Fame’s siren call can be sweet, entrancing, and nearly irresistible to some. Many people secretly want to be lauded and adored by millions around the world. However, some folks are better than others at making the most of the opportunities that fame brings them.
Inspired by u/angelikaMuur, the members of the popular r/AskReddit community shared their thoughts about which stars—both beloved and disliked—successfully milked what was supposed to be a brief foray into the spotlight. Check out their thoughts below, and let us know in the comments who you agree with.
Bored Panda reached out to Mike Sington, an entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle expert from Los Angeles, for his thoughts on fame, why we crave it, and what stars can do to prolong it. Scroll down for the insights he shared with us!
#1
The answer is Kim Kardashian and it’s not even close
Her mom released her [adult content] tape after seeing what it did for Paris Hilton and they’ve somehow managed to build an entertainment empire, nobody knew who Kim K was before that Ray J video, a few people knew her dad defended OJ Simpson but now everyone knows who Kim and her entire family is.
Image credits: realfakejames
#2
Salt bae.. bugger milked that cow dry and served it as steak in his overpriced, s****y steakhouse.
Image credits: MarquizMilton
#3
That "hawk tuah" girl.
post4u: At least the Internet made the right person famous. She seems genuinely nice and is using her fame for good so far
Image credits: Sprite_Cranberry_Guy
Sington told Bored Panda that people crave fame for a variety of reasons. Among the most common reasons is the fact that fame offers an "intoxicating rush of validation and admiration."
Furthermore, there's the "allure of power and influence" to consider, as well as the "promise of wealth and opportunity."
What's more, the entertainment expert told Bored Panda that many people also crave fame because of their "deep-seated desire to escape the ordinary and be remembered."
"For many people, fame is definitely hard to resist!" he said.
#4
I got employee of the year in 2022 and for some reason my picture is still hanging on the employee of the year wall, even though another employee of the year was named in 2023.
Image credits: __GayFish__
#5
Dr. Phil
In 1995, Oprah Winfrey hired Phil McGraw's legal consulting firm to prepare for the Amarillo Texas beef trial. Winfrey was so impressed with him that she thanked him for her victory in that case, which ended in 1998. Soon after, she invited him to appear on her show, which turned into a recurring segment. He turned that into his own show and now 25 years in the spotlight.
Image credits: amelia_stark1
#6
Cash me outside girl? That was one dumb throwaway then made millions from fidget spinners , rap career to the next stupid scams up until make 50 mil on only fans.
She’s as trashy as they come but has squeezed every dollar from her fame.
We asked Sington for his thoughts on how celebrities can prolong their time in the spotlight. He was kind enough to share his perspective with Bored Panda.
"Celebrities should build a strong personal brand, diversify their talents, strategically partner with others, master social media, and carefully manage their public image," he said.
Some other ways to contribute to long-term fame would be to continuously evolve one's career, as well as engage in philanthropy, and create compelling content.
#7
Andrew Tate (he was on Big Brother).
Image credits: peakedtooearly
#8
Guy Fieri won season two of the Food Channel's next star series, which had recoding six episodes of a TV series as it's prize in 2006. From that, he has been hosting more and bigger shows, and has an 80 million dollar contract with the food network for 2021-2023.
Image credits: clawclawbite
#9
For the UK - Gemma Collins. Literally zero skills, capacity to think or worthwhile for the world.
Consistency, originality, hard work, and passion can improve your chances of making it big. However, they’re not always enough. There’s a lot of luck involved in getting famous. No matter how skilled, talented, charismatic, and unique you might be, you still need a helping hand from Lady Luck to get noticed. Having your content go viral or connecting with someone well-known in your industry can send your renown rocketing into the stratosphere.
However, once you get noticed, what you do with all of that attention depends on you and your goals. Some are happy to enjoy their time in the sun and then move on. Others strike while the iron is hot. They quickly work to retain that attention or turn it toward the products and services they’re involved in. In short, they try to capitalize on their exposure and create the foundation for something long-lasting.
#10
Kevin Federline. Dude was and is a nobody.
ListMore5157: Dude pops up in the news every time they have a new Britney story. He's like Kato Katlin with OJ.
Image credits: ListMore5157
#11
The "Honey Boo Boo" kid and her family.
#12
Ryan sea crest.
jarrettbrown: Seacrest was really smart with all the moves he made. From taking over American Top 40 to becoming the host of Wheel of Fortune, the man can stay in the spotlight all he wants.
Image credits: moredrinksplease
Because it’s impossible to know when you might go viral or get famous, it’s useful to have some sort of digital infrastructure set up in advance.
For example, if you’re an amateur artist, crafter, or baker who wants to get famous, you should definitely consider what impression your online presence gives off. It makes perfect sense to have a professional-looking website where you can feature your portfolio, contacts, and pricing (e.g., if you do commissions). The easier it is for potential clients to get in touch with you, the less ‘friction’ there is in communication, the better for your burgeoning business.
Furthermore, you probably want to link all of your socials together. For instance, you can feature links to your social media pages (Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, whatever else you prefer) on your website. Meanwhile, you can add a link to your site in the bio of your social media pages. That way, no matter what online platform someone finds your work, they can easily navigate to your site and buy whatever it is you’re selling.
#13
The actress Kathy Najimy, known for the Sister Act movies and voicing Peggy on King of the Hill got her start on The Price is Right as a contestant. Producers spotted her effervescent personality and the rest is history.
#14
Rovio, with Angry Birds. The game was ridiculously popular in 2011 during the early days of mobile gaming, and they spun that into an entire franchise which was (briefly) enormously popular and profitable.
#15
Joe Exotic turned his tiger kingdom into a multi-season Netflix saga
Of course, while it’s important to earn a living (food and housing ain’t free), money is far from the only reason why people want to get famous. They might be incredibly passionate about a certain subject and want to share their skills and knowledge with the world. They might revel in other people’s attention and simply want to be liked. Or they might want to use all the attention they get for good, such as fighting for social causes or supporting charitable organizations.
Fame doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘bad’ thing. Wanting to be adored and respected is a very human desire. How society perceives your fame will depend a lot on what you do with it.
#16
Kyle Rittenhouse is a good one. Regardless of your opinion of him it's pretty hard to deny that we only know his name because he was a stupid kid who f****d around and found out.
My first thought was Octomom though. Literally famous for being pregnant and made her entire income for decades off that.
#17
Ironically, Andy Warhol.
#18
Ken Jennings got a whole career out of an appearance on a game show!
Image credits: Nanaman
What would be the first things you would do if you got globally famous tomorrow, Pandas? Which celebrities do you think are the best at milking their time in the spotlight? Do you think they deserve the attention they get?
Let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
#19
Brittany Broski AKA “Kombucha Girl.” Now she has millions of followers, a podcast, and she interviews lots of celebrities and musicians. Went from a meme to a huge influencer, basically.
Image credits: pumpupthechicken
#20
Bert mf'n Kreisher has to be on this list. Dude literally has a funny story and rode that s**t into millions one way or another. I can't even hate him, just impressed.
#21
The cash me outside girl, turned that viral moment into a whole career.
Image credits: locos12333
#22
Jordan Petersen. He offered one opinion publicly and yadda-yadda-yadda, now he’s giving interviews dressed like a rodeo clown and espousing the virtues of eating beef while his former therapy patients rethink everything he ever said to them. It’s the dictionary definition of quality mental health treatment.
Image credits: East_of_Amoeba
#23
Much as it kills me to say it, Jared Fogle. He lost a bunch of weight eating Subway, got a write-up in Men’s Health, and filmed a few local commercials. That should have been the end of it, but then Subway decided to run with it nationally. He became an icon and inspiration for people who wanted to lose weight. He’d probably still be making a living as a Subway spokesman if he wasn’t in jail.
Image credits: Lil_Artemis_92
#24
Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Sorry, there's so many inconsistencies with her stories and I don't know where to start!
I thought she was going to do some sort of reform and advocacy work but now I'm hearing how she's with her ex-fiance, is pregnant, a baby registry?? I'm not saying she can't do those but she isn't true to her words.
Image credits: RelChan2_0
#25
Michael buffer , "Lets get ready to rumble".
#26
UK ones
Alison Hammond, voted out 2nd in Big Brother on the early 2000s and now the nations sweetheart
Rylan, one of the ‘personality’ contestants on X Factor, never a contender to win and is a successful presenter.
#27
Walmart yodeling boy… saw a video of him performing an original with Lana del Rey. Going from meme to touring and being on stage with A list singers is pretty amazing.
Image credits: dustypossum147
#28
Stacey Solomon - X Factor reject but had such a feelgood story that it catapulted her onto daytime TV in the UK. And from all accounts she's actually pretty sound.
Her, or Rylan. Reality TV guy who's doing the absolute best of making hay while the sun shines.
#29
Megan Markle. Hooked the spare, left the RF and now won't shut up.
#30
Aside from the main ones people talked about already,
What about the “looking for a man in finance” girl, dropped that TikTok, shortly signed a record deal, and has also been touring around with David Guetta.
Also, the D’Amelio family. Trying to be (not as successfully) Kardashians V2. Launched multiple brands.
#31
Boston Rob from Survivor.
TheMadIrishman327: He’s made a living off reality TV.
Image credits: DonnieDarko1024
#32
That Australian guy who can’t drive and posted YouTube vids showing him crashing his parents car into their garage and his parents freaking out at his terrible driving. Years later he’s still trying to milk it as ‘Australia’s worst driver’ ??
#33
Larry Birkhead
Just some random guy who dated Anna Nicole Smith off and on for six months before her death. Turns out he impregnated her and gains custody of her baby, Danielyn.
He has a feature in People magazine with Danielyn every single year during the Kentucky Derby, for the last 17 years.
#34
Charli D’Amelio for sure.
Image credits: findtheantidote
#35
The Star Wars Kidhas managed to milk a brief viral moment for years by turning his initial fame into a lasting presence through public appearances and advocacy.
#36
Spaceman guy in the 90's. He made one song and then released slight remixes while stirring up drama within the band to make interviews on MTV. I think he managed to stay in the light for over a year.
#37
Elisabeth Hasselbeck went from Survivor to co-hosting The View for years.
#38
Pamela Anderson. She was just at a ball game. The camera guy probably showed her for less than 30 seconds.
Image credits: S1ayer
#39
Sam Worthington got a whole a*s Hollywood career out of winning a bunch of awards for Somersault.
Image credits: thorpie88
#40
Ashton Kutcher parlayed a "dumb guy" supporting role on a modest hit sitcom into being a billionaire.
