12 famous people who achieved success at an already mature age

Many of us tend to give up on our dreams because we think we are too old. But no one ever told us what was the deadline for success. Some of our favorite celebrities may look like they were born into the spotlight, but they weren't always as rich and famous as most of us would assume. Look at the people on this list. They are proof that you can pretty much have an amazing career after you turn 30. In fact, some of these people didn't become famous until they were in their 40s and 50s.

12 PHOTOS

1. Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart hasn't always been a media personality. She worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street. But in 1982, she published her first cookbook at 41, and that's when this entrepreneur's career really took off.

2. Samuel L. Jackson.

Samuel L. Jackson has always been interested in art, especially drama. Unfortunately, Jackson had to wait a couple of years to fulfill his dream. In 1994, he landed a role in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. He was 46 years old at the time, but film roles continued to grow.

3. Stan Lee.

Stan Lee has been working with comics since he was 17, but it took some time for his work to be published. He began working at Timely Publications as an assistant and then slowly rose through the ranks of the company. Then, in 1961, he published his first comic when he was 39, and his imagination has blessed us with many iconic characters we love.

4. Billy Bob Thornton.

Like most Hollywood actors, Billy Bob Thornton struggled to break into the film industry. The 1980s were not the best years of Thornton's life. But in 1996 he wrote, directed, and starred in the successful film Sharpened Blade and it caught people's attention. He was 41 and had a great start in life.

5. Colonel Harland Sanders.

Colonel Sanders is the founder of this delicious KFC fried chicken, but he did not immediately become famous. The Colonel went from fireman to insurance salesman. He also practiced law. But then he opened his roadside restaurant in the 1930s and then opened his first franchise restaurant in 1952 when he was 62 years old.

6. Liam Neeson.

Liam Neeson was a truck driver and forklift operator before he hit Hollywood stardom. Neeson tried many professions and even managed to arrange his first acting concert at the age of 25. But he got his big break until he was in his 40s when he starred in the critically acclaimed film Schindler's List.

7. James Gandolfini

Judging by his performance as Tony Soprano, you'd swear James Gandolfini was popular a long time ago. Gandolfini worked as a bartender and eventually became the club's manager. But he didn't land the lead role on the hit TV series The Sopranos until he was 38. But in our hearts he will always be Tony Soprano.

8. Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo wasn't a model citizen when he was younger, but he was destined for greatness. As a child, he struggled with substance abuse and also spent some time behind bars. But when he turned 41, he landed a role in a movie that launched his Hollywood career and got him out of trouble.

9. J.K. Rowling.

It can be said that JK Rowling is the mother of Harry Potter since she is the writer who created it. Rowling juggled divorce, depression, and poverty before she wrote the Harry Potter series. She then wrote the first in a highly successful series of books in 1997. She was only 32 years old, but she had a great start.

10 Steve Carell

Steve Carell looks so comfortable in his Hollywood skin you could swear he's been doing it forever. But he was 43 when he landed the lead role on the hit sitcom The Office.

11. Harrison Ford.

Harrison Ford would have retired as a simple carpenter had he not been recruited to save the galaxy. Ford was not happy with the roles that Hollywood gave him, so he became a carpenter. But then he was offered a role in Star Wars in 1977. He was 35 when he first played Han Solo and Ford has had an amazing career ever since.

12. Sylvester Stallone.

Sylvester Stallone has had a brilliant career over the past few decades, but it has been in a late bloom. Stallone struggled to find a job. He even became homeless. Then his whole life took a turn for the better when he landed the lead role in Rocky at the tender age of 30.