To see them stepping out of their luxurious mansions to climb into the backseat of a limo in an impeccable outfit, you’d think these people were born to riches.

However, some of the most famous people in the world who are now immensely rich have gone through some very rough patches in their lives, being homeless and barely able to afford food in their younger years.





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10 /10 James Cameron

James Cameron is enormous. The list of blockbusters he directed is awe-inspiring, and so is his fortune. At the time of his debut, all he had was his brilliant mind.

While he was working on the script for Terminator, Cameron lived in his car. He was so desperate to make it into the movie world that he agreed to sell the movie’s rights for $1, on condition he is allowed to direct it.

It must have been tough when the film became a huge box-office success, but in his career, which spans more than four decades, Cameron made around $700 million. Not bad!

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9 /10 Halle Berry

Before making it to the big screen, Halle Berry was a model. She made it into the 1986 Miss World but did not win, so she didn’t make much money.

Berry set her eyes on New York, deciding to study acting. As her mother would not finance her endeavors in this direction, the beautiful actress was forced to sleep in homeless centers sometimes. It was a good life experience that taught her about living within her means.

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8 /10 Jennifer Lopez

Everybody knows it takes a lot of determination to make it in showbiz, but Jennifer Lopez needed tons of it, as she also had to fight with her mother, who had a very different career in mind for her daughter.

Lopez did not give in, even if that meant leaving home when she turned 18. For the next few months, she slept on a sofa at the dance studio until she got a contract as a dancer with a European company.

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7 /10 Jim Carrey







Life wasn’t always fun for Jim Carrey. The Canadian-born actor dropped out of school the day he turned 16 and took odd jobs to help his cash-strapped parents.

It didn’t help much, and the Carreys became homeless. They all moved into a van for a few months. Despite all this, the young Carrey started performing comedy acts, polishing his future career skills.



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6 /10 Beck

He became famous with his single ‘Loser,’ and Beck had ample experience feeling a loser himself. The music industry is just as harsh as the movie world, and the American singer struggled to get noticed.

Before the song became a worldwide hit in 1994, Beck had nowhere to live and spent many months sleeping on his friends’ sofas or at the homeless centers.

Or he’d go without food when he couldn’t find an odd job to support himself. Easy to see why he felt like such a loser.

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5 /10 Daniel Craig

The future Bond graduated from a prestigious drama school in London in 1991, but only got a part in a movie in 1992, and it was a minor one.

To make ends meet during his professional training, Daniel Craig waited on tables and, when he couldn’t afford to pay rent, he was forced to rough it up on park benches. At least they have some lovely parks in London.

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4 /10 Shania Twain

The Canadian-born singer had a rough start in life. Her parents split when she was two, and her stepfather was prone to violence.

Her mother took her three kids to escape that abusive relationship and moved into a homeless shelter in Toronto.

Even when they returned home, the family had little money to buy, so the young Shania started singing in bars at the age of 8 to bring some extra cash.

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3 /10 Chris Pratt

The hero who survived the perils of Jurassic World did his apprenticeship by staying independently in the real world after he left home aged 19 and relocated to Maui.

It was a fun time, the actor remembers, although he lived in a dilapidated van with his friends and the little money he made was barely enough for food and grass.

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2 /10 Sam Worthington

Australian actor Sam Worthington rose to fame with his role in Avatar. The movie launched his career and saved him from a hard life.

At that time, the actor had been constrained to sell his possessions. Everything he owned fit in a car, which he called home.

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1 /10 Hillary Swank

The Million Dollar Baby knows only too well how it feels when you have no money in your pocket. The 46-year old actress had a tough time making herself known in Hollywood.

She had a strong supporter in her mother, who moved with her to LA to help her get started in showbiz. They could not afford a place to stay, so they lived in a trailer park for a few months.

Hillary and her mom considered themselves lucky when an acquaintance offered them a place to sleep at night.

Only the night, though, as he was selling the house and wanted them out at dawn so he could show the home to potential buyers.

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