Famous or Successful People Who Were Montessori Educated

Famous or successful people who were Montessori educated

Many familiar people who were Montessori educated

The famous individuals most obviously influenced by Montessori are former Montessori students. Many of these individuals are known for their initiative, creativity, and self confidence.

1. Peter Drucker, Management Guru
2. Larry Page, Co-Founder of Google
3. Sergey Brin, Co-Founder of Google
4. Jeffrey Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com
5. Mark Zuckerberg – the co-founder of Facebook was apparently educated at a Montessori school.
6. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft
7. Katharine Graham, Owner/Editor of the Washington Post. “The Montessori method—learning by doing-once again became my stock in trade…” from Personal History by Katharine Graham
8. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Editor, Former First Lady
9. Sean ‘P. Diddy’ (formerly known as Puffy) Combs, RAP mega-star
10. Anne Frank, Author of The Diary of Anne Frank
11. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for Literature
12. Prince William and Prince Harry, English royal family
13. T. Berry Brazelton, Pediatrician and Author
14. Julia Child, Chef, Star of many TV Cooking Shows, and Author
15. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian painter and Architect
16. Elizabeth Berridge – actress
17. Kami Cotler – actress
18. Melissa and Sarah Gilbert – actors
19. David Blaine – a magician
20. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hugh Grant, who both went to Wetherby, a Montessori school in London (the same school as Princes William and Harry)
21. Lea Salonga, from the O.B.Montessori Center, Phil. Inc., the famous Filipino singer and Broadway Actress. She is the star in the famous Broadway musical “Miss Saigon” and now “Cinderella” which is being shown in the Philippines stage.

Many famous people chose Montessori schools for their own children

Montessori education is a well-thought-out choice for many famous people who are looking for a school providing individualized instruction and the opportunity for their children to achieve their potential.

1. Stephen J. Cannell, TV Writer-Producer-Director
2. Patty Duke Austin, Actress
3. Cher Bono, Singer and Actress
4. John Bradshaw, Psychologist and Author
5. Yul Brynner, Actor
6. Susan St. James – actress
7. Marcy Carcy, TV producer
8. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Former President and New York Senator
9. Michael Douglas, Actor
10. Shari Lewis, Puppeteer
11. Yo Yo Ma, Cellist
12. Jennifer Granholm and Daniel Mulhern, Governor of Michigan

Other famous people connected to Montessori

A number of famous individuals are linked through Montessori simply as supporters of the method.
1. Alexander Graham Bell (inventor). He and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Education Association in 1913. They also provided financial support directly to Dr. Maria Montessoriand helped establish the first Montessori class in Canada and one of the first in the United States.

2. Fred Rogers, children’s TV personality, was a strong supporter of Montessori education.
3. Thomas Edison, scientist and inventor, helped found a Montessori school.
4. President Wilson’s daughter trained as a Montessori teacher. There was a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during Wilson’s presidency.
5. Alice Waters, restaurateur and writer, is a former Montessori teacher.
6. Bruno Bettelheim, noted psychologist/author, was married to a Montessori teacher.
7. Erik Erikson, noted anthropologist/author, had a Montessori teaching certificate.
8. Jean Piaget, noted Swiss psychologist, made his first observations of children in a Montessori school. He was also head of the Swiss Montessori Society for many years.
9. Robert Frost – Poet Laureate. One of Americans best read poets.

Montessori has influenced many people, famous or not, who have grown to see the world in a new way and to follow their own leading. Nobel Laureate in Literature and former Montessori student Gabriel Garcia Marquez eloquently describes Montessori’s influence:
“I do not believe there is a method better than Montessori for making children sensitive to the beauties of the world and awakening their curiosity regarding the secrets of life.”

“Montessori taught me the joy of discovery…It showed you can become interested in pretty complex theories, like Pythagorean theory, say, by playing with blocks. It’s all about learning on your terms, rather than a teacher explaining stuff to you. SimCity comes right out of Montessori—if you give people this model for building cities, they will abstract from it principles of urban design.” -Will Wright, Computer Game Designer and Original Designer of The Sims.