11 Reality Competition Non-Winners Who Went On To Have Huge Careers

While many reality competition series winners have since become famous, many non-winners have also captured the spotlight with successful careers.

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It’s no secret that many people who audition for reality shows have aspirations of becoming actors, hosts, or other public television personas. Even some who might not have wished for such a career path may find themselves receiving offers after appearing on a show due to their fan status.

While every winner of a reality competition like American Idol has experienced some level of success following their season, even if it was just the obligatory “15 minutes of fame,” other non-winners have gone on to enjoy very successful careers in the public eye in acting, hosting, news media, and other areas.

11 Elisabeth Hasselbeck (Survivor)

She caught the attention of viewers after appearing on the second season of Survivor and went on to become a known television personality beyond the reality show. After her time on Survivor where she played under her maiden name Filarski and placed fourth, Hasselbeck was co-host of the daytime talk show The View for a decade, from 2003 to 2013.

Known for her conservative views and opinions on many topics, she went on to win an Emmy Award for the show. Hasselbeck then went on to co-host Fox & Friends for two years from 2013-2015.

10 Harry Styles (The X-Factor)

Styles is such a major force in the pop music landscape that fans sometimes forget he got his start on a reality show called The X-Factor, which aired in Britain from 2004 to 2018. He was surprisingly eliminated but was later brought back to become a member of a boy band formed by Simon Cowell on the show. That band, as fans know, went on to become One Direction.

Now enjoying tremendous success as a solo artist, Styles has top-charting hits like “Watermelon Sugar” and has even pivoted to acting, appearing in the war film Dunkirk.

9 Yaya DaCosta (America’s Next Top Model)

DaCosta made it far on America’s Next Top Model’s third season back in 2004 but ended up getting second place. After her run on that reality show, however, she went on to pursue a career in acting. DaCosta had a starring role in the ABC daytime drama All My Children and appeared in the series Ugly Betty.

For six years from 2015 to 2021, DaCosta starred in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med. She further gained recognition for her performance in the 2015 TV movie Whitney where she played the late singer and musical icon Whitney Houston.

8 Chris Daughtry (American Idol)

Fans were shocked when Daughtry was sent home in fourth place on the fifth season of American Idol, one of the most controversial seasons that crowned Taylor Hicks as the winner over second-place finisher Katherine McPhee, making him one of American Idol’s first 10 winners.

Like many other non-winners from American Idol, however, Daughtry went on to become a huge success. In fact, he is ranked as the sixth most successful American Idol alum of all time, according to Business Insider.

7 Jennifer Hudson (American Idol)

Number-three on the same list of the most successful American Idol alums, Hudson was integral to one of the American Idol moments fans love to re-watch over and over when she was voted out in seventh place on season 3. Fans were shocked she was sent home given her powerhouse vocals. Since then, however, Hudson, who has become known by fans as J.Hud, has gone on to have successful stints in music and cinema.

She won an Academy Award for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls back in 2006. She had roles in other successful movies, including Sex and the City, The Secret Life of Bees, and Sing, and she made her debut on Broadway in The Color Purple.

6 Gabriel Iglesias (Last Comic Standing)

Fans don’t realize that, long before he was a successful stand-up comedian and actor known affectionately by fans as Fluffy, Iglesias actually competed on the reality competition series Last Comic Standing. It was back in 2006, shortly before he became a household name.

Iglesias not only failed to win the show, but, after making it to the top eight, he was disqualified for allegedly sneaking a BlackBerry into the studio, which was against the rules. He went on to star in many of his own comedy specials as well as secure roles in movies like Magic Mike. Iglesias has also done voice work for animated films like The Nut Job.

5 Mike Mizanin (Tough Enough)

Technically, Mike did win a reality competition, first appearing on The Real World: Back to New York, then winning Battle of the Seasons, The Inferno II, along with a reality stars episode of Fear Factor. But, he only finished as runner-up in season 4 of Tough Enough, one of the best sports-based related competition shows.

What makes Mizanin’s story so compelling is that, as a young man on one of the first reality shows ever, he dreamt of becoming a wrestler, even calling himself The Miz. Fast forward two decades, and Mizanin realized that dream with a successful wrestling career under that very same name, winning the WWE Championship twice along with plenty of other competitions. He has also hosted several TV series, including some seasons of The Challenge, and he stars in a reality series with his wife called Miz & Mrs.

4 Stephen “Twitch” Boss (So You Think You Can Dance)

He didn’t win the dance competition series So You Think You Can Dance when he competed back in 2008, being named runner-up. But Boss, known as “Twitch,” became a household name when he was hired as the co-host/sidekick for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He also appears on her game show, Ellen’s Game of Games, again as a sidekick.

Additionally, Twitch, who married another professional dancer he met on the show, Allison Holker, hosts the Disney+ series Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings with her. Additionally, prior to his time on SYTYCD, Twitch also competed on The Wade Robson Project and Star Search, finishing as the runner up in the latter competition.

3 Lucy Hale (American Juniors)

While the attempted spin-off of American Idol targeted toward tweens has been long forgotten, one shining star emerged from American Juniors: Lucy Hale. The TV actor placed fourth on the competition series, but she went on to star in a number of high-profile projects, including Pretty Little Liars and Katy Keene.

She most recently starred in the 2020 horror movie Fantasy Island, seemingly having switched focus from her music to an acting career.

2 Katharine McPhee (American Idol)

Given her powerful voice and constant presence on TV, it’s easy to forget that McPhee didn’t actually win American Idol. Rather, she was the runner-up in 2006 on the show’s fifth season, losing to Taylor Hicks in one of the biggest upsets in American Idol history. Hicks remains ranked at the bottom of the list of the first 10 American Idol winners.

While she continues to pursue a career in music, having released five albums since. McPhee also pivoted to acting and appeared in many notable projects. She was a main cast member of the CBS series Scorpion, which aired for four seasons, and she had a lead role in the hit musical drama NBC series Smash. She most recently starred in the Netflix sitcom Country Comfort.

1 Miranda Lambert (Nashville Star)

Another singer who was “discovered” on a reality competition series, Lambert only placed third on this USA Network series, designed to be the American Idol of country music. Interestingly, it only took a few months after the inaugural season aired for Lambert to secure a recording contract.

She released her top-charting album called Kerosene, and the rest is history. Today, Lambert has plenty of awards under her belt along with several number-one singles, including “Gunpowder & Lead.”

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