The TV Reality Star is one of the United States television industry’s greatest inventions. Just by hiring an attractive person with some personal issues and a desperate desire to be famous you can make a lot of money with virtually no story necessary.

And you thought Seinfeld was the show about nothing? Apparently there were new lows to discover in television entertainment. And we found ‘em! ‘Murica.

This year, 2013, marks another year where TV reality stars remain a part of the public consciousness. There are a few dozen making careers for themselves in everything from Broadway to feature films. Some you want to be proud of. Others…notsomuch.

1. Kim Kardashian

Marrying your baby daddy is no small feat. But when his name is Kanye West it’s an especially impressive achievement. The “Louis Vuitton Don“ is one of the most important musical figures in the world today and could probably have chosen anyone to be his.

That doesn’t matter. She got him. Despite her sex tape history, obnoxious attention-seeking reality tv family, perma-seeking out the attention of a camera while wearing the most scandalous of booty-highlighting outfits and all, she got that ass. And with a 15 karat ring no less? What you know about winning, Charlie Sheen?

2. Tamar Braxton

Tamar Braxton has the comeback story’s comeback story in 2013. Her older sister, Toni Braxton, was a super mega R&B star in the 90’s and early 2000’s. During that time Tamar’s first solo album flopped. How on earth could she ever compare to her sister and become the star she wanted to be?

Since then she’s managed to have a hit TV show with her sisters in “The Braxtons.” Then her 13 years in the works sophomore album hit and hit hard with three singles performing very very well in sales and chart position. She even got another TV show called “‘Real Talk” that just got picked up for another season.

3. Nene Leakes

In 2008, Nene Leakes was part of the original cast of “The Real Housewives Of Atlanta,” part of NBCUniversal’s “The Real Housewives” franchise. But out of all the women featured on all those shows, she has, easily, done far better for herself on the entertainment side than any of them.

She’s had numerous television appearances outside her original show that even culminated in a recurring role on NBC sitcom,”The New Normal.” Even though it was cancelled Nene still managed to earn more television appearances on other shows besides her own (where she now makes $1 million per episode) and even starred in her own spinoff reality feature called, ‘I Dream Of Nene’ where she remarried her ex-husband.

See? A stripper can dream big.

4. Johnny Knoxville

Hey kids, it pays to do all those crazy, dangerous stunts! Just kidding. Don’t you dare. And stay in school.

As for Johnny Knoxville, his feature films with the Jackass crew have always done pretty well in theatres. But his latest film, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grampa” has become a relative monster. Despite costing $15 million to make it’s gone on to gross $128 million worldwide. He’ll have plenty of money to pay for all those surgeries he’ll need after Jackass 4.

5. Carrie Underwood

Don’t call Carrie Underwood just an American Idol winner. She’s become a country music superstar in her own right since then. She’s sold a few million albums now and her latest tour that just ended earned nearly $30 million.

The icing on the cake? This year she was selected to record the opening for Sunday Night Football, taking over for Faith Hill.

6. K. Michelle

Before she was a reality television star, K. Michelle was a singer. No one cared though until she was in “Love And Hiphop: Atlanta.” After co-starring on the reality show, she released an album called ‘Rebellious Soul’ that went on to be a success selling 72,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200.

7. Kristin Cavallari

Since her days on those MTV reality shows she hadn’t really been up to much in the public eye. But she did manage to snag a pretty high-profile boyfriend in Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler. After having their first kid together she actually married her baby daddy and even got pregnant with her second.

8. Paris Hilton

As Kim Kardashian’s star rose and rose and rose…Paris’ disappeared from the face of the earth. But this year she started doing the dj thing pretty big and she even released a single on Lil Wayne’s label, Cash Money Records. It’s a far cry from her earlier days, but it’s a step in getting back a lot of what she’s lost. Maybe she needs to do another sex tape?

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GIANT Life (@giant_life) July 09, 2013