We might crave the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous, but many of these well-known names quite literally had to work their way from rags to riches. Read on to see the most famous people in the world who were homeless before they made it.

Magician Harry Houdini ran away from home at a young age, before he moved to New York City with his father. When they arrived, the pair were too poor to afford anywhere to live and had to sleep on the streets. Harry soon landed a more comfortable lifestyle as he got his first jobs as a professional magician at the age of 17.

Entrepreneur Colonel Sanders was homeless for the majority of his life while he built what has today become the KFC empire. Fast food’s famous goateed man lived in a car with his wife while they travelled around trying to convince restaurants to sell his chicken recipe.

The actress was living in her car before making it as a Hollywood actress. When her long-time friend and fellow actor Kevin Hart found out about her living situation, he gave her $300 (£220) so she could stay in a hotel for the week. 

Carmen Electra is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades in the showbiz world as she’s hopped from modelling to acting and to singing. In the midst of it all, she reportedly spent a couple of years living homeless after a boyfriend stole her savings.

After suffering from a troubled childhood at the hands of her abusive stepfather, Ella started working for the mafia, before the police found her and put her in a school for girls. But Ella ran away and was homeless when she turned to singing. She made her first debut in 1934 at the Apollo Theater, which led her to become a jazz sensation.

American singer-songwriter Jewel once became homeless after losing her job. Due to her inability to pay her rent, she was left to sleep in her car and struggled to keep any more jobs due to illnesses. Although she was homeless for a month, she soon went back to singing and rose to become the star she is today.

Michael Oher’s difficult childhood is commonly known as inspiration for the film The Blind Side. The movie depicts how the successful footballer lived on the streets, while his mother lived in public housing and struggled with drug addictions. He was eventually taken in by a wealthy family and soon drafted into the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.

British-born Australian actor Sam Worthington had a busy film career in Australia before selling everything he owned and moving into his car during an existential crisis. But shortly after he was invited to audition for Avatar, and went on to play the role of Juke Sally.

When Idris Elba first moved to America in pursuit of an acting career, he was unable to pick up a job and slept in his van for eight weeks. The British Luther star said he took any job he could to earn money and had a lot of years with nothing, but never gave up on acting. Soon he got the news that he was going to be on The Wire, where he played dealer Russell “Stringer” Bell. 

 

Before winning American Idol, Kelly Clarkson had to sleep in her car after the apartment she rented in LA burned down. The fire started on her first day in town after she’d moved over to California from Texas, so she took to the road and slept in her car until her big break on the American singing contest. 

Silent movie star Charlie Chaplin was put in a mental hospital as a child after the death of his father, leaving him and his brother to support themselves. But inspired by his parents’ careers in show business, Charlie decided to follow suit and quickly became known as one of the greatest actors in silent film.

Million Dollar Baby star Hilary Swank was far away from a million dollars when she moved to LA with her mother to pursue an acting career, living out of a car and sofa surfing. But within a couple of months, Hilary landed some acting roles and made home in slightly more luxurious accommodation. 

Starring in blockbusters such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, Chris Pratt is one of Hollywood's most in-demand stars. However, before finding fame, Pratt lived out of a van in Hawaii. In an interview, he said he made enough money to cover essentials such as gas, food, and fishing supplies. 

This personal finance guru lived in her van for around four months in the early 1970s when she first moved to Berkeley, California, as she couldn’t afford anywhere else. She is now a financial adviser, motivational speaker and owns around millions worth of real estate.

Halle Berry hasn’t always lived an A-list lifestyle as she spent her first days in New York living in a homeless shelter. In an interview, she said “a girl had to do what a girl had to do”. But just two years later, the former Bond star took on a role as a drug addict in Jungle Fever, kickstarting her Hollywood career. 

Kurt’s background of financial insecurity, which was fuelled by drugs and a volatile lifestyle, unsurprisingly caused the Nirvana frontman to take to the streets before his fame. He slept under a bridge and in waiting rooms at hospitals for nights on end before becoming the singer of one of the most famous rock bands of all time.

After Star Trek came off air, William Shatner struggled financially, leaving him to live out of his truck due to a lack of cash. Shatner claims he was recently divorced, had three children and was “totally broke”. But he soon managed to find work and has since been back on the screen for seven Star Trek movies. 

Before his acting career took off, the James Bond actor hopped from couch to couch and slept on park benches in London while studying at the National Youth Theatre because he had no money for rent. Work soon started to pick up and he made his first film debut in 1992 in The Power of One.

Before becoming a comedic star on the big screen, Jim Carrey experienced a period of homelessness at the age of 12 when his father lost a job. Jim and his family slept in a van for a while during this time, but he soon went on to star in In Living Color, which was the beginning of his acting career. 

When this talk show host started out as a comedian, gigs fell through, leaving him without enough money to pay for accommodation and reportedly living in his Ford Tempo for three years. This was until he had a call to appear on Showtime at the Apollo, which was the beginning of his successful career. 

Now one of the biggest musicians in the world, the English singer-songwriter used to live a very different lifestyle from the one of fame and fortune he leads today. When trying to make it in the music industry, he would couch surf between friends' houses while gigging. He said he even spent nights sleeping on the London Underground. 

Television host David Letterman spent days living out of his pickup truck as he made the transition from his native home of Indiana across to Los Angeles, California. He didn’t slum it for too long though as he quickly picked up work writing jokes for comedian Jimmy Walker, which was the gateway to his current fame.

Shania Twain spent much of her childhood living in a shelter with her family in Toronto so they would have enough money to buy food. But at the age of eight, she started singing in bars to help support her family and went on to win five Grammys for her well-known country power ballads.

J-Lo’s desire to make it as an actress was hindered when she was forced to sofa surf because her parents didn’t approve of her decision to move to Hollywood. She was moving from place to place right up until she got her first break in Europe and later in Los Angeles.

This Hollywood superstar hasn’t always had it so easy. Back in the days before his fame, Stallone had a tough upbringing and was evicted from his apartment, being forced to spend three weeks sleeping in an NYC bus station. But things soon turned around when he sold his screenplay for Rocky to a Hollywood film studio. The rest is history. 

This famous American psychologist, better known as Dr. Phil, once lived out of a car with his father in Kansas City while his father interned as a psychologist. But they eventually managed to get a room at the YMCA and Phil went on to obtain qualifications and became a regular on Oprah. 

Before achieving success as one of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors, James Cameron was living in his car and barely making ends meet. His luck changed when he sold the rights to his Terminator script for $1 million (£734k). 

 

According to Forbes, actor and comedian Tyler Perry is now a billionaire. But in the 90s when Tyler was working on the play I Know I’ve Been Changed, he used up all of his savings and was homeless on and off for around six years. But by 1998, his play became a huge hit and he got to enjoy a much more glamorous lifestyle. 

Apple entrepreneur Steve Jobs didn’t always live a high tech life. Before he built his empire, he had to sleep on the floor in friends’ rooms, return Coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits in order to buy food and walk for miles just to get a good meal at a Hare Krishna temple. 

Now take a look at the movies that lost the most money at the box office