Ten of Our Favorite Celebrities Turned Politicians

The world of politics is never a fun one, but it’s always entertaining to those of us who get to watch it from the sidelines. Yes, it’s depressing to see what our world is coming to, and it’s depressing to see that politics has turned into such a joke; but it’s not just the celebrities that turned into politicians that makes the world seem sad. It’s the politicians themselves, whether they were famous movie stars or supermodels before they were in some form of office. It’s the lack of respect, the lack of power and the lack of vision as to what is important in the world that makes our judicial system and our politicians laughable these days.

Of course, we know that anyone can become a politician if they want; even celebrities. They do it all the time, and we don’t even hate it. I mean, what are we going to say about it? These are people who want to have a voice, who want to change the world in some way, and we think it’s nice that people have dreams – even celebrities who turned themselves into politicians.

Jerry Springer

Well, um…this one is interesting. He’s got the trashiest talk show in the world, and he tends to associate himself with the lowest of the low class. Of course, that did not change the fact that long before he was the King of Trashy Daytime television, he was the actual Mayor of Cincinnati. He only served for two years in 1977 and 1978, but he was still a politician, but he was first a celebrity.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

He’s the Terminator, but he was also the Governator of California for some time. He served as the governor for 8 years, living in the governor’s mansion from 2003 to 2011. He was not originally planning on being the governor, but he was appointed when Gray Davis was removed from the position, and he decided to run for re-election in 2006. The people obviously liked him enough to vote him back.

Sydney Poitier

Not only is he the first African American actor to ever receive an Academy Award nomination, he’s also the first to win an Academy Award. His entire career has been successful no matter what he does, but it’s his political career that he cares most about. He was an ambassador to Japan for the Bahamas (he has dual citizenship) as well as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom back in 2009.

Jesse Ventura

The former pro wrestler turned actor turned governor has had a very successful career. It was 1991 when he began his career in politics after running for Mayor of Brooklyn Park in Minnesota. He was elected, and he then became the Governor of Minnesota in 1999. He is a former member of the US Navy, but it’s his wrestling skills that people know him best for.

Ronald Reagan

The man turned into the President of the United States of America back in 1981, but he wasn’t always a politician. In fact, he’s our favorite celebrity turned politician of all time. He was an actor, he was in contract with Warner Brothers in California prior to becoming the POTUS. He starred in several famous movies and finally became the president, and people loved him for it. He was even the president of the SAG for seven years two decades before he was president of the country.

Clint Eastwood

He’s not president or even a congressman or anything of that nature, but the award-winning actor is definitely someone who is in politics. Did you know that he’s been mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea and that he is a member of the California State Park and Recreation Commission? He was appointed mayor back in 1986, and he’s been part of the commission since 2001.

Jon Runyan

He’s been a US congressman since 2010. Before that, however, he was a very successful offensive tackle for the NFL. He spent much of his life playing sports; he even played in the Super Bowl. He is most famous for his time playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he played for other teams, too. He became a US rep in New Jersey, and he seems to want to keep going in the political world.

Steve Largent

He spent 8 years serving the country as a congressman from Oklahoma, and he even ran for governor of the state. He lost, and that meant his political career had to go on hold since he had to resign his congressional seat to run. He’s currently not doing anything – nor has he since 2002 – but he’s most famous for being the most successful and best player from the Seattle Seahawks of all time. He’s even in the Hall of Fame (since 1995).

Jim Bunning

For much of his adult life, he either played professional baseball or he was a US Senator. He became involved in politics in the 70s when he began taking part in the City Council in his small town in Kentucky. He climbed the political ladder after that, and he served as a senator from 1999 until 2011 when he began enjoying his retirement. Before that all began, however, he was an All-Star MLB pitcher. In fact, he’s one of very few men in the game to ever pitch a perfect game.

Kal Penn

You might recognize him from House, but that is not the only job he’s had. Once the actor was approached by President Barack Obama to become the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, he decided to ask to have his character killed off and pursue his career in politics. It did not, however, stop him from taking some time off to film a movie, but he came back to the White House not long after.