34 Pivotal Moments in the Careers of Celebrities

Here’s where it all started — or ended
34 Pivotal Moments in the Careers of Celebrities

As middle-aged nobodies, the late-bloomer success stories on this list were quite inspiring. It was a tad upsetting that some of those “late bloomers” were actually younger than we are now, but are we bitter? No! 

On the flip side, the careers that came to a screeching halt because of one poor career choice made us feel a lot better about ourselves. Is that toxic thinking? Probably. 

Here are the singular events that launched or tanked the careers of some famous folks…

Lisa Lampanelli

CRACKED Comedy Late Bloomers Lisa Lampanelli's first big roast came at 41. Born in 1961, she worked as a copy editor before trying stand-up. Her big break was 2002's Comedy Central Roast of Chevy Chase, and was asked back for several more.

Melissa McCarthy

CRACKED Comedy Late Bloomers Melissa McCarthy was 41 in Bridesmaids. She had been a working actress since the '90s, but she became a household name from her role in 2011's Bridesmaids, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

Leslie Jones

CRACKED Comedy Late Bloomers Leslie Jones booked SNL at 47. Her first professional gig was opening for Jamie Foxx in 1987, but her big break came in 2014 when she joined SNL. Hired as a writer, she soon joined the cast as well.

Steve Carell

Comedy Late Bloomers Steve Carell hit it big in his 40s. With little wins like The Daily Show at 37, he didn't reach household name status until he landed The 40 Year-Old-Virgin, and The Office at 43 years old. CRACKED

Bryan Cranston

CRACKED Experience thrillin Comedy Late Bloomers Bryan Cranston's big break came at 44. Не had acted in commercials and small roles since the early '80s, but he became widely known as Hal on Malcolm in the Middle. His world domination came from Breaking Bad at the age of 52.

Ricky Gervais

Comedy Late Bloomers Ricky Gervais was 40 when The Office premiered. Originally a singer in the new wave pop group Seona Dancing, Gervais began writing comedy with Stephen Merchant in his 30s before The Office premiered in 2001. CRACKED

Larry David

Comedy Late Bloomers Larry David started stand-up in his 30s. Не began stand-up later than most, and he did get that one sketch on SNL in 1985, but his real success came at 42, when Seinfeld aired in 1989. CRACKED

Nick Offerman

Comedy Late Bloomers Nick Offerman finally made it at 39. Не had bit parts here and there, but he booked Parks and Recreation in 2009, at 39 years old. Не said, I sobbed for 30 minutes. It was from years and years and years of repressed feeling from never getting the big shot at something. CRACKED

Rodney Dangerfield

Comedy Late Bloomers Rodney Dangerfield got noticed at 45 years old. Не actually began comedy at 19, but quit to support his family. After 15 years of selling aluminum siding, he gave comedy another try and booked The Ed Sullivan Show at 45. CRACKED

Topher Grace

Topher Grace VENOM CRACKED.COM Grace left That 70's Show to pursue a film career, and was gaining some momentum. 2007's Spider-Man 3 was supposed to be his crown jewel, but instead he was drained of all remaining marketability as a lead.

Mike Myers

Mike Meyers GURU PITKA CRACKED.COM Meyers has made some massive hits, but even more extremely questionable duds. 2008's The Love Guru seems to have been the last straw, and he's just been jumping from Shrek movie to Shrek movie ever since.

Chris Klein

Chris Klein JONATHAN CROSS CRACKED.COM Klein was strapped into a dorky helmet and plopped next to LL Cool J in the absolute bomb Rollerball (2002). It lost a ton of money, and all of Klein's professional momentum.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry CATWOMAN CRACKED.COM After the debacle that was 2004's Catwoman, there were calls for her to return her Oscar. She has managed to hold onto the role of Storm since then, but it's still a far cry from her early 2000's dominance.

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson BARB WIRE CRACKED COM Only one thing could stop her meteoric rise to stardom: an awful comic book adaptation. Anderson blames the studio for the failure of 1996's Barb Wire, but critics also say her limited acting skills were finally on display in a way they never were on Baywatch.

Tom Green

Tom Green GORD BRODY CRACKED.COM Green started his career as an improbable rapper, then became an improbable television host, but it all came crashing down after Freddy Got Fingered. It's fun to imagine he just went back to the lab, and has been working on the next wave of gross-out comedy in his basement all these years.

Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom DREW BAYLOR CRACKED.COM After Bloom found massive success in high fantasy and pirate movies, the 2005 drama Elizabethtown did the impossible: it made Orlando Bloom boring as hell.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan AUBREY FLEMING/ DAKOTA MOSS CRACKED.COM Lohan was a fixture in Hollywood for most of her life, but she seemed to hit her expiration date with 2007's I Know Who Killed Me. It proved she was popular in the tabloids, but not so much on screen.

Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong was a doctor Jeong worked worked 90-hour weeks during his medical residency but still managed to make time for stand-up. Не quit his job at Kaiser Permanente after he filmed Knocked Up. Не was 38 years old. CRACKED.COM

Phyllis Diller

Phyllis Diller started comedy at 37 After working as a homemaker, Diller wrote ads for a radio station. She quit her job to be a stand-up, before she had ever been on a stage. She would go on to have an incredibly successful 50 year career. CRACKED.COM

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart was a model and stockbroker Stewart was a successful stockbroker who quit to become a homemaker. It wasn't until she was 33 that she started a career as a caterer, which would lead to a cookbook and eventually becoming a TV personality. CRACKED.COM

Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein never wanted to write children's books Shel Silverstein's first children's book was published when he was 33. Не had prior careers as a songwriter, playwright, and comic artist, often featured in Playboy. CRACKED.COM

Vera Wang

Vera Wang was an ice skater and fashion editor Vera Wang was a national competing ice skater who went on to work at Vogue as one of the youngest editors. She started her incredibly successful bridal wear line at 40 years old. CRACKED.COM

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle retired from acting to join royalty In a less-than-fairytale story we're probably all familiar with, Markle's tempid career in acting ended at 36 in a high-profile marriage that might just change the course of British royalty forever. CRACKED.COM

John Grisham

John Grisham published his first book at 34 People often say write what you know. And Grisham started his career as an attorney, which gave him plenty of material for his legal thrillers. Не gave up practicing law after his second book, the bestseller The Firm, when he was 36. CRACKED.COM

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc helped McDonald's take over the world Kroc worked as a piano player, a paper cup salesman and a Multimixer salesman. Не was impressed by the McDonald Brothers' small but effective operations and created a franchise agreement with them when he was 53 years old. CRACKED.COM

Kathryn Joosten

Kathryn Joosten was a psychiatric nurse Kathryn Joosten was an Emmy-award-winning actor on Desperate Housewives and The West Wing but didn't start acting until she did community theater at 42 years old. CRACKED.COM

Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman started out as a graphic designer After graduating with a degree in design, Rickman and friends started a graphic design company that went under after three years. That's when he decided to pursue acting full-time, returning to school for acting. CRACKED.COM

Bob Ross

Bob Ross spent 20 years in the Air Force While in the military, he took took painting classes at a U.S.O. club. Не was 41 years old when the first episode of The Joy of Painting was filmed. CRACKED.COM

Phyllis Smith

Phyllis Smith was a casting associate Before she was cast on The Office, Smith was a NFL cheerleader, a burlesque dancer, and in the casting department for 19 years. She was 54 years old when she landed her big break. CRACKED.COM

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin had 6 years of acting experience before he was in Home Alone Culkin made his stage debut at age 4 Manhattan's Symphony Space in a play called Bach Babies. CRACKED.COM

Jack Antonoff

Jack Antonoff's early band played on late night shows in 2009 Не played with his band Steel Train (which notably includes a song of Antonoff lamenting his high school ex Scarlett Johansson.) Не would go on to be in The Format, which found mild success before he founded the more successful Fun. CRACKED.COM

Carly Rae Jepsen

In 2007, Carly Rae Jepsen placed third on Canadian Idol a a In high school, she was the lead of all her high school musicals. When she was 22, Jepsen was on Canadial Idol and lost, but ultimately won 4 years later with her hit Call Me Maybe. CRACKED.COM

Lucy Hale

Lucy Hale was on the American Idol spin-off American Juniors Before she had her breakthrough in Pretty Little Liars, the actress finished fourth in the child singing competition. CRACKED.COM

Jack Gleeson

Jack Gleeson played a cute kid in Batman Begins Before he was Joffrey, he was just an innocent li'l kid. CRACKED.COM

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