25 Anti-Nepo Celebs That People Admire For Their Hard Work

Over time, audiences have become more discerning about which artists they choose to support. With ever-expanding access to information, people now judge celebrities not just by their image, but by how genuine and community-focused their actions seem.

As a result, some stars who grew up impoverished have especially impressed fans with their rags-to-riches journeys. In response to the question, “What celebrity actually came from poverty and had to work very hard, that they didn’t have the benefit of nepotism?”, Redditors highlighted superstars who never forgot their roots and quietly gave back to their communities, thereby earning the lasting admiration of fans worldwide.

#1

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Jackie Chan was born so poor that his parents tried to sell him to the doctor who delivered him. .

#2

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The only real difference between the Jackson family home and a shack was the quality of the build. It was literally just a box, and they had 200 children stuffed in there.

#3

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Dolly Parton, she came from absolutely nothing and became not only an icon but became effectively the female Mr. Rogers.

#4

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Jessica Chastain. She doesn’t discuss her background much but she spoke on a podcast (and it’s in her Wikipedia) about how her parents were teenagers when she was born, she was mainly raised by a single mother, and the family struggled to the point that they often went to bed hungry.

#5

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Mariah Carey. Grew up poor and living in an apartment above a bodega where her mom couldn’t afford the rent and on top of that her sister tried to pimp her out to an adult man when Mariah was a child. People say she’s a “diva” and ostentatious but quite frankly after what she’s been through, she deserves it.

#6

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Eminem.

Abandoned by his father since he was a baby, mother neglected him, they were always very poor and moved from house to house or lived in trailer parks etc. Literally could not really get much poorer than he was as an American in that time period, really. At some point he was literally evicted from his house and homeless and broke back into the house and slept on the floor just to not sleep on the street.

He single handedly purely by his own talent, skill and hard work took his entire family (his wife which then became ex wife, his 3 children, his half brother and probably many others) out of poverty, and even helped Dr Dr revive his own career as well as essentially giving 50 cent a career. He became super rich, gave his kids the best life money can buy, made some big mistakes but continues to be an amazing father and example of overcoming bad odds, on top of becoming sober, owning up to a lot of his past mistakes and growing a lot as a person. His children are all healthy, smart, lovely people who do not act entitled or like brats, he made amends with his ex wife and he is now a grandpa.

#7

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Mel Brooks.

He was born into poverty in New York. He grew up in a rough neighborhood. Him, and his brothers, joined the military and fought in World War 2. During the war, he had to clear mine fields and check houses for IEDs.

After the war, he started getting into comedy. Writing and doing stand-up acts. And, he would make fun of nazis every chance he had.

This led to him awarded an EGOT, and he is an American legend.

#8

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Leighton Meester. She was born in a halfway house because her mother was in prison. When you hear her in interviews, she sounds very down to earth and sweet. So it’s refreshing she not only overcame everything she has, but seems to have a very happy personal life with Adam Brody too.

#9

Image source: laurennik89, DreamWorks Pictures

Viola Davis. I’m reading her memoir now and I’m just blown away. She was not technically homeless but she and her family lived in poverty for her entire childhood and didn’t start to get out of it until she started to earn money as an actress. I knew she was an incredible talent, but she also has tremendous strength.

#10

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Sarah Jessica Parker grew up in poverty with 7 siblings in a mining town in Ohio. She’s talked about having to sit in the dark sometimes as a child because their electricity would get turned off.

#11

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People think of Julie Andrews as a patrician, but that’s not the case at all. Her family lineage is miners and house servants. Her father, Ted Wells, was a teacher and her mother, Barbara, was a pianist— they divorced, and her mother ended up marrying a Canadian singer named Ted Andrews. Ted Andrews and Barbara toured the UK in music halls, and little Julie joined them when they discovered her spectacular voice. Overtime, Ted and Barbara slipped into alcoholism and by her teens, Julie was supporting the family with her income. This is also during and immediately after WWII in Britain.

There’s more to her story… Ted Wells wasn’t even her real father— he was married to Barbara when Julie was conceived with a different man during a separation, but for the rest of his life, Wells treated Julie as his own, biological daughter. Julie only knew herself when her mom took her to a party to meet a strange man in her early teens. At the end of the night, Barbara was too drunk to drive home, so 14 yo Julie Andrews had to drive them both home. On their way back, Barbara revealed the man they met at the party was her real dad.

And Ted Andrews, her stepfather, was a monster. She had an uncle and aunt who fixed a lock on her door.

It’s all in her autobiography, Home. A very sad childhood, really.

#12

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There are some old Hollywood actors who some people may not realize grew up in poverty, like Cary Grant.

#13

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Charles Bronson – came from absolutely nothing and was an underground miner at 12 and then went over for WW2.

#14

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Trevor Noah

Not only was his family poor, but the struggles he had to go through in a apartheid South Africa was wild! I highly recommend his book, Born a Crime. See if your local library has it in audiobook, because he narrates, and it’s great. Funny, and informative – like, I knew the basics of apartheid, but the rules and the way they applied differently to different people was bonkers. And some of the stuff he lived through was harrowing.

#15

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LeBron James.

He lived in family and friends houses, sleeping on the sofa with his mother. Couldn’t afford multiple pairs of shoes for basketball which resulted in him misshaping his feet etc. He’s now one of the richest celebrities in the world and worked for everything he has. 👑.

#16

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Jonathan Rhys Meyers. His father abandoned his mom and 3 brothers when they were children. He was kicked out of high school for truancy then discovered at a pool hall and started modeling and acting.

#17

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Pedro Pascal. If I remember correctly, even though his family had political connections in their native Chile, they had to flee to the US & when he got started as an actor, he grinded for well over a decade taking bit parts in various shows while working as a waiter at several restaurants and at one point, living with Sarah Paulson when he was nearly broke.

#18

Image source: hitorisakurindou, Scott Brothers Entertainment

Trixie Mattel grew up in a trailer in rural Wisconsin and had a horrific stepfather; she* actually took the first part of her drag name from that monster calling her “a Trixie” whenever he thought his son wasn’t acting masculine enough.

She’s been through so much and is legitimately a global superstar now — arguably the most famous living drag queen after none other than RuPaul. I admire her so much.

*for those who may not know, it’s sort of a convention to generally refer to drag queens by the pronouns they use while in drag; in her day-to-day life she’s a cisgender man who uses he/him/his pronouns.

#19

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James McAvoy came from a working class family.

#20

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Barry Keoghan spent many years in foster care. When his mom passed away, I believe he went and lived with his grandmother and aunt in not a great area of Dublin.

#21

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Arnel Pineda from Journey.He is from the Philippines and his lost his mom to cancer and was homeless by 13 years of age.He ate leftover food out of the trash.

When he got famous after being discovered on YouTube in 2007, he used that money to help people in his area, which used to be a slum.