Not every rich and famous international celebrity was born wealthy. Beyond the glitzy designer threads and glamourous lifestyles, there are real stories of well-known stars who experienced trauma and endured poverty before they made it big. Here are just some of the celebrities who know what hardship is really like.
Shania Twain
At a young age in Ontario, Canada, Twain was using her singing talent at bars to help earn money for the struggling family of five kids, according to her autobiography. She recalls that, at a young age, she witnessed experiences of domestic violence fuelled by arguments about money and being unable to buy food, pay for rent or bills. In an interview with in the USA, Twain spoke about this suffering and of being constantly hungry: "it's very hard to concentrate when you're stomach's rumbling”.
"I would certainly never have humiliated myself enough to reach out and ask for help and say, ‘you know, I'm hungry. Can I have that apple that you're not going to eat?’"
Singer Shania Twain performs on the Toyota Mane Stage during day 2 of 2017 Stagecoach California's Country Music Festival. Image: Christopher Polk Source: (Christopher Polk)
At 22, Twain’s parents tragically died in a car accident and she needed to continue singing to support and raise her siblings.
Leonardo Dicaprio
It was through hard work, the support of his mother and talent that helped Dicaprio escape from a neighbourhood he called ‘Scumsville’ in Los Angeles. The Hollywood actor told “I grew up very poor and I got to see the other side of the spectrum. I try to tell my godson, who lives close to that area, what it was like, how there used to be a major prostitution ring on my street corner, crime and violence everywhere … And I’m not sure he believes me.”
It this upbringing and experience that DiCaprio has never taken drugs, and has a different perspective on privilege. His mother, a secretary and German immigrant dedicated her time between jobs to drive Dicaprio to auditions.
Nikki Minaj
The flamboyant rapper has spoken often with brutal honestly about her difficult upbringing when moving from Trinidad to Queens in New York City at the age of five. One account is documented in Rolling Stone where the rapper tells the music title that her ambition stems from a troubled childhood. "I would go in my room and and kneel down at the foot of my bed and pray that god would make me rich so that I could take care of my mother," she tells Rolling Stone.
Nicki Minaj attends the 2017 Met Gala Gala. Image: (Mike Coppola). Source: (Mike Coppola)
Sarah Jessica Parker
“Dickensian” is how Parker has described her upbringing with eight siblings to with hand-me-down clothes, often with no electricity and often skipping birthday and Christmas celebrations.
That doesn’t mean they’re lazy or uneducated or have low standards. It’s just that they can’t manage at the moment and my family was a good example of that.
“Some people have assumptions about who is dependent on our state and federal governments for need. I think sometimes people think it’s a lot of people of colour—but this is what welfare looks like. …. That doesn’t mean they’re lazy or uneducated or have low standards. It’s just that they can’t manage at the moment and my family was a good example of that,” she told
Novak Djokovic
According to , the Serbian-born tennis champion used journaling as a coping technique when living through war in Belgrade as a child. He often looks back on these entries to remember what he’s been through:
“[My parents] did everything they could to give me and my brothers a carefree childhood, despite the fact that we lived through two wars, 1992 and 1999, and in between times we had an embargo on everything, so people would have to queue for milk and bread. The economy was non-existent and often it was just a matter of survival … In the state of emergency we learned to appreciate and value life itself,” Djokvic told
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Struggle Street series two is produced by KEO Films with funding support from Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
