Before he was the leader of the free world for a term, Trump was the host and judge of The Apprentice, a reality TV show featuring competitors vying for the chance to run one of his companies.

2. Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner announced her run for Governor of California in April 2021.

Voters rejected the recall of Newsom, and Jenner ended up only receiving around one per cent of the vote, coming in 13th place.

3. Ronald Reagan

Reagan went from president of the Screen Actors Guild to Governor of California to president of the United States.

Former President Reagan’s acting career began in the 1930s and continued until the 1960s – he was even elected president of the Screen Actor’s Guild twice. He won the governorship of California in 1967 and held the position until 1975.

Six years later, the former actor was elected 40th president of the United States for two terms, steering the country through the Cold War, an assassination attempt, and the Iran-Contra affair. He did at age 93 in 2004.

4. Shirley Temple

Child actress Shirley Temple retired from acting at 22 and dedicated the rest of her life to public service.

By the time Temple was 12 years old, she had appeared in 43 films. But just 10 years later, she retired from film altogether, drastically changing her career path.

Temple ran for Congress in 1967, but she lost. However, just two years later, she was appointed to represent the US at the United Nations. She then became the US ambassador to Ghana in 1974, holding the position until 1976, when she was appointed chief of protocol of the US, a position she held for a year.

She returned to diplomacy in 1989 when she was appointed by President George H.W. Bush as the ambassador to Czechoslovakia until 1992.

5. Sonny Bono

Sonny Bono was part of the musical duo Sonny & Cher with ex-wife Cher before he joined politics.

After the popularity of Sonny & Cher died down in the late 70s, Bono pivoted away from music to focus on public service.

He was elected mayor of Palm Springs, California, in 1988 and served until 1992, announced his candidacy for the US House of Representatives in 1994. He represented the 44th district of California from 1995 until his untimely death in 1998, which was the result of a ski accident.

6. Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson is a former professional basketball player who went on to become the first black mayor of Sacramento, California, in 2008.

Johnson was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1987 and played in the NBA until his retirement in 2000.

He announced his candidacy for mayor of Sacramento, California, in May 2008, and went on to win in a run-off election. Johnson was re-elected in 2012, serving until his term ended in 2016. He did not pursue a third term after allegations of sexual misconduct resurfaced.

7. Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon ran for Governor of New York in 2018. She lost the primary – and now she’s returned to acting.

Nixon’s run for governor had been whispered about for a while, but the Sex and the City actress made her run against incumbent Governor Cuomo official on Twitter in March 2018. She ended up losing the Democratic primary. If she had won, she would’ve been the first openly gay person to hold the position.

But Nixon is too talented an actress to let a political loss diminish her career (she’s just missing an Oscar to complete her EGOT), according to Popsugar.

Since losing, she appeared in the 2019 film Stray Dolls and starred in Netflix’s prequel Ratched.

In 2022, she returned to the world of Sex and the City to reprise her role as Miranda Hobbes in And Just Like That … and also starred in HBO’s The Gilded Age.

8. Arnold Schwarzenegger

“The Governator” rose to prominence as The Terminator before becoming Governor of California. He returned to The Terminator franchise in 2015.

Before he was California’s governor, Schwarzenegger was a professional bodybuilder and successful actor, starring in films like Conan the Barbarian, Kindergarten Cop, Total Recall, True Lies and more.

He served as governor from 2003 until 2011. While he was popular for much of his time as Governor, he finished his final term with an almost record-low approval rating of 23 per cent.

Schwarzenegger replaced Trump as the new host of The Celebrity Apprentice, but he left after just one season. He also returned to his typical action fare, appearing in The Expendables, Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate. Schwarzenegger also voices a superhero on the Prime Video animated series Superhero Kindergarten.

9. Stacey Dash

Stacy Dash filed paperwork in February 2018 to run for Congress in California, but she has since said she’s stepping back from politics.

The Clueless actress is a controversial figure – she’s been blasted for calling for the end of Black History Month and BET (Black Entertainment Television). She was also a contributor for Fox News until her contract failed to be renewed in 2017.

Dash filed paperwork effectively announcing her intention to run in 2018, representing the 44th congressional district of California. She withdrew soon after.

She reportedly hopes to rebuild her showbiz career, per British media. Dash acted in the controversial conservative movie Roe v. Wade as Mildred Johnson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and a famed anti-abortion activist.

10. Clint Eastwood

Eastwood is, among many other things, the former mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

The actor/director was elected mayor of the small California town Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1986, serving one term, and was later appointed to the California State Parks and Recreation Commission in 2001.

Eastwood has stayed politically active since his time as mayor. He’s an outspoken supporter of the Republican Party, and he is well known for the speech he delivered at the 2012 Republican National Convention in which he spoke to an empty chair, addressing it as Barack Obama.

Of course, Eastwood didn’t drop acting or directing to pursue politics. The 92-year-old most recently directed and starred in the movie Cry Macho which was released in October 2021.

11. Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken rose to stardom as the runner-up of the second season of American Idol. He ran for the US House of Representatives in 2014 and lost, and now he balances music with politics. Aiken lost to incumbent Renee Ellmers.

Aiken was a fan favourite during his season of American Idol, and he lost in what many considered to be an upset. After the show, Aiken largely remained out of the spotlight, until he came out in 2008.

In the 2014 midterm elections, Aiken became the Democratic Party’s candidate for North Carolina’s second congressional district, but he eventually lost in the general election.

In December 2018, Aiken and his American Idol winner Ruben Studdard starred in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Christmas Show on Broadway. He also hosts the How The Heck Are We Gonna Get Along with Clay Aiken podcast.

In January 2022, Aiken once again announced a run for office, this time for North Carolina’s fourth district, but lost in the primaries.

12. Kal Penn

Kal Penn went from starring in the stoner comedy classic Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle to serving as the associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Penn, best known for his role as Kumar in the Harold & Kumar films, was appointed to the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Obama. He served as the assistant director, and as a liaison to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities for a year, before briefly returning to his acting career.

In 2013, he was appointed to serve on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, a position he held until 2017. He resigned in response to President Trump’s remarks on the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, and he has once again returned to acting.

He starred in and executive-produced the sitcom Sunnyside, hosted the free-form miniseries Kal Penn Approves This Message, and will star in the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses.

13. Ben Savage

Ben Savage will be up for election as a West Hollywood City Council member in November.

Savage, who is best known for his role as Cory Matthews in the 90s sitcom Boy Meets World and its 2010s sequel series Girl Meets World, actually has some experience with politics. He graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science and interned with a US Senator, according to Gawker.

According to his campaign website, Savage “has been very fortunate to live in West Hollywood for the past 18 years”, and adds: “I have seen this city grow to become one of the most thriving cities in the country,” and he is running “because there are serious challenges ahead and West Hollywood deserves sensible, honest and strong leadership to face them.”

Savage hasn’t said one way or the other if he’s leaving behind Hollywood, but he’s certainly taking a pause; he appeared in one TV film this year, and before that, hadn’t had a project since 2020.