10+ People Share What Celebrities Were Like Before They Got Famous

Social media platforms have allowed us to know a bit more about our favorite celebrities, as many of them now share details of their daily lives on their personal accounts. However, these online communities have also been a way for us to read about what famous stars were like before being in the spotlight.

In this article, we’ve compiled the stories of 10+ people who had the chance to learn a bit more about certain celebrities before they reached fame.

• “I live in the town where Dolly Parton grew up. Everyone has their story of the time they met her. Regardless of who you talk to, Dolly has always been sweet and generous, but everything has simply grown exponentially due to her fame. Examples are the millions of books she gives out for free to children around the globe each month, or how she gave out $10,000 cash to many of my close friends after their houses burned in a fire a couple of years back. Thousands of people are employed here and work for one of the businesses she owns, and it’s a tad strange to see when you walk in, but the birthing center at the local hospital is funded by and named after her. I honestly can’t think of one person I know who doesn’t like her. Dolly’s heart has only gotten bigger because of fame.” Ⓒ 2ndbestguyyouknow / Reddit
• “I went to school with Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley from Harry Potter). I was into acting too, so we had done a few school plays together. He was really nice, very chill, a good laugh. I haven’t seen him since my school days, but he kept coming to classes whenever he wasn’t filming. He was always happy to chat about the movies. Sometimes he’d need a little break from so many people wanting to talk and would come and hang out in the library, and honestly, you’d never know he was in the biggest film series at the time.” Ⓒ calls_you_a_bell*** / Reddit
• “I went to high school with Sandra Oh. She was funny, dynamic, smart, outgoing, and very into drama.” Ⓒ mgov999 / Reddit

• “My bio teacher was friends with Rainn Wilson, Dwight from The Office. They used to grab coffee often around the time the series started. From how she described him, Rainn seemed like a pretty down-to-earth guy.” Ⓒ redd___z / Reddit
• “My aunt used to work with Gordon Ramsay’s mother but never made the connection. Once they were out for lunch and he ended up coming in to see his mom and met my aunt in the process. She said he was so lovely and polite!” Ⓒ BaffledAndBemused / Reddit
• “When I was really young, I’d go the reptile park that was originally owned by Bob Irwin, who passed it on to his son Steve Irwin. Steve was always nice, would do all the lizard and croc shows, and he would hang out and chat afterward. My dad would take me there occasionally and Steve would seem to remember us and treat everyone like an old buddy. This was before he became famous.” Ⓒ Sajiri / Reddit

• “I went to middle school with Megan Fox for a bit. She rode my bus and she mostly kept to herself. Most of the guys would fight over who was going to sit next to her but she was very shy and didn’t really have much to say.” Ⓒ binnygeo / Reddit
• “I went to college with Joe Keery, aka Steve Harrington in Stranger Things. He was my college boyfriend’s suitemate and he was just the nicest guy. His hair has always been dreamy and amazing. The last time I saw him was at a viewing of the Hateful Eight after we graduated and he still made a point to come over and say hi!” Ⓒ piggieees / Reddit
• “My mom knew Seal as far back as when he was still trying to be an architect, and she says he was always really nice. They didn’t stay in touch, she moved away and they were never close, but she said he went out of his way to foster genuine connections to people before and after his music started to gain traction. He always had star quality. Everyone from the most important person in the room to a janitor walking through would be drawn to him, and he’d engage with everyone in a way that really stuck. She always mentions that he was just a really sincere, deeply-feeling person.” Ⓒ tamiraisredditing / Reddit

• “I went to Junior High with Norah Jones. She was the most sincere and serene person. She was fun to talk to and she never gave a hint of who her father was. The night she won all those Grammys was very telling that she hadn’t changed a bit.” Ⓒ Unknown author / Reddit
• “My mom dated Will Ferrell for a little while. He came round quite a lot and she said he was really down to Earth and incredibly funny.” Ⓒ FloppyFly / Reddit
• “My best friend is cousins with Tyler Posey. She said he was a sweetheart before his Teen Wolf days and he still is now.” Ⓒ RedFawn00 / Reddit

• “Jason Momoa used to date my step-sister. I shook his hand in my living room once. He was not as impressive physically then.” Ⓒ Witness_me_Karsa / Reddit
• “A co-worker of mine met Daisy Ridley while on a backpacking trip and got to know each other pretty well while traveling together. She told my co-worker that she wanted to become an actress. It looks like that panned out pretty well. They said Daisy was an absolutely lovely individual.” Ⓒ TentCityVIP / Reddit
• “I knew Cillian Murphy back in secondary school, we didn’t go to the same school but mingled a lot. He was a few years older than me. He was super quiet but really friendly. I remember when he was cast in 28 Days Later and people were pretty hyped for him, but a good few people didn’t think much of it. Once it came out, though, a lot of people changed their tune when they could see him actually act amazingly.” Ⓒ Scinos2k / Reddit

Did you ever meet any celebrities before they got famous? What were they like? Tell us in the comments!