The US celebs who found more fame in UK than Hollywood – from Pussycat Doll to Celebrity Big Brother star
THEY may have been born Stateside but its Britain where these celebrities really thrived.
Although each of the stars have had hints of success in their native country, it was the Brits who allowed them to reach their full career potential.
From Pussycat Dolls stars to a leading Glee actress and an A-list nepo-baby, they’ve all become tabloid fodder and TV regulars on this side of the pond.
So let’s take a look at their rise to fame and how they reached ther career peak in the UK.
Marisha Wallace
Marisha has been a mainstay on UK TV over the past 12 months.
Whilst the star was born in the US in 1985, she only managed to find minor success as a Broadway star in the States.
Marisha appeared in the ensemble casts for a slew of New York-based productions between 2015 and 2017 but it was only in London where she really made a name for herself on the stage.
She began playing Effie White in Dreamgirls on the West End in 2017 and has barely been off the London stage since – having relocated to the UK for her career.
She has since appeared in Waitress, Oaklahoma!, Hairspray and Guys and Dolls and has received a tonne of awards and nominations.
Last year, she became the surprise signing for ITV‘s Celebrity Big Brother which opened her up to a whole new audience.
She has rarely been off-screens since thanks to countless guest appearances in programme and will even be hitting the box alongside Jason Manford this weekend.
The pair will front The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals filmed at the AO Arena in Manchester and being screened on BBC One this weekend.
Ashley Roberts
The blonde bombshell of chart-topping US girl group The Pussycat Dolls, Ashley has become an honorary Brit for the last 13 years after moving to London when her career skyrocketed after becoming the both the surprise addition and breakout star of 2012’s I’m A Celebrity.
Whilst Ashley toured the group with the Don’t Cha hitmakers for seven years between 2003 and 2010, none of the girls except lead Nicole Scherzinger managed to carve out a name for themsevles.
After two years out of the spotlight following the band’s split, a chance casting for I’m A Celeb saw Ashley’s life and career change unexpectedly.
Within a week of leaving the Aussie jungle in second place, Ashley was handed two six-figure contracts to appear on ITV’s biggest shows.
She was hand-picked to become a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice as well as the co-host of Ant and Dec‘s Saturday Night Takeaway as part of its then long-awaited revival.
It meant the star was forced to leave behind her LA life overnight and she has never looked back since.
Her star-power in the UK has seen her become just as famous as Nicole and she has a very healthy bank balance to match.
She’s now had stints on The Jump, Strictly Come Dancing and Dance Monsters.
Ashley is now a co-host on the Heart FM Breakfast show as well as being a red carpet regular – turning heads at every major British industry event and award ceremony.
Michelle Visage
Michelle has been apart of the entertainment and showbiz circuit since the 1990s and she rose to fame for being drag queen RuPaul‘s right-hand woman.
Whilst she’s always been well-known in the US, especially since the rise and rise of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it is here in the UK that Michelle has carved out a career away from the show.
She had her first taste of fame on British shores when she took part in Celebrity Big Brother ten years ago in January 2015.
Living alongside Katie Hopkins and Katie Price, it proved to be one of the most controversial series’ ever and remains the most-watched of the last 12 years.
It sparked a love affair between Michelle and the UK and she was left delighted when the BBC ordered a UK Drag Race in 2019 – one of its most succesful formats of recent years.
Michelle’s career they skyrocketed in the UK and she became a BBC Radio 2 regular, first hosting her own Fabulous Divas show from late 2019 to early 2020.
She then became an ad-hoc cover presenter for the station, regularly filling in for Rylan and Dermot O’Leary‘s weekend shows.
Since July 2022, she has hosted her own Friday night show as well as being the main cover host for Elaine Page On Sunday.
Michelle even enjoyed a spin on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor and is the BAFTA Awards leading red carpet co-host alongside Tom Allen.
Moreover, she has become a West End regular in productions such as Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and The Addams Family.
Amber Riley
Amber rose to fame in the late 2000s thanks to her role as Mercedes in the hit US musical-comedy Glee.
The show became a worldwide hit and propelled Amber and all of her fellow cast member to stardom.
And while Amber has continued to find work and acting gigs Stateside, she has arguably become a bigger name as herself in the UK.
She was snapped up by the BBC to work as a judge alongside Gary Barlow, Dannii Minouge, Martin Kemp and fellow US star Ashley Roberts for the 2017 talent show search, Let It Shine.
The musical theatre based show aimed to find the five boys who would portray Take That as part of the brand new touring musical, The Band.
Around this time, Amber formed a super group with Brit singers Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson.
Known as The Leading Ladies, they became the biggest theatre act of the UK in 2017 after releasing their album, Songs from the Stage.
Amber was also hand-picked to play Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls as her fame continued to soar in the UK.
In 2023, she was a judge on ITV talent show Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream with Samantha Barks, Alan Carr and Jessie Ware as well as competing in The Masked Singer UK as Jellyfish.
Kimberly Wyatt
Like her fellow Pussycat Doll Ashley, Kimberly was adopted by England after breaking up with the band.
Whilst Ashley is now arguably the bigger name, Kimberly was the first Doll to become a UK TV regular when she was chosen to be a judge on Sky talent show Got to Dance in 2009, months before The Pussycal Dolls called it quits.
Kimberly appeared as a judge on the Davina McCall-hosted programme for five years before it was axed in 2014.
She also enjoyed musical success as a soloist as the featured artist on rapper Aggro Santos‘ hit 2010 track, Candy.
Since then, she became the winner of Celebrity MasterChef in 2015 and has continued to make appearaces as a celebrity chef on ITV daytime shows, including Lorraine.
Kimberly also reached the final of Dancing on Ice as well as being a comedy panel show regular and a presenter on Hits Radio.
Hayley Hasselhoff
As the daughter of David Hasselhoff, Hayley was an instant nepo-baby but has become more closely associated with the UK than the US.
As a plus-size model she has been featured in photoshoots across the world, but its in the UK where she has found the most success.
She participated in the ITV2 show Celebrity Showmance where she fooled fans into thinking she was loved up with Geordie Shore star Kyle Chrisite in 2017.
Two years later, she attempted to win over Simon Cowell as a contender on Celebrity X Factor but she fell at the first hurdle and was eliminated at the auditions stage alongside Stricty pro Brendan Cole and Hollyoaks actor Jeremy Edwards.