10 Celebrities Who Lived in Cars Before They Were Famous

Time magazine's Entertainer of the Year has certainly come a long way. Ten years ago, at the age of 21, the "Truth Hurts" singer spent much of 2010 living out of her car as she tried to break into the music industry. Now, no one can hold her back. And former president Barack Obama backed up her skills, putting Lizzo on both his Summer Playlist 2019 and his end-of-year Favorite Music of 2019 lists. It's safe to say she's come a long way.

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She's won two Oscars, for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby — but she was anything but. The actress grew up in a trailer park but after her father took off, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles so Hilary could pursue an acting career. Mom and daughter lived out of an Oldsmobile so Swank could audition for roles and it paid off.

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The life of a comedian struggling to make it big is nothing new but Harvey's story definitely is. He lived in his car for three years because the bulk of the money he earned working gigs around America was sent to his ex-wife for child support. Look at Steve now. He's had several TV shows, bumbles as the host of Miss Universe, is arguably the best host of Family Feud ever — and has a net worth of $160 million. Not too shabby.

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Even before he starred in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises, Pratt starred on Parks and Recreation and appeared in several movies before that. But prior to all of that, the Avenger lived out of his van in Maui until he got his first acting gig — which paid $700. Now he makes millions.

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Like everyone on the list, Jewel did what she had to do to find success and she lived in her car for a year, driving wherever gigs were offered. She was eventually discovered in 1993 in a local coffee shop where she worked as a barista and in 1995, she released the first single from her debut album, Pieces of You. It went platinum 12 times over. She was meant for music — and music was meant for her.

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Perry was trying to make a career writing plays but after investing his entire savings on his autobiographical production, he used the next six years to retool I Know I've Been Changed, which also included having to live out of his tiny car when he wasn't staying in dingy motels. That perserverance paid off; the play eventually became a hit and the profits from that led to him being able to finance his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Perry now runs his own studio and his net worth? A cool $600 mill. Zowza.

Before she won the first season of American Idol, Clarkson was already trying to break into show business. Things took a turn when her apartment caught fire and was forced to live in her car. She eventually moved back to Texas where she auditioned for the reality show. What didn't kill Kelly only made her stronger and she's got the music and television career to prove it.

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Before he hosted The Price is Right and starred in his own sitcom, he was an aspiring comedian determined to take his career to the next level. He travelled from Cleveland to L.A., where he lived in his car for a year and a half before he caught his big break: performing stand-up on The Tonight Show and a post-performance interview with Johnny Carson. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Kim's childhood wasn't great and after her parents separated, she and her mother lived out of their car. The rapper later moved in with her father, but he kicked her out when she was a teen. She found herself homeless, sleeping on friends' couches, living on the streets and in cars until she met Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), who took her under his wing. She's now an icon in the music industry, and in 2019, was awarded the I Am Hip Hop Award at the BET Hip Hop Awards, which celebrated her music, legacy and impact.

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Worthington had a few gigs, nothing super-substantial, and then — nothing. He was unemployed, had sold all his possessions except his car, which he was living in, when he auditioned for a role in an untitled movie helmed by an unknown director. That mystery man was James Cameron, who took a chance on Sam — and put him in Avatar, which would become the highest-grossing film of all time (until Avengers: Endgame knocked it into second place in 2019).

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