Gerard Butler

Butler is one of those celebrities that's famous enough to be – list but low enough on the pecking order to avoid excessive attention. Ask anyone who his girlfriend is and chances are they won't know (we didn't until we looked it up).
For the record its just some ex-model called Morgan Brown, but then if he was dating another famous actress chances are the tabloids would be more interested. Also Butler doesn't misbehave or draw attention to himself. In this sense you could argue his fame is well deserved and well measured.
Butler was born in Paisley in Scotland, taken to Canada as a baby but brought back to Scotland by his mother after his parents divorced. He grew up modestly but was a good student even getting into Law school at the university of Glasgow. It was only after his partying genes kicked in and that after he got fired from a junior legal position post studies did he entertain the notion of being an actor. He had a girlfriend in London who happened to be a casting director (bit tacky that bit but its so) and from here he got a succession of theatre leading roles with the Scottish youth theatre (even starring in the stage version of Trainspotting) from here he started spending more time in California trying to get film roles and succeeding in a way that must make 99% of other actors green with envy. From here it lead to the role that defined him as an A list star, 300. A role he seemed born to play and a film that is rare in that once you start watching it you have to stay to the credits role. Sadly he seems so far to be unable to equal that high watermark but what's great about him is that he is still not a tabloid capitalist, he doesn't flaunt his success lounging around on posh boats and getting in and out of fast cars, he gets roles for his on screen charisma not because he's a famous bloke from the tabloids, and for this we forgive him for trash like, PS I Love you.