List of actor-politicians

This is a list of individuals who achieved recognition and success both as actors and as politicians.
The phenomenon of actors becoming politicians is seen across the world, with many leveraging their public recognition, communication skills, and charisma to influence public policy and achieve electoral success. While most began as actors and transitioned to politics, some started as politicians and later pursued acting careers.

North America

United States

Actor-politician	Acting career	Party	Office	Year
Clay Aiken	Actor and singer	Democratic	Nominee for	2014
Clay Aiken	Actor and singer	Democratic	Candidate for	2022
Alan Autry	Actor	Independent	Mayor of Fresno, California	2001–2009
Rex Bell	Actor	Republican	Lieutenant Governor of Nevada	1955–1962
Frank Bogert	Actor, rodeo announcer	Republican	Mayor of Palm Springs, California	1958–1966, 1982–1988
Sonny Bono	Actor and singer-songwriter	Republican	Mayor of Palm Springs, California	1988–1992
Sonny Bono	Actor and singer-songwriter	Republican	U.S. Representative -	1995–1998
Kimberlin Brown	Actress	Republican	Candidate for	2018
Marilyn Chambers	Pornographic film actress	Personal Choice Party	Nominee for Vice President	2004
Marilyn Chambers	Pornographic film actress	Boston Tea Party	Alternate write-in candidate to vice-presidential running mate	2008
Wendell Corey	Actor	Republican	Member of the Santa Monica City Council	1965–1968
Wendell Corey	Actor	Republican	Candidate for U.S. Representative	1966
Albert Dekker	Actor	Democratic	Member of the California State Assembly	1945–1947
Cherie DeVille	Pornographic film actress	Democratic	Candidate for President	2020
Bob Dornan	Actor	Republican	U.S. Representative - California 27, 38, 46	1977–1983, 1985–1997
Bob Dornan	Actor	Republican	Candidate for U.S. Senate	1982
Bob Dornan	Actor	Republican	Candidate for President	1996
Helen Gahagan Douglas	Actress in Broadway theatre and film	Democratic	U.S. Representative-	1945–1951
Helen Gahagan Douglas	Actress in Broadway theatre and film	Democratic	Nominee for U.S. Senate	1950
Clint Eastwood	Actor	Republican	Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California	1986–1988
Charles Farrell	Actor		Mayor of Palm Springs, California	1947–1955
Joe Flynn	Actor	Republican	Candidate for the Ohio Senate	1950
Al Franken	Actor and comedian, radio personality	Democratic	U.S. Senator - Minnesota	2009–2018
John Gavin	Actor	Republican	U.S. Ambassador to Mexico	1981–1986
Melissa Gilbert	Actress	Democratic	Candidate for	2016
Vic Gilliam	Part-time actor	Republican	Member of the Oregon House of Representatives	2007–2017
Fred Grandy	Actor, radio personality	Republican	U.S. Representative - Iowa 6 and 5	1987–1995
Fred Grandy	Actor, radio personality	Republican	Candidate for Governor	1996
Hill Harper	Actor ''	Democratic	Candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan	2024
J. G. Hertzler	Actor	Democratic Independent	Ulysses, New York town councillor	2013–2020
J. G. Hertzler	Actor	Democratic Independent	Candidate for	2018
Gil Hill	Actor	Democratic	Member of the Detroit City Council	1990–2001
Gil Hill	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for Mayor of Detroit	2001
Glenn Jacobs	Actor and professional wrestler	Republican	Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee	2018–present
Ben Jones	Actor	Democratic	U.S. Representative -	1989–1993
Jack Kelly	Actor	Republican	Mayor of Huntington Beach, California	1983–1986
Sheila Kuehl	Former child actress	Democratic	California State Assembly	1994–2000
Sheila Kuehl	Former child actress	Democratic	California State Senate	2000–2008
Sheila Kuehl	Former child actress	Democratic	Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors	2014–2022
Nancy Kulp	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for	1984
Sonny Landham	Actor	Republican	Candidate for Governor of Kentucky	2003
Sonny Landham	Actor	Libertarian	Candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky	2008
Al Lewis	Actor	Green	Candidate for Governor of New York	1998
John Davis Lodge	Actor	Republican	U.S. Representative -	1947–1951
John Davis Lodge	Actor	Republican	Governor of Connecticut	1951–1955
Bob Mathias	Actor	Republican	U.S. Representative -	1967–1975
Christopher Mitchum	Actor	Republican	Candidate for California State Assembly	1998
Christopher Mitchum	Actor	Republican	Candidate for	2012, 2014
George Murphy	Actor	Republican	U.S. Senator - California	1965–1971
Diane Neal	Actor	Independent	Candidate for	2018
Cynthia Nixon	Actress	Democratic	Candidate for Governor of New York	2018
Park Overall	Actress	Democratic	Candidate for U.S. Senate in Tennessee	2008
Stephen Peace	Actor and producer	Democratic	California State Assembly	1982–1992
Stephen Peace	Actor and producer	Democratic	California Senate	1993–2002
Richard Petty	Actor, professional racecar driver	Republican	Member of the Randolph County, North Carolina Commission	1978–1994
Richard Petty	Actor, professional racecar driver	Republican	Candidate for Secretary of State of North Carolina	1996
Steven Michael Quezada	Actor	Democratic	Member of the Albuquerque, New Mexico school board	2013–2017
Steven Michael Quezada	Actor	Democratic	Member of the Bernalillo County, New Mexico Commission	2017–2025
Trey Radel	Actor	Republican	U.S. Representative -	2013–2014
Ronald Reagan	Actor	Republican	Governor of California	1967–1975
Ronald Reagan	Actor	Republican	President of the United States	1981–1989
Tex Ritter	Actor and country music singer	Republican	Candidate for U.S. Senate in Tennessee	1970
Will Rogers	Actor	Democratic	Mayor of Beverly Hills, California	1928
Will Rogers Jr.	Actor	Democratic	U.S. Representative -	1943–1944
Antonio Sabàto Jr.	Model and actor	Republican	Candidate for	2018
Ben Savage	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for	2024
Arnold Schwarzenegger	Actor and retired bodybuilder	Republican	Governor of California	2003–2011
Jerry Springer	Actor and talk show host	Democratic	Candidate for	1970
Jerry Springer	Actor and talk show host	Democratic	Member of Cincinnati City Council	1971–1974
Jerry Springer	Actor and talk show host	Democratic	Mayor of Cincinnati	1977–1978
George Takei	Actor	Democratic	Alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention	1972
George Takei	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for Los Angeles City Council	1973
George Takei	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for California State Assembly	1980
Shirley Temple Black	Former child actor	Republican	Candidate for	1967
Shirley Temple Black	Former child actor	Republican	U.S. Ambassador to Ghana	1974–1976
Shirley Temple Black	Former child actor	Republican	U.S. Chief of Protocol	1976–1977
Shirley Temple Black	Former child actor	Republican	U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia	1989–1992
Fred Thompson	Actor	Republican	U.S. Senator - Tennessee	1994–2003
Fred Thompson	Actor	Republican	Candidate for President	2008
Jesse Ventura	Actor and professional wrestler	Independent Reform Independence	Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota	1991–1995
Jesse Ventura	Actor and professional wrestler	Independent Reform Independence	Governor of Minnesota	1999–2003
Ralph Waite	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for	1990
Ralph Waite	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for	1998
Ralph Waite	Actor	Democratic	Candidate for	1998
Noble Willingham	Actor	Republican	Candidate for	2000