Hollywood heavy hitters didn’t necessarily begin their walk of fame at age 20, Many household names made their debut after age 50. Here are just a few, that will inspire you to get out there and be discovered!
1. Betty White
This superstar wasn’t a household name until the age of 51 when she began playing “The Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973-1977).
2. Morgan Freeman
Freeman didn’t become a superstar until playing chauffeur Hoke Colburn in “Driving Miss Daisy” at the age of 52.
3.Tommy Lee Jones
Although Tommy Lee Jones has been on the big screen countless times for decades, he didn’t achieve household recognition until his role in “The Fugitive” at the age of 53.
4.Julia Child
Julia Child didn’t start cooking until the age of 40 and she didn’t have a television program until “The French Chef” aired in 1963 when Child was 51.
5. Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin began his career in television as an NBC page for “The Tonight Show” before co-hosting “The Joey Bishop Show.” Philbin had his own local talk in Los Angeles for eight years before he was thrust into the national spotlight as the co-host of Live with Regis and Kathy Lee in 1988. He was 57 years old at the time. The New York native remained on the show until he retired in 2011. Philbin currently holds the Guinness Record for “Most Hours On Camera.”
6. Leslie Neilson
Leslie Neilson always wanted to be a star. He got his start in show business after a stint in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Appearing on television for the first time in 1948, Nielsen was in over 50 television shows in just two years. Making the switch to film a decade later, the Canadian actor starred in several genres but it was his role in the 1980 movie parody Airplane! that put him on the map at the age of 54. TheMr. Magoo star became even more popular with each unclothed Gun movie. Neilen passed away in 2010 at the age of 84.
7. Joy Behar
Joy Behar has been a staple on ABC’s “The View” for 16 years but before she decided on a career in showbiz, the New York native was a high school teacher. In her early 40’s, Behar decided on a change in career and started out as a stand up comedian. It wasn’t until Barbara Walters came up with the daytime talk show in 1997 and added Behar to the original cast at 54 that she become a national star. Behar has announced she will be leaving “The View” when her contract expires at the end of this season and is excited to work on other projects.
8. Bea Arthur
Like many actors of her time, Beatrice Arthur began her career in Broadway in the late 40’s, but she didn’t find national success until the age of 50 when Norman Lear invited her to star on his show All In The Family as the liberal feminist Maude Findlay. That guest spot segued into her own show “Maude.” The New York native found further success later in her career as Dorothy Zbornak on “The Golden Girls.” Arthur also served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. The star passed away in 2009 at the age of 86.
9. Christoph Waltz
The German actor didn’t become a household name in the United States until he was 53-years-old. Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglorious Basterds scored him his first Academy Award.
10. Judi Dench
Dench was famous in the theater world, but didn’t make it into the mainstream cinema until she was cast as M in the 1995 film GoldenEye.She was 61.
