Celebrities can have a strong influence on society, and some have leveraged their fame to enter the political arena. Here are 18 famous people who decided to become politicians.
Clint Eastwood
A star of the big screen all the way back to the 1950s, Clint Eastwood has proved a timeless classic in films like the Dollars Trilogy, Dirty Hairy, Unforgiven, and Million Dollar Baby.
Clint Eastwood
During his Hollywood career, Eastwood served as Carmel-by-the Sea, California’s nonpartisan mayor from 1986-1988.
George Takai
A man of many roles, on stage and onscreen, Takai is most famous for starring as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek.
George Takai
While still on the show, Takai ran for the Los Angeles City Council and later served on the Southern California Rapid Transit District in 1973. Today, he stays actively engaged, sharing news with a progressive perspective.
Cynthia Nixon
Who could forget when Cynthia Nixon played Miranda Hobbs, a snarky but sensitive lawyer, in Sex and the City? The show involved four friends, their romantic lives, and their eternal love affair with New York City.
Cynthia Nixon
In real life, Nixon campaigned for the position of NYC governor against Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic incumbent, in 2018. Her campaign focused on important topics such as renewable energy, income inequality, and universal healthcare.
Jerry Springer
His talk show, The Jerry Springer Show, brought this actor fame. In 1970, he ran for Congress and failed. In 1971, he won Cincinnati’s city council election but resigned in 1974 under a cloud of disgrace from soliciting a prostitute.
Jerry Springer
This didn’t dim his zest for politics since he was re-elected in 1975. His association with his show nixed his plans to run for Senate.
Melissa Gilbert
After 2005 episodes playing Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, the actor and director threw in her bid as a Michigan Democrat candidate for Congress in 2016.
Melissa Gilbert
Her political goal centered around fighting for working families.
Caitlyn Jenner
As an Olympian, reality TV personality, and activist for transgender rights, Jenner has a lot of irons in the fire. In 2021, she turned to politics by campaigning for Governor of California in the recall election.
Caitlyn Jenner
While pundits thought she could have a chance due to her fame, her campaign hit a controversial roadblock when she called trans girls’ participation in biological girls’ school sports “unfair.”
Clay Aiken
With a successful career in music and guest appearances on Law And Order and 30 Rock, including a second place won on American Idol, Aiken turned to Broadway theater, charity, and activism long before he went into politics.
Clay Aiken
In 2014, he ran on a Democratic ticket for North Carolina’s second congressional district. He lost the midterm election to the Republican incumbent.
Kanye West
Many people didn’t see it coming when Kanye West initiated a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission in July 2020.
Kanye West
Although he missed the deadlines to get on the ballot as a third-party candidate in at least six states, West joined the election on a Republican ticket and chose a Wyoming preacher as his running mate.
Shirley Temple Black
This silver screen star won over Hollywood and hearts worldwide as one of the most famous child actresses in iconic films like Heidi and Curly Top.
Shirley Temple Black
Later, the celebrity who ran in an election for California’s 11th congressional district served as the first woman US Chief of Protocol, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, and joined the foreign service as the US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
Kal Penn
Best known for his role as Lawrence Kutner on the series House, Kal Penn also worked in the White House under the Obama administration.
Kal Penn
Penn’s journey from actor to politics began in 2009 when he left the show to act as Barak Obama’s face to the world as the Principal Associate Editor for the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Al Franken
Not only did Al Franken star in movies such as Stuart Saves His Family and Trading Places, but Franklin added politics to his resume as a liberal activist.
Al Franken
Then in 2008, Franken defeated the Republican incumbent to get elected to the United States Senate as a representative for Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Jesse Ventura
Another actor turned politician, Ventura, combined acting with pro-wrestling before he was elected as Minnesota governor in 1999. He also starred in multiple action films.
Stacey Dash
Although she submitted the paperwork to run for the 4th congressional California congress back in 2018, she’s experienced political controversy over BLM that’s played a role in her stepping back from politics.
Kevin Johnson
As a former basketball pro, Johnson also took a seat at the table as the first Black mayor of Sacramento, California, in a runoff election in 2008.
Kevin Johnson
Re-elected in 2012, he served out his term until it ended in 2016. Allegations of misconduct meant that Johnson did not try to run for reelection.
Patrick Duffy
After a career that started with The Real World: Boston in 1997, Duffy became the district attorney for Ashland County in Wisconsin for eight years.
Patrick Duffy
Next, he ran for and won a place in Congress for nine years until he resigned to take care of his family.
Fred Grandy
A popular participant in the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, and The Mindy Project, Grandy worked as a speechwriter for an Iowa Republican congressman before he broke into Hollywood.
Fred Grandy
By 1986, Grandy won a seat in the US House of Representatives and served four terms.
Ben Savage
A “Boy Meets World” situation occurred when Savage widened his horizons beyond Hollywood and soon got elected as a City Councilmember in West Hollywood.
Ben Savage
Known for his 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World, Savage holds a political science degree from Stanford.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
During the 1980s and 1990s, most people knew Arnold Schwarzenegger as a bodybuilder who took on a new acting career. He starred in famous sci-fi movies and action films such as The Terminator, Total Recall, and Conan the Barbarian.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
A later generation recognizes Schwarzenegger as an actor who turned into a politician when he ran on a Republican ticket for the California gubernatorial election in 2003.
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