Cate Blanchett Gets Honorary Doctorate

Cate Blanchett is known for her stunning turns in movies, but the Australian actor now has a place in academia. On Thursday, she received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Macquarie University in Sydney. The university bestowed the title upon Blanchett for her professional and personal endeavors, according to the university’s official website.

“Actor Cate Blanchett has received a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from Macquarie University today, recognising her extraordinary contribution to the arts, philanthropy and the community.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor S. Bruce Dowton introduced Blanchett by discussing the fondness she invokes among the university community.

“Many of the students graduating today will feel great affection for Cate Blanchett, having grown up watching her in some of the most iconic films of their childhood and adolescence, and benefitting from her many contributions to our national conversation.”

It is not the first honorary degree for Blanchett, who has also been recognized by two other Australian institutions, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney.

Blanchett graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and, as the Daily Mail reported, she used the Macquarie event to promote the value of an arts education.

“The arts are what we stay alive for, what we work all week for, what we dream about, what connects us and indeed, what some would say makes us human. It is the arts that has always been the driver of innovation and exploration. So remember when someone asks what the hell can you do with an Arts degree?, ask them what can the world do without one?”

She went on to quote a known scholar of education who said creativity is a process and that people can be creative in all endeavors, including hard sciences such as math and engineering.

Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Australia. The 45-year-old and her husband, Andrew Upton, have three children. Blanchett has received two Academy Awards, three BAFTAs, and three Golden Globes for her work in the performing arts.

In a separate report, the Daily Mail revealed Blanchett was a special guest at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday. The publication noted Cate Blanchett had been expected to attend the highly-anticipated nuptials of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin in Venice this weekend, but did not do so because of the Zurich commitment. Ben Affleck was also notably absent from the Clooney-Alamuddin wedding.

[Cate Blanchett Image: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]