People Who Became Famous When Older
With people going viral and getting Instagram-famous overnight, it can feel like we have until our late twenties to achieve our dreams of stardom and success before it’s considered “too late”. But, the truth is that everyone has their own pace and their own timeline for success — check out these inspiring examples of people who found fame a little later than usual, brought to your by stair lift of Toronto supplier Acorn Stairlifts:
Christoph Waltz
Worldwide breakout role: Inglourious Basterds at age 53
Though he had enjoyed success in Europe for many years, Christoph Waltz made a worldwide name for himself in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds playing the ruthless Standartenführer Hans Landa. His chilling depiction of a character that director Quentin Tarantino had previously worried was “unplayable”, gained Waltz a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award — as well as rocketing him into the Hollywood spotlight.
Following his breakout role, Waltz has gone on to star in many blockbuster movies such as Django Unchained, Big Eyes, and Spectre, where he played fan-favourite and reoccurring Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
J. K. Rowling
Worldwide breakout work: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at age 32
The story of J. K. Rowling’s success is almost as well-known as the book series she authored. A story of rags-to-riches, J. K. Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was rejected by a number of publishers before finally finding success through Bloomsbury.
By the time the work was published in her home country, she was 32; the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released when the author was 42. Since then, J. K. Rowling has enjoyed unparalleled success as a writer and is credited not only with being the creator of some of the world’s most beloved books, but with renewing interest in reading in an increasingly technological world.
Stan Lee
Worldwide breakout work: The Fantastic Four at age 39
A surge of Hollywood success over the last few decades has brought comic books out from a more niche, geeky market and firmly into the realm of ‘cool’ for everyone. You’d be forgiven then for thinking Marvel founder Stan Lee had been relaxing in a successful world for his whole life. Truth be told, Lee didn’t find major success for his comic books until the publication of The Fantastic Four in 1961, when Lee was almost 40 years old.
Lee certainly made up for this late start to stardom, however, when his comic books changed the face of cinema with the interconnected ‘cinematic universe’ format that found dizzying success for the Marvel franchise.
Excelsior!
Vera Wang
Worldwide breakout work: The Vera Wang Bridal House at age 41
Technically, Vera Wang found fame early in life as a figure skater, but her major worldwide claim to fame came in 1990 when she founded her own fashion label. Her desirable fashion garments are no stranger to the rails of high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
One particularly notable design that brought Wang into the public eye of the world was created in 1994. Wang designed the outfit worn by Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. The glittering, pearl-white garment was beaded by hand especially for the event.
Leonard Cohen
Worldwide breakout work: Songs of Leonard Cohen at age 33
Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen originally spent his years as a poet and writer before the release of his debut album in 1967. Of course, Cohen would see another surge of popularity across the world through his song ‘Hallelujah’ — the song did not release to much success for Cohen, but ended up being covered by John Cale and later by Jeff Buckley. These covers did find much better footing with critics and cast a new spotlight on Cohen’s original recording.
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