Long before they became stars, many celebrities had ordinary jobs. Below is just a sampling of some the jobs 45 celebrities had prior to stardom. The jobs range from attorney, drug dealer, nanny and eyeglass inspector.Look at the list below to see what your favorite star did before they reached celebrity status. Did he dance like a chicken or dig graves to achieve success?
#1. Brad Pitt
Brad was two credits shy of graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism, when he dropped out and moved to LA. During his pursuit of stardom, he delivered refrigerators, drove exotic dancers around in a limousine and wore a chicken suit and danced around for el Pollo Loco.
#2. Kanye West
During his high school days, Kanye West folded clothes at the GAP.In ‘The College Dropout’ album, West mentions his former retail job, “Let’s go back, back to the GAP. Look at my check. wasn’t no scratch. So if I stole, wasn’t my fault.Yeah I stole, never got caught.”
#3. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp was a telemarketer. He sold pens and recalls: “I was selling pens..You’re calling people who don’t want you to call them. You put on your best fake voice and try and sell them a gross or two of ballpoint pens with their name printed on them. First you say, ‘Congratulations. you have just become eligible to win a grandfather clock’ – or a trip to Greece or a Jacuzzi or whatever.’ “
#4. Madonna
Prior to the pop icon’s 1984 appearance on American Bandstand, she worked as a showgirl in France. She also worked at a Dunkin’ Donuts in New York’s Times Square, where she allegedly was fired after she squirted jelly filling all over a customer.
#5. Gerard Butler
A year after graduating from law school, Gerard took a job at a law firm. His desire to act became too much for him and he quit his law career to become a casting assistant, where he landed his first role as the lead in Coriolanus.
#6. James Lipton
The host of “Inside the Actors Studio” used to be a pimp. He told Parade.com that he had a “whole bordello” of women in Paris in the 1950’s. He gave up that career to move back to the states to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
