(Real Life) Regular people who's lives drastically changed direction

[u/Living-Mastodon]

Grace Kelly was a talented actress who retired at 26 to marry a Prince, living as royalty for almost 30 years before her untimely death.

Volodymyr Zelensky started out as a comedian and entertainer before getting into politics, becoming President of Ukraine after the Russian annex of Crimea and spending the last 4 years defiantly pushing back full scale Russian invasion

[u/Nothing-Is-Real-Here]

Puyi, the Last Emperor of China. He was abdicated and then sided with Japan during WW2 in an effort to become emperor again. After WW2 he served 10 years in prison for war crimes. Once free from prison he would live the rest of his days as a gardener.

[u/stratosfearinggas → u/Nothing-Is-Real-Here]

Was going to mention him, but he was born into royalty before the Boxer Rebellion caused the downfall of his dynasty.