Celebrities Who Were on Reality TV Shows

Julianne Hough

James Sorensen//Getty Images

Before she was a mega-famous singer/actor, Julianne Hough was a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars. She and speed skater Apolo Ohno won the fourth season of the show, making her the youngest dancer to ever do so. About a year before that, Julianne was one of the “Million Dollar Dancers” on the ABC game show Show Me the Money.

Laverne Cox

VH1

Betcha didn’t know that actor Laverne Cox was on a VH1 reality show in 2008! She appeared as a contestant on I Want to Work for Diddy, where a group of applicants competed for a job working for the rapper. She later confessed that she didn’t really want to work as his assistant but saw it as an opportunity to launch her television career.

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Heather Morris

YouTube/So You Think You Can Dance

Before she was on Glee, Heather Morris appeared on season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance. The following year, she was a backup dancer on Beyoncé’s tour—and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lio Tipton

The CW

You might recognize Lio Tipton from Crazy, Stupid, Love; A Friend of the Family; or Vengeance. But before hitting the big screen, Lio competed on cycle 11 of America’s Next Top Model (known then as Annaleigh Tipton) in 2008.

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Stephen Colbert

YouTube/ABC Family

Long before he was making you laugh on The Colbert Report or The Tonight Show, Stephen Colbert was on season 1 of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1998.

Stephen Colletti

J. Merritt//Getty Images

One Tree Hill fans no doubt recognize Stephen for his role as Chase Adams in seasons 4 through 9 of the series. But before he was a Tree Hill heartthrob, he appeared as himself on seasons 1 and 2 of Laguna Beach.

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Karamo Brown

MTV

Long before he was one of the Fab Five on Netflix’s Queer Eye, Karamo appeared on The Real World: Philadelphia in 2004. He was one of the first out gay Black men to appear on reality television at the time.

Kristen Wiig

YouTube/Spike TV

Hi, did you know Kristen Wiig was on a reality show in 2003? The premise of The Joe Schmo Show was that one real contestant believes they’re competing on a reality show, but all the other “contestants” are improv actors who are in on the bit. Kristen played a fake marriage counselor named “Dr. Pat.”

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Mike White

CBS Photo Archive//Getty Images

If you’ve heard Mike White’s name a lot the last couple of years, it’s because he created the show we’re all obsessed with: HBO’s The White Lotus. His accommodations were much less luxe when he competed on Survivor in 2018.

Amelia Gray Hamlin

Donato Sardella//Getty Images

Before she was making headlines as a famous model (who also dated Scott Disick), fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills got to know her as the daughter of then-Housewife Lisa Rinna. Adorable!

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Delilah Belle Hamlin

Jesse Grant//Getty Images

Same with Lisa’s other daughter, Delilah Belle Hamlin, who is (of course) now also a model as well as an actor and singer.

Cardi B

VH1

Anyone else watch Love & Hip Hop New York? Cool, then you’re well aware that Cardi B was the best part of that show. Cardi joined the cast in 2015—just two years before “Bodak Yellow” came out.

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Elisabeth Hasselbeck

CBS

You know Elisabeth Hasselbeck? From The View? And Fox & Friends? Yeah, well, she started her career on Survivor wearing this cool tube top.

Meghan Markle

Getty

Life lesson: Going on Deal or No Deal could lead you down a life path that’ll end with a prince, a tiara, and a bunch of family drama.

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Bella Hadid

Bravo

Before she was a casual supermodel, Bella Hadid was a regular on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills due to her mom, Yolanda Hadid, being on the show. Thanks to ROHBH, we saw the beginnings of Bella’s modeling career plus her move to NYC!

Adam Lambert

M Becker/American Idol 2009//Getty Images

Like many singers, Adam Lambert got his start on American Idol. Since then, he’s been nominated for a Grammy and gone on tour with Queen.

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Camila Cabello

Dave Kotinsky//Getty Images

Camila Cabello got her start on The X Factor, where she ended up joining girl group Fifth Harmony.

Christian Siriano

Bravo//Getty Images

Christian Siriano got his start on Project Runway (he won, duh) and has gone on to dress major celebrities, including Michelle Obama. No big deal!

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Emma Stone

YouTube

Incredible things Emma Stone has done in her career: (1) won two Oscars and (2) competed on In Search of the Partridge Family in 2003. Truly inspiring.

Gigi Hadid

YouTube

Much like Bella, Gigi was featured on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills thanks to her mom. And we got to see a *lot* of the beginnings of her modeling career. As someone who watched this in real time, I’m shook.

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