Celebrity Divorce: 6 Celebs Who Became More Successful Than Their Exes

6 Celebs Who Did Better Than Their Exes Post-Split
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Let's be honest: after a tough split, what's sweeter revenge than doing better than your ex?

Just ask the celebs in the slideshow below. From the pop star who built a $1 billion fashion empire after divorce, to the soul singer who revived her career with a breakup anthem, these celebs overcame the pitfalls of divorce and came out on top.

Exes Who Became More Successful After Divorce
Jennifer Garner (01 of06)
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Before she was Ben Affleck's better half, Jennifer Garner was married to another actor: Scott Foley, her co-star on the WB drama "Felicity." The couple were on equal footing, fame-wise, when they married in October 2000, but things quickly changed when Garner landed the lead role on ABC's hit "Alias" in 2001. By May 2003, the pair were divorced -- a sad ending that Foley said was a result of Garner's rising success. "Jennifer became a huge celebrity. She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got," the television actor told People, while denying tabloid reports that Garner had cheated on him with her "Alias" co-star Michael Vartan.After divorce, Garner parlayed her success on TV into an equally successful film career and started a family with Affleck, whom she married in June 2005. (credit:Getty/AP)
George Clooney (02 of06)
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Back in 1989, George Clooney married Talia Balsam, an actress who "Mad Men" fans know as Mona Sterling. The pair called it quits in 1993 and a year later, Clooney's career took off after he threw on scrubs and stole America's heart as Dr. Doug Ross on NBC's hit drama, "ER." There's been no stopping him since. In recent years, the Hollywood heavyweight has dabbled in directing, op-ed writing and social activism. Balsam has been married to "Mad Men" co-star John Slattery since 1998. Clooney married lawyer Amal Alamuddin in September 2014. (credit:AP/Getty)
Jessica Simpson (03 of06)
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Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey announced that they were going their separate ways in November 2005. While there are plenty of parallels between the pop stars' personal lives after divorce -- Simpson, 32, gave birth to a baby girl with fiancé Eric Johnson in May, while Lachey is expecting his first child with Vanessa Minillo in September -- it's fair to say that their respective careers took them on wildly different paths. After the split, Simpson launched a successful shoe and clothing line and more recently, served as a judge on NBC's "Fashion Star." Meanwhile, Lachey starred on the reality show "Stars Earn Stripes". (credit:Getty Images )
Alec Baldwin (04 of06)
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When Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger split in January 2001, many figured the actor's famously unruly temper was to blame. The couple's messy custody battle over daughter, Ireland, kept Baldwin's name in the headlines as his career took a nosedive. But Baldwin's career was saved in 2006, when Tina Fey tapped him to play smarmy network exec Jack Doughney on her sitcom "30 Rock." The role, which mined Baldwin's natural knack for comedy, bolstered his career and led to a slew of award noms. (Basinger's career has been mostly stagnant since the split, in spite of the Oscar she won for Best Supporting Actress in 1997, while still married to Baldwin) Today, Baldwin, 54, is married to yoga instructor Hilaria Thomas. (credit:Getty/Alamy)
Jim Carrey (05 of06)
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Jim Carrey was only married to actress Lauren Holly for nine months before Holly filed for divorce in July 1997. The divorce, which came a few months after Carrey scored big at the box office with "Liar Liar," didn't put a damper on Carrey's success. Post-split, the comedian bolstered his box office clout with films like "Bruce Almighty," while endearing himself to critics with his acting in "Eternal Sunshine in the Spotless Mind" and "I Love You Phillip Morris." Post-divorce, Holly's found moderate success in film and television, most notably on the CBS drama "NCIS." (credit:Getty )
Tina Turner (06 of06)
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Tina Turner began her music career with husband Ike Turner as one half of the "Ike & Tina Turner Revue." But behind the scenes, Tina endured Ike's physical and emotional abuse until she fled to Los Angeles with a bruised face and only 36 cents in her pocket one night in 1976. The pair would go on to divorce in March 1978. Tina struggled in the years after the split, living on food stamps and playing small shows at clubs to pay off debts. But in 1979, the singer convinced record promoter Roger Davies into orchestrating a comeback for her. In 1984, Tina released her album, Private Dancer, and had her first number one single with ''What's Love Got to Do With It'' -- a song that became the title of 1993 biopic. Ike's career floundered after the divorce, stunted equally by Turner's revelations about his abusive behavior in her autobiography and an addiction to cocaine he battled up until his death in 2007. (credit:Getty )

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