10 of the Most Shocking Stories about How Certain Celebrities Got Famous

Famous people are famous simply because they are famous; right? Wrong. Not everyone in Hollywood is famous because they were able to make a hit film or because they grew up in a famous family. Some people are famous because they were able to do things that made them famous, and not all of them have everyday stories. Some people are famous for reasons they would rather the rest of us forget. They are famous for things that they want to bury and keep in their past, and they are famous for reasons that the rest of us hope never make us famous. After all, the price of fame is high enough without finding it in a way that’s almost defaming and rather embarrassing. With that said, here are some of the most shocking stories behind how people came to be famous.

Melissa Gorga

She’s working on her music career, but the real housewife from New Jersey was famous only because of her sister-in-law, Teresa Giudice. If it weren’t for the fact that her sister-in-law’s family starred in a hit reality show, she wouldn’t star in the same show and people would not know who she was.

Kim Kardashian

We all know that she is not famous because she was the daughter of the late Robert Kardashian, attorney to the infamous OJ Simpson. In fact, we all know she is famous because she was the star of a rather unflattering sex tape that she made with an ex. It’s shocking, but it’s kind of the norm in Hollywood more than you might imagine.

Farrah Abraham

She’s a former teen mom who didn’t find enough fame on the hit reality show on which she starred for four seasons, so she filmed a sex tape with an adult film star and leaked it. Now she has her own line of intimate toys. The truth is that people weren’t really familiar with her before she did this, but they became very familiar with her once she released the tape and her line, and now she is returning to the same reality show that started her career in the first place, and people are not really sure what to think about that in terms of her child and her new career.

Brandi Glanville

She was married to an actor (not a very famous one, at that) and no one knew who she was. But when country singer LeAnn Rimes began sleeping with Glanville’s husband, she became a household face and name, and then she became a real housewife of Beverly Hills.

Jerry Springer

Did you know that before he was the host of the world’s trashiest talk show, he was actually the mayor of Cincinnati? That’s right, people; Jerry Springer was a political figure. But he made the mistake of writing a bad check when he visited a “Massage Parlor” that wasn’t a massage parlor, if you get my drift. When the parlor was raided by police, the check was discovered and Springer was, too. And then he was re-elected. People loved him.

Paris Hilton

Everyone knew who she was because she’s the daughter of the famed Hilton family, but no one really knew who she was until she was the unwilling star of a sex tape that went public thanks to the man whom she filmed with. It was devastating, but it really did make her a famous face. The sex tape was one she knew she was making, but she didn’t think that it would ever be made public. Though there are some people who speculate that is simply not the truth; especially when you take into consideration with whom she filmed the tape.

Kris Humphries

No one knew who the NBA player was before he became famous, so how did he become famous? He became famous because he is the man who married Kim Kardashian for a record-breaking 72 days before they filed for divorce. That’s how he became a household name; and that is not a good thing considering he is a professional ball player. He was crucified in the press for a while for being the man who would not sign the divorce papers, but now everyone knows his name. And it only took marrying into the Kardashian family to make it happen.

Hank Baskett

Most people know him as the former football player that was cheating on his pregnant wife with a transgender model, but that’s now how he became famous. Well, it did make him more famous, but you know what we mean. He became famous when he began dating his wife, former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, and broke up their relationship before getting her pregnant and marrying her. He was an NFL player no one really knew before he began secretly dating Wilkinson, and he’s managed to become more and more famous over time for more and more shocking reasons.

Holly Madison

She’s famous for being famous, kind of. But she’s a famous Vegas showgirl who recently had her first child and is currently living her dream. But she wouldn’t be famous and have her own Vegas show if she hadn’t been a young 20-something interested in dating Hugh Hefner. She was his main girlfriend for a long time before she became famous.

Bethenny Frankel

She’s the housewife that everyone loves for her SkinnyGirl cocktails, and she’s quite famous now. She’s just returned to NYC to return to her place as a real housewife, but she has been a lot more famous since she left the show. She’s one of the world’s most famous businesswomen and reality stars, but it might shock you just how she was able to become famous. Frankel became famous by starring as a contestant on Martha Stewart’s version of “The Apprentice,” and she was the runner-up at the end of the show. She used that as her way into reality television by speaking to producers about letting her be one of the housewives of NYC when the show first aired, and that shot her into fame.

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