Celebrities with Degrees in Computer Science

Although you may be more likely to point Ryan Gosling out in a line up, James Gosling is infinitely more famous within the computing industry, best known as the father of Java (the programming language). This programming language, designed in 1994, was groundbreaking for developers, allowing them to ‘write once, run anywhere’.

Born in Canada, Gosling earned his bachelor degree in computer science at the University of Calgary before going to study computer science at PhD level at Carnegie Mellon University in the US.

In the recent past, Gosling has worked for Sun Microsystems, the Oracle Corporation, Google, Liquid Robotics (start up), Scala and Eucalyptus (now part of HP). Last year he was awarded the IEEE John von Neumann Medal for his achievements in computer-related science and technology.

His name might sound like the pseudonym of a jazz musician, but Reed Hastings is actually the CEO of Netflix, a video streaming service that has claimed the free time of over 48 million subscribers in more than 40 countries worldwide.

After gaining a mathematics degree from Bowdoin College and then joining the Peace Corps, Hastings went on to take a master’s degree in computer science at Stanford University, despite his first choice of university being the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

As recently as 2014, Hastings became a billionaire, thanks to a surge in shares prices to over US$400 per share. He previously served as a board member at Microsoft and now currently does so at Facebook.

If you need proof that a computer science degree isn’t just a one-track subject, take a look at US television host and comedian Jimmy Fallon.

Star of popular comedy show Saturday Night Live and his own show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Fallon now hosts The Tonight Show, following the likes of Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

Studying at The College of Saint Rose in New York as a computer science degree major, Fallon switched to communications in his final semester, which he admitted may have been unwise; “I got out once it got really hard. I made it up to C++. Then I couldn't do the math – it got really confusing. I switched to communications, which is a ridiculous major – let's be honest.”

While Fallon’s experience may scare you off taking a computer science degree, it should also reassure you that there are lots of different pathways you could choose to go down, whether that means switching to a new major or launching a career in comedy.

The first woman in our list of celebrities with degrees in computer science is Anita Borg, founding director of the Institute for Women and Technology (IWT) and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Borg is also a brilliant computer scientist, creator of the Systers mailing list.

Born in Chicago, Borg taught herself to program while working at an insurance company. From there she went on to work in programming, eventually earning a PhD in computer science from New York University (NYU).

Throughout her career, Borg worked passionately to increase representations of women and minorities in the technology sector. Although she died of a brain tumor in 2003, her inspiration and impact live on, in part through the legacy of the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, a fund for women across the globe who excel in computing and technology.

Liam Neeson may be a dropout, but he’s also a dropout you definitely don’t want to mess with!

Although best known for his acting credentials and his gruff Northern Irish accent, before reaching stardom, Neeson undertook a degree in computer science and physics at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

But he dropped out to pursue acting, you say. Actually no! Neeson dropped out to work for the Guinness Brewery as a fork-lift operator. It wasn’t until 1976 that he began acting full time. Recent works include Taken, Anchorman 2 and The Lego Movie (voiceover).

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To learn more about what it’s like to study computer science, visit our computer science course guide. Or to learn more about studying for a master’s degree in computer science, see our graduate guide.

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