30 Times People Learned Something About A Celebrity And Could Never Look At Them The Same

Actor Steve Buscemi, a former firefighter, with the New York City Fire Department, returned to his “House”, and volunteered to return to duty on 9/11/2001, when the World Trade Center was hit. He helped fight fires in the area, and comb the wreckage for survivors.

I saw him as a pretty good character actor, now I see him as a hero. He didn't seek any publicity, and never said anything until he was “outed”. He had even asked the FDNY and those he was working with to not say anything. A picture of a group of firefighters taking a break, which he was in, and the FDNY logs, are how he was discovered to have done what he did.

Audrey Hepburn Before her movie career, she helped the Dutch resistance against N*zi Germany. She and her mother sheltered a paratrooper in their house, which could have gotten them shot if it had been discovered. She delivered food and messages to other stranded paratroopers. She danced at secretive affairs to raise money for the Resistance. She was a war hero before she was a movie star.

When I read what this gal said about LGBT people years ago who was a screen partner and real life wife of one of the biggest b-western and TV cowboy stars of them all.

Dale Evans along with her husband, Roy Rogers “The King of the Cowboys.” Back in the days before there was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” and Anita Bryant was going around saying the gay community were child m*lesters, a reporter asked Dale, who along with Roy, were fundamentalist evangelical Christians and published many books and went on tours espousing their faith, what she thought about gay people. When expecting the usual answer about how practicing homosexuals were hell bound sinners, this was her reply: “I’m too busy loving everybody to have any time to hate anybody.”

Mrs. Roy Rogers, you were one class act!

The glamorous, Austrian-born American screen siren, Hedy Lamarr. She was a Louis B. Mayer discovery and one of the most prolific screen stars of her day. What’s not as well known about her is…. lemme change gears.

Do you know how cellphones, bluetooth and wifi achieve their high data speeds? It’s based on a technology called Spread Spectrum . It’s the practice of spreading a transmitted signal to occupy the frequency spectrum available for transmission. One technique is implemented via frequency hopping, FHSS, where a signal is transmitted in short bursts, "hopping" between frequencies in a pseudo-random sequence. Both sides of course need to be synchronized with the frequency sequence. Sounds like a pretty good way to scramble a signal and make it harder for eavesdropping or even jamming, right? That’s what it was initially developed for back in WW2: to prevent German subs from jamming radio-guided torpedoes. It was so advanced that the US Navy didn’t even get around to deploying it until the 1960s.

Guess who invented and got the patent for Spread Spectrum? Hedy Lamarr along with her composer husband, George Antheil. Hedy later consulted on a number of diverse projects, including with Howard Hughes. It was Hedy who introduced Hughes to streamlining his boxy aircraft to make them more aerodynamic. Hughes, who was also movie mogul himself, was so impressed with Lamarr’s inventive mind that he assigned several of his scientists to work on her various ideas, which came from virtually everywhere.

Lamarr also invented the earliest version of Alka-Seltzer and Fizzies — a tablet that when dropped in water created its own effervescence, the glow-in-the-dark dog collar, the modern traffic light, a system to help movement-impaired people get out of the bath tub, and more. She was a brilliant, prolific, self-taught inventor who’s known mostly for her smoldering screen performances. She was the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, known as the "Oscars of inventing" On her 101st birthday she was celebrated by a Google Doodle.

I have to say Gary Sinise. I knew I loved him in Forrest Gump. He was excellent. Then I saw him again in The Stand and Red Planet. I honestly didn't know what it was about him that I liked. Maybe it was the way he talked and just filled his roles so perfectly? Who can say for sure? Years later, I'm on Facebook and saw that he brought 100 families to Disney World where the children's mother or father were deployed and he paid for their trip there and their hotel stay and everything.

I was in such shock and awe, I started crying (as I am now remembering what he did). Everything that wonderful man does for the US military makes me love and adore him even more. Why? Because I also take care of our military, the survivors who came home broken and emotionally wrecked who have to go on 100% disability. Men who served in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. I would give anything in the world to meet Gary Sinise just to shake his hand and to thank him for all he has done. I know he has done a whole lot more than just this, but this stands out more than anything else. It is what I would do had I enough money to do so.

I was surprised when I watched the documentary about Joan Rivers. Folks who worked for her stayed with her for years. And if any employee had children, she routinely paid for their schooling, even private schools.

I watched a Ted Talk titled “The price of shame" given by Monica Lewinsky. I was brought to tears by what she had to say about the events that made her famous. I admit I felt ashamed of myself when I heard her side of the story because I had, like so many others, condemned her without question. After listening to what she had to say I gained an immense amount of respect for her and completely changed what I thought of her. I was surprised by the compassion I felt for her when I heard what it was like to be “patient zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously”.

I have a lot of respect for her for speaking out about something that was obviously so painful (then and now) and telling her story in an effort to combat cyber-bullying. She could have stayed silent and in the shadows of yesterday's news and not had to dredge all that up and face the public again but she has chosen to come forward and do what she can to help further a cause she knows and cares about. I think she is one very brave woman.

I grew up hearing Helen Keller jokes like everyone else. Fortunately, my mother was more in the know. She got tired of the jokes and handed me a book about the woman. Helen Keller was a bad*ss.

Blind and deaf from an illness at a very young age, her parents did not know how to teach her. They let her run around like an animal until they hired a new teacher for her. The teacher taught how to feel American Sign Language letters spelled into her hand. At first, Helen didn’t understand what these hand games were. But eventually, it clicked.

After that, Helen could not be stopped. She learned to communicate. She learned Braille. She went to college and graduated with high honors. She used her celebrity to fight for social justice causes long before it was cool to do so. She even put herself at some risk by taking some of the stands she took; for example, speaking out about racism in the early 20th century as a wealthy white woman from the American South. She wrote books. She constantly traveled and gave lectures.

She did learn to speak, although it was hard to understand her. I have worked with deaf kids. I have worked with blind kids. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have neither of those senses. Yet Ms. Keller not only rose above her disabilities, she became world famous for her achievements and still is. Read or watch the movie “The Miracle Worker” to learn the amazing story of her early life. Then, to get a sense of her intelligence and insight, read some of her writings. “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” -Helen Keller Edit: If you are still not convinced, read this list of some of her achievements. One of the original founders of the ACLU? Wow! P.S. If you want to be doubly inspired, read the biography of Louis Braille, who invented Braille. He was also a bad*ss.

Emma Watson - I used to think she was annoying. NOPE! She stands for women’s rights and even opened a support hotline for my fellow ladies all over the UK. She turns down huge roles because of her personal opinions and I respect that; some actors and actresses would be thrilled to do some of them without really caring about that aspect, but here we are.

Daniel Radcliffe - I adore that man. Massive respect for holding back on political opinions until he was out of the Potter spotlight, since the media would have just loved some controversy from him.
Who most people just see as “Potter man” is actually an incredibly kind person and just a huge prankster (he wore the same outfit every day to frustrate the paparazzi) and pushes his limits when it comes to acting. Equus was a brave move.

Madonna gives millions of dollars away to charity, according to some of her friends. She does it all secretly, seeking no publicity. She has literally kept people alive by providing money to treat people with AIDS who can't afford the treatment. When her friend & mentor Martin Burgoyne died, she was criticized because she wasn't at the funeral. It turns out that she stayed away because she knew that, if she went, all attention would be on her, and she didn't want to distract from Martin. She also paid for the entire thing. She catches a lot of flak, some of it she deserves, but she is a much kinder person than most people will ever know.

Alice Cooper. I passed him off as just a run of the mill rock musician out for shock value. Then I found out how long he has been with his wife. In the industry he is in marriages don’t seem to last long but his has lasted for 44 years now. The other thing about his industry is about the amount of d**g and alcohol ab*se. Having struggled himself with it, he is now helping others put that behind them.

Steven Tyler from Areosmith went to court to obtain legal guardianship of a 16 year old girl, then got her pregnant. After that, I decided that I’d never buy another Areosmith album again, never watch him on television, or support that kind of behavior in any way, shape, or form.

Mother Teresa.

As a child, I thought of her as this saint who sacrificed everything for the care of poor people in India. School books described her journey as that of selfless love and care. But as I grew older and on some further digging, I realised she was not the saint as portrayed.

Her health care homes were filled with unhygienic practices, she used the same needles repeatedly on patients. Many people who have worked with her claimed that despite getting funding from rich families, the condition of her Kolkata healthhouse was filthy. In 1991, Robin Fox, editor of the British medical journal The Lancet visited the Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta (now Kolkata ) and described the medical care the patients received as "haphazard".

He observed that sisters and volunteers, some of whom had no medical knowledge, had to make decisions about patient care because of the lack of doctors in the hospice. Fox specifically held Teresa responsible for conditions in this home, and observed that her order did not distinguish between curable and incurable patients, so that people who could otherwise survive would be at risk of dying from infections and lack of treatment. It is also further said that she secretly baptised her patients and even forced some patients to convert to Christianity. Shields, a former member of the Missionaries of Charity, writes that "Sisters were to ask each person in danger of death if he wanted a 'ticket to heaven'.

An affirmative reply was to mean consent to baptism She was even termed as racist by many people. Christian missionaries were on rage at that time and it's no surprise that she might have adopted secret or even forceful ways for the conversion. Yes, she helped the poor but she was not the saint as portrayed in my NCERT books.

As someone who is heavily interested in history and biographies, I have had the opportunity to learn about many famous individuals and their accomplishments. However, there was one discovery that completely changed the way I saw a particular person and their legacy. The person in question was Albert Einstein, one of the most renowned and brilliant minds of the 20th century.

Growing up, I had always heard about Einstein's groundbreaking work in physics and his theory of relativity. However, it wasn't until I read a book about his personal life that I learned about his activism and humanitarian efforts. Before this discovery, I saw Einstein as a brilliant scientist, but I didn't fully understand the extent of his impact on society and the world. I learned that he was a vocal pacifist and an advocate for civil rights, speaking out against racism and discrimination. He even used his fame and influence to help refugees fleeing N*zi persecution during World War II.

Einstein's humanitarian efforts were truly inspiring and it completely changed the way I saw him. Instead of just viewing him as a scientific genius, I now saw him as a compassionate and socially conscious individual who used his platform to make a positive difference in the world. This discovery also made me realize that there is often much more to a person's legacy than what we see on the surface. It's easy to get caught up in the accomplishments and accolades of famous figures, but it's important to also consider their character and values.

Einstein's activism and humanitarian efforts showed that he was not only a brilliant scientist, but also a compassionate and socially conscious individual. I think it's important to remember that people are complex and multifaceted, and it's crucial to not just focus on one aspect of their life or legacy. This discovery about Einstein completely changed the way I saw him and has encouraged me to always strive to learn more about the people I admire, rather than just accepting the surface-level information that is often presented to us. In conclusion, my surprising discovery about Albert Einstein completely changed the way I saw him. Instead of just viewing him as a scientific genius, I now see him as a compassionate and socially conscious individual who used his platform to make a positive impact on the world. This experience has reminded me to always strive to learn more about the people I admire and to consider all aspects of their character and values.

Steve Jobs I used to think that nobody can match Steve Job's Legacy, he was one of the people who inspired me the most (I am sure I am not the only one). In a way, I worshipped him until I read his biography by Walter Isaacson.

I found out that Steve Jobs was no saint. In fact, his success can be attributed to his ruthless behavior. In the book, there were plenty of examples, from firing people at Pixar without notice to even storming out of a five-star hotel he thought wasn't up to his standards. One time, he even berated a Whole Foods employee.

In addition to neglecting his daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs , who he had with an ex-girlfriend, probably his biggest d****e moment was when he cheated his friend and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak out of money. When the two worked together at Atari, Steve asked his partner to build a scaled-down version of Breakout, saying they would split the profits. After four sleepless nights, Wozniak finished the game and got a whopping $350 for it. He later learned that Steve had lied to him about how much money he made from the game and actually pocketed most of the profits for himself. Now, that’s just pure evil.

Michael Phelps is seen as one of the greatest athletes to embrace the sport of swimming. Some even give him the title of GOAT. His long list of accolades at the Olympics and numerous world records make it difficult to contest that claim.

Now, I used to see Michael Phelps’ success as purely a product of inherited athletic genes, access to the best sports facilities in the US and exposure to world-class coaching. However, when I recently read about his early life and discovered about the struggles he had with mental health, it changed my perception of him. At the age of 13, Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) by his pediatrician. He was found to be excessively “jumpy” at school and would be unable to go through class without fidgeting. He would act out that would make the him the center of ridicule. As a result, he was put on medication to counter the symptoms.

Not only did he bear the humiliation of his classmates, but it got to a point where his teacher had also written him off: Michael's teacher told his mother that her son would never succeed at anything because he couldn't focus on anything for a long enough time. His mother was also concerned about stopping the medication. Ouch. As someone who has seen the challenges of mental illnesses up close, I couldn’t help but think how difficult his initial journey would have been, especially with the fact that he was raised alone by his mother.

When the mind is pulling you down, living a normal life becomes a problem, let alone pursuing an ambition like excelling in professional athletics. That makes his achievements even more impressive to me. He worked on mastering the control of the mind with his coach who gave him a book on relaxation techniques. He re-calibrated his mind to visualize success and train his mind on preparing for all eventualities.

Ultimately, Phelps had mastered mental focus under water. And the rest is history. 28 gold medals, 13 individual medals, several records shattered. Phelps brought an electric energy to swimming never seen before. After he won a series of golds in the Beijing Olympics, he used the $1 million he got as a bonus to kick start a charity organization called the “Michael Phelps Foundation”. Image Credit: Kids Health The charity helps thousands of children live active and healthy lifestyles and it was a way to give back to ensure that kids, regardless of their mental/physical situation, are always well supported and aren’t left behind. Overall, learning about Phelps’ journey catapulted my level of respect for him.

Charlize Theron disclosed on a radio interview that I happened to be listening to on the car radio. Here’s a woman, tremendous talent who has the world by a string. Beautiful, highly intelligent, artistically talented, she has it all. She said growing up in South Africa, she saw her mother, one stressful night m**der her ab*sive father when she was 15. Can you imagine the emotions she carries with her all the time? And yet, she’s rock solid as a caring human being.

Marilyn Monroe No one would have thought that Norma Jean Mortensen (now, Marilyn Monroe) was a lot more than [her famous] picture: She properly circumscribed the character of Goddess Aphrodite in her teens.

Born during the Great Depression, she was unaware of her parents. Ab*sive childhood, prey to s*xual a*saults, and growing in an orphanage. Everything hit her hard. It was one day when she was getting ready for school and found a sweater to wear which was torn and short. She reached the school and suddenly every eyeball was lurking her elusiveness. And suddenly everything changed for her. One day in 1949, only twenty-three at the time and her career at a standstill, Monroe met someone at a diner who told her that a producer casting a new Groucho Marx movie, Love Happy, was looking for an actress for the part of a blond bombshell. She was cast and became insanely famous for her sultry voice, the body that captured attention, and work that was highly ambitious. But was that all about Marilyn?

I had read a lot about her where I gathered an incident that changed the way I looked at her. Ella Fitzgerald, a black woman, and a famous singer. Her following was enough to do justice to her name brand. But her color and the body type didn’t really match up to the social standards and every denied calling her to their clubs or cafes. It was then when Marilyn Monroe, listened to her plethora of recordings and soon became friends with her and decided to give her a break at Mocambo, a famous cafe in L.A. She approached the owner of the cafe and added ‘If he let Fitzgerald sing, she would appear in all her shows and sit in the front seat along with other celebrities.’ The owner was ecstatic and allowed her to sing. The shows went sold out and Fitzgerald gathered what she wanted! For once the Monroe for me in the white dress suddenly changed for all good and revolutionary.

I was blown away to find out the Brad Pitt produces countless great movies and rarely ever publicly involves himself in them or attempts to take any credit for being involved with them. Brad Pitt is this big blockbuster actor with countless amazing movies under his belt, so the last thing you really expect is that he’d be humble about blockbusters he produces: Selma, Moonlight, 12 Years a S***e, The Last Blackman in San Francisco, Kick-A*s, Kick-A*s 2, The Departed, Okja.

All of these varied and amazing films and rarely do you see him step foreword and claim any stardom from them. It’s astounding the various stories he is willing to put his money into and make happen and then not want any credit beyond his name in the credits.