Some stars spend years, even decades honing their craft and hoping to be discovered. Others are discovered by accident while strolling through a mall or sitting at a soda counter, such as the case of film legend Lana Turner who was discovered in 1937. Still, other stars have even more unique discovery stories. Here are 5 cool stories about how celebrities were discovered.
Pamela Anderson
Pamela was already 22 years old when she featured wearing a cutoff Labatt’s Beer t-shirt on the Jumbotron during a 1989 British Columbia Lions football game. She caused such a stir that the company hired her as a spokesmodel, launching a career she never even knew she wanted. Those few seconds were enough to launch a career that has seen the beauty featured on the cover of Playboy magazine 14 times and star on Baywatch, among other roles. The committed vegan has also starred in multiple PETA campaigns.
Gisele Bundchen
Who would have thought that the world’s highest paid supermodel was discovered by accident while chowing down on a Big Mac in a San Paulo McDonalds? This was actually 13-year-old Gisele’s first trip to McDonalds and required a 25-hour bus ride from her home town of Horizontina. A modeling agent spotted her and encouraged her to enter an upcoming modeling contest. Several months went by before Gisele’s mother agreed to finally let her compete. She was signed by Elite Model Model Management when she was 16.
Danny Trejo
Make no doubt about it…all those roles in which Danny Trejo has played a bad guy didn’t require too much acting on his part. He was a self-admitted child alcoholic and drug dealer who spent more than a decade cycling in and out of prison. (On a side note, he won the lightweight and welterweight boxing titles during his incarceration at California’s San Quentin prison.) This is also where he completed a 12-step rehab program that led to him working as drug counselor on the Hollywood set of Runaway Train (1985). During filming, he ran into Edward Bunker, who was writing the film’s screenplay and happened to have done time alongside Danny at San Quentin. Remembering Danny’s boxing skills, Edward cast him in a small role as a boxer, which ignited his career. In 2016, he marked his 48th year of sobriety.
Charlize Theron
For the Oscar winning actress, 1984 was both a bad and good year. Having recently moved to the United States from South Africa with little to no money, the 18-year-old was starving when she went to an LA bank and tried to cash a check her mother had sent her. The teller refused to cash the international check, causing Charlize to have a “little tantrum.” The tantrum was observed by a Hollywood agent who was impressed with her passion and decided to sign her on as a client. Ultimately, the check was cashed and she became a client of John Crosby.
Ashton Kutcher
While studying to be an engineer at the University of Iowa and working multiple odd jobs, Ashton decided to spend an evening blowing off steam at an Iowa City bar. Modeling and acting had never even entered his mind when a talent scout approached him and encouraged him to enter a modeling competition. Ashton decided to do it and won. Excited, he entered other competitions, which he also won. Before long, he was appearing in ads for Versace and Calvin Klein. Eventually, he moved on to acting, landing a role on That 70s Show, where he met his future wife, Mila Kunis.
