Jordana Brewster is clearly a genius if she chose to star in one of the best action franchises in the world, Fast & Furious.
Brewster was relatively unknown when she chose to star in The Fast and the Furious in 2001. Reviews of her previous work were not good. But she finally came out on top when she first played Mia Toretto, the sister of the notorious street racer, Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel.
Now, she's part of the group of gorgeous women who appear in the franchise, and are just as tough and thick-skinned as their male counterparts. But she's a part of another group that many people probably don't know about. She's part of the group of celebrities who have really high IQs.
The Fast & Furious franchise isn't quite like Shakespeare (or maybe it is), but if it ever needed Mia to be a nerdy English geek, then Brewster could have played that version really well.
She Went To An Ivy League School
Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama to Maria João, a former Sports Illustrated model, and Alden Brewster, an American investment banker.
Her paternal grandfather was Kinman Brewster Jr., a former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1977 to 1981, and previously a former president of Yale University from 1963 to 1977. Which came in handy when Brewster wanted to apply for colleges.
After leaving Brazil at age 10, Brewster moved to New York City and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, later graduating from the Professional Children's School. Before she played Mia, she started her academic career at her grandfather's Yale.
Following The Fast and the Furious, Brewster quit acting for a time to finish her degree in English Literature at the Ivy League college. In 2003, she graduated with a B.A. in the same field.
Brewster told People that she was a nerd during her time in school. "I was so stressed about getting good grades," she said. "I wish I had joined a sorority and had more fun."
She also admitted that it was great completing her degree while her stardom was blossoming because it masked the fact that she was the granddaughter of a former president of the school.
During an episode of Collider Ladies Night, Brewster revealed that she wanted a successful career into her 40's but she knew she wanted to go to school before she lost the chance.
"I saw teeny boppers come and go and I knew I didn’t want that kind of career," she said. "I always wanted a career where I’d still be working in my 40s. 41, still working! So that plan worked out, but I was fearful of leaving school after freshman year or sophomore year and then having to go back with young kids and losing my momentum in terms of writing papers, attending seminars, taking tests.
"And I’ll tell you now, my attention span is gone. It is something I’m so glad I did within that window of time because I’ll have it forever and it was really valuable to me. I am a nerd. I do like studying. I did like that time to just be myself amongst other kids my age, so it was never a question in my mind of whether or not I would do it."
When asked if her degree ever came in handy for any of her roles, she said, "No, to be honest." But she did have some choice words about being an actress who went to an Ivy League school.
"Only in as much as I think people give you a little more cred and take you a little more seriously sometimes. Like I hate it when people are like, ‘Oh, you went to Yale?’ And I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’ You know what I mean? But I think in the future as I start to want to write or as I start to work in other ways, I think it will. And I think it has in terms of life, in my life space, so I think indirectly it’s helped me in my career."
She's also in a line of work that allowed her to pay back all those hefty loans pretty quickly too.
Her IQ Makes Her Gifted
According to OK! magazine, Brewster has an IQ of 130. Having that IQ probably helped when it came to all those English papers she had to write at Yale.
If you believe in IQ tests, scoring 130 means you're gifted. According to 123Test, only 6.4% of the entire world's population score in the gifted category, or anywhere between 121 to 130. Anything above 130 is classified as a genius.
We don't know what Brewster thinks about her gifted status, but if she's anything like Mia, she probably doesn't care too much. If she really does have a 130 IQ, we know she'll continue to play Mia in as many Fast & Furious films as possible, and at this point, there may be a couple more.
