Today they live in mansions, own expensive cars and yachts, but it wasn’t always like that. Some Hollywood hotshots literally started from the bottom, being poor and even homeless. However, that didn’t stop them in pursuing their dreams and goals. Here are some celebs that were once homeless.

Jim Carrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrey lived in a van with his family. He told Inside the Actor’s Studio, “My father was a musician who got a ‘regular job’ to support his children. When he lost his job that’s when everything fell apart. We went from ‘lower middle class’ to ‘poor’. We were living out of a van. I quit school at age 15 to begin working to help support my family as a janitor.”

Carmen Electra

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You know, I had a couple of years of being homeless in Hollywood,” Electra told the Review Journal. “A lot of people don’t even know this.” She was in her early 20s when her boyfriend stole all of her savings and left her stranded. “I remember sitting on a park bench in the valley,” she says. “I was crying because I was stranded. It was over 100 degrees outside.”

Djimon Hounsou

 

 

 

 

 

 

Djimon Hounsou moved from his native Africa to Paris, France when he was only 13 years old. “I lived on the streets for some time — fighting for survival, searching out nothing more than my daily necessities for a meager existence,” the Blood Diamond star said told People magazine in 2008. It wasn’t until years later that Hounsou was discovered on the street by a fashion designer who gave him his break in modeling.

Halle Berry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berry lived in homeless shelters at the age of 21 after she tried to pursue a Hollywood career, despite her mom’s disapproval. “After a month or two, I ran out of money and called her. I said, `Mom, I hate to ask you this, but could you send me some money? I just have rent money. I can’t eat this week,” she said in 2007. And she said, I’m not going to start this calling home asking Mom for money. No. Figure it out or come home.’ I was so mad. I didn’t speak to her for a year and a half.”

Thomas Jane

 

 

 

 

 

 

“When I was a kid out here in L.A., I was homeless, I didn’t have any money and I was living in my car,” actor Thomas Jane told the L.A. Times last year. “I was 18. I wasn’t averse to going down to Santa Monica Boulevard and letting a guy buy me a sandwich.”

Hilary Swank

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swank grew up in a trailer park in Bellingham, before heading to Los Angeles with her mom at the age of 15 to pursue an acting career. The pair lived out of a car, booking auditions over payphones before Swank finally landed some small gigs. She told CBS, “My mom was at a crossroads. My father and her were getting separated, and she said, ‘Let’s go to California.’ And so $75, and a Mobil card, we drove down to California.”

William Shatner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shatner lived out of his pickup truck following the ending of “Star Trek.” He told Details magazine, “It was the early 1970s and I was recently divorced. I had three kids and was totally broke. I lived out of the back of my truck, under a hard shell. It had a little stove, a toilet, and I’d drive from theater to theater.”

Sylvester Stallone

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before he was “Rocky,” Stallone was homeless. The actor spent three weeks sleeping in New York City’s Port Authority bus station after being evicted from his apartment. Out of desperation, Stallone took a role in an adult film, which paid $200 and helped him get back on his feet.

Jennifer Lopez

 

 

 

 

 

 

J.Lo became homeless at the age of 18 after her parents disagreed with her decision to pursue a career in Hollywood. “My mom and I butted heads,” Lopez tells W. “I didn’t want to go to college — I wanted to try dance full-time. So she and I had a break. I started sleeping on the sofa in the dance studio. I was homeless, but I told her, ‘This is what I have to do.’ A few months later, I landed a job dancing in Europe. When I got back, I booked ‘In Living Color.’ I became a Fly Girl and moved to L.A. It all happened in a year. ”