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rags to riches

Rags to Riches: 7 homeless people who became famous

Halle Berry, Daniel Craig and Charlie Chaplin all came from difficult backgrounds…
5.00pm, 16 Jun 2012
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IT’S HARD TO imagine famous people ever struggling for money.

But many of them were nor just poor – they were homeless.

Here are some more incredible stories of people who at some point in their lives had nowhere to sleep but on the streets.

The eventually turned their lives around and became an inspiration to anyone who dreams of a professional career starting from nothing.

Rags to Riches: 7 homeless people who became famous
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  • Halle Berry

    When she first moved to Chicago to become an actress, Berry ran out of money and her mother decided the best thing would not be to send her daughter money. During these struggling times, the actress admits to staying in a homeless shelter. In an interview with Star Pulse, the actress 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." Tammie Arroyo/UK Press/Press Association Images

  • Jim Carrey

    Jim Carrey once lived out of a VW camper van and in a tent on his sister's lawn. Carrey said that it was during these tough financial times that he developed a sense of humour. Peter Kramer/Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via AP Images

  • Jewel

    After being fired, multi-platinum singer Jewel lived on the streets. She said she became homeless because her boss propositioned her and when she refused him he wouldn't pay her. She said because of ill health she ended up almost dying outside a hospital because she didn't have health insurance. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

  • Daniel Craig

    Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, once had to sleep on park benches in London. Ian West/PA Wire

  • Ella Fitzgerald

    She would go on to sing for President Ronald Reagan in 1981, but before becoming "arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time," Ella Fitzgerald was abused by her stepfather when her mother died at a young age 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 throughout her career, she won 13 Grammy Awards and received medals from both President Reagan and George H. W. Bush. PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images

  • Britain Charlie Chaplin

    After the early death of his father, Chaplin's mother was put in a mental hospital and the young boy and his brother had to try to make a living by themselves on the streets of London. As both his parents were in show business, Chaplin and his brother decided to follow suit. Today, he's known as one of the greatest actors during the silent film era. (AP Photo, File)

  • Michael Oher

    During his childhood and teenaged years, Oher was living on the streets while his crack-addicted mother lived in public housing. 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." (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
  • When she first moved to Chicago to become an actress, Berry ran out of money and her mother decided the best thing would not be to send her daughter money. During these struggling times, the actress admits to staying in a homeless shelter. In an interview with Star Pulse, the actress said:
  • Jim Carrey once lived out of a VW camper van and in a tent on his sister's lawn. Carrey said that it was during these tough financial times that he developed a sense of humour. Peter Kramer/Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via AP Images
  • After being fired, multi-platinum singer Jewel lived on the streets. She said she became homeless because her boss propositioned her and when she refused him he wouldn't pay her. She said because of ill health she ended up almost dying outside a hospital because she didn't have health insurance. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
  • Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, once had to sleep on park benches in London. Ian West/PA Wire
  • She would go on to sing for President Ronald Reagan in 1981, but before becoming
  • After the early death of his father, Chaplin's mother was put in a mental hospital and the young boy and his brother had to try to make a living by themselves on the streets of London. As both his parents were in show business, Chaplin and his brother decided to follow suit. Today, he's known as one of the greatest actors during the silent film era. (AP Photo, File)
  • During his childhood and teenaged years, Oher was living on the streets while his crack-addicted mother lived in public housing. 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

Watch: Jim Carrey sings Radiohead in a New York nightclub>

First pic of new Bond film: Daniel Craig’s grown a beard>

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