Many celebrities were once just regular people working at their jobs. Take, for example, Rockstar Gene Simmons who used to be a teacher or female rapper Nicki Minaj who worked as a waitress at Red Lobster for her first job. Celebrity lawyers tend to become more famous than their peers when they’re working on a high-profile case, but it’s unusual for lawyers to go on to become celebrities. Unless, of course, they end up living in the White House like the Obamas and Clintons, who make up perhaps the four most famous lawyers-turned-celebrities in the U.S. But there are some lawyers who’ve made almost as big a name for themselves as the celebs that they represented. Some became famous in their own right with a side gig, while others made their name from representing high-profile clients.
John Cleese:
Source: independent.co.uk
Actor John Cleese, best known for his parts in Shrek, The Pink Panther, A Fish Called Wanda and Monty Python’s Flying Circus, actually planned to become a lawyer in his younger days. While he never actually made it as far as practicing law, he did study it at Downing College in Cambridge. At the time, acting and comedy were his back-up option in case law didn’t work out – it turns out, he made it big before it even got to that point.
John Grisham:
Source: Den of Geek
Best known for his best-selling legal thrillers, John Grisham practiced law in Mississippi for ten years. He specialized in personal injury and criminal law, which is probably where he got most of the inspiration for some of his best-selling novels such as The Pelican Brief, The Firm, and A Time To Kill. Today, nine of his novels have been turned into movies and he has an impressive 275 million+ books currently in print, in over forty different languages.
Howard Cosell:
Source: Sports Illustrated
Known for his unique, no-frills style of sports broadcasting on ABC’s Monday Night Football and as a boxing announcer for Muhammed Ali, Howard Cosell actually had a previous life as a lawyer. He practiced union law in Manhattan, where he represented athletes and sports teams including the Little League of New York. He made it as a broadcaster after he was asked to host a radio show featuring Little League players for ABC, which he did unpaid for three years.
Gloria Allred:
Source: Syracuse.com
Gloria Allred is an attorney who’s known for her extreme outspokenness, controversial clients, and courting of media drama. She is perhaps the most famous celebrity lawyer in California; her website describes her as the most famous female attorney, and she’s often seen representing clients on the other side of celebrity cases, for example, people who accuse the rich and famous of sexual harassment. Allred has represented regular non-celebrities against the likes of Britney Spears, John Travolta and Rob Lowe. She specializes in women’s rights and recently, has been seen representing Lizzette Martinez against R. Kelly.
Scott Turow:
Source: Urban Milwaukee
Yet another lawyer-turned-author, Scott Turow has written and published nine best-selling books including Presumed Innocent, the title that kick-started his writing career. Some of his books are turned into films, however, despite his massive success as an author, Turow continues to practice law in Chicago, where he mainly takes on pro bono and white collar criminal defense cases.
Peter Garrett:
Source: Newcastle Herald
Peter Garrett currently serves as a Labour MP for Australia’s House of Representatives, but before his career in politics, he was better known as the vocalist for the band Midnight Oil, which became famous internationally for their 1988 hit ‘Beds are Burning’. The band grew to fame in Australia for their hits and political activism. During his early years in the band, Garrett received his law degree from the University of New South Wales.
Which of these lawyers-turned-celebrities surprised you the most?
