Although it may appear that celebrities have it all, the reality is that not all of them had an easy journey towards success. Despite now being wealthy and renowned, these stars have experienced hardships and struggles along the way. Whether it was chasing their Hollywood dreams or facing financial difficulties throughout their lives, over 40 A-list celebrities have experienced homelessness before reaching their current status.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez made a bold decision to embrace homelessness as a means to pursue her dream of becoming a Hollywood superstar. Fortunately, her gamble paid off, and she is now a successful singer and actress with a net worth of millions. Despite her mother’s desire for her to attend college, Jennifer had her sights set on a different path.
The vocalist decided to shift to her dance studio and rested on the sofa. After a month, she acquired her initial show. In a span of 12 months, she earned an opportunity in In Living Color, the show that brought her into the limelight. It is evident that JLo’s gamble has borne fruit!
Jim Carrey
Due to financial difficulties within his family, Jim Carrey discontinued his schooling at the age of 16 so that he could contribute towards earning income. Now, he is a successful comedian.
Jim didn’t make a fuss about his difficulties and instead made a joke about how he thought he and his family were just camping when they became homeless due to his father losing his job. But now that he’s in a better situation, he has established the Better U Foundation and contributes to various charitable causes.
Tiffany Haddish
When Tiffany Haddish turned 18, she was forced to leave her grandmother’s home and became homeless. She kept her possessions in her car and relied on the generosity of friends to have a place to sleep. However, a fortunate meeting with Kevin Hart turned her luck around.
He handed me $300 and suggested that I search for accommodation for a week. Additionally, he advised me to create a list of things I want to achieve and to start working towards those goals. Presently, they frequently work together on their films, and both have a fortune amounting to millions.
Sylvester Stallone
Just before becoming successful with Rocky, Sylvester Stallone was without a home and had not yet found a buyer for his legendary movie script. To make ends meet, he decided to sell his pet dog for a sum of $50.
Sylvester successfully lifted Rocky up from the ground and then repurchased his dog for a surprisingly high price of $3,000. It is noteworthy that the individual who originally bought and later sold Stallone’s pet had a brief appearance in the movie Rocky as the person who inquires about Rocky’s victory.
Chris Pratt
At the age of 19, Chris Pratt chose to live as a homeless person and he appears to view it as an interesting and unique life experience. He relocated to Hawaii with a friend and worked as a waiter during this time.
Chris mentioned that he and his friends used to work for a minimum number of hours, usually around 15 to 20 hours per week, to meet their basic expenses such as gas, food and fishing supplies. According to him, that was a delightful period of time. However, it’s hard to believe that most people would label homelessness as a pleasant experience.
Drew Carey
In the past, a comedian’s career could skyrocket by appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. When Drew Carey was 19 years old, he was homeless and had to live in his car while trying to land a spot on the show.
The host of The Price Is Right, Drew, lived in his car for a year and a half, and resorted to selling his plasma to earn income. Later, he appeared on Johnny Carson’s show, which he attributes to launching his successful career, earning him millions.
Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank, while she was still a teenager, resided in a trailer park with her mother until they relocated to Los Angeles, where Hilary could pursue an acting career.
Nonetheless, at the beginning of their journey, the duo commenced with a meager sum of $75, which led them to be without a permanent residence, and they resorted to sleeping in their vehicle or on an inflatable bed at a friend’s place. Fortunately, Hilary was able to secure steady acting jobs within a few months, leading to an improvement in their financial condition.
Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey was a married insurance salesman in 1985 with two children. However, after he won his first stand-up competition, he was inspired to change his career path and pursue comedy. Consequently, he resigned from his job, which impacted his capability to support his family.
This created a domino effect in which Steve’s marriage ended, as did his relationship with his children. Harvey lived out of his car for three years before finally making it big with Showtime at the Apollo.
William Shatner
Things seemed to happen in reverse with William Shatner. He became homeless after landing his big break with Star Trek, rather than before. After his marriage ended, and Star Trek went off the air, William still had to provide for his children but no longer had a hit show.
“I had three kids and was totally broke. I managed to find work back east on the straw-hat circuit – summer stock – but couldn’t afford hotels, so I lived out of the back of my truck, under a hard shell.”
Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan was just 15 years old when she became homeless. The actress grew up in an unsafe environment, which resulted in her seeking emancipation from her parents. “I was homeless, I was on my own, and I was very lonely. I was entirely focused on just surviving.”
Eventually, Rose was offered an acting job, which she accepted as a way to pay for a place to sleep at night. Nowadays, McGowan has left acting and works as a social justice activist.
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry saved up all his money ($12,000) to put on the autobiographical play I Know I’ve Been Changed. Unfortunately, only about 30 people came to see the production. The show failed twice more, resulting in Tyler living out of his car so he could continue to finance the show.
After roughly three months of homelessness, things finally turned around for Tyler as his play gained traction. Now the very street that he was homeless on in Atlanta, Georgia, has a sign that reads “Tyler Perry Studios.”
Halle Berry
Halle Berry’s career began in New York, where she worked as a model. However, modeling doesn’t pay much for those just starting out and Halle soon found herself in financial trouble. She asked her mom to send her some money but was turned down.
The actress ended up living in a homeless shelter but doesn’t resent her mother’s decision not to bail her out. “Shelter life was part of figuring it out for a minute.” Eventually, Halle got a waitressing job to hold her over until her acting career took off.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Today, Dwayne Johnson is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. However, there was a time when his family was evicted from home after home. The Rock turned to theft in order to help his family pay their bills and had been to jail eight times by the time he turned 17.
Those hardships are exactly what led Dwayne to become The Rock. “It was about, ‘What can I control with these two hands?’ The only thing I could do was train and build my body.”
Selma Blair
Selma Blair was homeless for a while but seems to be at peace with the choices that led her there. The actress admits to spending money on a Versace dress rather than rent. “I was basically homeless, living in the Salvation Army in New York City.”
She continued, “I was 21 years old, and I saved up all my money [for the designer dress] that I should have saved up for rent at the Salvation Army.” Well, that’s definitely a choice.
Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington was living out of his car when James Cameron personally invited him to audition for Avatar. Since then, Sam has credited James with changing his life.
