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20 Celebs We Totally Forgot Are Musicians (& Can Actually Do It All)

Nowadays, it's so easy to forget what celebrities are famous for. Hollywood A-Listers consist of actors, musicians, socialites, influencers—every profession imaginable. With all these stars dabbling in so many different avenues as well, their names are synonymous to their brands, causing fans to forget how they achieved to their coveted fame in the first place.

There was a time when Will Smith was known more as a hip-hop star in the early '90s before The Fresh Prince of Bel Air catapulted him into complete Hollywood success as an actor. What about Lindsay Lohan? Most of her prior fans have forgotten her brief stint as a pop singer in the nineties, with songs that brought her more infamy than chart-topping success as they told a telling tale of the real-life family turmoil she was going through at the time.

While some celebs started off as musicians and paved their success through songs before migrating to other talents, others used their fame to explore their vocal or instrumental abilities as hobbies or side projects. Whatever the case may be, take a look below at these 20 Hollywood A-Listers to see which ones actually have musical prowess that they decided to passionately pursue at one point in their professional lives!

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20 Ryan Gosling, Who Plays Music For A Band Under The Pseudonym 'Baby Goose'

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Ryan Gosling made waves back in 2016 when he starred in La La Land, showcasing his vocal chops and piano-playing prowess to the masses. It turns out, he didn't learn all this for the role: he's been musically-inclined for years now. As per Sessions Music, he's actually been an indie musician for years now, playing under the pseudonym "Baby Goose" for a band titled Dead Man's Bones.

A triple threat, Ryan sings, plays guitar, and the piano, as well.

According to Cosmopolitan, the band formed in 2005 when Ryan and his friend Zach Shields met while Ryan was dating Rachel McAdams and Zach was dating her sister, Kayleen.

19 Zooey Deschanel, Who For A While Was Known Better For Her Musical Endeavor, She & Him

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Before becoming she became known as the quirkiest girl in Hollywood, Zooey Deschanel was one half of indie act, She & Him, where she played piano, ukelele, and sang adorably soothing indie folk. The other half of the band was M. Ward on guitar, who noticed Zooey singing in Elf and couldn't believe she never pursued music.

The duo released their first album in 2006 and achieved success both commercially and on the festival circuit, before taking a break to focus on their individual work. According to Consequence of Sound, earlier this year the band released two new songs for the first time in five years for the release of a new compilation EP, Universal Love, which features reworked versions of wedding songs for LGBT couples.

18 Zoe Kravitz, Who Takes After Her Famous Musician Father

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It's no wonder Zoe Kravitz has a musical side project—given her dad is rockstar Lenny Kravitz.

The Mad Max star's passion project is Lolawolf, an R&B electropop act made up of Zoe as the singer and drummer, and producer Jimmy Giannopoulos and James Levy on keyboards.

All Brooklynites, the band operates out of New York. As explained in Cosmopolitan, Zoe spoke to Rolling Stone back in 2014 about her band saying, "With acting, I get employed. It's a job. I have to be places at certain times. Lolawolf is what I choose to do with my free time."

17 Taylor Momsen, Who Formed Her Band During The Height Of 'Gossip Girl'

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Known for playing rebellious Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, Taylor Momsen took the opportunity to bank on her fame to front a rock band called The Pretty Reckless, since 2009. According to Cosmopolitan, she once told Parade back in 2010, "Acting is easy. I've been doing it for so long and I totally love it. But you're playing a character instead of yourself. Music is more personal because you're writing it and you're involved in every step of it." The band has released a steady stream of albums and lets Taylor be herself, drawing influences from Joan Jett and Robert Plant—much unlike her more girly role on the CW show that gave her initial success.

16 Scarlett Johansson, Who With Her Sultry Voice Has Quietly Released Multiple Albums, Too

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Scarlett Johansson's voice is almost as well known as she is in Hollywood, with its husky and alluring appeal. So well known, in fact, that she even loaned it playing an operating system in 2013 film, Her. Parallel to her acting chops, Scarlett has also dabbled in music, having released her debut pop album, Anywhere I Lay My Head back in 2008.

As per Cosmopolitan, she then formed another band in 2015 called The Singles, which was a collaborative group consisting of Este Haim, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan.

"The idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls. I love Grimes. And I love the Bangles. And I love the Go-Gos. I wanted it to be like those bands: ultra pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke."

15 Robert Pattinson, Who Actually Recorded Songs For The 'Twilight' Soundtrack

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Back in the heyday of the Twilight series, a photo surfaced of Robert Pattinson carrying a guitar case. According to Cosmopolitan, fans went wild, and it turns out that the actor actually recorded two songs for the movie's soundtrack, "Never Think" and "Let Me Sign." Definitely more of a musical hobbyist, Robert once told MTV that he'd love to do a concert tour, but isn't as excited as releasing an album. "I'm not particularly interested in releasing it, but I'd like to do some gigs," he said. "I guess the only way to do that is to get an album out."

14 Leighton Meester, Who Had Her Big Singing Break With Cobra Starship

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Another Gossip Girl veteran that turned to singing as a side gig was Leighton Meester, who took a break from playing New York socialite Blair Waldorf to be featured as a guest vocalist on Cobra Starship single, "Good Girls Go Bad," which peaked back in 2009.

During this time she also had the opportunity to collaborate with the likes of Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke, and Clinton Sparks.

Her debut album, Heartstrings, was then released in 2014, and as per Cosmopolitan, she said about its release, "It really represents me. It's sensitive, it's sort of guarded but also open and vulnerable and triumphant."

13 Juliette Lewis, Who Fronted A Band In The Nineties

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Juliette Lewis fronted a successful rock band from 2003 to 2009, calling it Juliette & The Licks, until she decided to form a new one, The New Romantiques, so she could put out a completely different sounding album. As per Cosmopolitan, she explained, "Because this album is so sonically different than anything I’ve done before and captures many flavors of my emotional life and voice, it needed an entirely new name. The guitars are more wild and atmospheric. The groove is dark and deep and allows for a lot of sonic contrasts." Since her brief stint with her new band, she recently got back together with Juliette & The Licks, tweeting this past May that they're back in the studio working on a new album.

12 Jamie Foxx, Who Put Out Five R&B Albums And Collaborated With Kanye, Too

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Most of us remember Jamie Foxx's crooning voice on Kanye West's track "Gold Digger" back in 2005, but what some fans may not remember is that the Oscar-winning actor has also put out five R&B albums to date!

Showing his musical abilities to the masses when he starred as Ray Charles in Ray, the actor definitely puts a value on his singing as much as he does his acting.

In an interview with Men's Journal, he spoke about a vision he had for his perfect collaborative project. “Rihanna will sing the hook, Slash will play the guitar, and Travis Barker will play the drums. That’s the vision, anyway."

11 Paris Hilton, Who Was The Voice Behind One Of Lady Gaga's Favorite Pop Songs

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Before she left The Simple Life to become a successful DJ, Paris Hilton made her brief mark in the music industry as a pop star, releasing her debut album, Paris, in 2006, along with her hit single, "Stars Are Blind," which did remarkably well, becoming a summer anthem globally. According to AXS, the song fared so well that it made it to no. 18 on the Billboard Top 100 chart, with the album peaking at no. 6.

It turns out her industry peers wouldn't forget about it either, since years later in 2009 when Paris interviewed Lady Gaga, the pop icon exclaimed, "I always thought 'Stars Are Blind' is one of the greatest records ever."

10 Jason Schwartzman, Who Had A Highly Successful Solo Musical Stint

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Probably known best for his constant collaborations acting in Wes Anderson movies such as Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, and Isle of Dogs, Jason Schwartzman has also had an incredibly accomplished musical run, too.

Once the drummer of Phantom Planet, the band responsible for The O.C. intro, he then launched a solo project called Coconut Records in 2006 which also did quite well.

The project gained musical contributions by members of Incubus, as well as Zooey Deschanel and Kirsten Dunst. Along with having his songs used in The O.C. yet again under his Coconut Records banner, he also wrote the theme music to HBO show, Bored to Death.

9 Keanu Reeves, Who Even Has A 'Matrix' Inspired Bass Guitar

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Hollywood's resident nice guy Keanu Reeves has been the star of such action films like The Matrix and Point Break but has also been quietly playing bass guitar on the side for a grunge band called DogStar, too. According to Simple Most, the band released two albums from 1996 to 2000 and spent time touring as well.

Just a few years ago, in 2014, Keanu made the Twitter universe break out into chaos when a photo of the actor holding a Matrix-inspired bass guitar went viral. A memento from the movie, perhaps, but we hope the actor regularly jams out on this gem of an instrument!

8 Johnny Depp, Who Surprisingly Played At The Grammys

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Leave it to Johnny Depp, one of coolest film legends of our time, to form a supergroup hard-rock band with equally as reputable music stars. In 2015, Johnny created the Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, releasing one album, and even playing at the Grammys—which certainly is an honor.

The band toured in early 2018 and according to Guitar Player, Johnny is so good at playing the guitar that even Joe Perry asked him for some lessons.

Alice Cooper then went on to explain, “Johnny is one of these guys that just loves that era, and he’s a killer guitar player."

7 Jared Leto, Who Is Probably One Of The Most Successful Musicians-Turned-Actors

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Probably the most successful musician on our list that has juggled both his band and being an actor has been Hollywood elite Jared Leto. Since the late '90s, the Oscar winner has been the lead singer for the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, having released five albums since 2002 and even scoring five Top 10 hits on the Billboard Rock charts. According to MTV, Thirty Seconds to Mars is still making music and releasing albums to this day, even setting a Guinness World Record for playing the most concerts ever in support of a single album, back in 2009 with 300 concerts.

6 Michael Cera, Who Once Even Performed With Weezer

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Adorably quirky Michael Cera once strummed a guitar nerdily and covered the Moldy Peaches in a scene in Juno, but the funnyman is actually quite the talented yet humbled musician. According to Noisey, he even performed with Weezer, adding backing vocals and mandolin to their 2010 album, Hurley.

He quietly released his own album, True That, in 2014 to critical acclaim and cites music as a hobby he enjoys doing with his friends.

"My relationship with it is very much a friendship and a hobby and an outlet for myself. There's no pressure on it. It's one of the most therapeutic things in the world, especially the harmonizing. Singing with other people is so nice."

5 Mandy Moore, Who Was Known Once For Her Late-90s Pop Songs

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Before turning to a very successful acting run, most recently starring in NBC series This Is Us, Mandy Moore was a successful pop star in the late '90s, with her debut single "Candy" resulting in a tour with *NSYNC, opening for the famous boy band.

According to The List, she originally always wanted to be a singer, especially as a child watching the musical Guys and Dolls. Mandy got her first big break in the ultimate, fairytale setting when she was overheard singing by a FedEx delivery person, who then gave her demo to a friend who worked at Sony Music.

4 Queen Latifah, Whose Debut Album Sold Over One Million Copies

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Before becoming the fantastic Oscar-nominated actress that she is today, Queen Latifah also had a highly successful rapping gig, even having won a Grammy award for the single "U.N.I.T.Y." off of her debut album All Hail to the Queen.

According to Biography, Latifah started her music aspirations off young and began singing and rapping in locker rooms at her high school.

In her junior year she formed her first rap group, Ladies Fresh, and made appearances wherever they could. After one more brief stint with another group called Flavor Unit, Latifah went solo, eventually getting signed in 1988 and releasing her debut single.

3 Will Smith, Who Had A Highly Successful Rap Episode In The Late '80s And '90s

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The current millennial generation sees Will Smith as a famous Oscar-nominated Hollywood actor and is probably aware of his Fresh Prince of Bel Air fame where he rapped the show's intro, yet most likely neglects to realize he also had a highly successful rap game in the late '80s and early '90s.

According to Much, Will began his rap journey when he was just 16, meeting DJ Jazzy Jeff at a house party and quickly deciding they would form a hip-hop duo. At the time, their humorous spin on the genre was a fresh take, resulting in some ridicule from their peers, yet their first single, "Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble" went on to be a hit in 1986, causing the duo to become millionaires before they even turned 18.

2 Lindsay Lohan, Who Garnered A Lot Of Publicity For Her Brief Musical Stint

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Lindsay Lohan has had a lot of interesting blips in her professional life and one that people seem to completely forget about is her brief stint as a pop singer in the mid-2000s.

This period, unfortunately, brought more attention to her deteriorating relationship with her father than it did to her music after she released a single about her family turmoils and decided to air it to the masses.

It wasn't all serious, however, as she began her dive into the music industry singing songs for soundtracks of her tween films at the time, such as Herbie: Fully Loaded.

1 Hilary Duff, Who Was A Pop Icon For Teen Girls Everywhere In The Early 2000s

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Getting her first big break acting as the star of Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff also used her fame at the time to try and make a name for herself as a pop singer, releasing her debut album Metamorphosis in 2003 and producing successful hit singles like "So Yesterday," "Come Clean," and "Sweet Sixteen," the last which even became the theme song to MTV reality TV series, My Super Sweet 16, while "Come Clean," was used as the intro to another MTV show at the time, Laguna Beach.

Her time as a pop star also saw her cover some pretty well-known tracks too, such as Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and Madonna's "Material Girl."

Sources: Cosmopolitan, MTV, Men's Journal, The List

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