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Most Likely to Exceed
by
Sean McManus
March/April 2008
Celebrity students at Ivy League colleges used to be like the Marines—few and proud. But as the distance between high culture and pop culture shrinks, more celeb applicants are seeking the cachet of exclusive universities, and vice versa. Here’s how four Ivys stack up in the race for famous progeny.
Hillary Dobbs, ’10
Famous Parent: CNN commentator Lou Dobbs
Extracurricular: Rides horses.
Independent Claim to Fame: Winning prize money in horse shows. “I’m proud of my dad, but it’s nice to be able to compete on your own,” she has said.
Star Quality: Lou Dobbs is a political populist for angry Americans, but his daughter is taking the highbrow road and reminding the rest of us that Dad owns a 300-acre farm.
Cate Edwards, HLS, ’09
Famous Parent: John Edwards
Extracurricular: Campaigned for her father.
Independent Claim to Fame: Broke with her dad to support gay marriage.
Star Quality: Bonus points for attending two Ivy League schools (she went to Princeton undergrad); shows every sign of post-graduate stardom, possibly in politics.
Caroline Hanover, ’11
Famous Parents: Rudy Giuliani and Donna Hanover
Extracurricular: Aspires to a career in the arts, maybe directing.
Independent Claim to Fame: Unlike older brother Andrew, uses her mother’s last name. Made headlines for posting her support for Barack Obama on her Facebook page.
Star Quality: Stardom dimmed by distance from her famous but thrice-married father.
ALLISON WILLIAMS, ’10
Famous Parent: NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams
Extracurricular: Acting. She played a young dancer in a recent Yale production, Escape Artists.
Independent Claim to Fame: Blogs for the Huffington Post.
Star Quality: Dad’s a hunk, she’s a hottie with smarts. Fabulous!
RONAN FARROW, YLS, ’09
Famous Parents: Mia Farrow and Woody Allen
Extracurricular: He was a UNICEF ambassador at age 14.
Independent Claim to Fame: Graduated from high school at age 11.
Star Quality: Child prodigy, but given his gene pool, has potential for rampant neuroses.
THEO SPIELBERG, ’10
Famous Parent: Steven Spielberg
Extracurricular: The director’s adopted son played guitar and drums in L.A. bands while in high school.
Independent Claim to Fame: Writes music reviews for Rolling Stone.
Star Quality: His attendance at Yale was one reason Dad filmed scenes from the next Indiana Jones movie in New Haven.
KATIA WASHINGTON, ’10
Famous Parent: Denzel Washington
Extracurricular: Choreographer, member of the Yale singing troop Shades.
Independent Claim to Fame: Moved from L.A. to New Haven to put some distance between her and überprotective dad, who once said of Katia’s potential boyfriends, “I have a shotgun and a shovel and I’m willing to use both.”
Star Quality: Beautiful and creative; if she inherited her father’s talent, she’ll go far.
MEAGAN COWHER, ’08, and LAUREN COWHER, ’10
Famous Parent: Former Pittsburgh Steeler head coach Bill Cowher
Extracurricular: Both play Tigers basketball.
Independent Claim to Fame: Meagan reportedly chose Princeton so she could develop an independent persona. (It’s not exactly a football school.)
Star Quality: Dad’s retired from the Steelers … but could have a new coaching job soon.
BRYAN FRIST, ’10
Famous Parent: Former senator Bill Frist
Extracurricular: Poetry. His Facebook profile once read: “I was born an American/by Gods [sic] Amazing Grace/Lets [sic] bomb some people.”
Independent Claim to Fame: Not afraid to dis politics. “Things on the news and stuff aren’t that big of a deal at all,” he once said.
Star Quality: The next George W. Bush?
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA JR., ’11
Famous Parent: L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Extracurricular: Partying. Sometimes with Paris Hilton.
Independent Claim to Fame: Described pre-college party on Facebook as “great until it got broken up by the po’ and we almost got cited.”
Star Quality: Two words: Paris Hilton. But his party-boy antics could sabotage a promising political future.
BEE SHAFFER, ’09
Famous Parent: Vogue editor and style arbiter Anna Wintour
Extracurricular: Mom’s frequent date to global runway shows.
Independent Claim to Fame: As a freshman, she wrote a fashion column for the Daily Telegraph’s style page.
Star Quality: Beautiful and confident, she’s heir-apparent to the intersection of fashion and media.
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