Millions of people grow up wanting to become actors, to the point that it's cliché. Maybe one tenth of one percent of all aspiring actors actually "make it," so it isn't exactly an inspiring profession. However, anyone who is able to transcend the inherent setbacks of poverty and fulfill their dreams is certainly admirable.
While social service systems should undoubtedly be in place to help every child emerge from poverty, there have been some success stories that are all the more impressive based on the economic conditions people began with, and the heights of fame and fortune those people achieved. These are some of the biggest actors who actually grew up in poverty.
Tom Cruise
Despite being one of the most successful and well paid actors today, Tom Cruise grew up extremely poor. His family was struggling to make ends meet, with his father and mother working tirelessly to try to feed the household. His father was an electrician who struggled to keep a job, resulting in them living a very nomadic life and his mother had to work three shifts at times to survive.
Tom Cruise started taking up jobs at 8 years old in order to help his family and to be able to buy movie tickets so that he can connect with the thing that brought him the most joy: cinema.
Viola Davis
The incredible Viola Davis had a very rough childhood. In her memoir Finding Me, Davis describes how her family did not have enough money for meals, for clothes, and for personal care items. They also often had no gas, no electricity, and no hot water, and they had to live in houses infested with rats.
However, Davis was determined to succeed, and she had a dream. The actress sees acting as a healing experience where she can channel all her difficult emotions and always looks at her difficult childhood as the pathway that has made her more compassionate and understanding of others’ arduous situations.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey had to leave school to work eight-hour shifts as a cleaner in a factory when his dad lost his job. He and his family lived in a van, and they endured very unstable conditions. However, luckily for Carrey, he kept good spirits and looks back at his childhood in a positive light, saying it was not as bad as people make it out to be and that he has learned a lot through that early period in his life.
The great Jim Carrey wanted to act in movies and always believed in himself. He would repeat confident affirmations to himself that he’s a good actor and that everyone wanted to work with him, and soon enough his dreams became a reality.
Leighton Meester
The star who rose to fame from her role as Blaire Waldrof in Gossip Girl was born while her mother had served a few months in prison in a case involving drugs as well as her father, aunt, and grandfather. Leighton Meester was eventually placed in her grandmother’s custody until her mother’s release.
However, after her family's release, they had financial struggles and couldn’t pay their bills or have steady meals and gas. Still, her parents tried to support her, especially her father with whatever they could, and they encouraged Meester's acting dream by relocating to New York City where she eventually got her big break.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio's parents divorced when he was just a toddler, and he grew up in a very poor area in Los Angeles, California. He lived with his mother, and just next to where he was living, there was a prostitution ring where he encountered crime and violence often. He was surrounded by drug users and couldn’t wait to get out of the area.
However, seeing this harsh reality set out things clear for him as he tried to grant himself a better living situation and was not tempted by drugs or alcohol from what he had seen when he was younger.
Demi Moore
The New-Mexican actress endured her biological father walking out on her and her mother before she was born, and even though her mother got remarried, her stepfather could not hold a job which resulted in them moving frequently. On top of that, as Demi Moore was becoming a teenager, her mother started taking her to bars to attract men, eventually leading to her rape at the age of 15.
Moore later dropped out of school, left her abusive house, and briefly worked as a debt collection agent before her modeling break and later her acting career in which she made it big. She became one of the most successful actors of the 1990s, starring in such hits as A Few Good Men, Disclosure, Indecent Proposal, Ghost, and many more.
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix was born in a family who were part of a controversial cult which inflicted a lot of abuse upon him and his brother and sisters. His house was infested with rats, they had no toilet, and lived in extreme poverty. When he was three, his family moved from Venezuela to Miami in a cargo ship. He and his siblings later left his parents and went on to Los Angeles to perform on the streets to make ends meet.
He and his brother, the late, great River Phoenix, eventually made their way into television commercials and later starred in a TV show together. River became one of the best young actors of the '90s, and Jaoquin Phoenix would become a legend thanks to roles in Her, Joker, The Master, Gladiator, Walk the Line, and so much more.
Scarlett Johansson
The mega-successful Scarlett Johansson grew up in a low income household. Her family lived on welfare and were on food stamps. The actor's parents had a strained relationship because they could not afford to take care of their children which caused them stress. Her childhood experience made her a strong advocate for feed America, the largest American Organization working to end hunger in the United States because she understood hunger all too well. Today she is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Walhberg was the youngest sibling of nine children. His parents couldn’t afford the necessities of having nine children, which meant they lived in poor conditions. His parents later divorced, and he fell into drug use and violent acts, and had to serve in prison for his troublesome behavior.
Wahlberg started trying to turn things around and improve his life situation by starting a new clean chapter. He started his career as a singer with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, where he found success and later moved into auditioning for parts, where he landed his first acting role. Wahlberg would become one of the biggest actors of the past two decades thanks to films like Ted, The Departed, and the Transformers franchise.
Hilary Swank
Hilary Swankcame from a low-income family and lived in a trailer park in Washington D.C. However, what mattered to her is that she had a roof over her head and food to eat. Yet, what was particularly distressing for the actress was the clear class divide she felt from her peers in school which made her feel left out. Classism taught her a lot of harsh truths about life.
When her parents divorced, her mother took her to Los Angeles so that she could pursue a career in acting. The actress is deeply grateful for her childhood beginnings because they taught her that nothing in life should be taken for granted and that hard work and determination pays off.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf grew up in a family of starving artists in Echo Park, California. Like many families, financial struggles put a strain on his parents, and thus he decided to get a job when he was 10 years old to help out.
He began doing stand-up comedy despite his fear of the audience’s receiving end. His parents eventually split when he was just a teenager, and he remained with his mother who only fell deeper into poverty while he tried to keep them afloat. LaBeouf then went on to find creative success with the comedy television Even Stevens before a successful and controversial film career.
Mila Kunis
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Mila Kuniscomes from a family of immigrants from Ukraine who were striving for a better life when they moved to America. Their budget was so tight that they would often eat a ketchup soup to satisfy their hunger. With the language barrier and her family’s situation, life was hardly a walk in the park for you budding actor.
Kunis is serious about not raising entitled children with her husband Ashton Kutcher. She has now found financial freedom and would like to help her parents financially, but they continuously refuse to because they do not like to be a burden.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzeneggergrew up with almost nothing. He had no money, no refrigerator, no running water. Up until he was 15, he did not know what a shower was. He was poor but he had a dream. The prominent actor first got into body-building as a way to get into the film industry, but he did not know that it would get him this far.
He worked tirelessly on his physique and won the title of Mr. Olympia at age 23 and was later featured in the documentary Pumping Iron and was later cast in the movie Conan the Barbarian, where he eventually made his dream a long-standing reality.
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