What’s better than the American Dream? When stars make it from rags to riches, a single tear falls downs Uncle Sam’s cheek. Here are 10 people that made it from the homeless shelter to the mansions.
We hope that reading this inspires you to get up, get out and get something.
Jay Electronica – Erykah Badu’s baby daddy raps, “When I was sleeping on the train…” to start off his big hit, “Exhibit C”. Since that moment of homelessness, Jay worked his way to being signed by the big Jay, Mr. Camel. He’s on his way to a major debut album.
Halle Berry – Halle doesn’t seem like she could handle the hard life, but when she moved to New York when she was 21, she lived in a homeland shelter. Now, she can buy the whole shelter and adopt the little kids in there if she wanted.
RuPaul – RuRu had a tough time getting his/her start to the point where he had to strut his stiletto heels across the mean streets until he got his big break. We just wonder where he stored his fake boobs and heels during that time.
KRS-One – Hip-Hop’s daddy used to be Hip-Hop’s homeless. But he freestyled his way to the top, and is one of the most respected men in rap history. Not only that, he’s an author and political activist. Not too shabby.
Tyler Perry – Madea could probably buy every city block he used to live on. He’s well on his way to a billion, so it’s unbelievable that he was homeless not too long ago.
Charlie Wilson – Wilson’s situation is a little different. The rest of these people were homeless before they got famous. Charlie actually spent some time homeless in the 90s after he cut his first hits with the Gap Band. Thanks to Snoop finding him, Charlie was able to get his career restarted and he hasn’t stopped.
Ted Williams – You’ve heard the story by now: Ted Williams has the golden radio voice that he would tell people about while he was homeless. Now, thanks to YouTube, he’s an overnight celebrity with a steady job. Ah, the miracles of modern technology.
Lil Kim – While Kim was getting her start, before Diddy, she was rapping and living in a car for a while. While she’s far from the mainstream star she once was, she’s a long way from sleeping in Hondas again…we think.
Djimon Hounsou – Before “give us us free,” Djimon was free from having to pay any rent since he was living on the streets of Paris. Now he’s chopping down Kimora and is living the life. We guess he can’t complain.
Jim Carrey – Jim Carrey’s family spent a while homeless while he was growing up. We bet jokes were all they had at that time and Jimmy had them in spades. Now, he’s one of the richest men in Hollywood thanks to that sense of humor. Even if we aren’t homeless, we’d ask him for some dollar bills because we’re sure he has a bunch to spare.
