#1
Imagine gate-crashing weddings just so that you can have food to eat. Or suffering from ongoing "broke PTSD" after spending too long living in your car. It may sound like a TV drama, and not the life of a famous person, but that's exactly what American comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish says she went through before getting her big break in Hollywood.
“I’ve crashed weddings before, given a speech and didn’t know anybody there,” Haddish revealed in 2023. “That’s when I was homeless and hungry.”
She said she'd frequent a hotel near Los Angeles’ Westchester neighborhood, where she knew lots of weddings took place. The star admits that while she now has lots of money, she's still terrified of ending up poor again.
#2
Abandoned by his father since he was a baby, mother neglected him, they were always very poor and moved from house to house or lived in trailer parks etc. Literally could not really get much poorer than he was as an American in that time period, really. At some point he was literally evicted from his house and homeless and broke back into the house and slept on the floor just to not sleep on the street.
He single handedly purely by his own talent, skill and hard work took his entire family (his wife which then became ex wife, his 3 children, his half brother and probably many others) out of poverty, and even helped Dr Dr revive his own career as well as essentially giving 50 cent a career. He became super rich, gave his kids the best life money can buy, made some big mistakes but continues to be an amazing father and example of overcoming bad odds, on top of becoming sober, owning up to a lot of his past mistakes and growing a lot as a person. His children are all healthy, smart, lovely people who do not act entitled or like brats, he made amends with his ex wife and he is now a grandpa.
#3
Haddish had a tough childhood and grew up in foster care. Today, she is a household name and owns multiple properties, including land and a private island in Eritrea. As a kid, traveling the world (or even the country) was a dream that could easily have eluded her.
"My grandma used to have this abandoned, broken-down Chevy in the backyard and me, my cousins, and my sister used to pretend like we were driving to places like Chattanooga or Istanbul," she told Cosmopolitan. "But the car wasn’t a car. It was a magical train that could fly and we would go to all these cool places, and we get out and it’d be the same backyard. This is probably why my imagination is so great now."
Haddish credits her close friend Kevin Hart with helping her out of poverty. The short man with a big heart gave the homeless young woman money for a hotel and helped her find her first apartment, before they both became celebrities.
#4
He was born into poverty in New York. He grew up in a rough neighborhood. Him, and his brothers, joined the military and fought in World War 2. During the war, he had to clear mine fields and check houses for IEDs.
After the war, he started getting into comedy. Writing and doing stand-up acts. And, he would make fun of nazis every chance he had.
This led to him awarded an EGOT, and he is an American legend.
#5
#6
Another one of our favorite rags-to-riches stories is that of comedian Trevor Noah. Not only does he come from poverty, but he also faced the trauma of growing up in apartheid South Africa.
In his book, Born A Crime, Noah writes of how he and his parents couldn't walk together in public... His dad had to walk on the other side of the street while he and his mom walked together. But even being seen with his mother would raise eyebrows because of the color of his skin.
#7
#8
#9
There’s more to her story… Ted Wells wasn’t even her real father— he was married to Barbara when Julie was conceived with a different man during a separation, but for the rest of his life, Wells treated Julie as his own, biological daughter. Julie only knew herself when her mom took her to a party to meet a strange man in her early teens. At the end of the night, Barbara was too drunk to drive home, so 14 yo Julie Andrews had to drive them both home. On their way back, Barbara revealed the man they met at the party was her real dad.
And Ted Andrews, her stepfather, was a monster. She had an uncle and aunt who fixed a lock on her door.
It’s all in her autobiography, Home. A very sad childhood, really.
The golden child of South Africa took the world by storm during his run as host of The Daily Show. He continues to wow with his down-to-earth nature and authentic tales of his roots, despite owning several high-profile properties and raking in the dollars.
Today, Trevor Noah can dine anywhere his heart desires, and money is no issue. But once upon a time, as a little boy, he ate caterpillars to fill his hungry tummy and played with bricks when he had no toys.
"Being poor sucks," he once told Oprah Winfrey. "But being poor together makes it a lot better. My family had something that sometimes you don’t have when you have too much—the ability to focus on the human beings around you. We had each other, so we laughed."
#10
#11
#12
Not only was his family poor, but the struggles he had to go through in a apartheid South Africa was wild! I highly recommend his book, Born a Crime. See if your local library has it in audiobook, because he narrates, and it's great. Funny, and informative - like, I knew the basics of apartheid, but the rules and the way they applied differently to different people was bonkers. And some of the stuff he lived through was harrowing.
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
He lived in family and friends houses, sleeping on the sofa with his mother. Couldn’t afford multiple pairs of shoes for basketball which resulted in him misshaping his feet etc. He’s now one of the richest celebrities in the world and worked for everything he has. 👑.
#18
She's been through so much and is legitimately a global superstar now -- arguably the most famous living drag queen after none other than RuPaul. I admire her so much.
*for those who may not know, it's sort of a convention to generally refer to drag queens by the pronouns they use while in drag; in her day-to-day life she's a cisgender man who uses he/him/his pronouns.
#19
#20
