11 Weird Businesses Hollywood Celebrities Actually Run

7 minute read

Hollywood’s finest might be busy enough with their movie careers, but in their spare time, celebrities—from moms like Jessica Alba to teens like Jaden Smith—make it a priority to invest in some sometimes unexpected secondary gigs, even if it’s not quite in line with their primary showbiz career. Just this week, for instance, Gwyneth Paltrow announced she’ll be opening a health-food restaurant in New York City to go along with her favorite fitness studio. From passion projects like George Clooney’s tequila brand to Jessica Biel’s restaurant for kids, here are a 11 of the stars who are also keen on unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit in ways we might not expect.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Monique Lhuillier Launch Party at goop pop Dallas
Gwyneth Paltrow attends the goop pop Dallas Launch Party in Highland Park Village on November 20, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.Layne Murdoch Jr.—Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow has turned the second stage of her career into a full lifestyle brand. Goop, her website and online retail destination, serves up a curated stock of content on living well in a Paltrow-approved way, and has also extended into an actual commerce branch, with goop-branded beauty products and fashion collaborations. While some of the site’s recommendations have come under fire—from high-class yurts to expensive sex toys—it’s still going strong. Paltrow herself has said she hopes to be able to step away at some point, leaving the brand to thrive independently of her celebrity status.

She’s also expanded to brick-and-mortar beyond just the website, with news in February of a healthy-food restaurant called 3 Green Hearts opening up in the New York City fitness studio of her favorite trainer.

Jaden Smith

Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - August 16, 2016
Jaden Smith carries a bottle of boxed water in August.gotpap/Star Max—Getty Images

Jaden Smith, bona fide Cool Teen, son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, is a burgeoning actor on Netflix’s The Get Down, a rapper, a fashion plate, and he also wants to upgrade your water. Along with his parents, the young entrepreneur got behind a boxed water operation, “Just Water,” the eco-friendly water brand sells for about $.99 a pop at Whole Foods and other commercial distributors. He says the concept was a long time coming: “When I was 11, I told everyone I wanted to make a really sustainable water bottle for humanity,” Jaden explained to New York Magazine.

Jessica Biel

Grand Opening Of Au Fudge, Presented By Amazon Family
Actress Jessica Biel attends the Grand Opening Of Au Fudge, Presented By Amazon Family on March 1, 2016 in West Hollywood, California.Mike Windle—Getty Images for Au Fudge

Actor Jessica Biel—who’s also the mother of a two-year-old with Justin Timberlake—casually launched a kid-friendly restaurant, marketplace, and activities center in March 2016 in West Hollywood. Called Au Fudge, it’s kind of like an upscale Chuck E. Cheese; meant to be a classy cocktail-serving establishment where parents can take their children, and then drop them off with on-site babysitters for an hourly fee while they finish their meal, which could be anything from child-approved grilled cheese sticks with tomato soup to corn lollipops or, for the parents, a classic steak frites. Apparently it’s not been without its challenges, however, as at the start of 2017 Biel admitted that the restaurant isn’t exactly making money.

George Clooney

Casamigos Tequila Founders George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Partner Mike Meldman Celebrate The Launch of Casamigos At Andrea's
LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 09: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Casamigos Tequila founders Rande Gerber and George Clooney celebrate the launch of Casamigos at Andrea's at Encore Las Vegas on January 9, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage)Denise Truscello—WireImage

When George Clooney isn’t spending time on the set of a new movie or at his Lake Como getaway, the actor can sometimes be found taking buddy trips to Mexico with Cindy Crawford’s husband Rande Gerber, conducting research for the duo’s tequila brand, Casamigos—and imbibing their perfect poison. Launched to the public in 2013, the liquor originally was just a private passion project, but has blossomed into a highly successful label. Recently, Gerber told CNBC it’s one of the fastest-growing premium tequila brands in the country; it doubled its sales volume in 2014 and 2015 to rank fifth in the luxury tequila segment, behind major players Avion, Herradura, Don Julio, and category juggernaut Patrón.

Tituss Burgess

Pinot By Tituss Launch Party
Tituss Burgess attends the official launch party for PINOT by Tituss Burgess at the Box NYC on April 5, 2016 in New York City.Walter McBride—Getty Images

Inspired by his own character on the Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, actor Tituss Burgess launched his own line of wine last spring. PINOT by Tituss Burgess (modeled after the provocative rap song and music video, “Peeno Noir,” that’s featured in the first season of the Tina Fey-backed show) is—aptly—of the pinot noir varietal, a tasty red from Santa Barbara County. He added a Pinot Pride and Rosé Pride to his lineup, and seems to dig the wine game. “I’m no sommelier but I know good wine. I know what I would want to drink,” he told PEOPLE.

 

Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba Visits Nordstrom Downtown Seattle To Promote The Honest Company
Actress and Honest Company co-founder Jessica Alba poses for a photo while promoting The Honest Company at Nordstrom Downtown Seattle on August 4, 2016.Mat Hayward—Getty Images

Motherhood led to entrepreneurship for Jessica Alba, whose Honest Company brand of skincare and household products is meant to provide non-toxic, eco-friendly options for traditional products. “I created The Honest Company to help moms and to give all children a better, safer start,” Alba has said. Although not without controversy, the brand that sells everything from safe sunscreens to bipartisan diapers has established itself as a serious presence in the space, recently being courted by major consumer goods player Unilever in a deal worth $1 billion.

Whoopi Goldberg

15th Annual Official Star Trek Convention
Actress Whoopi Goldberg on day 2 of Creation Entertainment's Official Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention at the Rio Hotel & Casino on August 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Albert L. Ortega—Getty Images

Whoopi Goldberg is making a play in the legal marijuana industry with a medical marijuana brand aimed at easing women through menstruation with Whoopi & Maya, created in collaboration with marijuana expert Maya Elisabeth, a line of cannabis-infused body care products and edibles including cacao spread, body rub, and bath soak. Launched in spring of 2016, it’s the first medical marijuana brand to target menstrual cramps specifically. “For me, I feel like if you don’t want to get high high, this is a product specifically just to get rid of discomfort,” Goldberg told Vanity Fair.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg In Concert - Louisville, KY
LOUISVILLE, KY - DECEMBER 19: Snoop Dogg performs during the Puff Puff Pass Tour Part 2 at The Louisville Palace on December 19, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)Stephen J. Cohen—Getty Images

Joining Goldberg in the game is marijuana industry mogul Snoop Dogg, who has taken advantage of the rapidly expanding legal marijuana market in the U.S. to build upon his reputation thanks to his rap career. Now, as the scion behind a line of products called Leafs by Snoop, the founder of a media company called Merry Jane, and a key investor in venture fund Casa Verde, he’s cashing in on the trend.

“As a long-time connoisseur and cannabis expert, I knew it was time to give my people what they wanted—something they can trust,” Snoop told Variety about his multi-faceted foray into the entrepreneurial field.

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson Celebrates the Fabletics Spring Collection
Kate Hudson celebrates the Fabletics Spring Collection on May 1, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images

Best known as an actor (and daughter of the inimitable Goldie Hawn), Kate Hudson has parlayed her workout game into a popular fitness apparel brand. The digial shop Fabletics, launched in 2014, produces budget workout wear like leggings and sports bras through a membership model, and quickly saw triple-digit growth in its first few years. It’s since expanded to include fitness videos and a number of brick-and-mortar retail locations, taking advantage of the parallel rise in workout popularity.

Justin Timberlake

William Rast - Runway - Fall 2010 MBFW
Justin Timberlake (L) and Trace Ayala walk the runway at the William Rast Fall 2010 Fashion Show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Cedar Lake on February 17, 2010.Stefan Gosatti—Getty Images

Everybody’s favorite *NSYNC star and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” singer has come quite a long way from the days of matching boy band outfits: he’s also behind the much more contemporary look of William Rast, a brand of Americana-style denim and leather basics co-founded with his childhood friend, Trace Ayala.

The two guys reference their Memphis roots for the design and feel of the line, which they call a “denim culture brand for the ‘new America,'” and which the pair is re-launching. JT being JT, he features prominently in the brand’s throwback-style ads; perhaps the modeling gig made him nostalgic for his youth posing in group photos.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Brett Ratner Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Actor Dwayne Johnson attends 'Brett Ratner honored with star on the on the Hollywood Walk of Fame' on January 19, 2017 in Hollywood, California.Emma McIntyre—Getty Images

There was a time when, as legend has it, The Rock hit bottom: he had only seven bucks in his pocket. But after turning himself into a pro wrestling sensation, he pivoted to become the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. Not content to stop there, he partnered with Under Armour on Project Rock, launching everything from a gym bag to apparel. (And not satisfied to just sell any old gym bag, he made what he considers the Greatest Bag of All Time, in his humble opinion. Because The Rock doesn’t do anything even close to halfway.)

He also co-founded Seven Bucks Production in 2016, a studio that harnesses his viral popularity (and the popularity of other big YouTubers) to create digital content as well as more traditional projects; sometimes, that includes tell-all videos from the man himself. And that’s how you turn seven bucks into an endless income stream.

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com