Cover Nolan Gould is most famous for playing dunce Luke Dunphy but he has actually passed the Mensa IQ test (Photo: IMDB)
Nolan Gould is most famous for playing dunce Luke Dunphy but he has actually passed the Mensa IQ test (Photo: IMDB)
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Though many celebrities claim high IQ scores, few have actually passed the Mensa IQ test that validate their genius
In Hollywood, beauty may open doors, but brilliance keeps the room. For a rare few, it’s not just talent and charm they bring to the red carpet, but intellect high enough to land them in Mensa, the elite society reserved for “people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test”—that is to say, those whose Mensa IQ test scores put them at the top two percent. Whether they’re child prodigies to autodidacts and polyglots, these certified geniuses remind us that celebrity and high society can also mean high IQ.
In case you missed it: Celebrity scholars: 17 stars with higher education degrees
1. Park Kyung (Block B boy band member, South Korea)
Reported IQ: 156
The first K-pop idol to be formally accepted into Mensa International, Park Kyung revealed on tvN’s Problematic Men that he scored in the 99th percentile of test takers. He’s known for his lightning-fast mental arithmetic—allegedly outperforming spreadsheet software while calculating the earnings of his band, Block B, in real time. A respected lyricist and composer, Park weaves clever wordplay into his tracks, proving that he can be as creative as he is calculating
2. Ha Yeon‑joo (actress, South Korea)
Reported IQ: 156, verified Mensa member
Profession: Actress
Though best known for her roles in high-profile dramas like Miss Granny, Ha Yeon‑joo quietly holds Mensa membership. Korean media refer to her as “Mensa girl,” a nod to her rare combination of beauty, poise and confirmed intellectual skill in a field where intellect is rarely quantified.
See more: 7 Korean celebrities who have above average IQ: BTS’ RM, Song Joong-Ki
3. Geena Davis (actress, USA)
Reported IQ: ~140
Academically sharp and socially conscious, Geena Davis passed the Mensa IQ test early in her career. Her work as an actress stalled after the bomb that was Cutthroat Island, a swashbuckling adventure flick that the Guinness World Records once listed as the biggest cinematic flop of all time. The star of A League of Their Own later leveraged her cognitive acuity into founding the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, guiding research on gender representation in film and TV, and influencing policy changes in Hollywood and beyond.
4. Nolan Gould (actor, USA)
Reported IQ: ~150
Known to millions as the adorably dim-witted Luke Dunphy on Modern Family, Nolan Gould is in real life the kind of wunderkind who could’ve outpaced most of his castmates in a debate on astrophysics. A certified Mensa member with an IQ estimated at 150, Gould reportedly began reading at age three and had already skipped four grades by the time he was 13. He graduated high school early and has expressed interest in studying neuroscience and astrophysics.
Off-camera, he’s also a skilled double bassist and a budding intellectual with a penchant for solving Rubik’s cubes on talk shows, even once finishing one in 24 seconds during a live interview. He’s the kind of star who can casually drop that he’s taken part in National Geographic expeditions or is considering a degree from Princeton, and somehow make it seem like a natural next step from sitcom stardom.
5. Alan Rachins (actor, USA)
Reported IQ: 152; verified Mensa Member
Before he became a fixture on primetime television as the smooth, silver-tongued Douglas Brackman Jr on LA Law or the hippie-dad-next-door on Dharma & Greg, Alan Rachins was already navigating the upper echelons of both academia and the arts. A confirmed Mensa International member, Rachins began his higher education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania—yes, that Wharton—before switching gears to pursue acting full-time. But even then, he never truly left the intellectual sphere. He later studied screenwriting and directing at the American Film Institute, a pivot that led to successful stints behind the camera and on the page.
He has written and directed stage productions and episodes for TV, displaying an ability to translate complex characters and social commentary into scripts that resonate. Rachins is not just a performer; he’s a polymath of the creative industry, able to toggle between law jargon, comedic timing and behind-the-scenes strategy with equal fluency. Before his death in 2024, he was the rare Hollywood presence whose credentials are as impressive on paper as they are on IMDb.
6. Emma Dumont (actor and dancer, USA)
While there are no reports of actor Emma Dumont’s tested IQ, you might know them as Polaris in The Gifted, or from their stint on Bunheads. In real life, however, Emma Dumont is a competitive robotics engineer and a seasoned coder. A math and science nerd at heart, they have participated in FIRST Robotics competitions, studied at UCLA, and are a vocal advocate for STEM education for young girls. A ballerina-brainiac hybrid, Dumont proves that performing arts and scientific rigor can coexist beautifully.
7. Glenne Headly (actress, USA)
Above More contemporary movie-goers might remember Glenne Headly as Lindsay Lohan’s mother in ‘Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen’ (Photo: IMDB)
More contemporary movie-goers might remember Glenne Headly as Lindsay Lohan’s mother in ‘Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen’ (Photo: IMDB)
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Reported IQ: over 150
Often cast as the quietly intelligent woman onscreen (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dick Tracy), Glenne Headly mirrored that quiet brilliance in real life. She passed the Mensa IQ test, so studying art history and drama in Switzerland and New York was a cinch. She also had a remarkable stage career before transitioning to film. Though never a megastar, Headly was a highly respected actor with cerebral depth, known for her razor-sharp wit and sensitivity. She passed away in 2017, but her legacy as one of Hollywood’s unsung intellects endures.
8. Ashley Rickards (actress, USA)
Reported IQ: ~140+
Best known for her role as Jenna in Awkward, Ashley Rickards is far from the confused teen she played on screen. She’s a bona fide genius who graduated high school by age 15, is fluent in multiple languages and has a serious passion for writing and advocacy. A member of Mensa, Rickards also penned a self-help book for young women and is involved in autism awareness campaigns. Her smarts aren’t just bookish—they’re deeply empathetic, too.
9. Amelia Henderson (actress, Malaysia)
Reported IQ: ~180
A child star turned multilingual powerhouse, Amelia Henderson is Malaysian entertainment’s most underrated polymath. Of Scottish, Indian and Malaysian descent, she reportedly boasts an IQ near 180, easily passing the Mensa IQ test. Fluent in English, Malay, Tamil and German, she began modelling and hosting at a young age while also excelling in school. She was awarded a scholarship to pursue her studies and has a reputation for being articulate, socially conscious and fiercely independent.
Sarah Lim is a lifestyle journalist based in Manila, the Philippines. She is part of Tatler T-Labs, Tatler’s regional content hub.
