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“They Didn’t Really Have Much”: People Admire These 45 Celebrities Who Once Were Dirt Poor
Baldwin, Kravitz, Hudson, Cyrus, Coppola, Beckham... Celebrity culture is often dominated by famous surnames. But between all the nepo babies lies a whole inspiring world of rags-to-riches tales.
These are the people who literally started from the bottom—now they're here. No trust fund, no family favors, no shortcuts. Just pure hard work, raw talent, dedication, determination and a whole lot of struggle. Before the red carpets, private jets, luxury mansions and designer clothes, these celebs tasted poverty.
Viola Davis, for example, was technically homeless. And Sarah Jessica Parker grew up poor, with 7 siblings, in a mining town. Someone recently asked, "What celebrity actually came from poverty and had to work very hard, that they didn’t have the benefit of nepotism?" and the answers read like a Netflix hit series that somehow never made it to air.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best ones for you to scroll through if you need a reminder that hard work really does pay off. Don't forget to upvote your favorites and let us know in the comments if we've left anyone out.
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#1
Dolly Parton, she came from absolutely nothing and became not only an icon but became effectively the female Mr. Rogers.
Imagine gate-crashing weddings just so that you can have food to eat. Or suffering from ongoing "broke PTSD" after spending too long living in your car. It may sound like a TV drama, and not the life of a famous person, but that's exactly what American comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish says she went through before getting her big break in Hollywood.
“I’ve crashed weddings before, given a speech and didn’t know anybody there,” Haddish revealed in 2023. “That’s when I was homeless and hungry.”
She said she'd frequent a hotel near Los Angeles’ Westchester neighborhood, where she knew lots of weddings took place. The star admits that while she now has lots of money, she's still terrified of ending up poor again.
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#2
Eminem.
Abandoned by his father since he was a baby, mother neglected him, they were always very poor and moved from house to house or lived in trailer parks etc. Literally could not really get much poorer than he was as an American in that time period, really. At some point he was literally evicted from his house and homeless and broke back into the house and slept on the floor just to not sleep on the street.
He single handedly purely by his own talent, skill and hard work took his entire family (his wife which then became ex wife, his 3 children, his half brother and probably many others) out of poverty, and even helped Dr Dr revive his own career as well as essentially giving 50 cent a career. He became super rich, gave his kids the best life money can buy, made some big mistakes but continues to be an amazing father and example of overcoming bad odds, on top of becoming sober, owning up to a lot of his past mistakes and growing a lot as a person. His children are all healthy, smart, lovely people who do not act entitled or like brats, he made amends with his ex wife and he is now a grandpa.
#3
Viola Davis. I’m reading her memoir now and I’m just blown away. She was not technically homeless but she and her family lived in poverty for her entire childhood and didn’t start to get out of it until she started to earn money as an actress. I knew she was an incredible talent, but she also has tremendous strength.
Sally Moen 13 hours ago
She lived in Rhode Island for many years. Fantastic actor, and I love her accent. I could listen to her talk forever
Haddish had a tough childhood and grew up in foster care. Today, she is a household name and owns multiple properties, including land and a private island in Eritrea. As a kid, traveling the world (or even the country) was a dream that could easily have eluded her.
"My grandma used to have this abandoned, broken-down Chevy in the backyard and me, my cousins, and my sister used to pretend like we were driving to places like Chattanooga or Istanbul," she told Cosmopolitan. "But the car wasn’t a car. It was a magical train that could fly and we would go to all these cool places, and we get out and it’d be the same backyard. This is probably why my imagination is so great now."
Haddish credits her close friend Kevin Hart with helping her out of poverty. The short man with a big heart gave the homeless young woman money for a hotel and helped her find her first apartment, before they both became celebrities.
#4
Mel Brooks.
He was born into poverty in New York. He grew up in a rough neighborhood. Him, and his brothers, joined the military and fought in World War 2. During the war, he had to clear mine fields and check houses for IEDs.
After the war, he started getting into comedy. Writing and doing stand-up acts. And, he would make fun of nazis every chance he had.
This led to him awarded an EGOT, and he is an American legend.
Surly Scot 1 hour ago
Also stood up for women getting steamrolled for jobs in Hollywood. Good man, haven't heard a bad word about him.
#5
Jessica Chastain. She doesn’t discuss her background much but she spoke on a podcast (and it’s in her Wikipedia) about how her parents were teenagers when she was born, she was mainly raised by a single mother, and the family struggled to the point that they often went to bed hungry.
#6
Leighton Meester. She was born in a halfway house because her mother was in prison. When you hear her in interviews, she sounds very down to earth and sweet. So it’s refreshing she not only overcame everything she has, but seems to have a very happy personal life with Adam Brody too.
Christina B 13 hours ago
And Blake Lively called her our for it...mentioned it in a recorded interview with a ton of people...Leighton is amazing
Another one of our favorite rags-to-riches stories is that of comedian Trevor Noah. Not only does he come from poverty, but he also faced the trauma of growing up in apartheid South Africa.
In his book, Born A Crime, Noah writes of how he and his parents couldn't walk together in public... His dad had to walk on the other side of the street while he and his mom walked together. But even being seen with his mother would raise eyebrows because of the color of his skin.
#7
Sarah Jessica Parker grew up in poverty with 7 siblings in a mining town in Ohio. She's talked about having to sit in the dark sometimes as a child because their electricity would get turned off.
Tabitha 4 hours ago
I remember hearing that her family was so poor they could only qualify to get the worst apartment in the worst projects where they lived. Dirt poor would’ve been a step up for them. I hope she’s brought her family up with her into financial solvency and a decent level of comfort.
#8
Mariah Carey. Grew up poor and living in an apartment above a bodega where her mom couldn’t afford the rent and on top of that her sister tried to pimp her out to an adult man when Mariah was a child. People say she’s a “diva” and ostentatious but quite frankly after what she’s been through, she deserves it.
#9
People think of Julie Andrews as a patrician, but that’s not the case at all. Her family lineage is miners and house servants. Her father, Ted Wells, was a teacher and her mother, Barbara, was a pianist— they divorced, and her mother ended up marrying a Canadian singer named Ted Andrews. Ted Andrews and Barbara toured the UK in music halls, and little Julie joined them when they discovered her spectacular voice. Overtime, Ted and Barbara slipped into alcoholism and by her teens, Julie was supporting the family with her income. This is also during and immediately after WWII in Britain.
There’s more to her story… Ted Wells wasn’t even her real father— he was married to Barbara when Julie was conceived with a different man during a separation, but for the rest of his life, Wells treated Julie as his own, biological daughter. Julie only knew herself when her mom took her to a party to meet a strange man in her early teens. At the end of the night, Barbara was too drunk to drive home, so 14 yo Julie Andrews had to drive them both home. On their way back, Barbara revealed the man they met at the party was her real dad.
And Ted Andrews, her stepfather, was a monster. She had an uncle and aunt who fixed a lock on her door.
It’s all in her autobiography, Home. A very sad childhood, really.
The golden child of South Africa took the world by storm during his run as host of The Daily Show. He continues to wow with his down-to-earth nature and authentic tales of his roots, despite owning several high-profile properties and raking in the dollars.
Today, Trevor Noah can dine anywhere his heart desires, and money is no issue. But once upon a time, as a little boy, he ate caterpillars to fill his hungry tummy and played with bricks when he had no toys.
"Being poor sucks," he once told Oprah Winfrey. "But being poor together makes it a lot better. My family had something that sometimes you don’t have when you have too much—the ability to focus on the human beings around you. We had each other, so we laughed."
#10
There are some old Hollywood actors who some people may not realize grew up in poverty, like Cary Grant.
Tabitha 3 hours ago (edited)
His father was a SOB, a real piece of work m**********r, who committed his mother to an insane asylum against her will then divorced her without her even realizing it (as many a*****e husbands dud back in the day—-I hope they’re all burning in hell right now), just so he could marry his floozy side piece, then abandon his son Archie (professional name Cary Grant), after lying to him by telling him she had died. She wasn’t insane. She was rather delicate and high strung AND had lost one son to a terrible infection after an injury (this was pre-penicillin, so infections k****d more people than the initial injuries), so was grieving and having a really hard time, and would’ve benefited from therapy instead of the asylum. Cary later found out she wasn’t dead, hired someone to find her, got her out of the asylum and into an apartment of her own, with a nurse to look after her, as being in the asylum for decades had taken a toll on her health, both mental and physical. Needless to say, he confronted his father about it, told him off, then went NC with him, while taking care of his mother, and making sure she was happy and well looked after, until she died. All because his father was thinking with his little brain—-which always leads to terrible outcomes.
#12
Barry Keoghan spent many years in foster care. When his mom passed away, I believe he went and lived with his grandmother and aunt in not a great area of Dublin.
#13
Kendrick Lamar. Relied on food stamps growing up, was homeless at one point.
#14
Pedro Pascal. If I remember correctly, even though his family had political connections in their native Chile, they had to flee to the US & when he got started as an actor, he grinded for well over a decade taking bit parts in various shows while working as a waiter at several restaurants and at one point, living with Sarah Paulson when he was nearly broke.
#15
Trevor Noah
Not only was his family poor, but the struggles he had to go through in a apartheid South Africa was wild! I highly recommend his book, Born a Crime. See if your local library has it in audiobook, because he narrates, and it's great. Funny, and informative - like, I knew the basics of apartheid, but the rules and the way they applied differently to different people was bonkers. And some of the stuff he lived through was harrowing.
#16
LeBron James.
He lived in family and friends houses, sleeping on the sofa with his mother. Couldn’t afford multiple pairs of shoes for basketball which resulted in him misshaping his feet etc. He’s now one of the richest celebrities in the world and worked for everything he has. 👑.
#17
Charles Bronson - came from absolutely nothing and was an underground miner at 12 and then went over for WW2.
#18
Jennette Mccurdy. Her mom forced her to be a child actress so she could pay the family’s bills.
#19
Trixie Mattel grew up in a trailer in rural Wisconsin and had a horrific stepfather; she* actually took the first part of her drag name from that monster calling her "a Trixie" whenever he thought his son wasn't acting masculine enough.
She's been through so much and is legitimately a global superstar now -- arguably the most famous living drag queen after none other than RuPaul. I admire her so much.
*for those who may not know, it's sort of a convention to generally refer to drag queens by the pronouns they use while in drag; in her day-to-day life she's a cisgender man who uses he/him/his pronouns.
#20
Arnel Pineda from Journey.He is from the Philippines and his lost his mom to cancer and was homeless by 13 years of age.He ate leftover food out of the trash.
When he got famous after being discovered on YouTube in 2007, he used that money to help people in his area, which used to be a slum.
Mel in Georgia 3 hours ago
Saw the current Journey in concert a couple of years ago. Pineda was an astounding singer and performer! If anybody had to replace Steve Perry, this was the guy.
#21
Jackie Chan was born so poor that his parents tried to sell him to the doctor who delivered him. .
#22
Jonathan Rhys Meyers. His father abandoned his mom and 3 brothers when they were children. He was kicked out of high school for truancy then discovered at a pool hall and started modeling and acting.
#23
Matt Leblanc, he had 15$ while filming the first episodes and he was so happy to afford a warm meal.
WonderWoman 3 hours ago
But did he grow up poor? He was a starving artist trying to get discovered.
#24
Daniel Kaluuya is one that I often think of when people ask this sort of question, in addition to others already mentioned like Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis. Kelly Clarkson is a good one too, and of course, the legendary Dolly Parton.
Christina Aguilera too. Her dad was aggressive and in the military, and then her mom left him. I’m pretty sure she worked as a translator/teacher, and she and her two daughters moved in with her mother. They didn’t really have much.
#25
Sylvester Stallone was basically homeless when he finally sold his “Rocky” script.
#26
Justin Bieber was born to a teen mom and grew up on Canadian welfare for most of his early life before getting big on YouTube.
#27
James McAvoy came from a working class family.
#28
Bruno Mars became from a very comfortable family to losing everything when he was a child to the point to live in a house that didn't have bathroom
.
#29
The only real difference between the Jackson family home and a shack was the quality of the build. It was literally just a box, and they had 200 children stuffed in there.
#30
President Herbert Hoover was born in a one room house and was orphaned at a young age but later became a self-made millionaire by getting into the mining business with his geology knowledge and pretending to be older than he was.
#31
Demi Moore was a "trailer park kid" (her words not mine) and, apparently, her parents were very problematic.
#32
Shania Twain, she had to grow up real quick at such a young age to raise her siblings. Love love love her!
#33
I think Janelle Monae’s parents were a truck driver and hotel maid/janitor. It’s amazing how much she has accomplished, plus she has such an impeccable style that surpassed people who were born and raised in riches.
#34
You can hate jlo but she was barely making middle class and when she sought out to become famous her parents didn't help her she slept in the dance studio closet till Janet Jackson picked her to dance.
Bi.Felicia 3 hours ago
Am I supposed to feel bad that JLo was barely making middle class? Or that her parents didn't help her to become famous, because I definitely don't feel bad for her at all.
#35
I remember seeing Jim on Inside the Actor’s Studio, and he got very emotional talking about his dad and their circumstances growing up. Even with all his success, all of that still stayed with him.
Also, he famously made a fake check for 10 million dollars he kept - kind of as a way to wish personal success into existence and a goal he hoped to achieve. Famously, he was the first actor to make 20 million upfront with “The Cable Guy.”.
#36
Tiffany Haddish was in the foster care system in South central L.A. and worked really hard to have the career she has today.
She's had a couple missteps along the way, but I've always admired how she keeps it real and seems to be very humble despite her success.
#37
David Spade (and Andy Spade) grew up really poor in Az . He actually has a lot of stories he manages to make hilarious and they have a third brother who is still local to Phx area and a construction worker .
#38
Brad Pitt was just a kid from Missouri who moved from his conservative family's home to California instead of going to college and took a bunch of odd jobs until he started getting screen jobs. He didn't come from money, fame, or a special "pedigree".
#39
Don’t know if they count ‘celebrity’ really, but the majority of all time great athletes especially in football (or soccer, whatever) come from poverty I would say.
Mel in Georgia 3 hours ago
I would truly like to see statistics on this, because elite youth sports are soooo expensive these days.
#40
James McAvoy! Not poverty, perhaps, but he grew up working class in Glasgow, and was mostly raised by his grandparents. He’s spoken at length about how hard it was to break into the industry because he wasn’t part of the upper crust.
#41
Clive Owen came from an extremely working class background. For an English actor to make it with that kind of background is almost surprising to be honest.
highwaycrossingfrog 9 hours ago
Why surprising specifically for an English actor? Is it the misconception that they're all Oxbridge "luvvies"?
#42
Not necessarily poverty, but most of the singers who got famous on talent shows come from normal backgrounds without nepotism.
Kelly Clarkson, One Direction, Fifth Harmony, ...
#43
Amy Adams. Not necessarily poor, but solidly working/middle class. She was an army brat and the family didn’t have much money after her dad finished his service. She worked odd jobs (Gap store greeter, call center rep, Hooters waitress) when she was trying to break into the industry.
#44
Steven Spielberg. While he didn't grow up in poverty, he did grow up in a working-class, multigenerational household, and neither of his parents had any connections in the film industry. The closest thing to nepotism he experienced was the fact that his father owned an 8mm movie camera.
#45
Tom Cruise's mom worked a lot of jobs to put food on the table for him and his sisters.
He was just lucky to having his big break so earlier in his career, but people forget, he didn't come from nepotism or money, it was all hard work.
Hate him for his church all you want, but he did work and still does work and cares about creating jobs.
Eileen Ryan 3 hours ago
And hiding all his money to avoid paying taxes. That's his main objective. Scientology is a disgusting joke.
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What do you think ?
David Andrews 8 hours ago
There is a difference between "coming from poverty" and being working class. A lot of these people did indeed come from poverty backgrounds, but others just didn't grow up with wealthy parents
cadena kuhn 10 hours ago
How did no one mention Rosario Dawson her family were squatters living in an abandoned building with a giant hole in the living room floor
David Andrews 8 hours ago
There is a difference between "coming from poverty" and being working class. A lot of these people did indeed come from poverty backgrounds, but others just didn't grow up with wealthy parents
cadena kuhn 10 hours ago
How did no one mention Rosario Dawson her family were squatters living in an abandoned building with a giant hole in the living room floor
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