Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2013; Suze Orman’s net worth of about 35 million dollars and the description of Daniel Craig as the new 007 are 2013 figures and framing.
Many of today’s celebrities and millionaires overcame real obstacles that would have made most people throw in the towel. Not only were they poor, some of them even ended up homeless while they kept fighting for their dream. Most of them went “all or nothing”: they were starting with nothing, so they knew they could win everything. Here are 10 inspiring stories.
1. Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter in her twenties
When Halle Berry moved to Chicago to become an actress, she ran out of money, and her mother decided to stop sending her any more to force her to come home. But Halle chose to stay in a shelter for the homeless so she could try a few more auditions. In an interview, the actress herself said she learned to take care of herself and convinced herself that she would be able to live through any situation. The one thing she was clear about was that each person makes their own way in life, and that sometimes that means living on the edge and giving everything, so that if you fail, it isn’t for lack of trying as hard as you possibly could.
2. Jim Carrey lived in a camper van
Jim Carrey didn’t have an easy life. The comic actor lived with his family in a bus, leading a nomadic life. His older sister got married, and he ended up living in a camper van in her garden. Carrey decided to put on a brave face, and he acknowledges that it was during those times of extreme financial hardship that he developed the sense of humor that opened Hollywood’s doors to him.
3. Jewel nearly died trying
Before becoming an internationally acclaimed singer, Jewel was forced to live in her car after losing her job. In a television interview she said her boss fired her for refusing to have a relationship with him, and that she was harassed on countless occasions.
She was living from paycheck to paycheck, so the month after she was fired she lost her home and had to live in her car. But Jewel had kidney problems, and sleeping on the car seats did her no good at all. She became seriously ill, but with no insurance she couldn’t get medical care. She says she nearly died in an emergency room because they wouldn’t treat her without health insurance. After going through that, she returned to one of her passions, music, and started singing in bars until she caught the attention of several record labels. The rest of the story is a list of music awards.
4. Daniel Craig slept on park benches
Daniel Craig, best known as the new 007, once had less than 007 pounds in his bank account, and while he was going to auditions he had to sleep on park benches in London until he finally got his chance.
5. Suze Orman, the personal finance “guru”
Suze Orman is one of the most respected financial advisers in the United States, considered a guru on financial education. Today she has a net worth of about 35 million dollars, but not so long ago this woman couldn’t afford to live anywhere other than the back of an old van. She made herself a Gone with the Wind-style vow (I swear I’ll never go hungry again), and she eventually achieved her goals.
Many more cases
We could list hundreds of people who started with nothing and at some point even lost their homes. Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), for example, had to sell off his furniture bit by bit so he could eat while he looked for work in Hollywood; by coincidence, shortly after selling his last asset, the mattress from his bed, he landed his first role.
Carmen Electra, and even one of the most famous tramps of all, Charlie Chaplin, knew what it was like to live without a roof over their heads.
That’s why, behind famous faces, it’s always worth asking what effort it took them to reach the status they have today. At the other extreme are people who were once very famous and who, after flirting with things they shouldn’t have, along with poor financial planning, went from stars to has-beens, but that’s another story.
Further reading
Featured image: P.D Jankens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
