15 Celebrities Who Grew In Poverty

Life can be hard and its easy to believe celebrities always had it easy but no many celebrities pretty much started from the bottom. Here is a list of 15 Celebrities Who Grew In Poverty

1. OPRAH WINFREY

Oprah Winfrey is a good example when it comes to poor people who ended up being famous and wealthy. Winfrey will always be known as the queen of daytime talk shows born in Mississippi to young unwed parents, and raised by her grandmother until she was 6 years old. Oprah’s mother worked as a maid and relied on welfare to support the family but the worst part is Oprah was a victim of child sexual abuse.

 

 

2. SARAH JESSICA PARKER

Sarah J. Parker was not always as glamorous as she appears. She was born to a impoverished family in the small town of Nelsonville, Ohio, and began singing and acting partly to support her family.

 

3. JIM CARREY

Comedic actor Jim Carrey grew up in a family so poor that for a time they lived in their Volkswagen van on a relative’s lawn. But Carrey believed in his future even when it may have seemed likely he would follow his parents in poverty.

 

4. TOM CRUISE

Long before Tom was jumping on Oprah’s couch and shaking up margaritas in Cocktail, Tom was just a Catholic kid living in New York City with pennies to his name. Sources say that things weren’t just tight for Tom and his family… they lived in extreme poverty. While Tom’s story tugs at the heart strings it also proves that you don’t have to come from money to go far

 

5. P. DIDDY

Though known for his lavish parties, business mind and mic skills, Diddy was raised in a public housing project in Harlem, New York

 

6. LEORNADO DICAPRIO

A young Leonardo DiCaprio grew up a far cry from a multi-millionaire. Leo was raised in Hollywood where poverty is much more common than you might think. It is also a major stomping ground for criminals and drug dealers alike. At some point he found himself homeless for a while but thankfully all that changed when he landed his first big acting role that made him the super star that we know today.

 

7. KELLY CLARKSON

Not only was Kelly raised in a poor family while she lived back home in Texas, when she moved to LA her apartment burned down forcing Clarkson to live in her car.

 

8. NICKI MINAJ

Most people don’t know that Nicki Minaj came to America as an immigrant from Trinidad. At the age of five Nicki came to the States with her mother and moved into a poverty stricken area of Queens, New York.

 

9. CELINE DION

Told Vanity Fair in 2012 that she grew up in a very small house, they weren’t that poor but they didn’t have money. She grew up the youngest of 14 children in a low-income French Canadian Family.

 

10. JAY-Z

The young rapper was raised by his mother, Gloria Carter, in Brooklyn’s drug-infested Marcy Projects and dealt drugs and flirted with gun violence. Through ambition and talent he has managed to become one of the richest men in the entertainment world and another music mogul that made his way from the bottom to the top.

 

11. JUSTIN BEIBER

Bieber grew up poor because his mom and dad had him when they were still drug-addicted teenagers and then after Justin was born his dad walked out. He and his mother, Pattie Mallette, lived in a rat-infested home with an empty fridge and had to sleep on a pull-out couch living off of macaroni and cheese.

 

12. MARIA CAREY

Mariah Carey grew up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Long Island, in near poverty. Lack of any toys or other fun things to do, she found her own “fun” by doing things like poisoning her dog and setting her parents’ car on fire. Later, she moved to NYC to try her luck. She met a Columbia Records exec by coincidence at a party, and not very long after that she was introduced to the world.

 

13. HALLE BERRY

Halle Berry is known as an Oscar-winning actress and international beauty, but she didn’t always live the high life. Early in her career, Berry moved to NYC to pursue her dream as a model and actress. Berry, while trying to find work in New York, stayed in a homeless shelter. At the age of 21, this star never gave up and had no financial help from her parents. Now, she’s a multiple award winner and an unforgettable talent!

 

14. TYLER PERRY

Perry grew up in a New Orleans purgatory located two blocks from expensive mansions and two blocks from extreme poverty. His working class father expected Perry to join him in the construction field.  Perry grew up in an abusive home.

 

15. MISSY ELLIOT

Revealed on VH1 her past, living under poverty and being sexually abused by cousin, also witnessing domestic violence between parents. There were mice and no running water.