High School Dropout No More: Mark Wahlberg Joins The Celebrity Tradition Of Late Graduations

Mark Wahlberg has a penchant for playing the lovable oaf on screen, but in reality, the hardworking actor just earned his high school diploma. Not that he needs it or anything, since the A-lister’s net worth is valued at $150 million even without a high school education. Nevertheless, Wahlberg buckled down and has since June, counted himself among the proud alumni of the American high school system. The actor got his diploma through an online education program, which unlike online ministry degrees, requires quite a bit of effort.

In this case, late is definitely better than never.

"It's also a huge sense of relief," he told People. "I wondered, 'Why didn't I do it when I was there?' It's so much harder at 41 going back and trying to do all these difficult tasks."

That’s a little recognition high school students will no doubt appreciate. Wahlberg celebrated his achievement at an event for the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens in Irvine, Calif., on Monday.

Congratulations, Mr. Wahlberg!

This new title means that he can now join the likes of Drake, who only earned his high school diploma in 2012, with an impressive 88% overall. Orlando Bloom is another dropout, having ditched school at 16 to pursue acting. Bloom later graduated from the British American Dramatic Academy on a full scholarship. And these are far from the only people on the list of celebrity dropouts – Nicholas Cage, Leonardo DiCapprio, Robert Downey Jr. and plenty of other actors have gone on to earn millions for their films, before going back to finish school.

The actor is in fine company.

And don’t think the ladies are exempt from this list either – Paris Hilton, Joan Jett, Carrie Fisher and Alicia Silverstone are just some of the ladies who achieved international fame, before completing their high school education. Still, the odds remain stacked against high school dropouts, so anyone reading this instead of finishing that essay on The Scarlett Letter might want to reconsider their choices. And of course, congratulations to Mr. Wahlberg, who would, without a doubt, have earned the title of Most Likely to Succeed.

Most Likely to Succeed?