13 Famous People Who Have Been Homeless

These celebs made it through their bouts with homelessness to become household names. You can help some deserving kids get their shot at the brass ring as well. Make a donation. Much Love - Virgin Mobile

1. Halle Berry

Via bellasugar.com

Halle was so committed to her dream of being an actress that she stayed in New York to pursue roles even after she ran out of money. In 1989 she lived briefly in a homeless shelter before her luck changed and she landed a spot on an ABC drama.

2. Jim Carrey

Via hollywood.com

Jim quit high school to help his family survive some tough economic times. They were living out of a VW van, and Jim was working as a janitor while attending open mics on his nights off. He started getting regular paid gigs, then landed the most coveted role in Hollywood at the time, the lead in "Once Bitten."

3. Ben Franklin

Via listas.20minutos.es

This favorite founding father ran away from home in Boston at age 17. He took a boat to New York City, and then walked all the way to Philadelphia. Once there he lived on the streets until he was taken in by his future wife's family.

4. Cary Grant

Via goodtimes.ndtv.com

Cary's father placed his clinically-depressed mother in a mental institution and told his 9-year-old son that she was on a "long holiday". His father then abandoned him at age 10. He spent time on the streets in Southampton, England, working the docks and sleeping in alleys when there wasn't enough money to rent a cot in a flophouse.

5. David Letterman

Via people.com

When David moved to Los Angeles in 1975, he lived out of his red '73 pickup truck. He didn't spend long in it, though, after he picked up a job writing jokes for comedian Jimmie Walker.

6. Tyler Perry

Via biography.com

Tyler invested all of his money in his first theatrical production, "I Know I've Been Changed" which failed at the box office -- only 30 people attended the entire weekend. He lived out of his car and rewrote (and rewrote and rewrote) the script until it got rave reviews at the House of Blues and the Fox Theatre. Now his shows are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week.

7. Col. Harland Sanders

Via kootation.com

The "Colonel" was homeless as a young boy when his mother remarried a cruel man, and then again in adulthood as he and his wife lived out of his car while trying to convince restauranteurs to buy his recipe for chicken.

8. Daniel Craig

Via commons.wikimedia.org

Daniel moved to London without tuppence to rub together. He stayed on friends couches and slept on park benches before landing the role of everybody's favorite spy.

9. Sylvester Stallone

Via pdxretro.com

Sly lived in an NYC bus station for three weeks after he was evicted from his apartment. He even took a role in an adult film -- and used the money to get back on his feet to run the art museum steps.

10. Jim Cramer

Via elementary-finance.com

Jim was working as a journalist for the LA Herald-Examiner when his house was robbed on multiple occasions. It got so bad that the 'Mad Money' host was forced to live out of his car for 9 months when all of his possessions were stolen, leaving him destitute. Fortunately now he knows just where to keep his money.

11. Shania Twain

Via fanpop.com

Shania's family was so poor that when she was 14, her mother opted to move them to a shelter in Toronto where they could at least have regular meals. The 5-time Grammy winner even sung in bars for her supper starting at age 8.

12. Kelly Clarkson

Via usmagazine.com

Kelly moved to LA from Texas on the very day her new apartment complex burned down. She didn't know anyone in town, so the future Grammy-winner slept in her car until she could get a new place and then made it big on 'Idol.

13. Lil' Kim

Kim's mother left her abusive father when she was just 8, and the two had nowhere to go. They lived out of the trunk of her mom's car until Kim moved back in with her father. He kicked her out when she was a teen, and she lived with friends and on the streets, until she met the Notorious BIG and began her rap career.

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