10 Music Stars Who Successfully Took On Acting

Being creative makes you happier, according to research. That might just explain why some artists move from one creative field to another and often pursue multiple careers in the arts. It’s especially common to see singers try their hand at acting, although only a few manage to thrive in the world of cinema.

Cher

Titled The Goddess of Pop by the media, Cher has been able to build an impressive career in acting. Her first gig as an actress was in 1967 for the TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E (1964-1968). As of 2023, the American icon has almost 20 movies under her belt and numerous other appearances on TV shows. And the cherry on top of the cake is the Oscar for Best Actress which she won for her role in Moonstruck (1987), a film she starred in alongside Nicolas Cage.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga achieved worldwide stardom as a singer, however her dream was always to become an actress. “I wanted to be an actress before I wanted to be a singer,” she revealed in an interview with fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal. In 2015, it came true when she starred in American Horror Story: Hotel, the fifth season of a TV horror series. She has since acted in 4 movies, including the critically acclaimed A Star Is Born (2018), with another one set to be released in 2024.

Mark Wahlberg

With such a long path in cinema, it might be easy to forget that Mark Wahlberg actually started out as a rapper. Marky Mark, as he was known in his music days, ventured into film in the late ’90s, when he had his first lead role in Fear (1996), a psychological thriller that also starred a young Reese Witherspoon. Since then, he has made a name for himself on the big screen, having appeared in over 50 films.

Harry Styles

The former One Direction member has only recently entered the world of cinema but has already found himself part of Oscar-nominated movies and part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His debut role as Alex in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017) was met with positive reviews, and in 2022 he added 2 more leads to his portfolio.

Queen Latifah

At the young age of 19, Queen Latifah made her debut as a hip-hop artist with her first album All Hail the Queen (1989). A few years later, she landed the role of Khadijah James on the ’90s sitcom Living Single (1993–1998) and then got an early Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 2002 film Chicago. From then on, she’s never left Hollywood.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake became one of the world’s best-selling music artists after hitting 88 million in record sales. However, that tremendous success in his music career, achieved partly in his days as a member of NSYNC, didn’t stop him from pursuing acting. It started with a lead role in Model Behavior (2000), a television film, and it gradually evolved into parts in critically acclaimed movies, like The Social Network (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore rose to fame after releasing her debut single Candy in 1999 and by 2001 she was already taking her first steps in the acting world. Her first on-screen role was as Lana Thomas in The Princess Diaries (2001), followed by her first lead in the Nicholas Sparks’ adaptation A Walk to Remember (2002). She is also well-known for portraying Rebecca Pearson in the acclaimed TV series This Is Us (2016–2022).

Will Smith

Those who’ve been following Smith’s career since its early days are aware that he used to go by the name The Fresh Prince as part of a hip-hop duo. He even won a Grammy.

Then, in 1990, after some financial trouble, Smith decided to take a chance on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996), a sitcom built around his persona. It ended up being extremely successful, and it kickstarted the long acting career we know today, which includes an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard (2021).

Bette Midler

Bette Midler is one Oscar shy from achieving the title of EGOT, someone who’s won all 4 major American entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). However, that doesn’t mean Midler has been anything other than successful in her acting career, having a long list of lead roles both in cinema and television. Some of us might even remember her from Hocus Pocus (1993), a Halloween movie which gradually became a cult classic.

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand began her career performing in nightclubs and soon made the jump to releasing her first studio album The Barbra Streisand Album (1963), which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Following her success in music in the early ’60s, she gave acting a chance. And by 1968, she was already an Oscar winner with a Best Actress award under her belt for her role in Funny Girl (1968). Her last movie role was as a lead in the comedy The Guilt Trip from 2012.