We might know them now as the stars behind blockbuster movies, sell-out concerts or hit TV shows, but for these A-listers, the 9-5 wasn't always quite so glamorous.
From Jennifer Aniston and Kanye West to Julia Roberts and Barack Obama, discover the surprising pre-fame jobs these A-listers had before they hit the big time.
Before becoming one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, Brad Pitt had some less than desirable jobs.
As well as delivering refrigerators, he was also a mascot for the fast-food chain El Pollo Loco, which saw him dress up in a yellow feathered chicken costume to attract customers. Talking to Ellen DeGeneres during a 2019 appearance on her eponymous chat show, Pitt said he had "no shame" about the gig, adding: "man's gotta eat".
Needless to say, he threw away the chicken outfit for good after landing his breakthrough role in the 1991 film Thelma and Louise.
Self-proclaimed "genius" Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – hasn’t always been the internationally-famed music mogul that he is today.
Prior to getting his big break, a teenage Ye folded clothes as a sales assistant at high street clothes store Gap. In 2021, he returned to the clothing brand, collaborating with them on the Yeezy Gap clothing line.
Before landing leading roles in the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Depp worked in telesales. He sold pens to customers with the false promise of fabulous prizes if they snapped up the writing instruments.
Speaking in 2008 about the gig, Depp revealed that he was actually not-so good at the job, as he was too honest. "When the supervisor wandered off, I would say [to the customer], "Listen, don't buy these pens. [The prize] is made of corkboard. I'm a thief, we're ripping you off"," he admitted.
Madonna may not have always rocked the stage but she has evidently always been a diva. Before taking the music industry by storm, she worked at Dunkin’ Donuts in NYC’s Times Square but was fired for squirting a jelly filling in a customer's face.
As well as donating his blood plasma twice a week in exchange for cash, Ashton Kutcher also briefly worked in the footsteps of his father, Larry, by working in a factory. For one summer, Kutcher Jr. was an employee of food company General Mills, and was responsible for sweeping up cereal dust at its Iowa plant.
While at university, he entered a modelling contest. His job prospects changed forever when he won and he signed a deal with a modelling agency. Later that year, he moved to Los Angeles and successfully auditioned for the role of Michael Kelso in That '70s Show.
Hollywood sex symbol Michelle Pfeiffer worked as a supermarket cashier before fame and fortune came a'calling. She won the Miss Orange County beauty contest in 1979, which launched her acting career.
She was propelled to stardom after being cast in Scarface alongside Al Pacino. Pfeiffer starred in the iconic movie as Elvria, the troubled wife of Pacino's Tony Montana.
As hard as it is to believe, Hollywood hunk George Clooney hasn’t always been an on-screen heart-throb.
Before he found fame, Clooney worked a handful of menial jobs, including as a tobacco farmhand, shoe salesman, and door-to-door insurance salesman. With all that selling experience, it's little wonder he's so persuasive in those Nespresso adverts...
Jon Bon Jovi had a couple of unlikely jobs before he became an internationally adored rock star. The New Jersey native worked as a janitor, and also made extra bucks by assembling Christmas decorations.
While sweeping the floors in his cousin Tony Bongiovi's music studio, Bon Jovi recorded his first track, Runaway. The rest, as they say, is history...
She's now Hollywood royalty but Sandra Bullock was far from an overnight success. Before landing her breakout role in 1994's Speed, in which she starred alongside Keanu Reeves, she paid her bills by working as a waitress and bartender.
Harrison Ford struggled for years to make it in the acting world before his breakthrough roles in American Graffiti (1973) and Star Wars: A New Hope (1977).
Prior to playing iconic characters such as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Ford worked as a carpenter.
Can you picture Eva Mendes running a hot dog stand? Probably not – but that's exactly what she used to do. Mendes worked for Hot Dog on a Stick at the Glendale Galleria shopping mall in California, and also held down a job at a pizza joint called Ciao.
It wasn’t until 2001, when she starred opposite Denzel Washington in the box office hit Training Day, that she started to gain recognition for her acting talents.
In a true rags-to-riches story, Jim Carrey dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and began working as a janitor to support his family. He also took on a role as a security guard at a tyre factory.
He started performing on the comedy circuit on the side, and also began to slowly build up his acting CV. After landing a regular role in the sketch show In Living Color, funny guy Carrey went on to snag the lead roles in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumber and Dumber, which were all released in 1994.
Perhaps the spookiest job on our list, Rod Stewart was a grave digger prior to finding fame and fortune as a singer. He also toyed with the idea of becoming a footballer as a teenager, and even got so far as attending a trial session at Brentford FC.
While he might be best known for playing a travelling tool salesman in the sitcom Home Improvement, Tim Allen's pre-Hollywood career might shock you. He made money as a drug dealer and was actually arrested in 1978 after being found with 650g (1.43lb) of cocaine about his person.
After spending two years in prison – which was a significant reduction from a possible life sentence after he pleaded guilty to his charges and named other dealers – Allen was released in summer 1981. He managed to turn things around and found acting success just a few years later.
It's hard to imagine Mariah Carey as anything other than the pop diva she is today but the star once had modest dreams of becoming a beautician.
Carey also worked as a coat check attendant and a waitress. However, after a session as a backing vocalist for Brenda K. Starr, her demo tape was given to Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, who wasted no time in signing Mariah to his label.
If there was an award for the widest range of employment held before finding fame, Sean Connery would probably take the crown.
Prior to his acting career, the late James Bond star worked as a milkman, a lifeguard, and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, a coffin polisher.
When Tom Cruise auditioned for what would become his breakout role in Taps, he reportedly had just a single quarter to his name. That was all he’d managed to save up from his hotel bellhop and paper delivery jobs.
Luckily, he was cast in the 1981 movie and is now one of the most famous actors on the planet.
Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield wasn't always quite as "amazing" as his arachnid counterpart.
Prior to landing his role in the likes of The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), The Social Network (2010), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Garfield was a barista at Starbucks, whipping up your favourite Venti Soy Skinny Peppermint Mocha Lattes.
Multi-media tycoon Oprah Winfrey has never shied away from opening up about her troubled childhood.
Before becoming one of the richest women on the planet, the talk show host worked at a local supermarket. She also had a part-time gig at her local radio station, juggling a newsreader role with completing her senior year of high school.
Long before her days of fronting edgy rock band No Doubt and launching her own solo music career, Gwen Stefani earned a wage by working at her local Dairy Queen. She also did shifts at clothing store Plaza Sportswear, and landed a role as a make-up artist at a department store.
Since then, Stefani has gone on to win countless awards within the music industry and was also a long-standing judge on the US edition of The Voice.
Before starring in millennial movie classics like Mean Girls (2004) and The Notebook (2004), Rachel McAdams was serving up Big Macs at McDonald's, where she worked for three years. She admitted once to Glamour magazine that she was "not a good employee", revealing that she once broke the restaurant's orange juice machine.
Country singer Blake Shelton topped up his bank account by painting houses before he made it on the music scene.
He's now an award-winning country singer and, much like his wife Gwen Stefani, has enjoyed a judging stint on talent contest The Voice.
Before he found fame as Nate Archibald on The CW's hit show Gossip Girl, Chace Crawford worked at Abercrombie & Fitch and modelled for Hollister. Given the star's dashing good looks, this is perhaps one of the least surprising entries in our round-up.
It’s no coincidence that Channing Tatum was cast in Magic Mike. After all, prior to making a name for himself in Hollywood, the actor had had a real-life stint as a male stripper. The 2012 Magic Mike movie was loosely based around Tatum's experiences on the stage.
Before his roles as Wolverine, Gabriel van Helsing, and P.T. Barnum put him on the map, Hugh Jackman briefly worked as a Physical Education teaching assistant at Uppingham School in Rutland, England.
Much like Harrison Ford, Matt LeBlanc – or Joey Tribbiani, as the world would come to know him on Friends – was a carpenter before making it big as an actor.
Before landing his first credited movie role in the sports film Rudy back in 1993, Vince Vaughn patrolled the pool at his local YMCA as a lifeguard.
Lucy Liu worked as an aerobics instructor prior to breaking into the Hollywood scene, with the vocation setting her up for roles in action-packed movies like Charlie's Angels (2000) and Kill Bill (2003).
Another star that made a living as an educator before stepping into the spotlight is Sheryl Crow. She was previously a school teacher at Kellison Elementary School in Missouri before fighting her way onto the music scene as a jingle singer for brands such as McDonald's and Toyota.
This led to a stint as a backing singer for Michael Jackson during his Bad tour (1987-1989) and her music career snowballed from there.
It's hard to picture Mick Jagger as anything other than the rock and roll legend he is today. However, the Rolling Stones frontman once worked as a porter at a psychiatric hospital before becoming a household name.
Though it might seem like Queen Bey was always destined to be famous, her working life began in her mother's hair salon. It's safe to say that the days of sweeping up hair are far behind the star, who Forbes estimated to be worth $440 million (£336m) in 2021.
Although Gwyneth Paltrow is now world-famous thanks to her acting career and headline-hitting lifestyle brand Goop, there was a time when she was just a waitress.
Her big break in Hollywood wasn't much of a coincidence; with Steven Spielberg as her godfather, she was cast as a young Wendy Darling in his 1991 Peter Pan adaptation, Hook.
He may be a big movie star now but James Franco is yet another celebrity that made a buck working at McDonald’s. The job evidently didn't leave a bad taste, with the 127 Hours actor revealing in 2015 that he still "love[s] the simplicity of the McDonald's hamburger and its salty fries".
Franco's Hollywood career took off when he landed a part in Judd Apatow’s comedy-drama TV show Freaks and Geeks, which also starred the likes of Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and Busy Phillipps.
Hollywood may be glamorous but Matthew McConaughey’s job prior to finding fame was anything but. Prior to landing roles in films like Dazed and Confused (1993) and A Time to Kill (1996), he paid the bills by cleaning chicken coops.
US chat show queen Ellen DeGeneres didn't always lead a lifestyle of fame and fortune.
Before hitting the big time, she was a paralegal and also paid the bills by working shifts at JCPenney and TGI Fridays. She also worked variously as an oyster shucker, bartender, and house painter.
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons's pre-fame job could explain his love of flamboyant outfits. Before finding success as a musician, he made a decent living as an assistant to Kate Lloyd, who was the managing editor of Vogue magazine.
Horror writer Stephen King studied English at the University of Maine and held a variety of jobs to pay for his studies, including working as a gas pump attendant.
After graduating in 1970, King earned a certificate to teach at a high school. However, the budding novelist struggled to find work immediately and, to make ends meet, he bumped up his bank balance by selling short stories to racy men's magazine Cavalier.
Before Rachel Green and the Friends phenomenon changed her life forever, Jennifer Aniston worked as a telemarketer – for a whole two weeks. She once said of the role: "I was awful, selling timeshares in the Poconos and upsetting people terribly and me just being the worst at it, because I just apologized profusely and hung up the phone".
Much like her character Rachel did in the earlier seasons of Friends, Aniston also earned cash by waitressing.
His award-winning role in sitcom Taxi launched him into the Hollywood stratosphere. But before he stepped up to play Louie De Palma, funny man Danny DeVito's career was going in a rather different direction.
DeVito worked at his sister Angela's beauty salon, washing hair and pampering customers with beauty treatments. He loved the latter so much that Angela paid for him to have make-up tuition at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. This in turn led him to discover a stage make-up class, which was a springboard for his acting career.
Stepping up as president is arguably the most important job in the United States of America. However, Barack Obama’s first ever job was in a very different realm: he scooped ice cream at Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu.
The minimum wage gig may well have prepared the future president for his role at the White House. "My first summer job wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it taught me some valuable lessons," he wrote in a 2016 LinkedIn post. "Responsibility. Hard work. Balancing a job with friends, family, and school."
Though Helen Mirren was seemingly born to grace the stage and screen, she had a very different job when she was younger.
The Hollywood icon worked as a "blagger" at an amusement park in Essex, England, where she was paid to encourage the public onto the funfair rides.
Long before finding fame in films like Big (1988) and Forrest Gump (1994), screen legend Tom Hanks had a pretty standard job for a teen. He worked as a vendor at Oakland Athletics' stadium, selling hot dogs and peanuts to hungry spectators.
Upon wrapping up the filming on her first ever movie, 1994's Heavenly Creatures, Kate Winslet returned to The County Deli in Reading, England, where she had a part-time job.
However, after landing roles in major movies such as Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Titanic (1997), Winslet was able to hang up her apron and leave her day job behind once and for all.
Before she landed her role as Donna Freedman in soap series Neighbours, Margot Robbie worked in sandwich chain Subway, as well as holding down positions as a bartender and a cleaner.
The hard work has been worth it: thanks to starring parts in movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad, Robbie was named by Forbes as one of the world's highest-paid actresses in 2019.
Long before Transformers cemented her status as a Hollywood siren, Megan Fox had a far less glamorous career. She worked at a branch of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and her role required her to dress up as a giant banana – a far cry from the sensational outfits that she's known for wearing on the red carpet today.
Before American Idol launched her career, Jennifer Hudson worked at Burger King. After Simon Cowell critiqued Hudson for failing to acknowledge the talent contest when she won an Oscar in 2007, she retorted: "If I'd been any better at my job when I was at Burger King in my middle teens, I wouldn't be here either, so should I thank them, too?"
While the fast-food chain insisted it didn't need any thanks from Hudson, it did go on to offer her free burgers for life.
Before finding fame in films like 1992's Reservoir Dogs and Escape from L.A. (1996), Steve Buscemi worked as a New York City firefighter.
Admirably, following 9/11, Buscemi briefly returned to his old job, working 12-hour shifts to rescue survivors from the rubble.
Barack Obama isn’t the only famous face who worked at Baskin-Robbins. Once upon a time, A-list actress Julia Roberts also scooped ice cream to pay for her acting classes.
Jennifer Lopez meant it when she sang about her rise to fame from obscurity in her 2002 hit Jenny from the Block.
The megastar worked as a secretary at a legal office while studying business. However, she ditched her academic course and enrolled at the Phil Black Dance Studio, and her entertainment career began to soar in the 1990s. She's still Jenny from the block, of course – just with an estimated net worth of $400 million (£304m)...
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