20 Celebrities With Shockingly High IQs

When you think of intelligent people, what names come to mind? Benjamin Franklin or Albert Einstein? They both had an IQ between 160 and 200+. However, if you think a person needs to be educated to become smart. You'd be right and wrong. Most scientists agree that intelligence is a complex human trait of genetics and our environment.

Intelligence is challenging to study because many ways exist to define and measure it. Do men have a higher IQ than women or vice versa? No. Does a person's ethnicity or race have anything to do with intelligence? No. At least not as it pertains to our biological makeup.

For example, NASA mathematician Katherine Ackson's calculations sent astronauts to the moon and back. Her IQ ranked between 162 and 200+. The differences in IQ between healthy racial groups are directly related to one's environment regarding equal opportunities, such as access to education, food and nourishment, healthcare, and poverty.

We are born with intelligence, some more than others, depending on our genetic makeup. At the same time, we can become smarter by utilizing our environment's tools or through education. For example, there were no Ivy League Universities when the Mayans and Egyptians built pyramids around 1000 BC.

Yet, the Egyptians used the Pythagorean Theorem, trigonometry, and simple algebra to build pyramids in Egypt, the oldest dating back to the 27th Century BC. They also measured the angle of each direction so that each side of the pyramid faced precisely north, south, east, and west. The Mayans invented the concept of ZERO, using science, mathematics, geometry, and astronomy to build their pyramids, with the earliest dating back to 800 BC.

A 2019 report, The Intelligence of Nations, concluded that the average IQ in the United States is between 85 and 115. According to a study released by Psych Central, anyone with an IQ score above 130 is “very superior.”

Who are the smartie pants today? Terence Tao, a Chinese-American mathematician, currently has the highest IQ score in the world, between 225 and 230! Besides Tao, you'd be surprised to know what celebrities are packing shockingly high IQs. Here's our top 20 list:

1. Condeleeza Rice - 185

2. James Woods - 180

3. Rowan Atkinson — 178

4. Lady Gaga - 166

5. Alicia Keyes - 164

6.  Katt Williams - 163

7. Ashton Kutcher — 160

8. Reggie Jackson - 160

9. Matt Damon — 160

10. Geena Davis - 158 

11. Ben Affleck - 154

12. Cindy Crawford - 154

13. Jay Z - 148

14. Snoop Dogg - 147

15. Oprah Winfrey - 141

16. Gerard Pique - 140

17. Natalie Portman - 140

18. Emma Watson - 138

19. James Franco

20. Miley Cyrus - 120