32 Celebrities Who Got Their Start in Reality TV

Reality TV can be an incredible springboard for a career in showbiz, as many a celebrity has discovered over the years. Some famous people with reality show beginnings went on for fun, while others felt it could be a means to an end. In the end, though, the result is the same: A surprising number of super famous people got their start on reality TV.

Sometimes their journey began on a relevant show, like American Idol if they’re musically inclined. Other times, they’re famous for something entirely different than the reality TV show of their humble beginnings. Ahead, celebrities who kicked off their careers on reality shows.

Kendall Jenner

Kendall Jenner has grown up to be an international supermodel who walks runways for Chanel, Versace, Dior, and pretty much every brand with a store on Rodeo Drive. But before it all? The 818 Tequila founder was that cute little kid on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Stephen Colletti

Before he was breaking hearts as Chase Adams on One Tree Hill starting in 2006, Stephen Colletti was scouted to participate in MTV’s Laguna Beach from 2004, alongside Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari. After that, Colletti graduated to hosting TV shows instead—plus a Laguna rewatch podcast with Cavallari.

Taryn Manning

You probably know Taryn Manning from her role as Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Dogget on Orange Is the New Black. What you may not know is that the actress auditioned as a singer on Popstars USA circa 2001. Music is a key part of her life, and she even formed the band Boomkat with her brother Kellin in the early 2000s.

Lio Tipton

If you recognize Lio Tipton, it’s because they absolutely stole the show in movies like Crazy, Stupid, Love and Two Night Stand. But Tipton had quite the career pivot: They got their start on America’s Next Top Model in 2008, ending in third place and going on to sign with Ford Models.

Jacinda Barrett

The Australian actress Jacinda Barrett has had roles in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Poseidon and Suits, but the first time the wider public caught a glimpse of her was on reality TV. Barrett was cast on The Real World: London circa 1995, landing her first acting role in 1997.

Jon Hamm

Hard to believe, but there was life before Mad Men. Pre-2007 (when the series premiered), Jon Hamm had made an incredible appearance on the dating show The Big Date circa 1996, for which he was paid $250. To put things in perspective for ya, at the height of Mad Men‘s success, Hamm was pocketing $275k per episode.

Christian Siriano

Christian Siriano is a beloved fashion designer who dresses the likes of Ashley Graham, Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama. This probably won’t come as a big shock, but Siriano got his start on a little reality TV competition called Project Runway in 2007. Spoiler: He won.

Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough has acted in movies like Footloose, Safe Haven and Dirty Grandpa, and you probably also know her as a former judge on Dancing With the Stars. Incidentally, this same show was her big break: She started off as a professional dancer on the franchise, competing between 2007 and 2009 and winning two seasons.

Heather Morris

Glee fans will already know that Heather Morris is a triple threat: A hyper talented actress, singer and dancer, there were many avenues she could take to break into the biz. Initially, she chose to focus on her moves, entering the reality TV competition So You Think You Can Dance in 2006, though she never made it to the live shows.

NeNe Leakes

NeNe Leakes has been fully iconic since 2008, when she first appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Ergo, it makes complete sense that Glee creator Ryan Murphy was so dead set on casting Leakes in the show that he called her a bunch of times until she agreed to become a regular cast member.

Carrie Underwood

We have American Idol to thank for some of our biggest stars: Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert, Jordin Sparks, Carrie Underwood. The country singer’s career exploded after she won the fourth season of the show in 2005. Things came full circle when Underwood was announced as Katy Perry‘s replacement as a judge on American Idol in 2024.

Zac Efron

Okay so technically, Zac Efron didn’t get his break on reality TV, but this one was to good to leave out. He had landed a major role in Summerland by the time he appeared on a quintessentially 2000s show called Room Raiders, in which he had to go through three female contestants’ bedrooms in order to decide which of them to go on a date with. Interesting…

Jamie Chung

Jamie Chung had her “humble beginnings” on The Real World: San Diego from 2004, and she’s really proud of that. In 2021, she told People, “[the show] teaches you to be empathetic and understand where the other person is coming from” which she contrasted with the cutthroat world of social media today.

Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig’s career did indeed begin on reality TV, though her appearance on The Joe Schmo Show was actually as an actress and not a contestant: The concept of the show was to trick a single contestant into believing cast members were their fellow contestants. Wiig played Patricia “Dr. Pat” Lane, typecast as “The Quack Marriage Counselor.”

Katharine McPhee

As an actress, Katharine McPhee is known for The House Bunny with Anna Faris, and Smash with Debra Messing. As a singer? Things all started for McPhee on season 5 of American Idol, in 2006. That year, McPhee very nearly took the title, losing out to Taylor Hicks at the last hurdle.

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson is one of the rare people who can claim membership to the EGOT club. But even multi-award-winning superstars have to start somewhere: Hudson competed on season 3 of American Idol, in 2004. At the time, she made it several weeks into the live shows before being eliminated.

Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie was a personality from when she was a kid, given that she’s the daughter of music legend Lionel Richie. Still, it’s hard to argue that it was her cult show alongside bestie Paris Hilton, The Simple Life, that propelled her to a whole other level of fame.

Lauren Conrad

Viewers first fell in love with Lauren Conrad on Laguna Beach, which she starred in from 2004 to 2006, then followed her to The Hills, which ran from 2006 to 2010. On that reality show, she starred alongside fellow TV icons Audrina Patridge, Heidi Montag, Whitney Port and Lo Bosworth. Post-reality, Conrad went on to become a lifestyle influencer and clothing designer.

Kristin Cavallari

Kristin Cavallari’s career was jumpstarted on the 2000s reality series Laguna Beach and The Hills. Since then, she’s been a fixture of the genre, eventually getting her own show, Very Cavallari, between 2018 and 2020. Cavallari is also a businesswoman, fashion designer, podcast host, and bestselling author.

Lucy Hale

Most of us know Lucy Hale from her days as Aria Montgomery on teen drama Pretty Little Liars, but that’s not the first time you might have glimpsed her on your television screen. In 2003, Hale competed in American Juniors, a musical talent show spin-off of American Idol, and won!

Glen Powell

Glen Powell became the heartthrob to end all heartthrobs after his star turns in Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You and Hit Man. In another life, though, the Texas native was a reality show contestant on Discovery Kids’ Endurance circa 2002. Powell unfortunately didn’t make it past the first episode on the Survivor-esque series.

Kesha

You’re not going to believe this. THE Kesha, of “Tik Tok” and “Die Young” fame, once appeared on an episode of The Simple Life alongside Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The two stars stayed with Kesha’s family, the Seberts, in Nashville, and worked with the future popstar to find her mom a date.

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson famously won American Idol in 2002, leading her to the illustrious career we all got to follow afterwards. Between hits like “Because of You” and “Stronger,” various appearances in Vegas, and an eponymous talk show, it’s safe to say Clarkson probably has a ton of gratitude for her reality TV beginnings.

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox is such a cultural icon that she even has a Barbie fashioned after her. Some of her earliest TV appearances were on a couple of reality shows, years before her big break came in the form of Orange Is the New Black, which ran from 2013 to 2019.

Chris Hemsworth

It’s certainly hard to imagine Thor himself as a reality show contestant, and yet! In 2006, Chris Hemsworth had had a few smaller roles on Australian TV shows, which afforded him “star” status on the country’s version of Dancing With the Stars. The actor came in fifth place, and later admitted that he “felt like a fool” on the competition.

Harry Styles

There would have been no One Direction without the British X Factor circa 2010. That year, a 16-year-old Harry Styles wowed the judges with his rendition of “Isn’t She Lovely,” and delivered the cult line “I work in a bakery” in his signature drawl. It all worked out, since he went on to win several Grammys (and be nominated for several more).

Beyoncé

Before Beyoncé was Beyoncé, she was one sixth of the band Girls Tyme, which also included her longtime collaborator and friend Kelly Rowland. They competed on Star Search in 1993, with Beyoncé and Rowland—plus LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett—going on to form Destiny’s Child in 1997.

Emma Stone

Some career transformations are truly staggering. In 2004, Emma Stone competed on a VH1 reality show titled In Search of the New Partridge Family, whose sole aim was to cast actors for a scripted show called The New Partridge Family. And now she’s a multi-Academy Award-winning megastar. Staggering, we tell you.

Lady Gaga

Stefani Germanotta, you will always be famous. But in 2005, Lady Gaga’s pop anthems had yet to hit the airwaves, and she made her show-biz debut on a reality show named Boiling Points., whose goal was to make contestants lose their cool. Oh, and she cameo’d on The Hills the year “Just Dance” came out.

Cardi B

Before she was one of America’s most successful recording artists, Cardi B appeared on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York. She was on the show for two seasons beginning in 2015, and was beloved even then for “her ability to rattle off one-liners,” per the New York Times.

Bella Hadid

Bella Hadid got her start on reality TV by way of her mom, Yolanda Hadid, who was a star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on seasons three through six. She was in high school at the time, and grew up to become one of the most recognizable supermodels in the industry.

Gigi Hadid

Because her mom Yolanda Hadid was on four seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we got to see the origins of Gigi Hadid‘s modeling career in (almost) real time on TV. Gigi went on to model for all the great fashion houses, from Chanel to Jacquemus, and from Versace to Victoria Beckham.