Across the world, there’s a long history of electing celebrities to public office. The United States has seen a President (Ronald Reagan) and a Governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger of California) who began their careers as actors. India has seen innumerable stars from tinseltown try their luck at the electoral hustings. In fact, current US President Donald Trump has appeared in TV shows and movies too.
Dirty Harry star Clint Eastwood also tried his hand at politics in the 1980s when he became Mayor of Carmel, a seaside city in his home state of California that had just 4,500 residents. Singer Sonny Bono entered the House of Representatives in 1994.
In India, we have the examples of Chief Ministers MGR, J Jayalalithaa and NTR in Tamil Nadu and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, respectively, whose names still matter to the electorate. Actresses Hema Malini and Jayaprada have been in politics for long. And, we have always had a sprinkle of stardust in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The latest in the line is Kamal Haasan, who launched his party Makkal Needhi Maiam last week in Madurai. It is expected that Rajinikanth will join this group of actors-turned-netas before the next State elections.
Here’s a list of celebrities who adapted to the heat and dust of politics, across the globe
Ronald Reagan- USA
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Ronald Reagan served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Before entering politics, he acted in more than 50 Hollywood movies and was a popular face on television too. His final appearance on the big screen was as Jack Browning in the 1964 The Killers as a mob boss.
Regan was a representative of the Republican party in the US and started off by being the Governor of California from 1967-1975. He became President in January 1981, and survived an assassination attempt barely two months later.
Bete Mendes- Brazil
Elizabeth Mendes de Oliveira who was later known as Beta Mendes is a film and television actress and politician in Brazil. Her artistic career spans over five decades from 1965, while she was successful in politics for about 16 years.
She began by taking part in campaigns for social movements. She was one of the founding members of the Workers’ Party and was elected Congresswoman from 1983-87. Later, she was re-elected by the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. She was Secretary of Culture in the state of Sao Paulo for a year.
She’s still an active performer and stars as Irma Imaculada in the television show Tempo de Amar, which premiered in September 2017.
Peter Sodann- Germany
Famous for his screen role as Police Commissioner Bruno Ehrlicher in the long-running crime television series Tatort in Germany, Peter Sodann works in both television and theatre.
Soon after Tatort concluded in 2007, he was nominated as the presidential candidate by the Left Party of Germany for the 2009 presidential election. He was compared to Reagan and Schwarzenegger, but finished third in the fray.
Glenda May Jackson- UK
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A professional actress from the late 1950s, Jackson spent four years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and was associated with the work of Peter Brook. She later won Academy Awards for Best Actress for Women In Love and A Touch Of Class. She also received a Primetime Emmy for the BBC serial Elizabeth R.
She quit acting in 1992 with her final TV film, The Secret Life of Arnold Bax. She joined the Labour Party and was Member of Parliament of Hampstead and Highgate from 1992. She served as Junior Transport Minister from 1997-1999 under Tony Blair (with whom she had severe differences), and from 2010 till her retirement from politics in 2015, she represented Hampstead and Kilburn. She is 81 and still comments on socio-political happenings in the UK.
Richard Franklin- UK
The character Mike Yates of Doctor Who was charming, handsome and strict. So is Richard Franklin when it comes to his political and acting career. UK-based Franklin has contested as an independent candidate for Parliament several times and founded the Silent Majority Party.
He authored books such as “Forest Wisdom: Radical Reform of Democracy and the Welfare State”, which reflects his left-wing political views and activism. He also wrote novels as a tribute to the series Doctor Who.
Rubén Blades- Panama
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Latin Jazz musician and actor Ruben Blades started his political life in 1994 and later served as Minister of Tourism 2004 till 2009. His acting career began in 1983, and he has been part of many movies, sometimes with breaks to focus on other projects. Since 2015, he has played Daniel Salazar in the TV series Fear the Walking Dead. He has also acted in prominent films such as Crossover Dreams, Predator 2, Safe House and The Counsellor.
He contested the 1994 Presidential race in Panama, but got only about 18% of the total votes. Later, President Martin Torrijos appointed him as Minister of Tourism.
Eva Peron- Argentina
Although she never held office, actress and First Lady Eva Perón is an impressive and important historical figure in Argentinian politics. She played a major part in the influential women’s suffrage movement and in fighting for the underprivileged, and ran for the Vice Presidency alongside her husband and President Juan Perón in 1951, but pulled out due to ill health and opposition from the country’s military.
Following her death a year later at the age of 33, the musical Evita was made about her life as a popular national and international figure.
Vijaya Kumaratunga-Sri Lanka
Kumaratunga’s first film was Hanthane Kathawa, in which he played the lead. In a career that spanned nearly two decades, he acted in 114 films. Kumaratunga started his political career in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party(LSSP) and later joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and became its first national organiser.
In 1978, he married Chandrika Banaranaike, who would later become President of Sri Lanka. He founded the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party and campaigned for peace in the Sri Lankan civil war. He was assassinated outside his home on the outskirts of Colombo on February 16, 1988.
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Alessandra Mussolini- Italy
Almost 50 years after her grandfather – Italy’s fascist Prime Minister Benito Mussolini – was killed, Alessandra Mussolini began carving out her own political legacy. She was first elected to office in 1992 following a career in acting and modelling and has continued to support her right-wing brand of politics.
Emilio Ramon Ejercito- The Philippines
Emilio Ramon Ejercito has both acting and politics in his blood – he’s the nephew of the country’s former President Joseph Estrada, and son of actor George Estregan.
With the screen name Jorge Estregan Jr, he rose to fame with his negative roles, before he joined politics in the early 2000s, and was elected Mayor of Pagsanjan, Laguna. From 2010-2014, he was Laguna’s Governor.