5 Celebrities Who Successfully Reinvented Themselves

No matter what it is that you’re doing, things can get a bit stale if you don’t change it up a little bit. While it’s hard to break away from what’s comfortable, you have to keep it interesting, especially if you’re a celebrity who wants to stay in the limelight. Throughout the years, there have been many examples of celebrities who have completely reinvented themselves with varying success. These five, however, stand out as glaring examples of reinvention done right, launching their careers even further.

Miley Cyrus

There have been plenty of former child stars who have had to reinvent themselves once getting into adulthood, but nobody did it quite as dramatically as Miley Cyrus. Cyrus spent her early childhood known almost exclusively as the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, but that changed when she took on the title role of “Hannah Montana” on the hit Disney Channel series.

Cyrus found fame with the series, but once it ended, she exclusively went into music and completely repackaged her persona. This time around, Cyrus was pushing the envelope, swinging nearly nude from wrecking balls and keeping her tongue hanging out of her mouth while twerking on stage at the Video Music Awards. She made sure that people continued talking about her, and it worked as she has maintained her superstardom.

Lady Gaga

While Miley Cyrus was already well-known by the time she became more provocative, Lady Gaga is the other way around. When the world was first introduced to Gaga, she was wearing skimpy costumes (and sometimes dresses made out of meat) while displaying a persona that was in line with the likes of a painter that the average person would have no chance of understanding.

After years of being one of the biggest pop stars in the world, though, Lady Gaga became much more subdued. She started an acting career, instantly earning critical acclaim thanks to her roles in “American Horror Story” and “A Star is Born”. The latter even earned Gaga an Oscar nomination, which many thought she would win. Although she didn’t get the trophy that night, Gaga cemented herself as a terrific actor.

Robert Downey Jr.

The peaks and valleys for Robert Downey Jr have been higher and lower than just about anybody in Hollywood. Downey, the son of an actor/director, came into the 1980s as a brilliant stage actor who landed small roles throughout the decade until the latter half. He then became a leading man thanks to films including “Chaplin”, earning himself an Oscar nomination in the process.

The 1990s would see Downey go through a spiral of personal problems that made him borderline unhirable heading into the 21st century. Fortunately, Downey was able to clean himself up and reinvented himself as a charismatic leading man once again. He landed the titular role in “Iron Man”, launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe and making Downey hundreds of millions in the process. It was a dramatic turn from the man who said that, at his worst, “I didn’t give a **** whether I ever acted again.”

Kim Kardashian

These days, most of us know Kim Kardashian as a business mogul who is pretty much her very own brand. Kardashian was the focal point of a successful reality television series, and now pretty much everything containing her name ends up making her money hand over fist. That’s a far cry from when she started, though. Going into adulthood, those that did know Kardashian only knew her because of her last name as she was the son of attorney Robert Kardashian who helped represent O.J. Simpson.

Kim herself had been an assistant for Paris Hilton early in her career and was rather anonymous until she made an “adult” tape with rapper Ray J. Kardashian used the notoriety to launch her entertainment career, becoming a superstar after launching lines of just about any product that you can think of.

Steve Carell

We all know that Steve Carell is funny. After all, most of us have watched the entirety of “The Office” from beginning to end multiple times. Carell had a lot of comedy chops and really came into fame as a correspondent with “The Daily Show” before landing roles in “Anchorman” and “The Office”.

Once he left “The Office”, Carell began to focus on more dramatic roles. This included award-nominated performances in films including “Foxcatcher”, “The Big Short”, and “Battle of the Sexes”. When he started taking on dramatic roles, many were confused and wondering if he had what it really took. Thanks to his role in “Little Miss Sunshine”, that question was answered quickly and he’s had a great dramatic career ever since.