10 Celebrities Who Were Once Homeless

The path to stardom can be difficult and often requires sacrifices in order for one to achieve success. Many popular Hollywood celebrities had to work hard and give up many things to get where they are now. The starting point for many actors, singers, and other showbiz people has been challenging, so much so that many of them didn’t even have a place to stay. However, with strong willpower and perseverance, they managed to go through hardships and make their dreams come true.

Here is the list of celebrities who had very humble beginnings but are now enjoying their success

1. Halle Berry

Halle Berry said in one of her interviews that she wasn’t so into acting when she was a young girl. She discovered her passion for the stage somewhat by accident. When she was 18 years old and living in Chicago, Halle worked as a model. Since she would often find herself bored on the weekends, so she decided to start taking acting classes to keep herself occupied.

It was her teacher who encouraged her to study acting seriously since she believed Halle had a talent for it. Berry then decided to move to New York and pursue her acting career. However, she would soon learn that New York is a pricy place to live in as she was evicted from her apartment and ended up in a homeless shelter. Halle said that at that point, she was sure she would find a way to figure things out and that giving up was never an option. That was proven to be accurate as she’s become one of the most successful actresses and has won both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. An interesting fact about Halle is that she played a homeless woman in the movie Jungle Fever.

2. Daniel Craig

When it was announced that Daniel Craig would play agent 007 in Casino Royale, many people were doubtful, since the actor doesn’t have a Bondish appearance, as opposed to Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan. Some people were so dissatisfied in thinking Daniel wouldn’t fit into the role that they even organized campaigns and protests to boycott the movie. Craig was also very reluctant to accept the role at the beginning, he was unsure and would often ask his friends for advice. Despite the hesitation, Craig eventually dove into the character, brought a new depth to it, and achieved worldwide recognition.

However, what most people are not familiar with is that Daniel wasn’t so fortunate before he managed to climb the ladder of success. In his early acting years, he attended the National Youth Theater in London and had to work in restaurants in order to provide for himself. As a struggling actor, he would occasionally sleep on park benches before he made his way to the top of the game.

3. Carmen Electra

Carmen started her career as a dancer, but she also tried herself as an actress, model, and singer. She also often organizes fundraisers and supports many charities. However, before reaching her breakthrough in the drama series Baywatch and moving to Los Angeles, her life wasn’t so glamorous.

While living in Hollywood, she would have ups and downs and at one point she ended up without a place to stay. At that moment, she only had some small change in her pocket and was desperate. However, she wasn’t ready to give up, so she reached out to her choreographer who helped her find a publicist and a manager. Carmen would then go on every audition she could and eventually, all of her work paid off when she starred in Baywatch.

4. Steve Harvey

Steve Harvey didn’t come from a wealthy family, but from a young age, he knew he wanted to be on TV. To make this dream come true, he did various jobs including doing auto work, cleaning carpets, and selling insurance. However, the ’80s would turn out to be a very challenging time for him, as he spent 3 years living on the streets.

Harvey stated in one of his interviews that it was crushing for him because he felt he had no one and nothing. He knew he wanted to be on stage and make people laugh and his big break finally happened in 1990 when he had a televised gig at the Apollo. Success followed later on, and Steve became one of the most recognizable TV personalities.

5. Steve Jobs

One of the most famous entrepreneurs and a co-founder of the Apple company struggled during his college years. He was attending Reed College but decided to drop out after the first semester. In one of his speeches, he said that spending all of his parents’ money on education seemed meaningless to him, and in this way, he felt he could pursue what he really wanted.

Steve continued going to classes that interested him, like calligraphy but had to sleep on the floor of his friend’s dorm room because he didn’t have his own room anymore. Steve also collected Coke bottles which he would later return in exchange for money, and would get a free meal at the local temple once a week. All of that would be proven to be fruitful later on, as he introduced multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts in Mac, which he wouldn’t have known about if it hadn’t been for the calligraphy course.

6. Jennifer Lopez

JLo also had very humble beginnings. At one point, her only place to stay was a sofa in a dance studio where she was rehearsing. She was an 18-year-old at the time and she had a clear picture of what she wanted to do in her life. However, her mom didn’t agree — she wanted her daughter to attend college and get a formal education.

Jennifer eventually moved out of the family home and went to New York to try and pursue her dancing career. She was practically homeless during that period. However, with her troupe, she traveled to Europe on tour, and after getting back to the United States, the job offers started to pour in. Eventually, she got into the acting world too, and has experienced raging success.

7. Sylvester Stallone

Stallone has faced many troubles from a young age. His mother had a difficult labor with him and during his birth, the obstetricians didn’t use their equipment properly and accidentally cut a nerve which caused paralysis in parts of Sylvester’s face. He was often bullied at school because of the way he looked and talked, but later in his life, that would end up being something that would make him completely unique in the acting world.

Until he got the chance to earn success in the entertainment industry, Stallone struggled financially. He didn’t have a place to stay, he would sleep at the bus station, and things were so bad that it even got to the point that he had to sell his dog in order to survive. Then, after a while, things started to look up: Stallone’s breakthrough movie Rocky took off, and he was earning more money. He went back to the man he sold his dog to, got his pet back, and the whole story had a happy ending.

8. Hilary Swank

Hillary Swank has won numerous accolades and starred in many masterpieces like The Next Karate Kid, Boys Don’t Cry, and Million Dollar Baby. However, her beginnings weren’t paved with roses. When she was 15, her parents decided to separate, which prompted her mother to suggest they should move to California. Hilary agreed with her mom, and soon, the 2 of them would hit the road with only $75 in their pockets.

Even though life was hard for them at that time, Swank’s mother was always encouraging her daughter to be an actress. She saw her talent and would say that Hollywood needs to see it too. During that period, they would sleep in their car. Then, one of their friends, who was selling their house, let them stay and sleep on the floor, since there was no furniture inside. After a couple of months, Hilary was finally starting to land parts and earn money, until her career reached a turning point, as she was cast for a part in Beverly Hills 90210.

9. Kelly Clarkson

The singer and songwriter tried to make her breakthrough in 2001 when she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. Kelly knocked on every door she could find, but luck wasn’t on her side, as she was turned down by almost every U.S. record label. It got even worse when her apartment burned down, and she had to sleep in her car for a few days. A lack of work opportunities forced her to quit her dream, and she went back to her hometown.

However, it seemed that some dreams were just meant to happen. She was encouraged by her friend to audition for the inaugural season of the reality television series American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, and she won. Clarkson would later sign contracts with different record labels. Kelly stated that she felt like she didn’t have any other option since she had nothing to her name, not even clothes, and that is what pushed her to fight for her success.

10. Jim Carrey

The famous comedian is known for his slapstick performances and skillful impressions which is how he gained success in many movies. Unfortunately, his family had many financial issues when Jim was a teenager, which caused them all to be homeless at one point. Things started to improve after some time: his dad found a job and Jim and John started working as janitors.

At the age of 16, Jim decided to stop attending school and started pursuing his comedy career. Carrey would later gain worldwide recognition in the ’90s. Comedy had a great effect on Jim and when asked about his early years as a struggling comedian and his family’s financial issues, he would often jokingly say: “My father lost his job and I actually became homeless for quite some time. Of course, I grew up in Canada so I thought we had just gone camping.”

Do you think the lives of these celebrities were indeed hard? Do you know any other celebrities who were homeless or had a very humble beginning?