Too often we forget that celebrities are human. We are blinded by the glamor and glory that defines their profession. We forget that they are just men and women who have chosen to pursue a career in a profession that happens to be one of the most famous in the world. Like all of us, they have to go through the difficult path of toil to achieve their breakthrough. Like us, they have negative experiences that were part of their lives before they found the success they so desperately needed. Some were raised by absent fathers, violent parents, others lost their parents very young and were forced to fend for themselves. Some were also homeless. In this list we take a look
20 Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
1. Chris Pratt
We guess a list like this should start with Chris Pratt, one of the biggest stars on the planet. Right now he’s no bigger than Chris Pratt who is currently the face of two great franchises and a member of a mega-franchise – Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy with the latter making him a part of the greatest world which is the hugely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. Today he is a rich man, but he lived off a van in Maui, Hawaii. At that time, he worked in a restaurant as a waiter, where he met Rae Dawn Chong, who cast him in his first film. The rest, they say, is history.
2.James Cameron
If there is such a thing as a super director, James Cameron would be it. He’s the kind of director that hundreds of superstar actors want to work with at least once in their career. But before he became the famous director of features like the $2 billion box office Avatar , he lived out of his car, trying to sell the scripts to The Terminator. He sold the script for $1 for a chance to direct the movie and again the rest is history.
3. Halle Berry
Yes, the Halle Berry – the almost immortal, Halle Berry, who never ages, was once a homeless person. She had to live in a homeless shelter for a while when she moved to New York to become an actress. Her mother’s refusal to send her money led her to seek refuge in a homeless dwelling. She is a representation of some of the sacrifices actors and actresses have had to make to achieve their dreams.
4. Jim Carrey
The funny man of Hollywood, Jim once lived on the lawn in front of his sister’s house in a tent. Between the tent and a motorhome, Jim Carrey lived his period of homeless young adults after his high school dropout. While it’s certainly not an experience one wishes for a person, Jim credits the experience with helping him develop his sense of humor. If that’s what it would take to get another Jim Carrey, so be it.
5. Daniel Craig – Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
Who would have thought that James Bond had once slept on park benches because he had no accommodation? Before the actor achieved international fame and success, Daniel Craig had to sleep on benches in his early days as an aspiring actor.
6. Chris Gardner
When the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness brought everyone to tears, it was the story of Chris Gardner. The man, who is now a motivational speaker and the CEO of his own company, Gardner Rich LLC, with offices in major cities across America, was once a homeless, single father after his wife abandoned him .
7. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez might be a big name celebrity right now, but before she found success and fame, she paid the price many had to pay to pursue her dreams. She was abandoned by her mother who insisted that she go to college when Lopez wanted to become a dancer. The fight resulted in Jennifer Lopez sleeping on a couch in her dance studio for a few months before she received a dance offer in Europe.
8. Steve Harvey – Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
Steve hosts several shows today, including the Miss Universe pageant, but before the comedian became one of the world’s most popular TV hosts, he lived in his car for three years. That’s right, three years in his 1976 Ford Tempo vehicle before his big chance at the Apollo.
9. Hilary Swank
One of the wholesome tales of poverty on this list -Hilary Swank was homeless alongside her mother, who supported her dream of becoming an actress and moved to California with her. Together they lived in a car during the day and stayed in an empty house at night, which had been lent to them by a friend who was trying to sell the house. But for Hilary, that didn’t change much, she and her mother lived in a trailer park.
10. Sam Worthington
Sam may not be an actor in the biggest blockbusters anymore, at least until James Cameron is done shooting his Avatar movies, but his life before he was cast as Jake Sully in Avatar was roughly that of a homeless man. He lived in his car and slept at night while he attended morning auditions. It now owns a piece of architectural splendor in Hawaii.
11. Shania Twain – Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
With a net worth of over $350 million and recognized as one of the biggest country singers to date, it’s hard to imagine Shania Twain being homeless. For those who could, you probably still wouldn’t match the reality. Shania had to live in homeless shelters and sleep on buses as she tried to fend for her siblings after the loss of their parents in a fatal car accident.
12. Kelly Clarkson
It’s hard enough to pursue a career in the creative sector without a strong safety net, it’s even worse when those challenges are complicated by unfortunate incidents like your apartment burning down and you losing what little you have. Before winning the first edition of American Idol and selling millions of records, Kelly Clarkson lived in her car and in homeless shelters after losing her apartment in a fire.
13. William Shatner
To succeed as an actor, you can’t get more successful than William Shatner, who now boasts a net worth of over $300 million, but that wasn’t always Captain Kirk’s story. When Star Trek William lost his earnings and savings to his wife after a bad divorce. He lived in his truck a few months before Star Trek returned to the airwaves and he became one of Hollywood’s richest actors.
14. Tyler Perry
Even though his films about Tyler Perry’s Madea haveTyler Perry has become one of the richest men in the industry. It has its own film studio which has been used by films like Black Panther. It wasn’t all millions and diamonds for Tyler Perry though. For the first six years of his career, he lived in a homeless shelter, trying to get his work noticed.
15. Sylvester Stallone – Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
Sylvester Stallone is not a man to watch, and I know he’s been homeless before, but it’s just the money power he has now. He may be able to delete physical evidence, but he cannot delete memory. His beginnings in the industry were quite difficult. He was evicted from his apartment due to his inability to pay rent, and he slept on a bench in the New York bus station for three weeks. He is now the face of several popular movies like Rocky, Rambo and The Expendables.
16. Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil)
Dr. Phil seems like a well-prepared man. At least that’s what it is today, but the story was very different. With his father, he lived in a car until they could get a room at the YMCA. Phil went on to earn his psychology degree and credentials and later appeared on Oprah’s talk show, a move that changed his life.
17. Jewel
Next on our list of wealthy celebrities you never knew were once homeless is musician, Jewel. As one of America’s most beloved singers, you’d be surprised to know that Jewel was homeless. Her inability to pay her rent after losing her job got her evicted from her apartment and forced to live in her car. This experience forced her to return to singing, which eventually became her path to success.
18. Beck – Wealthy Celebrities You Never Knew Were Homeless
Beck’s path to stardom has been rocky. His move to New York in search of a musical career plunged him into hunger and homelessness. This continued for a long time, with the musician living hand to mouth until he found success with his single, Loser.
19. Michael Oher
Her story was made into a movie that wowed the world for Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side. Michael Oher was the son of a drug addict; having a mother who lived in public housing and was a drug addict meant he lived on the streets for a long time. His adoption by a wealthy family lifted him out of poverty, which led to him becoming an NFL player for the Baltimore Ravens.
20. Idris Elba
The Man the World Wants to Take Over by Daniel Craig, with James Bond being homeless for a period of his life before being thrown into the pulpit in The Wire as Russell Bell. Idris Elba spent eight weeks in his van, working to keep himself from starving and buying gas to get to auditions. A look at him today suggests that a very long time ago in his life, it’s hard to believe that Idris Elba was one of the wealthy celebrities you didn’t know before.