Yes They Did! - 5 People Who You'd Never Think Were Prep School Alumni

The Prep School Pantheon is a somewhat extensive list and I don't blame you if you didn't take the time to read through the whole thing.  It includes some people who never outgrew the preppy image and others who are almost the opposite.  We've prepared a list of the most surprising people on the list.  Read on, but prepare to have your jaw drop.

Pete Seeger - Avon Old Farms School.
One of the most beloved and influential folk musicians on his generation, Seeger wrote many songs.  Although many of them, most famously "We Shall Overcome," are beautiful, timeless songs, they are about as far away from preppy as you can get.  Seeger is identified much more with the "hippie movement," although that is also partially due to all the work he did with artists such as Arlo Guthrie.  Seeger clearly didn't forget his education at the prestigious Avon Old Farms School of Avon Connecticut, though, as one of his songs was titled "What Did You Learn in School Today?"




Seth Macfarlane - Kent School
No, this is actually not a joke.  Seth Macfarlane, the comedic genius behind Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show and feature film Ted used to wear blazers and khakis to school.  A Kent native, Macfarlane later reveled in an interview that his mother had been a teacher at his alma mater.  Anyone familiar with Macfarlane's work will know that he is unquestionably a comedic mastermind, but even so, the irreverent humor that made Family Guy a success is far from classy and there's nothing remotely preppy about it, although Macfarlane did play off his own boarding school experiences when he sent character Chris Griffin to an elite boarding school known as "Morningwood Academy" in an episode that went on to spoof Dead Poets Society.


Steve Carrell - Middlesex School
Hard to believe that the 40 Year Old Virgin grew up a prep.  A native of Concord Massachusetts, he, like Macfarlane, attended his local private school, which happened to be among the most prestigious prep schools on the east coast.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carrell was a skilled hockey player who appeared in multiple school plays.  Not many prep school jocks also join the drama club, but Carrell has always been a talented guy.  After Middlesex, he attended Ohio's acclaimed Denison University.  His original plan was to become a lawyer, but fortunately for us, he chose acting instead.

Trey Anastasio - Taft School
Dubbed the "quintessential hippy band of the 20th century," Phish really is as far away from preppy as you can get, which is why we were so shocked to learn that frontman Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III is an alum of one of Connecticut's best prep schools, The Taft School to be specific.  It was there that he formed his first two bands, which were called Red Tide and Space Antelope.  During his time at Taft, he also met fellow songwriter The Dude of Life who helped pen such Phish hits as "Slave to the Traffic" and "Run Like an Antelope."  During Phish's first performance, which occurred during Anastasio's days at the University of Vermont, the hippie rockers used hockey sticks as mic stands...classic Vermont.

Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) - Convent of the Sacred Heart
Here's something you probably didn't know - Lady Gaga attended the same posh Manhattan prep school as Paris and Nicky Hilton.  At first glance, Gaga seems like the very last person who would have attended a religious private school, particularly one with the name Convent of the Sacred Heart.  Her meat and bubble dresses don't exactly scream "catholic private school" and there's never been anything preppy about her songs.  I guess some people really do undergo complete transformations between high school and adult hood.  Learning to play the piano by ear at age 4, Gaga clearly had her smarts so it's a small wonder she was admitted to New York University, although she did not graduate, dropping out of school to pursue music full time, like so many musicians before her.