7 Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Teachers

We all know that teachers are some of the most influential people in our lives. Some will teach until retirement and others will find different career paths. Here are seven people that you probably didn’t know were teachers in their previous life.

1. J.K. Rowling taught English as a foreign language for two years in Portugal. It was during that time she started writing the beloved book series, Harry Potter.

2. Barack Obama taught seminars on race and law for 12 years at University of Chicago Law School. There are several comments from his former students about how he challenged their way of thinking.

3. Liam Neeson was pursuing a teaching career when a student pulled a knife on him. He reacted by punching the student in the face and was fired from the position. Afterward, he decided to pursue acting.

4. Art Garfunkel was a former high school math teacher before Simon & Garfunkel. Art said if he didn’t have a career in music, he would have been happy with a career as a teacher. “I loved the curriculum. I loved the act of teaching.”

5. Hugh Jackman taught P.E., and tutored kids in English and drama in England before he was Hollywood’s Wolverine.

6. Dan Brown, who wrote "The Da Vinci Code", taught English and Spanish in Los Angeles for several years. He stopped teaching to become a full-time writer. Three of his eleven books have become films.

7. Jesse Williams taught high school in Philadelphia for six years. He is best known for his role on Greys Anatomy as Dr. Jackson Avery.

Teachers - remember that you are in good company. Keep pursuing your dreams and teach your kids to pursue theirs!