14 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were on Reality Shows

We see you, Emma Stone.

14 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were on Reality Shows

Celebrities all have to get their start somewhere, and that includes reality TV. Sure, we know about some of the most famous success stories like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson on American Idol or Harry Styles and the rest of 1D on The X Factor in the U.K. 

But there are so many bold-faced names that also first appeared on our screens—with varying degrees of success—on competition shows and/or other reality staples like MTV's The Real World and Road Rules. 

We did some internet sleuthing and discovered 14 big names in music, movies, and TV today, including Emma Stone and Jon Hamm, who all appeared on reality shows before they were famous. 

Do you remember spotting these stars-in-the-making?

Before making us all cry as the resident life coach on Queer Eye, Brown was the first openly gay Black man to appear on The Real World: Philadelphia back in 2004. Apart from The Real World and its spin-off The Challenge, Brown also went on to appear in TV One's The Next 15 before hosting Are You the One?: Second Chances for MTV in 2017. 

Before she became a household name with Orange Is the New Black, Cox competed on this VH1 reality series to become Diddy's assistant. She didn't win, but we think it all worked out juuuust fine.

The Joe Schmo Show was a hoax series that led a person into believing that he or she was a contestant on a reality show—except all the other contestants (including a pre–Saturday Night Live Wiig) were in on the joke. Wiig played Dr. Pat the Quack on season one of the series.

No, this is not a joke: A teenage Emma Stone sang Meredith Brooks’s “Bitch” on a VH1 reality show, and we have video proof above. (P.S. Note how they call her Emily, Emma's real first name!)

Chung is known for her style smarts and roles in Once Upon a Time and Big Hero 6—but she first reached fame for appearing on The Real World: San Diego.

The American Idol spin-off American Juniors didn't take off, but Lucy Hale's career sure did. The Pretty Little Liars star has some pipes!

It's no secret that the Glee star got her start as a dancer—she was even a backup dancer for Beyoncé!—but did you know that she appeared on season two of So You Think You Can Dance?

Nowadays most folks would give anything for a date with Mad Men's Jon Hamm—but back in 1996, he had to compete for the chance to take out this lucky lady.

Who wouldn't want a chance to win big on The Price Is Right? A pre–Breaking Bad (and very enthusiastic) Aaron Paul is no exception.

Before becoming a pop star, a young Kesha appeared on an episode of The Simple Life. In the episode, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie attempted to be matchmakers for her mom, which leads to some hilarious moments.

Believe it or not, Lambert—a Grammy winner and country music superstar—placed in third on this competition series.

Back in 1995, Barrett was an Australian model working in London as part of one of MTV's early seasons of The Real World. Now she's a successful actor who has appeared in shows and movies like Suits (with her real-life husband, Gabriel Macht), Bloodline, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and Ladder 49. 

Before she got a leading role on The Bold Type, Stevens tried to make it big on American Idol, singing songs like The Beatles’s “Let It Be.”

He's currently starring on ABC's A Million Little Things and was a fan favorite on Grimm, but the actor got his start traveling around the South Pacific on MTV's Road Rules. 

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Anna Moeslein