20 Celebrities Who Tried But Failed To Launch Other Careers Despite Their Successful Own Fields

While many famous actors, musicians, and athletes are content to focus on their careers, several just can’t be contained by one profession. They’ve channeled their creativity and drive into unusual second jobs or side hustles.
True! They have multiple passions; some can successfully switch from a singer to an actor or an athlete to a clothing designer, but not all celebrities can launch other careers and succeed in them. From Bruce Willis dabbling in the singing world to Natalie Portman trying her hand as a designer or Michael Jordan in his attempt to become a professional baseball player, we've compiled a juicy list of some of the stars who failed in their attempts to rebrand their image. Keep reading for more details! We hope you will be interested!

#1 Bruce Willis

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In 1987, the "Die Hard" star released his debut album, "The Return of Bruno." The Pointer Sisters and The Temptations were among the performers on the R&B album. It was accompanied by an HBO mockumentary in which Willis played a fictional version of himself named Bruno Radolini.
On the Billboard charts, the album peaked at number fourteen. Willis released another album in 1998 as a follow-up, but it failed to chart.

#2 Kim Kardashian West

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Kardashian had no intention of an album when she dropped "Jam (Turn It Up)" and the corresponding music video in 2010. The song's earnings were donated to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
In 2014, Kardashian told Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" that she regretted releasing the song.
"It's definitely a memory and it was a fun experience. We gave the proceeds to a cancer organization," she said. "But if there's one thing in life that I wish I didn't do ... I don't like it when people kind of dabble into things they shouldn't be. And that I don't think I should have. Like, what gave me the right to think I could be a singer? Like, I don't have a good voice."

#3 Scarlett Johansson

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Between 2008 and 2009, Johansson put out two albums, one of which was a joint effort with Pete Yorn and the other of which was a solo effort. She mostly covered Tom Waits songs for her debut album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," although she also worked with David Bowie and several Yeah Yeah Yeahs members.
Since 2009, she hasn't put out a new album, although she has contributed vocals to several albums and soundtracks, including "The Jungle Book" and "Sing." She also started a band named the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, however another band called the Singles issued a cease-and-desist.

#4 Hulk Hogan

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With the 1995 inauguration of Pastamania at Minneapolis' Mall of America, Hulk Hogan tried to make the transition from WWE celebrity to restaurateur. However, less than a year after it first opened, the pasta restaurant shuttered because not enough customers wanted to eat "Hulk-Us" or "Hulk-a-Roos." Currently, the former professional wrestler is the owner of two Hogan's Beach Shop locations, which offers a variety of "Hulkabilia."

#5 Robert Downey Jr.

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"Chaplin," "The Singing Detective," and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" are just a few of the soundtracks that feature the "Iron Man" actor. On the television program "Ally McBeal," he sang a well-liked song of Joni Mitchell's "River."
However, his 2004 first album, "The Futurist," was not a commercial success, and he never put out another record after that.

#6 Michael Jordan

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Despite being the best basketball player – and one of the best athletes – of all time, success was not always a slam dunk for the Jumpman. With the Chicago White Sox, Jordan signed a minor league deal in February 1994; his team's hitting average was .202. He transferred to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League after one season, where he batted .252. He referred to himself as the team's "worst player," per Sports Illustrated, and joined the NBA again in March 1995.
Fortunately for him, Jordan's brief time spent playing professional baseball did not damage his basketball career. In 1996 and 1998, he was awarded MVP two more times. Jordan retired in 2003, yet he still received millions in endorsement payments. He presently owns a substantial stake in the Charlotte Hornets in addition to a number of restaurants and a car business.

#7 Beyoncé

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Even Queen Bey occasionally makes errors, despite it being difficult to imagine that Beyoncé has ever made a career-related error. According to the brand's Facebook page, Beyoncé and her mother Tina Knowles established House of Deréon in 2004 as a juniors clothing line "where Entertainment and fashion merge seamlessly." The fashion company shut down in 2012 despite having celebrity support.
Beyoncé's career as a whole was unaffected by the failure of her fashion design endeavors, and she has subsequently gone on to achieve success in the fashion business despite her shaky beginnings. In March 2016, the megastar introduced her Ivy Park activewear line, which is now available in shops all over the world.

#8 Emma Roberts

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Back in 2004, Emma Roberts debuted on the Nickelodeon series Unfabulous, and in 20o5, she released an album titled Unfabulous and More, which featured songs from the show and new tracks. Roberts went on to also record a song for her 2006 movie Aquamarine, but that marked the end of the American Horror Story star's music career.

#9 Lindsay Lohan

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Lindsay Lohan was actually able to turn herself into a legit pop star for a couple of years, releasing two full-length albums in 2004 and 2005. Her debut single, "Rumors," was a signature party jam of the mid-aughts that we still like to revisit from time to time. Lohan recently revealed that she still has to record a third album for her record contract, so we may be getting new music from her in the future. Here's hoping that's not just a rumor.

#10 Jennifer Love Hewitt

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Hewitt first attempted to break through as a singer before becoming well-known for acting in shows like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Ghost Whisperer." Between 1995 and 1996, she recorded two albums after signing with Atlantic Records. She was let go by the record label since neither song was a success.
Later, she joined Jive Records, and in 2002, she released "BareNaked." Her only charted album reached a high of No. 37. "How Do I Deal," which peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard charts, was her lone single to chart. Since then, she has only released a few more songs and has generally stayed away from the music industry.

#11 Clay Aiken

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Eleven years after his appearance on "American Idol," Clay Aiken tried to enter politics by running for North Carolina's Congressional seat. Aiken ran as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning area, thus his failure was expected. Seemingly undeterred by the results,  Aiken told Time in 2015 that he would think about running for politics again. “It’s not something I’m ruling out,” he said. “I think it’ll happen.”
Aiken has made a comeback to music, collaborating with former "Idol" rival Ruben Studdard to release a rendition of "O Holy Night" in November 2019.

#12 Heidi Montag

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For the release of her debut album, "Superficial," the reality TV star spent close to $2 million over the course of three years. She sang one of her songs during the 2009 Miss Universe contest before the independent release, however her performance was met with a lot of negative criticism.
In 2007, she made us of her fame to launch her Heidiwood clothing line but it was discontinued just a year later.
After she failed to be successful in other careers, Montag returned to reality TV. She has appeared on “Celebrity Wife Swap,” “Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars,” “Celebrity Big Brother” and, most recently, “The Hills” reboot, “The Hills: New Beginnings.”

#13 Flavor Flav

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Flavor Flav successfully made the switch from being a rap celebrity to a reality star; his VH1 program "Flavor of Love" was a success. However, he has failed four times in his attempt to open a restaurant. Over the years, Flav has established four other sites of his fried chicken shop, and Eater noted that all four have now shuttered.

#14 Mandy Moore

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Before Mandy Moore make a big comeback into Hollywood starring in the hit show This Is Us, she tried her hand at fashion designing. In 2005, she launched her clothing line, called Mblem.
One thing that Mandy really wanted to cater to in her brand was contemporary clothes for taller girls. Unfortunately, the fashion world didn't seem to be ready for that, as the company folded in 2009. Mandy explained that she was stepping away from the fashion world to focus on her music.

#15 Natalie Portman

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Natalie Portman worked as a shoe designer for a short time. In February 2008, the actress collaborated with designer shoe store Te Casan to introduce a line of vegan footwear, but just a few months later, in November of the same year, the business failed and the store permanently shut its doors.
The next few years will see a number of movies in Portman's acting career hit theaters.

#16 Tyra Banks

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Tyra Banks went from being a supermodel to a TV host to a media tycoon, but her singing career never really took off. Despite the fact that she only released one song, "Shake Ya Body," in 2004, Banks claimed it took six years to plan.
However, it wasn't a complete loss. According to Banks, her unsuccessful singing career motivated her to put more effort into starting "The Tyra Banks Show," a chat show that lasted from 2005 until 2011. ModelLand, Banks' most recent project, is an interactive attraction with a modeling theme that will debut in Santa Monica, California.

#17 Kobe Bryant

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The former Lakers player was a member of the Sony Entertainment-signed rap crew CHEIZAW. The label changed the focus from Bryant and the group to simply Bryant when his NBA career took off.
His debut album "Visions" was planned, and Bryant debuted his single "K.O.B.E." at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, along with Tyra Banks. The song rollout failed, the album was scrapped, and Bryant was dropped. Bryant then co-founded an independent label, but it folded within a year, and that was the end of that.

#18 Naomi Campbell

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The supermodel released an album called Babywoman in 1994 through Epic Records and featured two singles, including "Love & Tears." Let's just say that Campbell's attempt at a music career was not received very well by critics.

#19 Lance Bass

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After experiencing remarkable success as a member of the boy band 'N Sync, Lance Bass made the decision that he wanted to pursue a career in space exploration. Bass underwent training in 2002 to become the youngest astronaut. He was supposed to spend a week as a guest of Russia on the International Space Station, but his intentions never materialized. The Russian Space Agency revealed a month prior to the space flight's departure that Bass would not be traveling since he  failed to raise the $20 million fee.

#20 Britney Spears

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Jennifer Hudson, Justin Timberlake, and Mandy Moore are examples of singers who have successfully made the switch to acting, whereas Britney Spears has not. Critics panned Spears' tacky road trip film "Crossroads" from 2002, and it presently has a dismal 14% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert characterized Britney Spears' feature debut as "curiously low-key and even mournful" in his review for The Chicago Sun-Times.
Despite the failure of the film, Spears continued to make music and released seven more albums. Since January 2019, Spears has taken an indefinite break from performing.