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Formerly Homeless

Axl Rose

A first-person account says he lived on the streets before the band was signed.

Cyndi Lauper

Lauper has described being briefly homeless and relying on a youth hostel or other temporary accommodation after leaving home.

Tiffany Haddish

Haddish has directly discussed living in her car while building her comedy career.

Rod Stewart

Before rock stardom, Rod Stewart busked, stayed in makeshift shelters and embraced a rough bohemian existence around London.

headshot of formerly homeless celebrity Tom Jackson

Authoritative Canadian biographical material says Jackson lived on the streets for years.

headshot of formerly homeless celebrity Colonel Sanders

Colonel Sanders reportedly slept in his car while promoting his chicken recipe, enduring repeated rejection before building the KFC franchise.

headshot of formerly homeless celebrity Beck

Explore Beck’s unconventional early years, financial struggles and musical experimentation while separating documented facts from repeated claims about homelessness.

Harry Martinson

Martinson's documented vagabond years included itinerant living and arrest for vagrancy.

Michael Winslow

Winslow has described living in his car until prize money helped him secure housing and work.

Tyler Perry

Perry has repeatedly described living in his car while trying to stage his early play.

Sylvester Stallone

Stallone said he slept at New York's Port Authority after being evicted.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs slept on friends’ floors and returned bottles for food while pursuing the ideas that would eventually transform personal technology.

Steve Harvey

Harvey has described living in his Ford Tempo for years while pursuing stand-up comedy.

Shania Twain

Twain's family stayed in a Toronto homeless shelter while escaping domestic violence.

Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington sold his possessions and lived in his car before an Avatar audition changed the direction of his acting career.

Michael Oher

Oher experienced repeated housing instability and periods without a stable home during childhood.

Madonna

Madonna arrived in New York with little money and relied on temporary accommodations while relentlessly pursuing dance, music and creative independence.

Kelly Clarkson

Clarkson said she slept in her car for several days after an apartment fire before her American Idol audition.

John Paul DeJoria

DeJoria has described living in a car with his young son and experiencing homelessness again while starting Paul Mitchell.

Jim Morrison

Before The Doors found fame, Jim Morrison lived an unconventional and unstable Los Angeles existence while writing poetry, songs and early material.

Jim Cramer

Cramer has described living in his car for about nine months after his apartment was robbed.

Jim Carrey

Carrey's family lived in a van and later camped after his father lost his job.

Jewel

Jewel has repeatedly described living in her car before her music career broke through.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez slept in a dance studio after leaving home, determined to build the performing career that would eventually make her a global star.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Biographical accounts report that he slept in cars and garages while trying to establish himself in Hollywood.

Jack London

London traveled with hobos, rode freight trains and was arrested for vagrancy during an itinerant period.

Hilary Swank

Swank and her mother used a car for sleeping after arriving in Los Angeles, with temporary daytime access to an empty house.

Heather Mills

Heather Mills endured an unstable adolescence and periods without secure housing before becoming a model, campaigner and prominent disability advocate.

Halle Berry

Berry has directly described staying in a New York City homeless shelter early in her acting career.

Ella Fitzgerald

Biographical accounts report that she escaped reform school and lived on Harlem streets before her Apollo breakthrough.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran relied on couches and temporary places to sleep while performing relentlessly and building his future music career.

Drew Carey

Carey has said he lived in his car in Las Vegas before his comedy career took off.

Dr. Phil

McGraw has been reported as living in a car with his father at age 12, but the current article needs a stronger direct citation.

Djimon Hounsou

Biographical accounts report that he was homeless in Paris before being discovered as a model.

Chris Pratt

Before becoming a blockbuster star, Chris Pratt waited tables and lived in a van while searching for opportunity in Maui.

Chris Gardner

Gardner and his young son stayed in shelters and other temporary places while he trained as a stockbroker.

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin endured workhouses, hunger and housing insecurity as a child before creating one of cinema’s most recognizable characters.

Carmen Electra

Electra has described being broke and without stable housing after a former boyfriend took her savings.