Stars Who Came From Humble Beginnings

There are probably only a handful of people in the Western hemisphere, that have never heard of Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah actually grew up on a farm in Mississippi and was raised partially by her grandmother after her parents split up. She went back and forth between her parents and was repeatedly faced with sexual abused while staying with her mother. She eventually stayed with her father, under whose care she did well in school, went to college and got her first job at CBS at the age of 19. The rest is history...

Superstar Mariah Carey has always been a decadent diva, although her childhood was everything but fabulous. Carey grew up in a very poor part of Long Island. Her father died when she was very young and when she was old enough, Mariah had to work extra jobs to support her family. Everything changed after she moved to New York and became a singer though!

Jim Carrey did not have much growing up and lived in a Volkswagen van with his parents for a long period of time. He had to take on numerous jobs as a teenager, such as construction work, to help his parents financially. In 1978, he decided to quit school and move to Los Angeles, but didn't have his big breakthrough until 1982. Ten years later, he became world famous when he starred in Ace Ventura.

Sarah Jessica Parker grew up with seven brothers and sisters. Even though the entire family was on welfare, Parker's mother still supported her and let her take singing and ballet classes. Turns out it was well worth it! The young actress was cast in the leading role in the 1979 musical Annie and, since then, it's been one TV and movie deal after the other!

Keanu Reeves did not have an easy upbringing. His father left the family when he was just three - Keanu and his mother moved around a lot and he struggled in school for a long time. Later on, he was no stranger to tragedy either...
Reeves got married to Jennifer Syme in the late 1990's and in the eighth month of her pregnancy, their child was stillborn. 18 moths later, Syme died in a car crash....

Mark Wahlberg grew up in a working class family of nine in one of Boston's poorer neighbourhoods. He quit school at just thirteen and started hanging out with the wrong crowd. Wahlberg was even sentenced to forty-five days in prison for attacking a man. With the help of his brother Donnie Wahlberg, Mark was was able to get his life back on track. He started out as a musician and then branched out into acting and modelling. The rest, as they say, is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio is known as the one of the richest, most famous actors in Hollywood. Nevertheless his childhood was quite different compared to now. This is due to the fact that he was raised by his single mother after his parents divorced when DiCaprio was only eight years old. Even though the two of them had to struggle financially for a while, DiCaprio started his career rather early and was therefore able to to earn his own money very quickly, as well as support his family with his earnings!

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank didn't have it easy growing up. When she was a teenager, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother. At the time the two couldn't afford an apartment so they lived in their car for extended periods of time. Nowadays, she makes a few million with every movie she stars in.

Kelly Clarkson moved to Los Angeles after getting her High School Diploma. She worked a number of jobs to keep her head above the water financially and even had to live in her car for a while.

You wouldn't believe it now, but Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise grew up in very poor. His family had to move around a lot, which is why Cruise attended 15 different schools over the course of his school career. Today, he is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood.