Celebrities Who Successfully Rebranded Themselves 

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Mike Tyson

No one could have imagined that the boxing world’s scariest ear biter (with a rape conviction and a face tattoo) would ever shake his bad boy persona. But Iron Mike has defied all of the odds with a successful one-man show, popular role in the Hangover franchise and even a cartoon!

Beyoncé

Marriage and motherhood have changed Queen Bey in the best way. First there was Beyonce‘s unapologetic feminism in 2013, and now the unapologetic Black politics of “Formation” are making the world see Beyoncé in a whole new light.

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Kim Kardashian

Back in 2007, would you have guessed that Kim Kardashian’s sex tape would have catapulted the Kardashians into a multi-million dollar brand, help her land the cover of Vogue, and place her next to Anna Wintour at fashion shows? She sure flipped that negative into a positive.

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Britney Spears

Now that she’s the Las Vegas headliner and devoted mom of two, the world has almost completely forgotten the shaved head, reality show, and public meltdown years that almost permanently ended the pop star’s career.

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Ice Cube

It took Straight Outta Compton to remind Ice Cube’s youngest fan’s that the family movie star of Are We There Yet and Ride Along was once one of rap’s most notorious figures, and still is one of its most influential.

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Robert Downey Jr.

After nearly a decade of battling with addiction, Iron Man‘s Robert Downey Jr. managed to rebrand his story from drug-addicted Hollywood cautionary tale back to leading man status as one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.

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Amber Rose

Once written off as Kanye West’s ex and Wiz Khalifa’s baby mama, Amber Rose’s crusade against slut-shaming has rebranded her as an “unapologetically feminist” icon.

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Angelina Jolie

Remember when Angelina Jolie was known for kissing her brother passionately on the mouth and wearing a vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood around her neck?

After her possible emotional affair with Brad Pitt while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston, Jolie decided to revamp her image completely. Now Hollywood’s former bad girl is known as a humanitarian, mother of six and crusader in the fight against breast cancer.

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Eddie Murphy

Once upon a time, Eddie Murphy was comedy’s favorite leather suit-wearing bad boy. But after an incident with a transsexual prostitute threatened to permanently derail his career, Murphy flipped the script to become more of a family man who was more Nutty Professor than Raw.

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Kristen Stewart

Even die-hard Twilight fans thought that Kristen Stewart’s career was over after her affair with then-married director Rupert Sanders.

But Stewart managed to turn her career around by staying out of the headlines and focusing on her acting chops, doing serious films like Still Alice. And now that she’s being taken seriously, her erstwhile affair is just a footnote in her career.

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Taylor Swift

Remember when Taylor Swift was most famous for a string of short-term romances that ended up in her songs? Now Swift has managed to turn her boy-crazy image around with lots of famous female friends and girl anthems to give the world #squadgoals.

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Nicole Richie

The Simple Life fans remember when Nicole Richie was Paris Hilton’s partying sidekick who struggled with eating disorders, drugs and the law. But after a DUI in 2006, Richie mananged to revamp her image as a funny, business-minded mom, fashionista, and star of the much more toned down reality show Candidly Nicole.

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Matthew McConaughey

Mcconaughey may have started his career as a rom-com love interest in movies like The Wedding Planner and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, but he’s since rebranded himself as a serious actor with gritty roles in moves like Interstellar and The Dallas Buyers Club, winning an Oscar for the latter role.

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Christina Aguilera

Fans know that the former member of the Mickey Mouse Club has rebranded herself several times. Over the years, the singer has gone from Mouseketeer to clean-cut “Genie In A Bottle” teen pop star to “Dirrty” Xtina. But now she’s showing a different side of herself with her work as a judge on The Voice and garnering a whole new following.