They may have made it big, but these 5 celebrities have made plenty of sacrifices to get where they are today. Focusing on their careers has meant giving up on things that simply can’t be replaced – love, friends and childhood experiences. Most say it was worth it, while others aren’t so sure, but are still happy they are fortunate enough to have a great job. Marriages have fallen apart, friendships have gone neglected and love has been pushed to the side, as these ambitious and dedicated stars put their career before anything else.
Beyonce
Beyonce left school at a young age and felt that she didn’t get a chance to make friends when she was young because of her career: “Socially I did miss out. I left school at 14 and had a tutor. I was never exposed to people long enough to make friends so my family became my friends. Very early on, my mom was telling me to be who I wanted to be. So I wanted to be a hair stylist for a while, then a dance teacher. When I was seven, I performed on stage for the first time and fell in love with the feeling. I was awkward around other kids but felt comfortable on the stage. I said to my mom, ‘There is no way this will work but I am going to be a singer.’ I was in a group, aged nine, and my dad, Matthew, left his job to manage us.”
Natalie Imbruglia
When she first married her musician boyfriend Daniel Johns, Natalie realized their marriage would have to come second to both of their careers. The couple later split in 2008: “I’m so committed to my music that I have to be here and my husband’s the same with his music and Australia. So we have an understanding. It goes without saying that we’d never stand in each other’s way. We talk on the phone all the time… I phone him whenever I can find him or he can find me. We just do the best we can. We can do this for the next few years. We know we won’t do it forever. If push came to shove, obviously my priority would be with Dan. But because we’ve never lived in the same country, this is what we know. It’s not like we got married and then we had to live apart. It’s always been like this.”
Hilary Duff
Hilary feels that she missed out on a regular childhood but believes it was worth it for her career: “I do feel like I’ve missed out on some of that typical growing-up stuff, but then I can do a lot of things that most people my age never could. And right now my friends are worrying about what to do in the future, while I’ve already got the career of my dreams.”
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga misses out on having a steady relationship because she is so work-orientated: “My greatest sacrifice is love. I’ve only ever been in love once, and I had to walk away because I had to put my career first. He wanted me to stay at home and be with him; I wanted to be out there trying to make it on stage. It was a huge lesson for me, but it’s also a source of sadness. God gave me a gift with music, but if you have gifts you also have weaknesses. My weakness is not being able to make relationships work.”
Dolly Parton
Dolly has no regrets but did miss out on having children because of her singing career: “I wanted to make music in my career because I wanted to travel and have clothes and things for my people. People always ask me if it’s worth what I’ve sacrificed and it absolutely is. I’ve gone through a lot. You give up a lot to make it and I did but I don’t have any regrets. I would have liked to have had children but it wasn’t meant to be.”
