Everyone has to start somewhere, and some of the most recognizable faces in the world have humble origins, getting jobs like everyone else.
Like the rest of us, the super-wealthy and successful have had at times to make ends meet as they waited for their big break.
Some very famous people have had some very mundane jobs before they hit the big time.
And here they are.
Madonna was fired from Dunkin’ Donuts
We all know Madonna as the hugely talented singer and actress who is effortlessly able to be successful in whatever decade she finds herself operating in.
The Queen of Pop is now 66. But did you know she started life working at Dunkin’ Donuts?
Her career at the fast food franchise lasted precisely one day, as she was fired for accidentally squirting jelly on a customer. Speaking to Howard Stern in 2015, she said:
“I was playing with the jelly squirter machine.”
She also admitted Dunkin’ Donuts was “p***ed off” at her because she wasn’t “taking the job seriously.”
Looking for a job? Visit whatjobs.com today
Brad Pitt was a giant chicken
The chiseled star of movies like Snatch, Meet Joe Black, and Fury is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men.
But he started life with his good looks completely hidden. Yes, that’s right, Brad Pitt’s first job was as a mascot for the fast food chain El Pollo Loco.
Speaking on Ellen in 2019, he said he had to wave a sign that indicated the grand opening. He also couldn’t recall how much the job paid, but he “got flipped off a lot.”
Beyonce swept up hair at her mum’s salon
Beyonce is now a global superstar.
But the singer and actress began her career working in her mother’s hair salon in Texas. Her job? Sweeping up hair.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, she said:
“I saw firsthand how a salon can be a sanctuary for women.
“I watched my mother nurture and heal those women in her salon, not just by making them look and feel beautiful but by talking with them, listening to them, and connecting with them.
“I’ve seen how much Black women’s emotions are attached to our hair and beauty.”
Johnny Depp sold pens over the phone
Pens are readily available from range of high-street shops, so cold-calling people trying to sell them seems one of the more pointless jobs around.
Nonetheless, that’s what Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp did before he hit the big time.
He said:
“You’re reading a whole spiel. There was a character on the soap opera General Hospital – the name stuck in my head – so I would call people up and say, `How do you do, this is Edward Quartermaine.'”
“You’d guarantee them a grandfather clock or a trip to Greece. The couple of times that I actually got people to buy the pens, they only agreed because they wanted the grandfather clock.
“When the supervisor wandered off, I would say, ‘Listen, don’t buy these pens. The clock is made of corkboard. I’m a thief; we’re ripping you off.'”
Hiring? Post jobs for free with WhatJobs
The Rock washed dishes
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of Hollywood’s biggest paid stars, but has had plenty of jobs in his youth.
But As a child, the wrestler known as “The great one” washed dishes to earn some extra cash at the age of 13.
Speaking to WIRED in 2021, he said:
“My legit first job I was 13 years old and I worked in a pizza shop and washed dishes….I only, as a matter of fact…I don’t use a dishwasher…I hand wash everything.”
