Many people around the world dream of being in the spotlight! The lights, the money, the attention… how could anyone not want to be generally loved and appreciated by the masses? Well hopefully this list will show you ways of making that dream come true for you. As Gilderoy Lockhart from ‘Harry Potter’ once said ‘Fame is a fickle friend’.
Most people around seem to know someone who has a friend who has been on a reality television show. There is so many around these days, and they are so loved, that it is a seemingly easy way to become famous. You don’t even have to be talented! The late Jade Goody (British Big Brother) rose to fame showing no desirable talent, simply for being wonderfully unintelligent. On the other hand if you are talented than reality television is a whole lot easier to not only become famous but maintain fame for a long career, for example Leona Lewis and the British singing show the X-Factor.
Something heroic is your best bet for that special time in the spotlight. Okay, this one is a little hard to achieve as it consists of no purposeful input into the situation, you just have to be lucky! But being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing is a real good way of becoming famous. For example Mr. Autry (pictured above, left) saved a man who fell onto the New York subway tracks. He was walking back from his kids school when a man fell onto the tracks, he made a quick decision and leapt onto the track and pushed the man flat against the floor so the train flew over them, they were both fine afterwards. Mr. Autry was all over the news and was a guest on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.
Let’s face it, while flicking through a world record book one usually sees the most bizarre and utterly pointless records you could dream of. Why? Because they are unique enough to become recognized! For example there is currently a Guinness world record for most people performing a toast. This is a very easy one to break, just get a lot of people in one place at one time and raise their arms… Couldn’t be simpler. You don’t even have to succeed at breaking a record. A contestant on popular talent show ‘Britain’s got talent’ was famed, particularly on YouTube, by failing to eat as many chocolates in a minute!
This is a simple concept; find something which is relatively good but not well known, for example a song, and copy it! For example Naomi Shemer, who features on another listverse list: Top 10 Fascinating Deathbed Confessions, was a famous Israeli songwriter who was accused of plagiarizing her most famous song ‘Jerusalem of Gold’ from an Israeli lullaby. Although many speculated that she copied her song (which probably added to her fame) she never confessed until on her deathbed in 2004.
Giving up a vast amount of money or even a little of your time is a very good way of getting on the front page of at least your local newspaper. Think about it… Gandhi went on a walk! Enough said. For example Heather Mills has done nothing but volunteer work and is famous throughout Britain. Oh but Heather was married to Beatles rock star Paul McCartney, which brings us nicely to the next item.
This is a good one, as like reality television, requires no talent whatsoever, except perhaps good looks… Is that a talent…? Anyway, a good example of someone who is simply related to a famous person is Paris Hilton… nice. Don’t wait to be famous, date to be famous!
The world of fame has been transformed by the internet and specifically You Tube. This is probably the easiest way of becoming famous… you don’t even need to leave your house. All you need is a camera and a relatively good idea, actually not even a good idea. The seemingly pointless videos “Charlie bit me” rose to fame for… well… no reason at all! People simply found it amusing. Another great example of You Tube Fame is Chris Crocker with his (or her… not really sure) “leave Britney alone” video, which became so famous it even got into a film!
This is hard as it is hard for the normal human mind to think ‘out-of-the-box’ and invent something the world will appreciate. Most inventions seem to have already been made! However creating something which drastically changes lives is a shore way of becoming famous. Try to look around and see problems in the world which could be fixed, is there something already invented which could be improved? The best invention to get generally loved by people is surly a cure! So get your rubber gloves and long white coats out and find a cure for cancer! Good luck! Oh by the way- many inventions were created by accident so just play around with everything and see what comes out!
The most dignified, deserving and profitable way to rise to fame is simply to be talented (admittedly easier said than done). If you can sing, then sing. If you can act, then act. If you can do anything talented, do it and do it well. If others share the enthusiasm you do then you will be famous! This isn’t as hard as many think if you are talented, for example; The music industry is so vast, with many genres, if you can’t get recognized in your own genre than pursue a relatively unknown one, like rock opera… awesome!
DO NOT GO AND KILL ANYONE!! “Kill a prostitute” was an answer given by English comedian Rickey Gervais in an interview after being posed the question, “What advice would you give those who want to become famous?” What Rickey meant by this was that if fame is your only driving force, all you care about and all you think about, than surely you won’t mind doing something horrendous to get it. Fame shouldn’t be what you desire; a philosopher once said “fame is a by-product of courageous acts”, or something along those lines. What is meant is that one should desire to fulfill a noble act, and fame should come naturally as a result.






























Great list!!!
Youtube’s the easiest way for normal people to become famous in my opinion
I don’t think it’s correct to attribute Wesley Autrey’s fame entirely to luck. That man did something very heroic that very few people would do.
A nice, fun read. Good list.
I also like the disclaimer for #1 haha.
Nice list
There’s a limerick which goes something like:
What a cruel goddess is fame, (that doesn’t quite scan, I know)
da da-da-da da-da-da da,
She cruelly neglects you
or calmly selects you
for laurels distinct from your aim.
I’m sure it’s in a book in my garage. I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
Or you can try the Woody Allen method:
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.”
@Astraya
A goddess capricious is fame,
As you strive to make noted your name,
She either neglects you or cruelly selects you,
For laurels distinct from your aim.
not.funny. at. all.
Editor, we need an editor!
Otherwise, entertaining list, especially number one.
Meh. Not such a great list IMHO.
im gonna go kill a prostitute. then im gonna tell the cops listverse told me to. thats 2nd degree for you jamie.. i will sing like a *****ing canary
apepper: Thanks. I’ll have to work on my memorisation of non-dirty limericks.
Another tip: make a *****-tape.
PS I got the last line right!
@Miss_Info (4): Haha lol at that ting breddahhhh
*12, beg your pardon
If you film it, fame will come….
Nice list. I kinda hate how easy people can get famous now. Not everyone but people who get famous for absolutely nothing. You know fame has become saturated when you have E! news talking about Z-listers (what?) and when reality t.v. freaks have people idolizing them. You have people killing themselves because they worshiped their idols so much that if any rejection comes from that idol it could mean the end of the world. I was shocked when I read about Paula Abdoul’s stalker committing suicide. It is all because some people have a narcissistic mentality nowadays. The girl couldn’t sing, and she changed herself drastically to look like Paula.
I mean, why is “octomom” or Bristol Palin or Sarah Palin even relevant anymore? Because people get famous for nothing. And to think Chris Crocker is a celebrity just because he whined about Britney, a person he doesn’t even know! What a world.
@deviljin88 (18):
Leave Chris Crocker alone!
KIll a prostitute! Too good
One thing we all adore
Something worth dying for
Nothing but pain
Stuck in this game
Searching for fortune and fame
Tupac Shakur
I know #1 was not meant to be taken literally (and i get your point, even though i hate Ricky Gervais with a passion!)……. but how many of you have heard of Steve Wright (aka the Suffolk Strangler)? None of you I expect! Even though in late 2006 he killed 5 prostitutes in Ipswich, England, with there bodies being found over a 2/3 week period in December. Point proven?
my moms uncle knows someone famous thru his brothers daughter retarded son!!!!
if you wanna be famous, kill someone famous??
Or you could end up on an episode of World’s Dumbest Criminals….I love that show.
Interesting read and nice list.
A not so interesting list,
@astraya (13):
hehe, i actually thought making a ***** tape would take a number 1 spot because it seems to never fail. then again i started thinking – oh, what a painful process! – and i realized that it’s not really a way to make you famous from scratch as it is a perfect vehicle to bring your already existing fame to a whole new level. when an anon makes a ***** tape, they’re still just an anon with a ***** tape – you gotta claim some fame in advance if you want your little home video to push you to real stardom. so, i’d say a ***** tape would take an undisputed no.1 spot on “Top 10 Tips For Becoming MORE Famous”
Great list, though, seriously funny / funnily serious and very zeitgeist-ish.
Great list to start my Sunday morning! I am reminded of the William Hungs and John and Kate Gosselins of the world.
@dsig (24): killing someone famous would only make you infamous. you have to kill someone infamous to be famous. like Castro
yay my list got published!!!!
@Jonny Anscombe (30):
…and yay it’s excellent, be proud jonny!
@Miss_Info (29): Or El Guapo
@Tryclyde (32): Or El Vampyro
Fame: they build you up to knock you down again. That seems to be the mantra in the press. But seriously, many famous people complain fame is a real pain in the butt – the constant paparazzi attention, the curruption of privacy, the gold-diggers, the leeches, the ‘yes’ men, the fanatical idolisation, the relentless recognition (wherever you go).
Is it any wonder so many ‘stars’ retreat into a world of drink and drugs, or just hole themselves up in a mansion somewhere – only to appear as ‘recluse of the week’ in The Enquirer.
I think Reality TV needs to be higher, that “Snookie” person from Jersey Shore is a celeb for being a drunken loud mouthed *****, I grew up at the Jersey shore and see thousands of them every summer but she did it on TV. Also Tila Tequila is the perfect example of what #1 and she is probably the defining personality of the last ten years because “fame for fame’s sake” is the new “I want to grow up to be a millionaire/astronaut/movie star etc”
@Lifeschool(34) You took the words right out of my mouth or should it be fingers off the key pad – yes I agree there are so many youngsters that shot to fame in the past and end up in rehab a few years later.
Enjoyed the read thanks.
@Lifeschool (34):
…and all of a sudden you’re not your own property anymore, you become a TayTay or a RiRi or a Brangelina or whatever those blogs and tabloids choose to nickname you and before you stand a chance to get a grip of your new self – they have already devoured you and replaced you with some new GaGas and BlaBlas while you swiftly descend into the infamous z-list without even realizing what just happened. it’s only the drug dealers who profit in the end!
@dsig (22) I did! (know who the Suffolk Strangler was)
Well it is those annoying fans and intrusive paparazzi who bring them their millions, so the whining celebs can shut up complaining or retire as far as I´m concerned.
To : The Author of this list, JonnyAnscombe
How come you are not famous?
I think today’s cult of fame – fame for no other reason than being famous – sucks. There are few worthy role models and the ones that are worthy are not famous. Squeezed out of the limelight by the reality TV/wealthy/big ***** famous.
Reality TV is another pet peeve of mine – we celebrate and revere the lowest common denominator. It’s like “Jerry!, Jerry!, 24/7. And why? It’s economics – it is cheap as hell to produce something like The Bachelor while quality entertainment is a very expensive gamble. And it’s not that I personally don’t respond to that crap – I love a train-wreck as well as the next guy – I just refuse to watch. If more of us did that maybe we could kaibosh the whole movement.
a placeholder worthy of a Sunday spot
Yeah, this whole list should be labeled top 10 ways to become infamous.
great list
or you could start a list blog
Cute list. Enjoyed it. Could use a little editing… but otherwise, a fun read.
@DoubleT It worked out for eminem
@Skrillah this is my attempt. =)
No such thing as reality tv. TRUE reality tv is a program where the participants didn’t know they were being filmed. Now THAT I would watch!
Ok list. Youtube needs more people who are making legit videos and using youtube correctly.
ricky*
@General Tits Von Chodehoffen (50): The world needs more people who realize that using “legit” as an abbreviation for legitimate is illegitimate.
Jfrater – please proofread these! At least 5 mistakes in #10 alone!!
or you could just have a million kids and get TLC to give you your own show (Jon and Kate, Table for 12, 3 billion kids and counting…)
A brilliant list! Amusing and informative.
Rock opera has already been quite successfully attempted by Queen with their Bohemian Rhapsody. Great list though
Great list- I loved number one- funny, but fantastic advice.
nice site…………
Sometimes starting a blog can make you famous. *wink-wink*
grammer needs help, but other than that, good list!
Canada’s leading USA 2-1 in Hockey for the gold right now.
GO CANADA!!!