New research shows that Harry Styles was destined to make it big, based on how closely his background matches up to that of those featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 lists over the past five years.

The multi award-winning singer and now actor’s success may have always been in the pipeline, as his education, age, ethnicity and education bear a 57% match to that of the average star accoladed by Forbes – suggesting a predisposition to fame.

The new data-led study, Self-Made Celebs, compiles the average star’s profile – based on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 lists over the last five years – to reveal which of the world’s youngest high-earning celebs best fit the bill, and who beat the odds to reach success.

Styles was found to be one of the closest-matching high-earners aged under 30 of those analysed in the study – but he still trailed behind his female counterparts, with Billie Eilish boasting a massive 95% similarity score, and Ariana Grande proving an 85% match.

He most recently took home a BRIT Award for single Watermelon Sugar, which also saw him win a Grammy back in March. Having first shot to fame after being placed in boyband One Direction on The X-Factor back in 2010, Styles’ career has gone from strength to strength.

The study looked at how similar Styles’ background is to that of the average star profile, which was based on the demographic data behind celebs featured by Forbes on Hollywood & Entertainment, Sports, Social Media and Music categories of historic 30 Under 30 lists.

Interestingly, Styles scored lower than his female counterparts, despite Forbes favouring men more over the last five years – although the study found that the 2021 list showed a higher proportion of women (54%) to men (46%) for the first time.

Peter Bennett Head of Brand Marketing at PlayOJO comments on the study, saying “Although it’s clear that the world’s highest-earning celebrities have put in a lot of hard work to reach their high levels of success, it is intriguing to see what the average star looks like according to Forbes lists.

“Looking at the similarities between young celebrities – such as Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Ariana Grande – and the ideal star profile does raise questions about what factors increase the likelihood of making it big, and whether the average person ever has a fair shot at fame.

“With Forbes lists proving more progressive on year on year, it will be interesting to see whether long-term trends will shift in the same direction, such as a higher proportion of women being featured, a wider spread of locations, and an even ethnicity distribution.”

According to the analysis, the ideal figure highlighted by Forbes is a white American male aged 24-30, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, who – interestingly – is not educated to university level. The most-featured birth month was also revealed to be December.

The study also found that astrology may play a role in determining success, as most people featured on the lists were Tauruses, followed by Cancer, Saggitarius, Aries and Leo.