12. Aziz Ansari - New York University

Aziz Ansari has been quoted in the past as saying he just wanted to make his parents proud during his educational career. He was an excellent student and a high achiever, but underneath it all he just wanted to make people laugh. We imagine that his sense of humor may have made the marketing course he did at New York University more bearable for the other students.

Ansari was performing at New York's comedy clubs in the evenings after studying throughout the day, and his reputation grew quickly. He stayed on to graduate in 2004, but by 2005 he was already listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine's most promising new standup comedians. We're guessing his parents were OK with his career change; both of them have made appearances on his show 'Master of None'!

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