10 Famous People Who Made Life-Changing Decisions To Save Their Career
10 Famous People Who Made Life-Changing Decisions to Save Their Career
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at celebrities whose decision-making saw significant changes to their way of life, but ended up securing their professional longevity.
#10: Conan O’Brien
After refusing NBC’s plan to push “The Tonight Show” past midnight, O’Brien left the network he’d worked at for more than two decades. He launched a successful live comedy tour before making the unconventional jump from network television to TBS. The resulting public sympathy and admiration for O’Brien standing up for himself made the talk show host far more than a niche figure. More importantly, O’Brien increasingly embraced the internet rather than treating television as the only measure of success. His digital presence introduced his comedy to younger audiences, while “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” became a hugely successful podcast. Walking away from NBC cost Conan his dream job, but it ultimately allowed him to build something much bigger than one coveted TV desk.
#9: Paula Abdul
Even in 2002, it had been seven years since Paul Abdul’s most recent album, “Head Over Heels.” It had underperformed compared to her earlier releases. But rather than keep chasing her former success, Abdul made a career-changing pivot to reality TV. Joining Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell on “American Idol,” Abdul’s good-hearted attitude was the perfect foil to Cowell’s notoriously harsh critiques. The gamble couldn’t have paid off much better. “Idol” became a phenomenon, and Abdul remained at the judges’ table for eight seasons. More importantly, it established an entirely new lane for her career, leading to judging roles on “The X Factor,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “The Masked Dancer.”
#8: John Travolta
For a while, Travolta seemed destined to be remembered as the guy from “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.” Even the modest success of the “Look Who’s Talking” movies didn’t count as a significant comeback. Then Quentin Tarantino offered him a radically different role in his unorthodox noir film “Pulp Fiction.” Travolta took the risk, reportedly earning just $140,000 for the role, and completely upended audiences’ image of the former “Grease” heartthrob. Travolta received his second Best Actor Oscar nomination, and Hollywood began offering him better roles – and considerably bigger paychecks. He followed it with hits including “Get Shorty,” “Broken Arrow,” and “Face/Off.” Of course, there were still misfires like “Battlefield Earth,” but the less we talk about that film, the better.
#7: David Letterman
Ask most people in the ‘80s who Johnny Carson’s successor would be, and David Letterman would’ve been the laughably obvious answer. He spent more than a decade expecting to succeed Carson on “The Tonight Show.” But when NBC instead handed the job to Jay Leno, Letterman decided he didn’t need the network to get the 11:30 spotlight. He left NBC for CBS, where he received not only a massive new contract but ownership of his show. Letterman essentially brought his distinctive brand of late-night comedy with him and launched “The Late Show” directly opposite Leno. The gamble gave CBS an instant late-night contender and Letterman a late-night resurgence, ultimately overtaking Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American television history.
#6: Johnny Cash
By the late 1960s, Johnny Cash’s substance use disorder and declining record sales had left his once-thriving career in serious trouble. But Cash risked an idea he’d been interested in for years: recording a live album inside a prison. In 1968, he performed two shows for inmates at California’s Folsom State Prison, leaning into the outsider persona that connected him so naturally with the audience. “At Folsom Prison” completely reversed his fortunes. The album topped the country chart, crossed over to the pop Top 20, and became his most successful album to that point. Its success solidified the “Man in Black” identity that would define Cash for the rest of his career. It was an unlikely setting for one of music’s great career revivals.
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#5: Martha Stewart
Honestly, we’re still not sure how Martha Stewart traded her once-famously wholesome image for a bold, unfiltered one. Yet here we are in a world where she’s roasting Justin Bieber, sharing thirst traps, and being Snoop Dogg’s BFF. A prison sentence could easily have ended Martha Stewart’s carefully cultivated lifestyle empire. After serving five months for charges related to the ImClone stock-trading scandal, however, Stewart chose visibility over retreat. She returned just months after her release with a new daytime talk show, resumed her role at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and rebuilt her brand. Instead of spending the rest of her career trying to erase the scandal, Stewart showed audiences a more self-aware side of herself and found an entirely new audience in the process.
#4: Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore was famous before she was old enough to understand what fame meant. After breaking out in “E.T.,” she was exposed to Hollywood’s adult party scene. She entered rehab at just 13, but her real turning point came when she began taking control of her life herself. Following further treatment, she successfully petitioned for emancipation. Barrymore spent years working her way back before movies like “Scream,” “The Wedding Singer,” and “Ever After” returned her to mainstream success. She later became a producer, director, entrepreneur, and talk-show host. Barrymore’s decision to seek help and take responsibility for her future gave a troubled child star a second chance. Today, remains transparent about how her life remains a constant work in progress.
#3: Frank Sinatra
Turns out “Ol’ Blue Eyes” wasn’t always the commanding “Chairman of the Board” everyone today thinks he was. Frank Sinatra may seem timeless now, but the 1950s weren’t particularly kind to him. Record sales had fallen, his movie contract was gone, and his star power was fading. Sinatra saw a way back in “From Here to Eternity,” specifically the supporting role of soldier Angelo Maggio. He campaigned hard for the part and accepted a fraction of his usual salary. The next year, Sinatra won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, restoring his Hollywood credibility. Major roles followed, including “The Man with the Golden Arm,” which earned him another Oscar nomination, while his recording career also rebounded.
#2: Robert Downey Jr.
RDJ being a template for success would be absolutely wild to someone at the turn of the century. At the time, the actor was largely seen as a cautionary tale, and his substance use disorder made him virtually unemployable. But in 2003, Downey finally committed to lasting sobriety and began the difficult process of rebuilding both his life and reputation. Hollywood didn’t immediately welcome him back, and Mel Gibson famously paid the insurance bond that allowed Downey to star in “The Singing Detective.” Gradually, performances in movies like “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” restored confidence in him. Then came the MCU. Downey’s casting as Tony Stark turned him into a global superstar. Today, his success can be summed up in just three words:
#1: Tina Turner
For years, Tina Turner’s career was inseparable from her musical partnership and marriage to Ike Turner. But behind their success, Tina endured years of maltreatment. In 1976, she made the decision to leave Ike, fleeing their hotel with little more than the clothes she was wearing and some change. Their divorce left Tina with little financially, but she fought to keep her stage name. She performed wherever she could, including cabarets and television appearances, before finally scoring a major solo breakthrough with 1984’s “Private Dancer. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” then became a Billboard number-one hit. Turner was candid about the challenging period of her life in later years, maintaining that walking away was the best decision she made for herself.
Can you think of any other celebrities with life-changing success stories? Let us know in the comments.
