place in the sun

Possibly a calque of French place au soleil.[1]

place in the sun (plural places in the sun)

1. (figuratively) A favorable position, characterized by comfort, success, wealth or general well-being.
   • 1908, Laurie Magnus, English literature in the nineteenth century: an essay in criticism, page 32:

     that all conscious or seeming-conscious life is worthy of a place in the sun; that the hodman at his plough, the daisy in the field, and the lover with his lass, are alike a part of Nature's pageant

   • 1992, Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, page 311:

     And beyond the Christian orbit, other religious groups, at first Jews but then others as well, began to claim a place in the sun.

2. (figuratively) Recognition, fame.
   • 1972, Ben Barr Lindsey with Wainwright Evans, The companionate marriage, page 72:

     Jealousy is simply another way of demanding one's place in the sun – or under the domestic spotlight – a place in the center of the stage, as an exclusive object of consideration and attention.

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see place,‎ sun.

• made in the shade
• moment in the sun