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53 Celebrities Who Have Been Homeless
Voting Rules
List of notable homeless celebrities
- Photo:
- MTV International
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 3.0
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.- Age: 55
- Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York, Castle Hill
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- 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."
- Age: Dec. at 56 (1955-2011)
- Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA
- Photo:
- Alexander Horn
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.5
Halle Berry found herself homeless when she was first starting her career in Chicago. She told Reader's Digest that she is actually grateful for the situation, saying, “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."- Age: 58
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- 1X-Men441 Votes
- 2X-Men 2404 Votes
- 3Monster's Ball558 Votes
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- Photo:
- Reynaldo Ramon
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
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.- Age: 77
- Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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- Photo:
- Katherine Brock
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
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.- Age: 59
- Birthplace: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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- Tyler Perry has gone on to become one of the most successful film makers in Hollywood, but he lived out of his car when he was a struggling playwright in Atlanta.
- Age: 55
- Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- 1Diary of a Mad Black Woman284 Votes
- 2Why Did I Get Married?233 Votes
- 3The Family That Preys204 Votes
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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."- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Sharonville, Ohio, USA
- Photo:
- Jean-François Gornet
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.0
Carrey opened up about his experience with homelessness in an interview with “Inside the Actors Studio” host James Lipton. Carrey recalled, “My father was a musician who got a 'regular job' to support his children. When he lost his job, that's when everything fell apart. We went from 'lower middle class' to 'poor.' We were living out of a van. I quit school at age 15 to begin working to help support my family as a janitor.”- Age: 63
- Birthplace: Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
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- Photo:
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY
When Jewel Kilcher was 18, she lived out of her VW van.- Age: 50
- Birthplace: USA, Utah, Payson
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY
Sylvester Stallone spent about three weeks sleeping at the Port Authority bus station when he came across an ad for an adult film that was paying $100 a day. Stallone worked for two days on the film - long enough to get himself out of the bus station.- Age: 78
- Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Manfred Werner
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
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.- Age: 42
- Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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- 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.
- Age: Dec. at 27 (1967-1994)
- Birthplace: Aberdeen, Washington, USA
- Photo:
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY
Kelsey Grammer has had more than his fair share of tragedies in his life. Several of the "Frasier" stars' family members died in terrible ways, and as a young actor Grammer slept in an alley, his motorcycle being his only shelter.- Age: 70
- Birthplace: Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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- Photo:
- Windyjonas
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
Lil' Kim lived with her mother in their car during her youth.- Age: 50
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Elektra Records
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
When Jim Morrison was a struggling poet/musician, he slept everywhere from rooftops to cars and even under the pier at Venice Beach.- Age: Dec. at 27 (1943-1971)
- Birthplace: Melbourne, USA, Florida
- Photo:
- Photo:
- RKO publicity photographer
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
When Cary Grant was young, he would sleep out in alleys if he couldn't make enough money to stay at a flop house by working on the military docks.- Age: Dec. at 82 (1904-1986)
- Birthplace: Bristol, England, UK
- 1North by Northwest971 Votes
- 2Charade844 Votes
- 3Notorious749 Votes
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Manfred Werner
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 3.0
Hilary Swank lived in a car with her mother when they first moved out to Hollywood.- Age: 50
- Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- 1Million Dollar Baby102 Votes
- 2Boys Don't Cry83 Votes
- 3P.S. I Love You65 Votes
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Joseph-Siffred Duplessis
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Benjamin Franklin ran away from his home in Boston at the age of 17. He hitched a ride on a ship to New York and then walked to Philedelphia on foot.- Age: Dec. at 84 (1706-1790)
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Jerry Avenaim
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY-SA 2.5
Dr. Phil McGraw comes from meager beginners. The talk show host spent part of his childhood living with his father in their car, staying at YMCAs when they could.- Age: 74
- Birthplace: Vinita, Oklahoma, USA
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Ella Fitzgerald slept out on the streets of New York until she won a singing compitition and started her career.- Age: Dec. at 79 (1917-1996)
- Birthplace: Newport News, Virginia, USA
- Photo:
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY
Daniel Craig slept on a park bench when he was a struggling actor. In an interview, the Bond star stated, "I've done awful things to survive, because I had no money."- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Chester, Cheshire, England, UK
- 1Casino Royale289 Votes
- 2Skyfall257 Votes
- 3The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo205 Votes
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Punk rocker Patti Smith slept in streets, parks, and subways in New York when she was a struggling artist.- Age: 78
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Public domain
Charlie Chaplin was forced onto the streets of London when he was a child after his father died and his mother had a mental breakdown.- Age: Dec. at 88 (1889-1977)
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- 1The Gold Rush58 Votes
- 2City Lights64 Votes
- 3Modern Times76 Votes
- Photo:
- Photo:
- David Shankbone
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 3.0
Before Suze Orman became a world famous finacial guru, she lived out of her van in Berkeley.- Age: 73
- Birthplace: USA, Chicago, Illinois
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Talk show host Steve Harvey was homeless after he split with his wife and was low on funds. He would stay in hotels when he traveled for comedy shows, but he had nowhere to go when he wasn't working. "It was so disheartening," Harvey told People Magazine. "A week is really the maximum you can do. This was three years! It was rock bottom. But even in my darkest days, I had faith it would turn around."
- Age: 68
- Birthplace: Welch, West Virginia, USA
- American Pie star Natasha Lyonne struggled with addiction and ended up homeless. She has now revived her career and can be seen in the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black."
- Age: 45
- Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
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Former child star Danny Bonaduce struggled with addiction and homelessness. Before he landed the radio gig that revived his career, Bonaduce lived out of his car.- Age: 65
- Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Sam Worthington was living in his car before he landed a starring role in Avatar.
- Age: 48
- Birthplace: Godalming, Surrey, England, UK
- Photo:
- user uploaded image
Majician Harry Houdini ran away from home at the age of 12 and survived by staying in shelters and camping out on the streets.- Age: Dec. at 52 (1874-1926)
- Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Public domain
Before she married Sir Paul McCartney, Heather Mills slept outside the Waterloo train station when she was a struggling teen.- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Aldershot, England
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Talk show host and author Don Imus slept between dryers at a laundromat when he fell on hard times.- Age: 84
- Birthplace: Riverside, California, USA
- Photo:
- Gracenote
Margot Kidder, best known for playing Lois Lane in Superman, was found wandering the streets after suffering from mental illness. She is now doing well and living in Montana.- Age: Dec. at 69 (1948-2018)
- Birthplace: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
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When he first moved to New York City to become a musician, Beck Hansen struggled severely to get by. He was saved when "Loser" became a smash hit on MTV.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Earha Kitt took to sleeping on rooftops in New York when she was homeless.
- Age: Dec. at 81 (1927-2008)
- Birthplace: North, South Carolina, USA
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Fair use
Bobby Driscoll lived a tragic life. Once an Oscar winner, Driscoll was found dead of a heart attack in a vacant building where he was squatting.- Age: Dec. at 31 (1937-1968)
- Birthplace: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
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- When he was just a teen, Djimon Hounsou slept out on the streets of France near the Eiffel Tower.
- Age: 60
- Birthplace: Cotonou, Benin
- Photo:
- user uploaded image
Producer Robert Evans had a brief stint of homelessness when he was kicked out of Havana and ended up in Key West.- Age: Dec. at 89 (1930-2019)
- Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- flickr
- CC0
Brett Butler had a hit sitcom with "Grace Under Fire," but after the show ended, Butler struggled with addiction and ended up homeless. Charlie Sheen recently reached out to Butler to offer her a small role on his TV show "Anger Management."
- Age: 67
- Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama, USA
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Director John Woo became homeless as a child when his family home in Hong Kong was burned down in a fire.- Age: 78
- Birthplace: Guangzhou, China
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Chris Gardner's journey from a homeless father to a successful businessman was the inspiration for the film Pursuit of Happyness.- Age: 71
- Birthplace: USA, Wisconsin, Milwaukee
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Michael Oher was homeless as a teen until he was taken in by a caring family. His story is the inspriation for the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side.- Age: 38
- Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee
- Drew Carey lived out of his car when he was a struggling comedian.
- Age: 66
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Colonel Harland Sanders lived out of his car as he tried to sell his famous fried chicken recipe to restaurants across the country.- Age: Dec. at 90 (1890-1980)
- Birthplace: Henryville, Indiana
- Photo:
- flickr
- CC0
Nick Stahl has fallen on troubled times. The Terminator 3 actor frequently goes missing, but he has been seen on Skid Row in Los Angeles.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: Harlingen, Texas, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- flickr
- CC0
John Paul DeJoria
John Paul DeJoria is now a billionare, but he spent his 20s struggling and living out of his car.- Age: 80
- Birthplace: Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- flickr
- CC0
Willie Aames had early success with the TV show "Eight is Enough." Unfortunately, after experiencing troubled times, Aames found himself broke and homeless.- Age: 64
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
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When Jim Cramer first graduated from college, he lived out of his car.- Age: 70
- Birthplace: USA, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania
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Two-time boxing champion Rocky Lockridge has fallen on hard times and is now homeless in New Jersey.- Age: 66
- Birthplace: Seattle, Washington
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Erin Moran has come across hard times since her stint on "Happy Days." In 2012, she was kicked out of her trailer park and began bouncing around Indiana hotel rooms.- Age: Dec. at 56 (1960-2017)
- Birthplace: Burbank, California, USA
- Photo:
- Mike L Photo's
- via Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
Iran Bakley has made millions as a boxer, but after losing it all, he took to sleeping in subway cars to stay out of the cold.- Age: 64
- Birthplace: New York City, New York
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Public domain
"American Idol" semi-finalist Frenchie Davis was homeless for three months before she found success as a singer.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: California
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Actor Chris Pratt lived in his van on the beach in Maui after dropping out of community college.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: Virginia, Minnesota, USA
