Famous Actors Who Were Once Homeless

#1 Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey once lived out of a VW camper van and in a tent on his sister's front lawn.

Yahoo reported that the comedian dropped out of high school and lived in a VW bus with his family parked in different places throughout Canada. They eventually moved into a tent on his older sister's lawn and parked the van in the driveway.

Carrey said it was during these tough financial times growing up when he developed a sense of humor.

#2 Christian Olivo

Christian Olivo took an unusual path to acting. Choosing to be homeless, he bought a gym membership and invested in acting classes. Rising at 5:00 AM, he ran on the beach every day and walked for miles across Los Angeles. Instead of dating, he spent his time practicing acting and honing his athletic prowess as he prepared for his future as an action movie star.

His sacrifice and hard work are beginning to pay off. He’s landed roles in FX’s Versace: American Crime Story and HBO’s Insecure. The actor earned a perfect math score on his Scholastic Aptitude Test and graduated summa cum laude. Then he attended the United States Air Force Academy and played a variety of sports.

He also studied acting at Arizona State University and with Los Angeles acting coaches Anthony Meindl and Matthew Barry.[1] The determined Texan’s stint of homelessness appears to be forever behind him, a mere stepping-stone to future stardom.

#3 Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known as J. Lo, is an American actress, author, fashion designer, dancer, producer, and singer.

She became interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry following a minor role in the 1986 film My Little Girl, to the dismay of her Puerto Rican parents, who believed that it was an unrealistic career route for a Hispanic.

Jennifer Lopez recently shared that she was homeless a few months before she booked “In Living Color.” The former Fly Girl used to sleep in her dance studio because she had nowhere else to go.

#4 Halle Berry

Oscar winner Halle Berry once stayed in a homeless shelter in her early 20s.When she first moved to Chicago to become an actress, Berry ran out of money, and her mother decided the best thing would be to not send her daughter more cash.

During these struggling times, the actress acknowledges, she stayed in a homeless shelter.

In an interview with Star Pulse, Berry said:

It taught me how to take care of myself and that I could live through any situation, even if it meant going to a shelter for a small stint, or living within my means, which were meager. I became a person who knows that I will always make my own way.

#5 Steve Jobs

Apple mastermind Steve Jobs crashed on friends' floors during college and returned glass Coke bottles to make a little bit of money. He recalled his meager beginnings during a commencement speech at Stanford University: "I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple."

#6 Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt dropped out of college after a single semester, accepting a friend’s offer to buy him a one-way ticket to Maui. There, he was homeless, sleeping in a van when he didn’t spend the night on the beach.

He drank, smoked marijuana, and worked only enough to “cover gas, food, and fishing supplies.”While waiting tables at Maui’s Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Pratt met Rae Dawn Chong. She offered him a part in Cursed Part 3, a movie she was directing. Today, as Pratt continues to work, his ambition expands.First, he wanted to move beyond playing a “bad guy.” Then he wanted to try his hand at sidekick roles.

Next, he wanted to do comedy. Now, he’s able to turn down some roles.To date, his biggest roles have been Andy Dwyer in the television series Parks and Recreation, Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Owen Grady in Jurassic World.

#7 Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig, or "James Bond," once had to sleep on park benches in London. Craig now has several critically acclaimed movies on his resume, but Hollyscoop reported that the 007 actors used to sleep on park benches as a struggling actor.Today that 46-year-old Craig is worth an estimated $65 million.

#8 Ella Fitzgerald

Singer Ella Fitzgerald was abused, had Mafia ties, and was homeless before becoming the "Queen of Jazz."

She would go on to sing for President Ronald Reagan in 1981, but before becoming "arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time," Fitzgerald was abused by her stepfather when her mother died at a young age, according to PoemHunter.com.

She worked with the Mafia for some time before the police put her in a school for girls.

Fitzgerald ran away from there and was homeless until debuting at the Apollo Theater in 1934. Her voice quickly won her fame, and she went on to win 13 Grammy Awards and receive medals from both President Reagan and George H.W. Bush. She died in 1996, but her face appeared on a U.S. postal stamp in 2007.

#9 David Letterman

David Letterman lived out of his 1973 Chevy pickup truck when he was just starting out in Los Angeles.The late night talk show host got his start by writing jokes for Jimmy Walker and soon he became a star in his own right.

#10 Chris Gardner

Millionaire Chris Gardner, who inspired the movie "The Pursuit of Happiness," was homeless with a young son while he was in a finance training program.

Aside from a movie based on his life starring Will Smith, Gardner also has two New York Times bestselling books under his belt: his autobiography "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be."

But before his story was shared with the world, Gardner was living on the streets with his young son. At the time, he was trying to pursue a career in finance despite not having any experience in it or even a college degree. He received a spot on the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but could not afford to live off of the small salary, and his wife eventually left him.

He is also a motivational speaker and CEO of Gardner Rich LLC with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

According to Gardner's website, his childhood was "marked by poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse, and family illiteracy."

#11 Drew Carey

Comedian Drew Carey had never given a speech before he accepted a 2010 invitation to address a Friends of Youth assembly.

He told his 650 listeners that supporting such organizations is worthwhile, explaining how the Cleveland, Ohio, chapter of Big Brothers helped him after his father died when Carey was eight years old. Carey was suicidal at 18 when he took a bus from Ohio to visit his brother, who lived in California. On the way, Carey was homeless in Las Vegas for a time. To buy macaroni and cheese, he sold his blood plasma for $40.

Now, when he buys Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner Deluxe, he feels like a “big shot.” According to Carey, the young people to whom he spoke could benefit from Friends of Youth the same way he’d been helped by Big Brothers.

After appearing in comedy clubs across the country, Carey demonstrated his comedic skills on Star Search and The Tonight Show. This led to The Drew Carey Show in 1995, after which he hosted The Price Is Right game show.[3] Unlucky in youth, Carey has since enjoyed the success and happiness that once eluded him.

#12 Shania Twain

Long before she was a country music superstar, Shania Twain struggled with homelessness.When she was a child, Twain stayed at a Toronto shelter with her mother and siblings.Later, when Twain was just 16, she took shelter by squatting in a vacant house and sleeping on buses.

#13 Jewel

Jewel once lived on the streets after losing her job.In an interview with Adam on Showbizspy, the multi-platinum singer said:

I ended up homeless because my boss propositioned me, and when I wouldn’t sleep with him he didn’t give me my paycheck.

I got kicked out of where I was living, and my rent was due that next day.

I thought, ‘Well, I’ll live in my car for a minute … get back on my feet,’ but I had bad kidneys, and I never could hold down another job because I got sick so often. I didn’t have insurance and ended up almost dying in the parking lot of an emergency room because they wouldn’t admit me because I didn’t have insurance.I ended up homeless for about a month, and I went back to singing.

#14 Charlie Chaplin

In 1899, when he was 10 years old, Charlie Chaplin and his brother Sydney were forced to earn their own living. Their father, actor Charles Sr., had died, and their mother, singer and comedienne Hannah, was institutionalized for mental illness.

Chaplin started out as a tap dancer with “The Eight Lancashire Lads,” a London troupe of boys, before landing a role in a stage show, Sherlock Holmes, starring William Gillette. Next, Chaplin embarked on a career in vaudeville as a comedian before immigrating to the United States.

There, he joined Mack Sennett and the Keystone Film Company.After moving to Mutual Film Corporation and starring in a dozen two-reel comedies, Chaplin built his own studio and became an independent producer.

In association with United Artists, he made eight movies, including The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator.The boy who started with little more than the shirt on his back became one of Hollywood’s most successful and enduring stars.

#15 Michael Oher's

Michael Oher's story of homelessness and struggle in "The Blind Side" was inspirational to the world.During his childhood and teenage years, Oher was living on the streets while his crack-addicted mother lived in public housing, reported NPR.

He was eventually taken in to live with a wealthy family, played college football at the University of Mississippi, and drafted into the NFL in 2009 for the Baltimore Ravens.

His inspirational story was turned into Michael Lewis's 2006 book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" and the movie "The Blind Side."

#17 Kurt Cobain

After a young Kurt Cobain's parents got divorced, he was tossed around between extended family members until he ended up homeless, living under a bridge. The Nirvana frontman also spent time sleeping in hallways, waiting rooms, and even porches.

#18 Harry Houdini

At a young age Houdini knew he wanted to be a magician, and he ran away from home by hopping a freight car, according to Appleton Public Library.

He ended up in Missouri.

A few years later, he moved to New York City with his father, but they were so poor Houdini continued to panhandle on the streets.

He began his professional career at 17.

#19 Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra had just finished touring with Prince when a boyfriend stole her money and left her with nowhere to go. The Playmate spent a couple of years homeless in Los Angeles before she nailed auditions for "Baywatch" and "Singled Out."

#20 Steve Harvey

The 57-year-old actor, TV personality, and author told People Magazine that when he was just starting out as a comedian in the late 1980s, "one or two gigs fell through,” and he suddenly found himself homeless.

People reported that Harvey lived in his 1976 Ford Tempo for three years — he would wash up in hotel bathrooms, gas stations, or swimming pool showers — until he was called to appear on “Showtime at the Apollo.”

That gig turned out to be Harvey’s big break.

#21 Kelly Clarkson

When Kelly Clarkson first moved out to Los Angeles, her apartment burnt down in a fire.With little money and no contacts in LA, Clarkson lived out of her car and at shelters.