "disgusted" he was with his education there.

There are many more actors just like Wahlberg and Disney — stars who left high school and found huge success in Hollywood.

Jim Carrey dropped out of school to help support his family.

He may be one of Hollywood's most famous comedians, with big-name hits like "Liar Liar" and "The Truman Show" on his résumé, but Carrey's life wasn't always such smooth sailing.

Growing up in poverty in Ontario, Canada, Carrey and his siblings worked as janitors at a local factory. When Carrey's mother fell ill, the aspiring actor dropped out of school to help care for her.

Though his family ended up taking residence in a VW bus for awhile, things picked up and the family relocated to Toronto, where Carrey began performing on the local comedy circuit. 

At the age of 18, Carrey found his first credit with TV series, "The All-Night Show."

Charlie Sheen earned his high school degree this year.

Sheen attended Santa Monica High School (alongside buddies Sean Penn and Rob Lowe), but his poor grades and attendance got him expelled just a few weeks before graduation.

But the now successful "Two and a Half Men" actor made sure to earn his degree — just this year, actually.

Instead of taking classes to finish up his remaining few credits, the now 48-year-old Sheen told TMZ he got his credits because of charity work he did for the school. 

Sheen said he bothered to do it because he wanted to beat "a lifelong habit of never finishing things."

Christina Applegate dropped out of high school and found success on "Married ... with Children."

Hollywood runs in Applegate's veins — her mother was an actress and her father was a record producer, so it isn't a big surprise that the "Anchorman" star decided to pursue acting at a young age, too.

Having appeared in several movies while still at an elementary-school age, Applegate briefly attended Excelsior High School in Hollywood, dropping out during her junior year.

Applegate was 15 years old when she landed a huge role as Kelly Bundy on "Married ... with Children."