# What is (usually) your favourite fact to learn about a well known person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079 "2008-12-07T01:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/21 "2008-12-08T17:41:01Z")
I love finding out that they’re educated in something unrelated to their celebrity. Actors with Master’s degrees in Physics or fantasy-authors with M.Ds or scientists with liberal-arts degrees in their past. That kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/22 "2008-12-08T17:42:45Z")
That they have talent doing something that they are not known for. Like Hugh Laurie is a published novelist or Evan Hunter was a jazz pianist. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/23 "2008-12-08T17:49:19Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > I love finding out that they’re educated in something unrelated to their celebrity. Actors with Master’s degrees in Physics or fantasy-authors with M.Ds or scientists with liberal-arts degrees in their past. That kind of thing. Along those lines, one of my favorite little factoids is that Danica (“Winnie Cooper”) McKellar is, apparently, something of a math whiz: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005211/bio](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005211/bio) ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/24 "2008-12-08T18:08:59Z")
For females, finding out that they’ve appeared nude either in print or on film. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/25 "2008-12-08T18:38:57Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Wow what’s most shocking to me is that the press did such a good job of keeping that hidden - I’ve never seen him smoking and didn’t know that until now. The press didn’t have to hide anything. Obama never smokes in public. He made a deal with his wife that if he ran for President he’d have to give up smoking completely. Sometimes interviews turn to “how’s the quitting going?” For the most part, he’s done good, but he slipped a few times during the campaign (and I believe recently as well). ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/26 "2008-12-08T22:32:15Z")
I gain respect for a famous person if they’re able to make fun of themselves (including tough guys/sex symbols playing comically-against-type broad comedic parts). The best example in recent years being **Justin Timerberlake** , as witnessed by his SNL appearances. I also have a teeny bit more respect for **Tom Cruise** as a person (although he’s always been a good enough actor) after seeing him in Tropic Thunder. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/27 "2008-12-08T22:51:00Z")
In Tom Cruise’s case his Tropic Thunder appearance was one step forward from the fifty steps back he took by being a Scientologist. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079/28 "2008-12-09T05:52:53Z")
I don’t know why, but a diverse knowledge of the arts really impresses me (probably because I’m a a music grad…and know it takes hard work to really understand Jazz classical etc) Being well read helps, and someone who likes to keep fit. I am also single…why do you ask? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-usually-your-favourite-fact-to-learn-about-a-well-known-person/476079.md?page=1)