A few years back, there were very few celebrities that people knew about. You probably know some of them now, like your favorite TV show or movie actor or actress. Some are known for their fashion style or vocal support of an organization.
But what if I told you that most of these famous individuals we recognize today weren’t always in the spotlight? Many started off as normal, average kids who loved sports and played games with their friends!
In fact, many made a career out of playing games and entertaining crowds. These game industry veterans have paved the way to being famous by doing things such as creating products and apps, writing books, hosting YouTube channels, and more.
Their stories tell us how anyone can make it into the entertainment field, even if it's not your original goal. It also tells us how hard workers will get where they want to be, no matter what obstacles they face along the way.
It is our duty as readers to learn from these talented people, and to keep working towards our dream career. In this article, I will talk about one such person - Carrie Geller.
Carrie
Bloggist since: September 2013
Bio: Born in California, she moved around frequently due to her father’s job. He was eventually hired at Yahoo, so the family settled in Connecticut when Carrie was ten-years old.
After launching her makeup collection, she decided to start hosting beauty reviews on YouTube! Her first video had over 1 million views in just under a month. The rest is history!
Since then, her followers have grown exponentially, with more than 5 million subscribers and around 200 million views per week!
Her success has also allowed her to launch other channels that focus on different products or genres. For example, she has a baking channel where you can find her making fun recipes as well as motivational videos.
In 2017, artist Taylor Williams saw something she liked on Instagram and decided to create an artwork inspired by it. The painting? A picture of a young woman with big eyes and very little clothing under what appeared to be a table setting.
It was clearly meant to depict sex, but there was one problem — the girl in the picture wasn’t actually having sex. She was just looking at it.
The people around her were not looking at the sex art, though. They were staring off into space or putting things away. No one seemed quite sure how to react.
This isn’t your average work of erotic art, however. This is a take on a classic children’s story called “Lady With The Lamp.”
In this version, the lady has a lot more going on than just her lamp. She’s got a glass plate that says “Want To Have Sex On My Table?” and some sort of tool for stimulating herself.
With all these additions, probably why no one seems totally comfortable. It’s kind of weirdly meta, like watching someone else have sex while you stare awkwardly at their stomach.
Since the original image had so many comments about whether it was supposed to be sexy or not, most people agreed that this new version definitely was. People either loved it or hated it, but almost everyone agreed that it was funny.
In 2016, actress Aaliyah Davis got her big break when she was chosen to play Anaya Starchild, a high school student with special abilities, on an MTV series.
The show is called The Rebellion, and it follows three different groups of people as they deal with their differences at their respective schools.
It’s set in Philadelphia, so there are always references to the city that make sense to someone living there.
A lot of fans noticed how many similarities there were between The Rebellion and another popular show from back when Aaliyah was a kid — Nickelodeon’s classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
In fact, one of the main characters of The Rebellion even refers to herself as “Anaya Starchild!” When she says this, his fellow students laugh and call him “Stevie Johnson!”
This gave some fans the idea that maybe Aaliyah would get her own spinoff movie or TV show someday. So they started sharing her name and picture online to let people know about it. And then things took off from there.
Many websites made fake interviews and posts for Aaliyah to read and agree or disagree with, and all of them went viral.
In 2013, she made her TV debut as a contestant on The Joker’s Tale, an interactive children’s game show hosted by WWE wrestler John Cena. At that time, she was already known for her YouTube videos where she dressed up in crazy outfits and acted out funny songs and dances, but now she has her own hit song!
Her catchy tune and dance called “How did I get here?” is well-known all over the world. It's been featured in several TV shows and films including one of our favorite movies of this year so far — Captain America: Civil War!
In the movie, you can even see some of the lyrics in action when Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) sings it while escaping from prison with Tony Stark (Chris Evans).
Many people gain fame through writing or speaking. A few get famous for being rich or having a large social media presence, but none of these things matter unless you have something to say that people are interested in hearing!
Lady Cynthia is different than most people who do this. Her unique style and charisma make her memorable speech interesting.
She is well-spoken and uses stories and examples to bring it all together. People love listening to her talk because she touches upon important topics such as self-care, feminism, and success. All of these qualities made her popular.
When talking about self-care, she mentions taking good care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. This includes eating right, exercising, and giving yourself time to relax.
For feminists, she talks about why equality is an essential part of creating a happy life and how we can use our skills and knowledge as women to help other women thrive.
As for success, she discusses what makes someone successful and how to be one if you want to achieve that goal. Having goals and living with motivation and passion will take you there.
In 2017, actress and singer Aaliyah got her big break when she starred in an independent film called Living with Yourself. The movie is about two best friends who are struggling to move on after their friend dies.
Aaliyah plays Ariana, one of the main characters that the audience gets to see a lot of. Her performance was praised across the board, especially for how raw it can be at times.
Her character goes through some tough times, which many people can relate to. Many fans said they were able to connect more deeply to her due to this.
After the movie was released, Aaliyah began receiving lots of love. People loved her talent as an actor and musician, but also admired her personal life.
Many noticed how hard she worked and focused on her career, while still keeping herself together outside of work. This inspired them to do the same.
She set high standards for herself and didn’t let anything get in her way. Since then, she has continued to have success both professionally and personally.
In 2007, YouTube was still in its early stages of growth and content creation for this new medium was limited to big name YouTubers who made their money through advertising or sponsorship deals.
However, not all people were able to make a living off of advertisements alone so some shifted into making and selling merch. This is when she started her career as a business owner.
Lady Gaga has always been known for her fashion style which includes elaborate costuming and overall artistic aesthetic. Since most people don’t have a lot of extra spending money, buying clothing or jewelry that is designed by someone else may be too expensive.
That is where vendors come in! They create products that feature designs or materials related to your favorite artists or brands. These sellers are typically self-employed individuals or small businesses that depend on sales to survive.
They can design, source and manufacture whatever they want and you get to feel good about supporting them (and maybe even owning one day!). It is also very affordable if you are looking to start investing in artist gear.
Lady Gaga is just one example of how creating your own product or developing relationships with other vendors can turn into an income stream. Many famous YouTuber’s rely heavily on these types of marketing strategies to keep themselves afloat.
As we mentioned before, she started giving motivational talks to large groups of people in early 2018. Before then, however foreword her rise as an internet celebrity, you must know that Taylor is very popular on social media.
She has over 2 million followers on Instagram and almost 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube! Her channel alone has more than 700K likes.
Her success comes not only from her beautiful looks but also her infectious smile and personality. When she speaks about self-love and body positivity, it seems like she’s talking to you personally.
Since starting her career as a public speaker, she’s given several TEDx Talks, been featured on national television, and even received an honorary doctorate degree for her contributions to society and entrepreneurship.
What makes her talk so powerful is that it is personal — she tells stories about herself and how she overcame adversity to achieve success.
