• July 14, 1997
• Vol. 48
• No. 2

In a Class All Their Own

Schooled in More Than Stardom, Teen Celebs Go from the Classroom to Commencement

WITH THEIR CELL PHONES, COOL CARS AND BULGING BANK accounts, Hollywood's teenage stars may seem more worldly than their lesser-known peers. But at graduation time, young celebs are just as jittery as anyone else about s leaving high school. "I'll be so embarrassed if I trip and fall," said model Kimberly Stewart, 17, daughter of Alana and Rod Stewart, as she slipped into her black Prada platform shoes before her graduation from Santa Monica's Concord High School on June 9. Party of Five star Jennifer Love Hewitt, 18, was all aflutter over meeting 32 fellow correspondence-school seniors for the first time on June 22, when she got her diploma from Laurel Springs High in Ojai, Calif. "This is really cool," she said afterward. "I felt like I wanted to scream really loud, 'YES!' or bawl."

At his June 7 graduation from the private Nonesuch School in Se-bastopol, Calif., Boy Meets World's heartthrob Rider Strong, 17, delivered his co-valedictorian speech in—what else?—a black-and-red plaid kilt, white tuxedo shirt and black boots. ("We've always been interested in Scottish lore," explained a similarly attired pal. "We love the burliness.") Fashion statements aside, Hewitt sounded happy just to make the grade. "[My classmates] liked me because I was me," she said, before heading off to dinner with her family. "We kind of fell in love with each other in a short amount of time."