34 Once Famous People Who Traded In Stardom For A Regular Job

Some people think that fame is the ultimate goal, the key to happiness. And so, they do everything in their power to achieve it, even if that means doing some rather immoral stuff. But in their eyes, the more people learn their name, the better their life will get, so it’s all worth it. 

Yet, when they do achieve this goal, they realize the idea of stardom that was sold to them might have been false. Yes, fame can bring happiness for achievements, acknowledgment, love coming from fans, and all these kinds of things. But it can also bring certain hardships that the common folk might have a hard time understanding. 

For example, when you become famous, you basically become a public person. And that entails a loss of privacy. The famous person’s life becomes “content” for public consumption, and every action of theirs becomes scrutinized. 

Often enough, celebrities find it challenging to maintain relationships, friendships, and family life due to the lack of privacy they experience. After all, nowadays not only paparazzi can snap a pic of them that is shared all around – anyone who carries a phone with a camera can.

In some cases, the constant attention, both positive and negative, affects the famous person so much that they don’t feel private anywhere. Here, G-Dragon, who is often dubbed the “King of K-Pop,” has talked about how during sensitive periods of his life, he has felt like he was in The Truman Show.

He has even referenced this film in some of his art, like in the song “Divina Commedia (신곡) (神曲)” with a famous movie quote: “In case I don’t see ya / Good afternoon / Good evening and good night.” 

For those unfamiliar with The Truman Show, it’s a 1998 movie about a man realizing his whole life is a reality TV show. So, just imagine how unsafe a person must feel to compare their life to such a scenario. 

To make matters worse, the lack of privacy isn’t the only hard thing celebrities deal with. They also feel the pressure to be perfect and relevant, to avoid (even though it’s basically impossible to do so) all criticisms, to ignore the hate, and all things like that.

Granted, stardom also grants certain privileges in life, which is something that G-Dragon has acknowledged too. Still, sometimes even the privilege doesn’t help when certain hardships come along. 

That’s why some famous people, after some time in the spotlight, decide to leave it all behind and pursue a more “normal” life. So, today, let’s partake in the stories about celebs like that – all of them were shared by people who had a chance of running into them in “the wild.” 

Maybe you have some similar stories of your own? Please, share them all in the comments!