1. Leighton Meester Was Born In Jail!
image source: showbizcheatsheet.com
Content originally Sourced: Femanin.com
Actress and Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester was actually born in jail, after her mother was thrown behind bars for drug smuggling charges! Leighton was then made to live with her grandmother until her mother had finished serving the rest of her time in jail. That can’t have been easy!
2. Halle Berry Was Broke And Homeless
image source: footwearnews.com
Halle Berry left home at 21 years old to try and find work in New York and fend for herself. Unfortunately, she miscalculated how expensive New York can actually be – and after her parents didn’t bail her out, she ended up living in a homeless shelter to get by! She apparently didn’t speak to her parents for a year, either.
3. Jim Carrey Called A Van Home
image source: thehollywoodreporter.com
When the actor and comedian was only 12, his father lost his job, leaving the family in a difficult circumstance. Carrey dropped out of school to try and support his family. Despite Carry trying to find paying jobs, the family still lost their home and had to live in a van!
4. Celine Dion Lived In A Tiny House – With 12 Siblings!
image source: rollingstone.com
The legendary singer didn’t always have so much money – growing up, she was living in a very low income house (a tiny one at that) with 12 other siblings! Feeding one mouth is hard enough! Dion has labelled her childhood home as a “very, very, very small house”!
5. Shania Twain Was Hungry And Poor
image source: rollingstone.com
The singer grew up in a very violent household, apparently, which also included her and her siblings being neglected and going hungry. To make it worse, when she was 21, her mom and stepdad died in a car accident, leaving her to fend for her siblings. Luckily, her singing talents started earning her money!
6. Kelly Clarkson Had To Use The Gym Shower
image source: people.com
After high school, Kelly Clarkson moved to LA in pursuit of her singing career – but unfortunately before it could happen, her apartment burnt down and she had to live out of her car while using the gym to shower for months. She ended up going on American Idol to try pay the bills – and we all know what happened next!
7. Chris Pratt Shared His Van – With Mice!
image source: cnn.com
Despite his later Hollywood success, Chris Pratt was actually homeless after high school. He ended up going to Maui with a friend, where he couldn’t find a place to live – so they ended up living out of a van! Despite it being less than comfortable, he apparently called it, ‘living the dream’!
8. Demi Moore Was Raised In An Actual Trailer Park
image source: sheknows.com
Actress Demi Moore was not only raised in a trailer park, but raised by an alcoholic mother and stepfather. She was also relocated a bunch of times which meant she was never one place long enough to make friends. She decided to change her luck by dropping out of school and finding a career as model and actress. Needless to say, it worked!
9. Britney Spears Call Her Aunt’s Trailer Her Home
image source: people.com
It was Britney Spears’ aunt who lived in a trailer park, but Spears herself ended up living in her aunt’s trailer due to her parents constant fighting and screaming matches. In the end, though, despite not being able to pay the bills, her parents still tried to support her financially on her quest to become a singer.
10. Tom Cruise Grew Up In Poverty
image source: foxnews.com
Actor Tom Cruise had a bully of a father growing up, leading to his parents divorce. He then lived in poverty with his single mother having to constantly be on the move to try and find work. Whilst struggling with poor living, Cruise dropped out of school to try and make it as an actor – and the rest is history!
11. Eminem Not Only Lived In A Trailer – But He Was Evicted!
image source: bbc.com
Eminem lived in poverty in a trailer park with his mom and brother – and his rough upbringing is nothing new to fans of his, as the rapper has openly spoke about it in music and film. Before Eminem could find a job at 15, they were evicted from the trailer. Luckily, his fortunes changed!
12. William Shatner Lived Out The Back Of His Truck!
image source: deadline.com
William Shatner is an acting legend, but did you know Captain Kirk once lived in the back of his truck with a hard shell pulled over him? More shocking is the fact that poverty hit him after his role in Star Trek! He ended up going through a divorce and losing the money he’d earned.
13. Sam Worthington Lived In His Car
image source: foxnews.com
Before the success of Avatar and his other movies, Sam Worthington would have to couch surf and live out of his car while trying to find auditions. He also had to sell everything he owned while living in poverty, trying to find his big break. Despite sounding difficult, he actually always thought of himself as something of a nomad anyway!
14. Hilary Swank Lived In A Trailer Park
image source: foxnews.com
Actress Hilary Swank grew up in a trailer park, and was bullied for it before dropping out of school. When she wanted to pursue acting, her poor mother tried her best to support her – and the pair ended up living out of her mother’s car while Swank attended auditions.
15. Sarah Jessica Parker Was Almost In Poverty With 7 Siblings
image source: forbes.com
After her mother remarried, Sarah Jessica Parker was in a struggling household with 7 other children – far from the rich lifestyle of her Sex and the City character! Despite her family’s struggles, she managed to find acting work at a very young age which kickstarted her career – and steady income!
16. Tyler Perry: Homeless And Living Out Of His Tiny Car
image source: afrotech.com
Writer and actor Tyler Perry once went broke when he was trying to fund a new play – but he didn’t let that stop him. He ended up living in his tiny car for six years when he went homeless! To make it worse, he’s a very tall guy and the car was a Geo Metro!
17. Ryan Gosling Lived In A Trailer Park When He Was Young
image source: today.com
Ryan Gosling not only grew up in poverty, but he was bullied and friendless. He was the one who had to support his mother and help her with the bills. While he caught a break acting in the Mickey Mouse Club, he still had to live in a trailer park because his acting check was the only one to pay the bills!
18. Debbie Reynolds Was Homeless
image source: people.com
Singin’ in the Rain star and mother of Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds actually became homeless when her career had already taken off! After her second husband lost all of the money gambling, she almost became bankrupt and actually had to live out of her car for a while.
19. Erin Moran Was Actually Kicked Out Of A Trailer Park!
image source: 10news.com
Actress from Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi, Erin Moran not only lived in a trailer park – but was kicked out! She’d originally been evicted from her home in California after she’d already become a famous actress, and had to move into her mother’s trailer. She was then kicked out for misbehavior!
20. Jewel Kilcher Lived Out Of A Van Whilst Trying To Find Work
image source: nickiswift.com
American singer Jewel Kilcher grew up in a house without plumbing with an abusive father. She ran away from home at 18 and was forced to live out of her van for a year while trying to find gig work and plug her music. She was eventually signed for a record deal and the van-life was over!
21. Danny Bonaduce Turned To Drugs And Became Homeless
image source: entertainmenttonight.com
After starring in the American sitcom The Partridge Family as a child, actor Danny Bonaduce hit some financial trouble. He moved out of his parents house at 15 and lived out of his car, turning to drugs and also signing autographs for his fans based on where he parked his car!
22. James Cameron Was Living In His Car Writing The Script For Terminator
image source: deadline.com
Now a legendary movie name, filmmaker James Cameron is also a rags to riches story. He was living in his car while trying to make his filmmaking dreams come true! He ended up selling the rights to Terminator for only a dollar, on the condition that he could direct the movie! Wise choice.
23. Jennifer Lopez Slept In Her Dance Studio Without A Home
image source: glamour.co.uk
When J-Lo was trying to pursue her career dreams, her mom was less than supportive. A teen Jennifer would sleep in her dance studio instead of returning home to her mother who wanted her to go to college instead! J-Lo chose to be homeless in order to get the career she wanted.
24. Sylvester Stallone Was So Broke He Had To Sell His Dog
image source: abcnews.com
Any dog owner can’t imagine a life without their best friend, so imagine having to actually sell your dog because you’re that broke! That’s exactly what Rocky star Sylvester Stallone had to do – but don’t worry, it has a happy ending. After finding success with Rocky, Stallone managed to buy his dog back – with interest!
25. Drew Carey Lived In His Car For Almost 2 Years!
image source: nationaltoday.com
American comedian Drew Carey had big dreams about landing a spot on The Tonight Show – but while he was waiting, he ended up living out of his car for a year and a half until he finally got the call to go on the show! After his successful appearance, his career kicked off – and he had money to burn.
26. Oprah Winfrey Was Born In Poverty
image source: theguardian.com
Now one of the most influential women in the world, Oprah didn’t start out that way. She was born into poverty, raised by her grandmother and even struggled against sexual assault after being taken advantage of by her cousin. Eventually, she managed to attend school and start work in journalism to climb that ladder.
27. Steve Harvey Lived In His Car – And Didn’t Have Enough Money To Run It
image source: entertainmentweekly.com
Before he became a successful comedian, Steve Harvey was forced to live in his car with no money. To make matters worse, he actually had to steal gas in order to run it! He later admitted it’s something he’s not proud of! He now has a net worth in the 100 millions (we hope he paid it back to the gas stations!).
28. Colonel Sanders Sold Chicken From The Back Of His Car!
image source: businessinsider.com
Sounds a bit dodgy when you put it like that, but yes even fast food legends struggled at one point! Colonel Sanders was living and working from his car before KFC hit the big time. Sanders was 65 when he almost gave up but then decided to turn his life around to sell chicken!
29. John Paul DeJoria Lived In His Car And Sold Shampoo
image source: cnbc.com
Long before he became famous in Hollywood movies, actor John Paul DeJoria was actually living in his car whilst he tried to make a buck selling shampoo door-to-door. Funnily enough, he went on to create a successful haircare company as well as his acting credentials!
30. Jim Cramer Was A Working Homeless
image source: njmonthly.com
Actor Jim Cramer has been known for his roles in shows like Mad Money and Arrested Development – but it wasn’t all rosy for this actor. Before he had a secure way to pay his rent, he was living out of his car while he tried to find work in Hollywood – which he eventually did
31. Leonardo DiCaprio was raised in an area of drugs and prostitution
image source: reddit
Iconic Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio hasn’t always known fame and riches. He grew up in an area which he refers to as ‘Scumsville’ which is a neighbourhood in Los Angeles. He grew up extremely poor and his surroundings exposed him to things many children shouldn’t witness such as prostitution rings working on his street, as well as countless drug deals.
32. Nicki Minaj struggled through her childhood
image source: reddit
Nikki Minaj grew up facing and battling poverty. She was so poor she would pray for fame just so that she could provide for her mother. She had a very difficult childhood which she refers to now in her world famous rap songs, using her background to inspire her present lyrics.
33. Novak Djokovic lived through two wars as a child
image source: reddit
Novak Djokovic and his family lived in Belgrade through two wars. Having to survive to live was something he grew up with. His poverty stricken family struggled greatly make ends meet. Djokovic journaled to get through his hard past. In the end, it was tennis that gave him a way out.
34. Sean Combs grew up in poverty
image source: CNN
Combs quickly became one of the most successful rappers ever and he now has a net worth of around $1 million. But growing up, he was looked after by his mother who found it very hard to put a meal on the table every day and she was even too poor to buy her son sneakers.
35. Camila Alves grew up as a struggling Brazilian Immigrant in the USA
image source: reddit
Camilla Alves (Brazilian model) hard a hard upbringing. When she was 15 when she and her family moved from Brazil to the US where they found themselves struggling greatly. She would work any minimum pay job just to try and help her family scrape by and get enough money to live and eat. Now, life could not look any more different for her.
36. Arnold Schwarzenegger grew up in a town with hunger riots and no plumbing
image source: reddit
When Arnold Schwarzenegger grew up in a town alongside his family who struggled for food. The streets of his town were full of hunger riots from people who were going hungry and starving. His home had no plumbing and the family didn’t even own a phone. Now, he’s one of the most successful action stars of all time, worth a whopping newt worth of $400 million.
37. Joaquin Phoenix was dragged from place to place as a child
image source: hollywoodreporter
Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix had a very disjointed and uprooted childhood. He lived with his family who were a keen part of the cult ‘children of God’, and so he grew up inside the cult. With the group, the travelled all around South America. He had no stability as a child and didn’t know where to call home.
38. Billy Bob Thornton grew up with nothing to his name!
image source: reddit
Famous musician, actor and filmmaker Billy Bob Thornton grew up with absolutely nothing in a poor, rural town in Arkansas. His family could barely afford food, and at Christmas as a child he would wait for a rock and a stick in his Christmas stocking each year.
39. Selena Gomez’s 16 year old mother had to work 7 jobs to keep her
image source: reddit
Selena Gomez’s mother had her when she was just 16. Her mother had nothing to her name and she had to fight to keep her, working several jobs just so that she could provide for her baby. Gomez revealed that dinner was often spaghetti from the dollar store
40. Snoop Dog grew up around drugs and violence
image source: reddit
Snoop dog was solely raised by his mother after his father left his family. Snoop was jut a few months old at the time. He grew up East Side of Long Beach in Southern California which was rife with crime. Snoop Dog tried to tried to help out selling candy as a kid and doing newspaper deliveries to help his mother scrape by.
41. Mark Wahlberg grew up in a broken home with 9 siblings
image source: ustime
Experienced actor Mark Wahlberg has had an extremely turbulent past. He grew up in poverty, living in a small home with 9 other siblings. He sold and took drugs and he was involved in several assaults and even an attempted murder charge. Thankfully he turned his life around and found success.
42. Mila Kunis had nothing as a child
image source: reddit
Mila Kunis, now a famous Hollywood actress, was an immigrant from Ukraine who escaped to the US when the Soviet Union collapsed. She grew up knowing what it was like to struggle and come from nothing. She started her acting career at the age of 14, which helped her out of poverty.
43. Dolly Parton slept on a bed of straw alongside her 12 siblings
image source: reddit
Dolly Parton (one of the most famous and successful country singers ever) grew up in a family with 12 siblings – things were tough. She and her siblings slept side by side on a bed of straw, and the house had no running water, gas or electricity. Partially for this reason, to escape the struggle, she started to perform when she was 12 years old and never looked back.
44. J.K Rowling had public assistance when raising her daughter
image source: reddit
JK Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter series experienced extreme hardship before she wrote and published her novels. She was in an abusive relationship, and when she had her daughter she escaped to England as poor as can possibly be. She had public assistance to help her, until she created one of the most successful series’ of all time.
45. Ralph Lauren, from rags to riches
image source: reddit
Ralph Lauren grew up in poverty alongside his family. Things were extremely tough and he revealed in an interview that would watch movies as a form of escapism which he believes triggered his passion for creativity, fashion and design that led to his creating and owning one of the most successful brand in the world.
46. Jay-Z grew up surviving the streets
image source: reddit
Jay-Z reveals parts of his turbulent childhood in his rap lyrics. He grew up in Brooklyn’s public housing projects, selling drugs to try and evade poverty. He says that he was motivated by survival, getting out of his situation and being able to buy clothes.
47. Mike Tyson was driven by poverty and had been arrested 40 times by 12 years old
image source: reddit
Mike Tyson, like many famous boxers, was inspired to start due to the hardships and struggles of his past. He grew up in poverty, surrounded by a world of drugs and dangerous gangs. Boxing helped him escape this, and eventually it led to his world wide success.
48. Shia LeBeouf was starving as a child
image source: reddit
Shia LeBeouf grew up with his artist parents who never reached success. They continued to struggle in their career’s trying to find recognition but failing to do so. The family grew up in complete and utter poverty. He started his own career of comedy at 10 to try and escape his desperate situation.
49. Miranda Lambert was homeless as a child
image source: reddit
Miranda Lambert is now a successful American singer. During her childhood, Miranda Lambert’s family had a business which went bust due to the 1980s Texas Oil Bust. She became homeless temporarily when the family lost their home, after this until she moved in with her uncle.
50. Cristiano Ronaldo grew up cleaning streets for money
image source: reddit
Cristiano Ronaldo grew up on the the island of Madeira in Portugal, extremely poor. To make ends meet, he grew up cleaning the streets for money alongside his family. His mother worked numerous hours to be able to buy his first boot, she now continues to live in his home as he wants to repay her sacrifices.
