Top 10 Celebs That Try Way Too Hard to Stay in the News

These are odd times, when doing the most natural of things – giving birth – is enough to make someone famous. At the age of 16, Farrah Abraham found herself pregnant, before the child's father passed away in a car accident. Abraham then found herself on MTV's 16 and Pregnant, and would follow this up with appearances on Teen Mom and Couples Therapy. The reality star even used her limited fame to launch a music career, releasing her debut album to largely negative reviews. Farrah’s most notorious attempt to stay relevant, however, has to be her tapes with adult entertainer James Deen.

Going from Playboy model to the face of anti-vaxxers everywhere, Jenny McCarthy has come a pretty long way. Named 1994's Playmate of the Year, the model quickly found her way onto TV shows, Wrestlemania, and eventually, her own self-titled sitcom. At first, McCarthy's career seemed destined to fizzle out with a series of Razzie-nominated movies, but her controversial stance on vaccines and autism established the actress as a public figure. But, with appearances in two reality series alongside husband Donnie Wahlberg, Jenny McCarthy seems to be here to stay for the long haul.

Say what you want about this former Playboy model; she was once a trendsetter. The magazine's first ever Asian Cyber Girl of the Month, Tila Nguyen's Myspace presence served as a precursor to the hundreds of models currently entrenched on Instagram. Tila's career plummeted, however, after a two-year stint on MTV and a handful of failed musical projects, leading the model to the adult film industry. Nowadays, Tequila is mostly known for her rather offensive theories, including a blog post entitled ‘Why I Sympathize with Hitler: Part I.’ Thankfully, Part 2 has yet to emerge.

Making ends meet is hard enough without having eight mouths to feed. Kate and Jon Gosselin rose to prominence when TLC packaged the couple's life as parents to twins and a set of sextuplets as Jon and Kate Plus 8. But when the couple called it quits, Kate was determined to maintain her fame and the series was rebranded Kate Plus 8. While Jon occasionally pops up in an interview to bash his ex-wife, Kate kept busy by publishing four non-fiction books and competing on shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Apprentice.

What happened to Louis Anthony Stevens? Can we have that version of Shia LaBeouf back? Even Transformers-era Shia would be an upgrade over the LaBeouf we have today. A once-promising up-and-comer, Shia garnered a reputation as a difficult actor to work with, as well as being the center of a few loud outbursts. Arrested twice for disorderly conduct, and accused of plagiarism, the celebrity tried expressing himself via performance art, including spending six days under a paper bag at a Los Angeles gallery. But with his recent movies generally receiving good reviews, maybe it's time for Shia to start re-focusing on his career.

Describing the 'Like a Virgin' singer as a celebrity is practically selling her short. Madonna's fame and allure are light-years beyond other pop stars and actresses that have come, gone, or stayed. Constantly reinventing herself, there’s no era that Madonna can’t find a way to make her own. Critics might lambaste the singer for refusing to act her age, but – even when chasing trends – Madonna still comes across as authentic. Taking a risque selfie to get people to vote for Hilary Clinton is obviously a publicity stunt, but yet still a very Madonna thing to do. Nobody attracts controversy like the Queen of Pop.

With a once-promising career, Lohan quickly became a cautionary tale for any teenager looking to make it in Hollywood. Turning in critically acclaimed performances in The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, and Mean Girls; Lindsay Lohan was the perfect girl next door. Things took a turn for the worse when a studio executive labeled the actress as unprofessional due to her partying lifestyle, and Lohan was arrested several times for drunk driving. With barely any films on the horizon, Lohan temporarily broke the Internet after coming out in defense of accused sexual assaulter Harvey Weinstein, on the grounds that he never did anything to her.

These two were made for each other. Heidi Montag piggybacked her way into fame by appearing alongside Lauren Conrad on MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills. Initially best friends, their relationship turned nasty after Montag started dating Spencer Pratt, who spread a rumor that Conrad had one of those tapes. From comparing the cancellation of The Hills to 9/11 and putting themselves on the same level as the Obamas, this power couple knows how to manipulate the media to ensure they remain in the spotlight. “Speidi” even pretended to be getting a divorce to conjure up some publicity AND it worked, which is almost impressive.

There’s being born with a silver spoon, and then there’s Paris Hilton. As the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, Paris' public presence skyrocketed due to the infamous 1 Night in Paris tape. Landing her own reality show, Hilton played up the part of the stereotypical dumb blonde archetype and ranked in FHM and Maxim's 100 sexiest women polls for consecutive years. For a while, Paris was inescapable; appearing in multiple movies, TV series, and even attempting a music career. But after failed reality show, The World According to Paris, the socialite has largely stayed out of the spotlight - though who knows how long that’ll last.



Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.



Courtney Stodden



The Cast of "Jersey Shore"



Stacey Dash

No other family defines the modern age like the Kardashians. Hardly strangers to the celebrity lifestyle, the Kardashian empire shot through the roof and splashed into the mainstream due to Kim's leaked tape with Ray J, soon followed by the family's reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Kim and half-sister Kylie Jenner's social media activities helped popularize selfies, with a seemingly never-ending flow of photos documenting their day. The family has fostered a reputation for manipulating events and people to conjure up more publicity, including staging scenes on the show in the lead-up to Kim and Kris Humphries' divorce – tactics that, sadly, seem to work.