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Entertainment

20 Celebs You’d Never Guess Had Inspiring Rags-to-Riches Tales

By Debbie Strong

Would you believe some of your favorite A-list stars were once homeless? Here’s a list of some of the most famous celebs whose lives got off to shockingly rocky starts. Their poor backgrounds make their stories of success that much sweeter!

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  1. Celebs Who Grew Up Poor Scarlett Johansson

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    Scarlett Johansson

    The actress revealed she was living on welfare and food stamps with her family while growing up in a low-income household in Manhattan. What's more, she even got rejected as a child actor at the ripe age of nine. We're so happy she persevered!

  2. Celebs Who Grew Up Poor Kate Winslet

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    Kate Winslet

    The Titanic star's dad worked hard as an actor, but he was often forced to work two to three jobs to support his family. Their car was often broken down, and Kate usually had to wear hand-me-downs. The family couldn't buy a VCR for years, and they were even supported by a charity at one point.

  4. Celebs Grew Up Poor Shania Twain

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    Shania Twain

    She grew up poor in an abusive household, often going to school hungry and even living in a homeless shelter at one point.

  5. Celebs Grew Up Poor Jim Carrey

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    Jim Carrey

    The actor had a poor upbringing in Canada. After his family fell on hard times, Carrey had to take a factory job as a 12-year-old and even once lived out of a van.

  6. Celebs Grew Up Poor Demi Moore

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    Demi Moore

    She grew up living with an alcoholic mother and an abusive father in a trailer park. When she was 16, she dropped out of high school and moved to Hollywood to pursue her acting dreams.

  8. Celebs Grew Up Poor Tom Cruise

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    Tom Cruise

    The A-list actor grew up in near poverty with an abusive, bullying father. He once described his childhood as "lonely."

  9. Celebs Grew Up Poor Celine Dion

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    Celine Dion

    The youngest of 14 children, she grew up in a tiny house and worked at her parents' piano bar to help the family make ends meet.

  10. Celebs Grew Up Poor Rose Mcgowan

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    Rose McGowan

    Growing up in a cult, McGowan and her family escaped when she was 9 years old; she became emancipated from her parents when she 15. After being homeless for a year on the streets of Oregon and Washington, she managed to successfully break into acting.

  12. Celebs Grew Up Poor Heather Mills Childhood

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    Heather Mills

    When she was just 9 years old, Mills's mother left her and her siblings in the care of her abusive father. After her dad went to prison, Mills ran away from home and became homeless. She later found success as a model (and became even more famous after marrying Paul McCartney in 2002; their relationship ended in 2006).

  13. Celebs Grew Up Poor Hilary Swank

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    Hilary Swank

    A high school dropout, Swank and her mother slept in their car and made calls to agents from pay phones while trying to get her acting career off the ground.

  14. Celebs Grew Up Poor Kelly Clarkson

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    Kelly Clarkson

    She had a rundown, roach-infested home and used food stamps as a kid. After she moved to LA to pursue her career, an apartment fire forced Kelly to live out of her car and then in a homeless shelter.

  16. Celebs Grew Up Poor Dr Phil

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    Dr. Phil

    Phil McGraw grew up in a turbulent home with an alcoholic father, working from an early age to help his mother pay the family's food and utility bills.

  17. Celebs Grew Up Poor Leonardo Dicaprio

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    Leonardo DiCaprio

    Growing up in a rundown Los Angeles neighborhood, the star has said he was surrounded by drugs, prostitution, and violence before he turned to acting.

  18. Celebs Grew Up Poor Cary Grant

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    Cary Grant

    After sending Grant's depressed mom to an institution, his father later abandoned him. Grant (born Archie Leach) had to sleep on the streets of Southampton, England, and worked on the docks so that he could eat.

  20. Celebs Grew Up Poor Sarah Jessica Parker

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    Sarah Jessica Parker

    One of eight kids, the actress has described Christmases without presents, sharing clothes, and having to work to support her family from a young age.

  21. Celebs Grew Up Poor Oprah Winfrey

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    Oprah

    Over the years, the media mega-star and actress has revealed heartbreaking details about her rough upbringing marked by crushing poverty and abuse.

  22. Celebs Grew Up Poor Mariah Carey

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    Mariah Carey

    The singer has described growing up up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Long Island, NY, where she had no toys of her own and had to play on the streets.

  24. Celebs Grew Up Poor Viola Davis

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    Viola Davis

    Growing up in deep poverty left the actress feeling ashamed as a child. "I have stolen for food. I've jumped in garbage bins with maggots for food," she has said.

  25. Celebs Grew Up Poor Jennifer Lopez

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    Jennifer Lopez

    The performer grew up in a hardscrabble Bronx neighborhood and was homeless at 18, forced to sleep on a couch at her dance studio before making it big.

  26. Celebs Grew Up Poor Jewel

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    Jewel

    The singer and songwriter grew up in a home without indoor plumbing, then traveled the country in a van with her father, performing in the street for money.

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