everyone loves to hear words of comfort
and encouragement from someone who has
truly made it welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’re counting down our picks
for the top 10 most inspiring celebrity
commencement speeches if I leave you
with anything I’m gonna leave you with
these two words and those two words are
I’m Batman
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at some of the
most uplifting celebrity commencement
speeches and making our choices based on
how moving and memorable they are living
up to your heroes is amazing but it’s
not good enough the difference between
goodness and greatness is going beyond
you have to push forward and surpass
their greatness in order to pay homage
to their struggle don’t be afraid
number 10 Jon Stewart College of William
and Mary turns out that satirical
talk-show hosts make killer commencement
speakers you have been told to follow
your dreams but what if it’s a stupid
dream Stephen Colbert absolutely rocked
his 2011 speech at Northwestern as did
Jon Stewart at Virginia’s College of
William and Mary a few years prior
Stewart comes running out of the gate
with a painfully accurate comment about
how dull and boring graduation
ceremonies are and by poking fun at
himself for being a third-rate celebrity
speaker but today isn’t about how my
presence here devalues this fine
institution it is about you the
graduates I’m honored to be here to
congratulate you today however it’s not
all jokes as he delivers some scathing
and reflective remarks about the
terrible state of the world and the
unpredictability of life I know we were
supposed to bequeath to the next
generation of world better than the one
we were handed so sorry some of his
jokes may land a little flat but the
combination of humor and sincerity make
Jon Stewart speech a good one
number nine Aaron Sorkin Syracuse
University Aaron Sorkin is one of our
generations finest writers so you know
that as commencement speech was going to
be something magnificent I wish I could
tell you that there was a trick to
avoiding the screw-ups but the screw-ups
there are coming for you
it’s a combination of life being
unpredictable and you being super dumb
Sorkin spoke at Syracuse University and
within the first three minutes he was
calling the graduates super dumb and
barely functional sometimes just when
you think you have the balls safely in
the end zone you’re back to delivering
pizzas for Domino’s welcome to the NFL
it doesn’t get much better from here as
he relieves anecdotes about a failed
actor AIDS
and a debilitating drug addiction try
cocaine and you’ll become addicted to it
become addicted to cocaine and you will
either be dead or you will wish you were
dead but it will only be
the other but like a tough parent he
uses these topics to touch on the harsh
realities of life today is May 13th and
today you graduate and the rules are
about to change and one of them is this
decisions are made by those who show up
well he eventually speaks about doing
good his bluntness is refreshing
sometimes the most inspirational thing
to hear is that life sucks don’t ever
forget that a smaller group of
thoughtful people can change the world
it’s the only thing that ever has number
8 Tom Hanks Yale College let’s be
serious Tom Hanks could trip on his robe
and do nothing but coffin to the
microphone for 15 minutes and we’d all
call it inspirational graduation day is
a proper occasion to put a toe in the
global waters and I think the mercury
shows that things are much as they
always have been but all joking aside
Hanks proves with this beautiful speech
that he’s just as lovely a man as
everyone thinks he is by the way I’m
Hank shows up clad in a suit and a Yale
cap and absolutely commands the crowd
for the next 20 minutes offering
incredibly well thought-out jokes and
inspiration in equal measure evidence
that our nation is becoming a better
place is everywhere but each new day
fear is as the jersey poet said lurking
in the darkness on the edge of town his
views on fear and faith are beautiful
and uplifting and it allows us to feel
however briefly a little more hopeful
your your rising from bed every morning
will give fear its chance to grow
stronger just as it will afford faith
its chance to blossom number 7 JK
Rowling Harvard University if there’s
anyone we can look up to
it’s JK Rowling rolling came from
depression and poverty but changed her
life into something extraordinary and
historical climbing out of poverty by
your own efforts that is something on
which to pride yourself but poverty
itself is romanticized only by fools in
her speech the humble Rowling uses the
Harvard stage to discuss the importance
of failure amidst seven years after my
graduation day I had failed on an epic
scale however she uses this tough topic
as a springboard to discuss ambition and
self-betterment she used her own failure
to realize certain things about herself
and to focus on what she was good at
writing so why do I talk about the
benefits of failure simply because
failure meant a stripping away of the in
essential and now she’s a billionaire
giving a commencement speech at Harvard
failure is an uncomfortable but
necessary part of life and hearing it
from JK Rowling is paradoxically
incredibly comforting I was set free
because my greatest fear had been
realized and I was still alive and I
still had a daughter whom I adored and I
had an old typewriter and a big idea and
so rock bottom became the solid
foundation on which I rebuilt my life
number six Meryl Streep Barnard College
expectations were probably sky high for
male Streep’s Barnard College
commencement speech after all she’s one
of the greatest and most celebrated
actors of all time so she knows the
thing or two about achieving success but
things are changing now and it’s in your
generation that we’re we’re seeing
Streep for went the usual
all-encompassing and generic
inspirational platitudes to address and
focus on the primarily female audience
this is your time and it feels normal to
you but really there is no normal
there’s only change and resistance to it
and then more change it talks about the
rise of strong female protagonists in
film the shedding of prejudices about
women and the rise of empathy and the
door into this emotional shift is
empathy as young said emotion is the
cheap source of becoming conscious
Streep does not touch on material
success but she allows us to feel hope
for a better and more equal and balanced
future you young women of Barnard have
not had to squeeze yourselves into the
corset of being cute or to muffle your
opinions but then you haven’t left
miss Kay I’m just kidding number five
Conan O’Brien Dartmouth College with
this speech Conan O’Brien demonstrates
why he’s considered a masterful comedian
for example you have worked tirelessly
for four years to earn the Diploma
you’ll be receiving this weekend that
was great and Dartmouth is giving me the
same degree for interviewing the fourth
lead in Twilight he begins with numerous
jokes about Dartmouth choosing him as a
speaker the unfairness of life the
college is president and it’s wimpy
motto your school motto is Vox pro
Montes and deserto
which means voice crying out in the
wilderness this is easily the most
pathetic school motto I have ever heard
however about 3/4 of the way through he
switches gears and talks about his
well-documented failure on The Tonight
Show in 2000 I told graduates don’t be
afraid to fail well now I’m here to tell
you that they you should not fear
failure you should do your very best to
avoid it like those before him he speaks
about how failure gives people clarity
and shapes them into becoming something
truly original and unique it’s tough out
there so be patient the only people
hiring right now are Panera Bread and
Mexican drug cartels celebrities have
the innate ability to make us feel
comfortable with the idea of failure and
perhaps no one makes us feel more
comfortable than the warm endearing an
endlessly funny Conan O’Brien what
Nietzsche should have said is whatever
doesn’t kill you makes you watch a lot
of Cartoon Network and drink mid-price
Chardonnay at 11:00 in the morning
number 4 Ellen DeGeneres Tulane
University we don’t think it’s
hyperbolic to say that Ellen DeGeneres
is one of the most inspiring and
groundbreaking entertainers of our
generation how does one introduce a
woman who was on the first-name basis
with the world she inspired millions
when she came out in 1997 and her
behavior in the face of the resulting
adversity was brave and encouraging and
I thought what’s the worst that can
happen I can
lose my career I did I lost my career
she brings this uplifting personality
and optimism to her Tulane commencement
speech I don’t know if president Cowan
knows I didn’t go to college at all any
college and I’m not saying you wasted
your time or money but look at me I’m a
huge celebrity she uses her burdened
past and the poor treatment she received
to convey her belief that happiness
comes from being true to who you are I
mean it was so important for me to lose
everything because I found out what what
the most important thing is is to be
true to yourself if you know who you are
and don’t conform to anyone’s ideas or
pressure you’ll be okay
to Lady gaga patrina class of 2009 I say
congratulations and if you don’t
remember a thing I said today remember
this you’re gonna be okay
dum doo doom doom doom just dance number
three Steve Jobs Stanford University
first 2005 Stanford commencement Steve
Jobs relayed three stories about his
life and three key lessons I had no idea
what I wanted to do with my life and no
idea how college was going to help me
figure it out the first story concerns
connecting the dots in life we don’t see
the dots connecting things while we’re
busy living our lives but we may see the
bigger picture upon reflection you can’t
connect the dots looking forward you can
only connect them looking backwards this
he says is a form of destiny the second
story revolves around not settling and
finding your true passions if I had
never dropped in on that single course
in college the Mac would have never had
multiple typefaces or proportionally
spaced fonts and since windows just
copied the Mac it’s likely that no
personal computer would have them the
third involves his own cancer diagnosis
and how it taught him with the value of
death remembering that all be dead soon
is the most important tool I’ve ever
encountered to help me make the big
choices in life it all comes together to
form a terrific speech about being true
to yourself following your heart and
going after what you were put on earth
to do have the courage to follow your
heart and intuition they somehow already
know what you truly want to become
everything else is secondary
number two Barack Obama Howard
University
man just imagine getting Barack Obama as
your commencement speaker you might say
to yourself a little phrase that I found
handy these last eight years yes we can
it’s safe to say that hype was extremely
high for Obama’s speech at Howard and
luckily he did not disappoint
Obama suitably touched on many problems
facing America today including difficult
race relations employment and the huge
gaps in justice for African Americans a
vision for an America where our fates
would be determined not by our race
gender religion or Creed but where we
would be free in every sense to pursue
our individual and collective dreams
however he inspires confidence by
declaring that the world is better and
more inclusive than it has ever been and
that this generation has the power to
this amazing speech was followed about a
month later by an equally memorable one
from Michelle for City College of New
York securing the Obama’s legacy as
national treasures you have in this
great country pursue your own version of
happiness and please please always
always do your part to help others do
the same before we unveil our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions what
we really want seems impossibly out of
reach and ridiculous to expect so we
never dare to ask the universe for it
I’m saying I’m the proof that you can
ask the universe for it we all grow up
afraid of something your generation had
to get used to taking off your shoes at
the airport my generation had to get
used to
awkward PSAs from boys to men telling us
but during those tough times we realize
how wonderful it felt to be part of a
group number one Oprah Winfrey USC
Annenberg School for Communication and
journalism is it cliche to say that
Oprah gives the best commencement
speeches probably the good news is that
there really is a solution and the
solution is each and every one of you
but is it a cliche if it’s true Oprah
has given many terrific commencement
speeches including one at Stanford in
2008 and another at Harvard in 2013 this
moment in time this is your time to rise
however her 2018 USC Annenberg speech is
one for the ages
in it she addresses the controversial
political climate and the use of social
media to spread toxicity and false
information you could use your gifts
that’s what you’re really here to do to
illuminate the darkness in our world
however she also gives everyone hope by
declaring that we have the power to ward
off evil to combat false information and
to spread joy and what mountains could
we move I think what gridlock could we
eradicate if we were to join forces and
work together and service of something
greater than ourselves it was a much
welcomed and necessary balm in the midst
of a turbulent time in American history
and I hope you shake things up and when
the time comes to bet on yourself I hope
you doubled down do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe
and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
and encouragement from someone who has
truly made it welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’re counting down our picks
for the top 10 most inspiring celebrity
commencement speeches if I leave you
with anything I’m gonna leave you with
these two words and those two words are
I’m Batman
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at some of the
most uplifting celebrity commencement
speeches and making our choices based on
how moving and memorable they are living
up to your heroes is amazing but it’s
not good enough the difference between
goodness and greatness is going beyond
you have to push forward and surpass
their greatness in order to pay homage
to their struggle don’t be afraid
number 10 Jon Stewart College of William
and Mary turns out that satirical
talk-show hosts make killer commencement
speakers you have been told to follow
your dreams but what if it’s a stupid
dream Stephen Colbert absolutely rocked
his 2011 speech at Northwestern as did
Jon Stewart at Virginia’s College of
William and Mary a few years prior
Stewart comes running out of the gate
with a painfully accurate comment about
how dull and boring graduation
ceremonies are and by poking fun at
himself for being a third-rate celebrity
speaker but today isn’t about how my
presence here devalues this fine
institution it is about you the
graduates I’m honored to be here to
congratulate you today however it’s not
all jokes as he delivers some scathing
and reflective remarks about the
terrible state of the world and the
unpredictability of life I know we were
supposed to bequeath to the next
generation of world better than the one
we were handed so sorry some of his
jokes may land a little flat but the
combination of humor and sincerity make
Jon Stewart speech a good one
number nine Aaron Sorkin Syracuse
University Aaron Sorkin is one of our
generations finest writers so you know
that as commencement speech was going to
be something magnificent I wish I could
tell you that there was a trick to
avoiding the screw-ups but the screw-ups
there are coming for you
it’s a combination of life being
unpredictable and you being super dumb
Sorkin spoke at Syracuse University and
within the first three minutes he was
calling the graduates super dumb and
barely functional sometimes just when
you think you have the balls safely in
the end zone you’re back to delivering
pizzas for Domino’s welcome to the NFL
it doesn’t get much better from here as
he relieves anecdotes about a failed
actor AIDS
and a debilitating drug addiction try
cocaine and you’ll become addicted to it
become addicted to cocaine and you will
either be dead or you will wish you were
dead but it will only be
the other but like a tough parent he
uses these topics to touch on the harsh
realities of life today is May 13th and
today you graduate and the rules are
about to change and one of them is this
decisions are made by those who show up
well he eventually speaks about doing
good his bluntness is refreshing
sometimes the most inspirational thing
to hear is that life sucks don’t ever
forget that a smaller group of
thoughtful people can change the world
it’s the only thing that ever has number
8 Tom Hanks Yale College let’s be
serious Tom Hanks could trip on his robe
and do nothing but coffin to the
microphone for 15 minutes and we’d all
call it inspirational graduation day is
a proper occasion to put a toe in the
global waters and I think the mercury
shows that things are much as they
always have been but all joking aside
Hanks proves with this beautiful speech
that he’s just as lovely a man as
everyone thinks he is by the way I’m
Hank shows up clad in a suit and a Yale
cap and absolutely commands the crowd
for the next 20 minutes offering
incredibly well thought-out jokes and
inspiration in equal measure evidence
that our nation is becoming a better
place is everywhere but each new day
fear is as the jersey poet said lurking
in the darkness on the edge of town his
views on fear and faith are beautiful
and uplifting and it allows us to feel
however briefly a little more hopeful
your your rising from bed every morning
will give fear its chance to grow
stronger just as it will afford faith
its chance to blossom number 7 JK
Rowling Harvard University if there’s
anyone we can look up to
it’s JK Rowling rolling came from
depression and poverty but changed her
life into something extraordinary and
historical climbing out of poverty by
your own efforts that is something on
which to pride yourself but poverty
itself is romanticized only by fools in
her speech the humble Rowling uses the
Harvard stage to discuss the importance
of failure amidst seven years after my
graduation day I had failed on an epic
scale however she uses this tough topic
as a springboard to discuss ambition and
self-betterment she used her own failure
to realize certain things about herself
and to focus on what she was good at
writing so why do I talk about the
benefits of failure simply because
failure meant a stripping away of the in
essential and now she’s a billionaire
giving a commencement speech at Harvard
failure is an uncomfortable but
necessary part of life and hearing it
from JK Rowling is paradoxically
incredibly comforting I was set free
because my greatest fear had been
realized and I was still alive and I
still had a daughter whom I adored and I
had an old typewriter and a big idea and
so rock bottom became the solid
foundation on which I rebuilt my life
number six Meryl Streep Barnard College
expectations were probably sky high for
male Streep’s Barnard College
commencement speech after all she’s one
of the greatest and most celebrated
actors of all time so she knows the
thing or two about achieving success but
things are changing now and it’s in your
generation that we’re we’re seeing
Streep for went the usual
all-encompassing and generic
inspirational platitudes to address and
focus on the primarily female audience
this is your time and it feels normal to
you but really there is no normal
there’s only change and resistance to it
and then more change it talks about the
rise of strong female protagonists in
film the shedding of prejudices about
women and the rise of empathy and the
door into this emotional shift is
empathy as young said emotion is the
cheap source of becoming conscious
Streep does not touch on material
success but she allows us to feel hope
for a better and more equal and balanced
future you young women of Barnard have
not had to squeeze yourselves into the
corset of being cute or to muffle your
opinions but then you haven’t left
miss Kay I’m just kidding number five
Conan O’Brien Dartmouth College with
this speech Conan O’Brien demonstrates
why he’s considered a masterful comedian
for example you have worked tirelessly
for four years to earn the Diploma
you’ll be receiving this weekend that
was great and Dartmouth is giving me the
same degree for interviewing the fourth
lead in Twilight he begins with numerous
jokes about Dartmouth choosing him as a
speaker the unfairness of life the
college is president and it’s wimpy
motto your school motto is Vox pro
Montes and deserto
which means voice crying out in the
wilderness this is easily the most
pathetic school motto I have ever heard
however about 3/4 of the way through he
switches gears and talks about his
well-documented failure on The Tonight
Show in 2000 I told graduates don’t be
afraid to fail well now I’m here to tell
you that they you should not fear
failure you should do your very best to
avoid it like those before him he speaks
about how failure gives people clarity
and shapes them into becoming something
truly original and unique it’s tough out
there so be patient the only people
hiring right now are Panera Bread and
Mexican drug cartels celebrities have
the innate ability to make us feel
comfortable with the idea of failure and
perhaps no one makes us feel more
comfortable than the warm endearing an
endlessly funny Conan O’Brien what
Nietzsche should have said is whatever
doesn’t kill you makes you watch a lot
of Cartoon Network and drink mid-price
Chardonnay at 11:00 in the morning
number 4 Ellen DeGeneres Tulane
University we don’t think it’s
hyperbolic to say that Ellen DeGeneres
is one of the most inspiring and
groundbreaking entertainers of our
generation how does one introduce a
woman who was on the first-name basis
with the world she inspired millions
when she came out in 1997 and her
behavior in the face of the resulting
adversity was brave and encouraging and
I thought what’s the worst that can
happen I can
lose my career I did I lost my career
she brings this uplifting personality
and optimism to her Tulane commencement
speech I don’t know if president Cowan
knows I didn’t go to college at all any
college and I’m not saying you wasted
your time or money but look at me I’m a
huge celebrity she uses her burdened
past and the poor treatment she received
to convey her belief that happiness
comes from being true to who you are I
mean it was so important for me to lose
everything because I found out what what
the most important thing is is to be
true to yourself if you know who you are
and don’t conform to anyone’s ideas or
pressure you’ll be okay
to Lady gaga patrina class of 2009 I say
congratulations and if you don’t
remember a thing I said today remember
this you’re gonna be okay
dum doo doom doom doom just dance number
three Steve Jobs Stanford University
first 2005 Stanford commencement Steve
Jobs relayed three stories about his
life and three key lessons I had no idea
what I wanted to do with my life and no
idea how college was going to help me
figure it out the first story concerns
connecting the dots in life we don’t see
the dots connecting things while we’re
busy living our lives but we may see the
bigger picture upon reflection you can’t
connect the dots looking forward you can
only connect them looking backwards this
he says is a form of destiny the second
story revolves around not settling and
finding your true passions if I had
never dropped in on that single course
in college the Mac would have never had
multiple typefaces or proportionally
spaced fonts and since windows just
copied the Mac it’s likely that no
personal computer would have them the
third involves his own cancer diagnosis
and how it taught him with the value of
death remembering that all be dead soon
is the most important tool I’ve ever
encountered to help me make the big
choices in life it all comes together to
form a terrific speech about being true
to yourself following your heart and
going after what you were put on earth
to do have the courage to follow your
heart and intuition they somehow already
know what you truly want to become
everything else is secondary
number two Barack Obama Howard
University
man just imagine getting Barack Obama as
your commencement speaker you might say
to yourself a little phrase that I found
handy these last eight years yes we can
it’s safe to say that hype was extremely
high for Obama’s speech at Howard and
luckily he did not disappoint
Obama suitably touched on many problems
facing America today including difficult
race relations employment and the huge
gaps in justice for African Americans a
vision for an America where our fates
would be determined not by our race
gender religion or Creed but where we
would be free in every sense to pursue
our individual and collective dreams
however he inspires confidence by
declaring that the world is better and
more inclusive than it has ever been and
that this generation has the power to
this amazing speech was followed about a
month later by an equally memorable one
from Michelle for City College of New
York securing the Obama’s legacy as
national treasures you have in this
great country pursue your own version of
happiness and please please always
always do your part to help others do
the same before we unveil our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions what
we really want seems impossibly out of
reach and ridiculous to expect so we
never dare to ask the universe for it
I’m saying I’m the proof that you can
ask the universe for it we all grow up
afraid of something your generation had
to get used to taking off your shoes at
the airport my generation had to get
used to
awkward PSAs from boys to men telling us
but during those tough times we realize
how wonderful it felt to be part of a
group number one Oprah Winfrey USC
Annenberg School for Communication and
journalism is it cliche to say that
Oprah gives the best commencement
speeches probably the good news is that
there really is a solution and the
solution is each and every one of you
but is it a cliche if it’s true Oprah
has given many terrific commencement
speeches including one at Stanford in
2008 and another at Harvard in 2013 this
moment in time this is your time to rise
however her 2018 USC Annenberg speech is
one for the ages
in it she addresses the controversial
political climate and the use of social
media to spread toxicity and false
information you could use your gifts
that’s what you’re really here to do to
illuminate the darkness in our world
however she also gives everyone hope by
declaring that we have the power to ward
off evil to combat false information and
to spread joy and what mountains could
we move I think what gridlock could we
eradicate if we were to join forces and
work together and service of something
greater than ourselves it was a much
welcomed and necessary balm in the midst
of a turbulent time in American history
and I hope you shake things up and when
the time comes to bet on yourself I hope
you doubled down do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe
and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
Please follow and like us: