An Ivy League education isn’t always a recipe for success but in the case of these 12 grads, it sure didn’t hurt. Here are just a few of Harvard’s most famous success stories.

Barack Obama
President of the United States is a pretty impressive feat. Barack Obama joins the likes of fellow grads John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford Hayes, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, George W. Bush and Theodore Roosevelt who also spent their days studying in the libraries of Harvard University.

Natalie Portman
Academy Award winning actress Natalie Portman earned a degree in psychology from Harvard in 2003. She was famously quoted in the New York Post for saying; "I'd rather be smart than a movie star."

Conan O’Brien
You need to be smart to be funny. At least that's what Conan O'Brien would lead us to believe. Son of a Harvard professor, the comedian and talk show host enrolled in 1982 and later became the President of the school's newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.

Margaret Atwood
Award-winning Canadian novelist and poet, Margaret Atwood, holds a degree from Harvard's Radcliffe College alongside other notable literary greats like Helen Keller and Gertrude Stein.

Jeremy Lin
Recently recruited by the L.A. Lakers, Jeremy Lin began his successful basketball career at Harvard.

Jill Abramson
Former executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson completed a history and literature degree at Radcliffe College in 1976.

Mark Zuckerberg
If it wasn't for his time at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg may have never created Facebook. Just imagine what a world without Facebook might have looked like!

Rashida Jones
Graduating in 1997, actress Rashida Jones was heavily involved in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals society during her time at Harvard.

Yo-Yo Ma
Even if you’re not a fan of classical music, you're likely a fan of Yo-Yo Ma. The famous cellist holds both a bachelor degree and honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Sheryl Sandberg
An honors student, Sheryl Sandberg earned a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A with distinction before being hired as the chief operating officer of Facebook.

Lloyd Blankfein
With three Harvard degrees under his belt, it's no wonder Lloyd Blankfein earned himself the top job as CEO of and Chairman of Goldman Sachs.

Ashley Judd
Proving it's never too late to go back to school, actress Ashley Judd earned a mid-career master in public administration from Harvard in 2010.