dropped out of school at 14

It's not like she didn't do anything with her life... Many actors and even singers have dropped out of school to achieve what they want to do with their lives and for her it worked out.

I think the interesting thing is how MANY actors and actresses (historically) did not go to, or finish, college, and in some cases indeed did not complete high school. Screenwriter William Goldman once listed a group of actors from his era(60s/70s) and found each had had "a year of college, or less." Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen. I think Paul Newman had a college degree.

J-Law sums it up: they wanted to be actors and actresses, and you can do that pretty early in your life with no degree necessary. Look at how many of our current stars started as child actors, or child stars. Leo DiCaprio, for one. Justin Timberlake for another. Brad Pitt, I think. J-Law played a teenage daughter on a sitcom.

The risk: for every multi-million star like J-Law who skipped school and became a big star, there are a thousand failed actors who skipped school and didn't make it. Oh, well, they can go later. Or wait tables. Or work in porn.

All of this is starting to show up more and more in the "real world" as many young people are choosing to opt out of college(at least in the degrees that don't guarantee jobs) and go straight into the non-degree job market(sales, vocational work,construction, upper level restaurant service, etc.)