Celebrities that inspire

Adapted from Real Buzz

While celebrities can sometimes be a shallow bunch, some A-listers are more inspiring than you may think. Whether they have shown remarkable resilience, fought for what they believed in, or just generally impressed us with their attitude, here are our top seven inspirational celebs.

Kate Winslet
It’s a well known fact that many of us lie about our weight in order to appear more attractive, so it is refreshing to come across a lady so accepting of her body shape as Kate Winslet. In 2003, when GQ magazine retouched photographs of the curvy actress to make her look slimmer, Kate – who claims to be completely comfortable with her body – publicly spoke out against the airbrushing procedure, claiming that she has “no intention” of looking that thin and that women shouldn’t feel that they need to be thin in order to be sexy.

J.K. Rowling
Writing a series of globally best-selling books, helping to spawn a series of award-winning movies and becoming the world's first ever author to become a billionaire is pretty inspiring stuff in itself. However, when you take into account J.K. Rowling's journey to where she is today, it becomes clear what an inspiration the author really is. In 1993, having separated from her husband, been diagnosed with clinical depression, contemplated suicide and found herself jobless with a dependent child, Rowling saw herself as a failure. However, the writer found a determination to succeed – to create a better life for herself and her daughter – which spurred her on to finishing her first novel and achieving worldwide fame and success.

Christina Applegate
When, in 2008, Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer, the actress made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent the cancer from returning – yet her bravery did not stop there. Although Christina admits to feeling upset over the visible reminder of her illness, she inspirationally looks at her health scare as an opportunity to help other women. Since her diagnosis, Christina has continued to battle to help women at risk by founding Right Action for Women, a charitable foundation dedicated to promoting early breast cancer screening.

Eddie Izzard
In 2009, British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard took on the huge challenge of running back-to-back marathons, six days a week, for seven weeks across the UK – with only five weeks of training and no history of running behind him. Eddie, who took on this challenge to raise money for Sport Relief, covered 1,100 miles across the UK and completed an impressive 43 marathons in 51 days. However, challenge completed, Eddie was not ready to rest, and continued to run between shows as well as setting his sights on completing an Ironman Triathlon.

Jessie J
Jessie J burst onto the music scene in 2010 and quickly shot to worldwide fame. However, what many people may not know is that it was Jessie’s health struggles that helped to motivate her success. At the age of 18 the singer, who had been in and out of hospital for years with a heart problem, had a stroke which left her fearing she may never walk or sing again. However, rather than letting it get her down, the experience taught her to value her life. Jessie realised that she didn’t have time to waste and used the experience as motivation to take a risk and realise her dreams.

Britney Spears
We all love a good comeback and in 2008 Britney Spears was voted as the greatest comeback ever for her truly inspirational life and career overhaul. Despite going through an annulment and divorce, losing custody of her children and suffering a mental breakdown in quick succession, Britney showed remarkable strength with her comeback. In an interview with MTV Britney stated, “I've been through a lot... And you just cope, and that's what I do. I just cope with it, every day.'” And with her career back on track, a new fiancé by her side and a slimmed down physique, it seems that the star has bounced back better than ever. Well done Miss Spears!