In this 2002 image released by Ancestry.com, actress Scarlett Johansson is shown decorating a Christmas tree during her senior year at Professional Children’s School in New York. This is one of several images of celebrities shown before they became famous included in Ancestry.com's U.S. School Yearbook Collection. The genealogy website recently expanded its yearbook database to include nearly 7 million images from thousands of schools in the United States. AP
LOS ANGELES—Lady Gaga’s first communion. Ryan Reynolds goofing around with his high-school classmates. A young Scarlett Johansson decorating a Christmas tree. Bradley Cooper’s teenage tennis practice. Country crooner Blake Shelton as a guitar-playing kid.
These are just a few of the before-they-were-stars photos included in Ancestry.com’s U.S. School Yearbook Collection. The genealogy website recently expanded its yearbook database to include nearly 7 million images from thousands of schools in the United States.
The database is designed to provide insight into family members’ school years, says Ancestry.com executive vice president Josh Hanna, “and while you’re searching, you might just find a famous classmate.”
Among the celebrities included in the expanded database are Jon Stewart, LeBron James, Justin Timberlake, Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Will Ferrell and Sean Penn, sporting shaggy locks like his Jeff Spicoli character from 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
The expanded U.S. Yearbook Collection will be available beginning August 24.