Celebrities That Were Once Teachers

At school, our teachers may have seemed to be unreal. They seemed to only exist in the classroom, and if we ever bumped them elsewhere, maybe at a coffee shop or the community pool, it seemed awkward. However, for celebrities, the scenario is the opposite. You may not be able to visualize that at one point in their lives, they existed in the classroom. From iconic writers to stadium-booking rock stars and red-carpet royalty, the teacher’s desk was where many of them launched their careers. Some of these celebrities who were once teachers include:

Sting

Popularly known as Sting, Gordon Matthew Sumner was a certified primary school teacher before becoming a leading member of the Police. Immediately after, his music career started to gain traction, and Sting quit the teaching profession. He is still concerned about teachers, and decades after leaving the profession, he still believes that teaching is one of the most imperative careers globally and that it should be compensated better.

Sheryl Crow

Before the singer-songwriter made it to the big time and won all her Grammys, she taught music at an elementary school upon graduation from the University of Missouri. It was while she was teaching that she began her successful career by writing jingles for a local store, and then bigger corporations like McDonald’s. She still sponsors and promotes charities based in her hometown in Missouri. Like Sting, she still fights for teacher’s rights and appreciation.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

While he was writing his Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, Lin Manuel-Miranda was teaching at his alma mater, Hunter College High School in Manhattan. The multitalented star has proven himself in almost every arena, as a writer, composer, singer, dancer, playwright, and producer. And he obviously never lost his teaching skills or his passion to educate, as made evident by his hit musical Hamilton, which has been crediting with getting Gen Z more interested in both history and musicals.