Beauty & Brains: Celebrity Babes with High IQs (Part 1 of 3)

Now before I get started, a couple of caveats. First, this is not a list of geeks who happen to be beautiful. There are a lot of those, and they've been documented on other websites and publications. No, this is a list of gorgeous celebrities, models and actresses who have also got some educational pedigree behind them (because I've got no objective measure for a celeb's IQ, and their past scholarly accomplishments is all I've got to work with).

Also, while there are plenty of actresses, for instance, who have studied performing arts at the undergraduate level, I've tended to give greater weight to celebrities who have excelled in a different field from their chosen profession.But enough with the formalities. Here is my ode to the Beautiful and the Brainy. Argue with me if you will, but these women are forever near and dear to my heart...

8. Hedy Lamarr:

Why you know her: If you're using the internet, you probably don't know her. Ask your grandparents.

Why she's beautiful: Film star of the 30s and 40s frequently cast as a seductress invariably because of her good looks rather than her acting skills.

Why she's brainy: While her formal educational credentials are not well documented, Hedy Lamarr's biggest claim to fame outside of acting is her joint patent with composer George Antheil for an early version of spread spectrum communication technology (U.S. patent #2,292,387) - a concept that was later incorporated into wireless telephones and internet wifi.


















9. Aisha Tyler:

You may know her from: Television's Talk Soup, Friends, Ghost Whisperer and 24.

Why she's beautiful: Not only is she tall and beautiful, but she's also got a serious sense of humor having pursued a standup career.

Why she's brainy: Earned a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth in Government with a minor in Environmental Policy. Fluent in French Russian and Swahili. She's also a serious poker player.


















10. Jennifer Connelly:

You may know her from: Movies like Career Opportunities, The Rocketeer, Inventing the Abbotts, Requiem for a Dream, A Beautiful Mind, Blood Diamond.

Why she's beautiful: It's all in her eyes (um...well and maybe a few other parts of her body)

Why she's brainy: Attended Yale for 2 years (English) then transferred to Stanford to complete her Bachelor's degree. Is fluent in French and Italian.Extra credit: Nobody else has made riding a coin operated pony look so, um, fun.