These days, reality shows are a mainstay on both network television and streaming services, with new ones cropping up all the time. Reality shows are definitely one way that people with showbiz ambitions have long used to get their feet in the door — and it works. (Well, sometimes!) Several former reality stars are now Hollywood A-listers and popular music acts. Others may not exactly be the biggest stars, but they've at least managed to achieve a certain level of fame since their reality show beginnings.
Honestly, there are some stars we either never even realized got their start in reality TV or whose humble beginnings in show business we totally forgot about. It's definitely interesting to look back and see exactly how some well-known celebs made a name for themselves in the early days of their careers.
If you're the curious type, we've compiled a list of celebrities who got their start on reality TV shows. From competition series including Top Model to unscripted classics such as MTV's The Real World, plenty of celebs have reality TV roots. And we're not talking the obvious ones like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie or Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson. Check out some of the must surprising celebrities who've been a reality shows here:
Emma Stone
We're big Emma Stone fans, so we were shocked to discover that she once competed on a VH1 reality competition called In Search of the Partridge Family when she was a teenager. The intention of the show was to cast a remake of the popular 1970s-era sitcom. She ended up scoring the role of Laurie.
Karamo Brown
When we first watched Netflix's Queer Eye reboot, we knew Karamo Brown seemed super familiar — but it was a while before we realized that he was the same Karamo who starred on The Real World: Philadelphia way back in 2004. It took him quite some time to hit it big in the entertainment business after that, but he did it.
Yaya DaCosta
Yaya DaCosta is a bona fide TV star now. Since she left The Walking Dead, she nabbed a leading role on the new series Our Kind of People. But she actually got her start as a competitor on Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model. Yaya competed on cycle three and made it to the finale, but ended up losing to Eva Pigford.
Laverne Cox
We totally thought Laverne Cox's breakout role in Orange Is the New Black was her first foray into TV, but that was not the case. She actually appeared on the VH1 reality series I Want To Work for Diddy in 2008, competing to be one of businessman and rap icon Diddy's assistants. She didn't win, but we're sure it gave her a leg up in showbiz.
Analeigh Tipton
Actor Analeigh Tipton is another ANTM alum. She competed during cycle 11 of the show and although she didn't win, she's gone on to be rather successful in Hollywood, starring in films including Warm Bodies and Crazy, Stupid, Love. She has stepped away from the spotlight in recent years, though.
Katharine McPhee
A lot of us may have forgotten that Katharine McPhee — who has gone on to star in a number of Broadway musicals and television shows including Smash and Community — got her start on American Idol. She was the runner-up on the hit show's fifth season.
Kristen Wiig
Saturday Night Live alum and all-around funnywoman Kristen Wiig was once on a truly bizarre reality series called The Joe Schmo Show. It was actually a hoax show in which one contestant believed they were competing on a reality show while all the other contestants were improv actors who knew it was all fake.
Lucy Hale
Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale actually competed on American Juniors, the ill-fated American Idol spin-off for children. That was back in 2003, but we literally had no idea it ever happened. Lucy has since gone on to much bigger and better things in her entertainment career. (Her singing voice is really good, though!)
One Direction
If you're not British — or a superfan — you might not have realized that the boy band One Direction got their start on the British singing competition The X Factor. Yup, that means the super-sexy Harry Styles and Zayn Malik were once cheesy reality stars. The other guys are all pretty adorable too, aren't they?
Heather Morris
Glee star Heather Morris is a dancer through and through, so it shouldn't be too surprising that she competed on So You Think You Can Dance. Heather appeared on season two of the show and made it to Las Vegas week, but didn't get into the top 20, so it makes sense that we don't remember her from then.
Jon Hamm
A-lister Jon Hamm was once on an OG reality dating show called The Big Date. That was back in 1996, and it was only one episode, but it still counts. He's come a long way since then, starring in many films and hit TV series including, of course, the AMC smash Mad Men.
Aaron Paul
Although technically this is a game show, for our purposes, we're going to consider game shows a subset of the reality genre. Anyway, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul was actually once a contestant on the classic game show The Price Is Right. And yeah, he was totally one of those insanely overexcited players.
Beyoncé
Really, we mean it. Years before they became Destiny's Child, Beyoncé and the original girls from the group (including Kelly Rowland) performed as Girl's Tyme. In 1993, they competed on Ed McMahon's reality singing and comedy competition, Star Search, and lost! But that certainly didn't stop them from taking the music industry by storm.
Kesha
Many years ago, singer-songwriter Kesha made a brief appearance on reality TV. She was on a single episode of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's show, The Simple Life, in May 2005. Kesha was a complete unknown then and pretty much a bystander while Paris and Nicole tried to find a date for her mom.
Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung was once an MTV reality star, and now she's a legitimate movie star. She appeared on The Real World: San Diego in 2004 and then competed on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II in 2005. Since then, she's starred in tons of movies and shows including Grown Ups, The Hangover Part II and Once Upon a Time. She's next set to appear in Dexter: New Blood.
Miranda Lambert
Country music superstar Miranda Lambert actually got her start on a reality singing competition. In 2003, she competed on Nashville Star, which of course most people who aren't die-hard country fans probably wouldn't have watched. She finished third, and now she's a household name. Oh, and a Grammy winner, too.
David Giuntoli
Actor David Giuntoli knows how to get himself attached to TV gold. Or, maybe he's the gold. Throughout the years, he's starred in the hit shows Grimm and A Million Little Things, and before that he did steady episodic work. You might not remember, though, that he competed in Road Rules: South Pacific in 2003, and was the winner of Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet in 2007.
Leslie Grace
In the Heights star Leslie Grace had already established a successful career in music before venturing into acting. But many don't know that a few years ago she served as a coach on a Spanish-language reality singing competition called Va Por Ti, which aired on Univision. And she was a winner!
