From humble beginnings as waiters and delivery drivers to bricklayers and mortuary employees, several celebrities had not-so-special jobs before becoming superstars. These experiences didn't just help shape the personality and work ethics of these individuals but also gave them skills that they utilized to achieve great success.
Here are 20 celebrities who had unexpected jobs before making it big, proving that hard work and determination will help your dreams come true no matter where you come from.
1) Kim Kardashian
Before building her billion-dollar empire, Kim Kardashian was a stylist and closet organizer for Paris Hilton and Brandy, among other stars. That led to networking and forging contacts that catapulted her career in the entertainment and corporate worlds. Her wardrobe skills also helped build her fashion sense, an advantage that would be instrumental in the success of her SKIMS and KKW Beauty brands. She began organizing closets early and eventually stepped into giving a different kind of insight, relating to branding and audience engagement, long before the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" series.
2) Hugh Jackman
There was a time when Hugh Jackman made his living as a "party clown" to entertain children at birthday parties, which he once said paid $50 per gig. Jackman's funny side and all-round charm probably flowered here. How could a man make jokes and balloons and kids not have trouble? Looking back, he says the job was challenging and provided him with versatility beyond his action and dramatic personas. His journey from children's entertainer to Hollywood superstar shines an unpredictable route in showing business, the power of resilience, and a good sense of humor.
3) Kris Jenner
Kris Jenner was the brainchild behind the Kardashian brand and has a history of working as a flight attendant at American Airlines during the 1970s. Her time in the sky improved her interpersonal skills and discipline when handling her children as a "momager." She worked with keen details that contributed to her success while managing her daughters' careers. Early experience in customer service may well be Jenner's real reason for being able to gain insight into the audience, which is reflected in her career and the business enterprises she successfully pursued.
4) Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was once a massage therapist before entering Hollywood filmdom, studying the profession to help her mother fight breast cancer. This thoughtful choice speaks to her compassionate side and reflects her commitment to helping others, a characteristic that finds expression in her humanitarian work today. In the profession, Kidman gained great insight into human vulnerability, which is evident in how she handles emotional and complex characters in movies like The Hours and Big Little Lies, marking deep commitment on both personal and professional levels.
5) Jennifer Aniston
As a telemarketer, Jennifer Aniston used to try and sell various commodity items. Cold-calling does prepare you for being relentlessly enthusiastic for an extended period and for being ready to deal with rejection—two significant assets in an acting career. Aniston also developed an arsenal of resilience and people skills when she navigated those busy New York streets as a bike messenger. Her early struggles helped the actress gain a grounded view of the world around her, turning her into the famous and relatable star everyone nowadays cheers for.
6) Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp once sold pens on the telephone, cold-calling prospects as part of a telemarketing gig. There, he learned the voice of conversation and the swift, silver tongue sword he would later use, bringing many characters to life on the big screen. Depp said about that job, "It was a great experience because I learned to develop a thick skin-thick because there was a lot of rejection." Selling pens served as a springboard, allowing him to fashion the qualities that would soon make him a Hollywood icon: toughness and versatility.
7) Cameron Diaz
Before Cameron Diaz became an actress working under a mask, she had stints as a catalog model. But few people know she has also handled freight at a warehouse. Diaz packed and sorted cargo, which she considered a humbling and grounding experience. The blue-collar work taught her the value of hard work that she would take into her acting career and catapult her to become one of the most bankable stars in the early 2000s.
8) Bella Hadid
Even when not a supermodel, Bella Hadid was already interested in photography and was set to pursue it at the Parsons School of Design. She did odd jobs, including at a part-time smoothie shop, where she blended her share of fruit drinks. Her passion in visual arts gave her an outlook in the camera's view; her experience at jobs, however, kept her feet on the ground. She built the discipline and humility that shows today in the focused, business-minded model.
9) Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg has worked as a bricklayer when she needed to do manual labor to make ends meet. It was a backbreaking job, but it taught her the value of staying strong. Goldberg also became a mortuary beautician, an experience she has candidly called humbling. Such awkward positions culminated in strong empathy and humor within her and played a massive role in shaping her diverse career path into comedy, acting, and talk shows.
10) Kanye West
Kanye West was a sales assistant at The Gap before he became a rap icon. He has spoken of how the experience influenced his subsequent work in fashion, even naming one of his most notable collaborations, Yeezy Gap, as a tribute to his retail roots. This job was an early taste of style and service, laying a foundation for his entrepreneurial ventures. West's journey from retail to fashion mogul shows his grasp of brand evolution—which remains relevant—and the skills he has used through music and fashion.
11) Taylor Swift
Before the world knew Taylor Swift, she worked at her family's Christmas tree farm. The job of taking praying mantis eggs from the trees to their containers taught her the importance of elbow grease and kept her grounded. Her unique relationship with nature and strong work ethic are traits that fans admire. Swift's rearing on the farm did not give her an easy, privileged life, but she kept it simple even at stardom, and success reached worldwide colossal proportions. Most people attribute her small-town rearing to the songs.
12) Christopher Walken
Before he became a legendary film actor, Christopher Walken was a lion tamer in a circus. He was only 16 when he trained under a professional to tame a lion named Sheba. This adventurous job portrays his fearless and eccentric personality well, which is why performances stand out in his delivery of various horror, comedy, and drama genres. His days as a circus performer gave him early fame in a strange crowd and made him an advantage for Hollywood since his career prospers on distinctive style and offbeat charisma.
13) Matthew McConaughey
At 22, Matthew McConaughey worked in Australia as a 'chicken coop cleaner' during a year overseas before his acting career took off—a time he says taught him "humility and resourcefulness." McConaughey often talks about how that time time spent in Australia made him mature, which, in turn, shaped how he handled himself in Hollywood.
14) Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj has worked different jobs before becoming a global superstar. She was a waitress at Red Lobster and was working towards her music career. Though she could not afford to pay for things that most young girls take for granted, Nicki Minaj was resilient and hardworking, thanks to her early career jobs. Minaj also came from a humble start in service work, as she learned through this that hard work was valuable, which later became a significant factor in her ascent to fame.
15) Angelina Jolie
Before getting into acting, Angelina Jolie was interested in being a mortician. Although she had selected acting as her profession, aspects of her exploration of the profession have been assisting in shaping her thoughts regarding human emotions, helping influence her the way she was a great actress with highly intense and complex characters. Since then, she has been talking about how this reflective phase helped her gain emotional depth that empowered her career in acting and motivated her toward humanitarian work.
16) Sean Connery
Sean Connery was once a milkman before he became the James Bond hero. He used to deliver milk in Edinburgh, and that taught him how to work hard. He became disciplined and routined, which he took to Hollywood and furthered his busy career in Hollywood. His upbringing also gave him a somewhat different feel of attachment to his people, a grass-roots quality that conveyed one of the greatest Bond franchises ever.
17) Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson worked at Burger King, where she entertained customers by singing between orders. She has a gift for it, which emerges from her passion and confidence during her performance. She claims that working at Burger King grounded her, reminding her to stay humble even as fame soars to dizzy heights. Her job initially prepared her for the resilience she would need in those scrappy music and film industries that made her an Oscar-winning actress and Grammy-winning singer.
18) Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria worked at Wendy's before landing the role of Desperate Housewives. She has spoken warmly of her time at the fast-food restaurant, crediting it with teaching her the lessons of hard work and dedication. Longoria's time at Wendy's was not just a survival job but one that instilled values she carried into her successful acting and producing career. These early days of hard work and persistence are central to her approach to the entertainment industry.
19) Gemma Chan
Gemma Chan was trained as a lawyer, graduated from Oxford, and then she chose acting. Her law training has given her more than just a discipline and analytical approach to work; it gave her resilience and a critical sense of mind, qualities she'd benefit from in Hollywood as a thoughtful, complex actress. Her decision to quit law for acting shows her passion for following her dreams.
20) Halle Berry
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Before becoming a famous star, Halle Berry was a "catalog model." She has even slept in a homeless shelter before pursuing her career in Hollywood. This experience helped her cultivate reliance on herself and has reflected the same in her critically acclaimed career. Berry has not kept behind her struggles in the past. Her story, from homeless to winning an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first African American woman, motivates many. The battle that befell her in the early years of her life formed her into the actor and activist she is today: resolute and unwavering.
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