Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Life
    2. Money and Work

    Your career is actually determined by how many siblings you have

    Who knew?

    By Marie Claire
    Published 12 April 2017 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Who knew?

    Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

    If you've managed to secure your dream job, you probably think that it's all down to you. But you're wrong - you actually have your siblings (or lack of) to thank.

    That's right. All of your favourite authors, all those space-loving astronauts, and even your favourite musicians - the jobs that they've picked for themselves were more likely to be influenced by how many siblings they have, and the order in which they were born.

    We're forever reading about how being the first, middle or youngest child affects various parts of your life, but now a study has revealed that it actually impacts your career path too.

    You may like
    • bright green sticky note reading “I Quit” on a computer keyboard Does Anyone Actually Want to Be the Boss Anymore?
    • Route 66 - Wild horses galloping across dusty desert landscape with roc - TVS.jpg The 30-Something Existential Crisis: How Do You Plan for a Future You’re Afraid Of?
    • Two women at the beach, friends spending the day together Trust Me, I'm a Behavioural Scientist—Friendships Are One of the Most Powerful Yet Overlooked Health Tools

    In order to celebrate National Sibling Day, Disney did some digging into the lives of 500 'successful' participants from 11 different career pools.

    According to the study, the eldest child is more likely to be a rockstar, astronaut or reality TV star. The youngest children are more inclined to pursue careers composing music and exploring.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    And what of the middle children? They're 30% more likely to become a CEO than their brothers or sisters, and up to 66% more likely to be authors.

    An interesting part of the study shows that artists are a staggering 181% more likely to be only children.

    Who knew that siblings weren't just there to pinch you when your mum wasn't looking?

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    bright green sticky note reading “I Quit” on a computer keyboard
    Money and Work Does Anyone Actually Want to Be the Boss Anymore?
    Route 66 - Wild horses galloping across dusty desert landscape with roc - TVS.jpg
    Life The 30-Something Existential Crisis: How Do You Plan for a Future You’re Afraid Of?
     
     
    Two women at the beach, friends spending the day together
    Wellbeing Trust Me, I'm a Behavioural Scientist—Friendships Are One of the Most Powerful Yet Overlooked Health Tools
    Woman organizing documents in cluttered office workspace
    Money and Work Why Are Successful Women Staying in Jobs That Make Us Miserable?
     
     
    Latest in Money and Work
    Reverend Pippa White, author of Not a Priestess: Tales from Beyond the Pulpit, shares her experiences of sexism as a female vicar in the Church of England.
    Money and Work I Thought That When I Became a Vicar, the Sexist Remarks Would Stop—I Couldn’t Have Been More Wrong
    Grace Victory on Letting Go of Ambition
    Money and Work “My Whole Sense of Worth Was Based on What I Could Achieve.” Grace Victory on Her Ambition Epiphany.
     
     
    bright green sticky note reading “I Quit” on a computer keyboard
    Money and Work Does Anyone Actually Want to Be the Boss Anymore?
    Woman organizing documents in cluttered office workspace
    Money and Work Why Are Successful Women Staying in Jobs That Make Us Miserable?
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The best things to do this November
    Culture The Agenda: November Is Looking Good
    Oestrogen skincare
    Skincare Can Oestrogen Really Reverse Skin Ageing? MC Investigates Beauty’s Next Hormonal Frontier
     
     
    Grey Blending hair colour trend
    Hair Grey Blending Is Changing the Way We Colour Our Hair—Here’s Everything You Need to Know
    Chanel shirts
    Fashion How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Shirt?
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.