Actress and liberal activist Cynthia Nixon, who starred as Miranda in the "Sex and the City" television series and movies, announced she would run for governor of New York, challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez 

Real estate mogul and TV personality turned U.S. President Donald Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign after publicly considering it in years past.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

Bodybuilder and action movie superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger served as governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 

Haitian-American hip-hop star Wyclef Jean registered to run in the 2010 presidential elections in Haiti before being disqualified for not meeting residency requirements.

REUTERS/St-Felix Evens 

Actress Stacey Dash, best known for her role in the movie "Clueless", went on to become a Fox commentator and is now running for Congress in California's 44th district in the upcoming November 2018 election.

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri 

First a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live and then a political talk show host, Al Franken went on to become a Democratic senator for Minnesota in 2009 before resigning in 2018 over allegations of sexual harassment.

REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 

Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan went on to serve first as California governor and then as U.S. president from 1981 to 1989.

REUTERS/Mal Langsdon 

Jesse Ventura was a member of the U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team, a professional wrestler and an actor who starred in action movies alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, before serving as governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003.

REUTERS/Eric Miller 

Actor Kal Penn served off and on in the Obama administration as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement from 2009 until 2011.

REUTERS/Eric Thayer 

Child actress Shirley Temple Black ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1967, and was appointed U.S. ambassador to Ghana in 1974 and to Czechoslovakia in 1989.

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni 

Actor Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California, in 1986, before being appointed to the California State Park and Recreation Commission in 2001 under Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni 

Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO, ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate in 2010 and 2012 U.S. Senate races. She was appointed administrator of the Small Business Administration under President Donald Trump.

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts 

Former American Idol singer Clay Aiken ran for U.S. Congress as a Democrat in his home state of North Carolina in 2014, but lost to the Republican incumbent.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 

One half of singing team Sonny and Cher, Sonny Bono was mayor of Palm Springs from 1988 to 1992. He was elected to the House of U.S. Representatives in 1994 and served until his death in 1998.

REUTERS/File 

Before he became a television personality, Jerry Springer was first elected to Cincinnati City Council in 1971 and resigned in 1974 after admitting to hiring a sex worker. He won back his seat in 1975, and served one year as mayor in 1977.

REUTERS/Fred Prouser 

World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao was elected to the Philippines House of Representatives in 2010, and in 2016 was elected as a senator.

REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco 

Best known for his role on Law & Order, Fred Thompson was a U.S. senator for Tennessee from 1994 to 2003, and also ran in the Republican presidential primaries in 2008, ultimately losing to John McCain.

REUTERS/Rick Wilking