Almost every star started out as an ordinary person with dreams in their heads, but several of them started from rock bottom. Many of the celebrities lived their past with extreme poverty and struggled even for food. When they started out they had nothing, some of them were also homeless. But later they overcame those hardships, and now they are living their luxury life that they once dreamed of. These celebrities did not lose their hope, they tried hard and made their dreams a reality. They are the true inspirations for all of us.

Let’s have a look at the celebrities who went from rags to riches.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist who is widely known for her talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. She was born to an unmarried teenage mother. After Winfrey’s birth, her mother traveled north, and Winfrey spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which other children made fun of her. She stated she was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old. After several years of working in the entertainment industry, she became the richest African-American of the 20th century. As of 2014, Winfrey had a net worth in excess of 2.9 billion dollars. [Source: www.usmagazine.com]

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who is one of the world’s highest-paid actors. He grew up in near poverty, and he described his father as “a merchant of chaos”, a “bully”, and a “coward” who beat his children. His mother left the family when he was 11 and his father died shortly after. At the age of 18, Cruise moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. Currently, he is believed to have a net worth of $500 million.

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is a British author and philanthropist who wrote a seven-volume children’s fantasy series, “Harry Potter”, published from 1997 to 2007. She experienced domestic abuse during her marriage. She was once a single mother who could barely feed herself, relying on welfare and battling depression. Rowling wrote the manuscript for the “Harry Potter” series at various cafés throughout Edinburgh during the lowest point of her life. But now she is one of the most influential and richest women in Britain, and has a net worth of $1 billion.

Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester is an American actress, singer, and model who is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on “Gossip Girl” on The CW. At the time of her birth, her parents were serving time in a federal prison for their involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from  Jamaica to the United States. She was raised by her paternal grandparents in Marco Island, Florida. At the age of 11, Meester and her siblings moved with their mother to New York City. She then started working as a model with Wilhelmina. Now, Meester’s net worth has risen to $5 million.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian who first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a recurring role in the American sketch comedy television series “In Living Color”. After his father lost his job, the family became homeless and lived together in a Volkswagen van, while teenage Jim and his brother spent months living in a tent in Charles Daley Park on the Lake Ontario shore in Lincoln, Ontario. Jim later started acting in TV series and movies, and is now $150 million richer than before. [Source: www.finance.yahoo.com]

Demi Moore

Demi Moore is an American actress who is recognized for her roles in the movies “The Scarlet Letter”, “The Juror” and “G.I. Jane”. She struggled during her childhood, growing up with her alcoholic mother and a stepfather. Moore dropped out during her junior year of high school to work at a debt collection agency. She later established herself in the film industry, and currently flaunts a net worth of $150 million.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer who became famous for his role in the 1997 movie “Titanic”. He grew up as a poor child on the outskirts of LA. He saw violence, prostitution, and drugs at a very young age and their impact on people. He did not want to end up like most people around him, so he started his acting career. Dicaprio has been placed eight times in annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid actors. He currently has an estimated net worth of $200 million.

Shania Twain

Shania Twain is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her mother and stepfather had an abusive relationship. At some point, her mother placed her and her siblings in a foster home because there was not enough food for the family. Twain started singing at bars at the age of eight to try to help pay her family’s bills. Now her net worth amounts to an estimated $350 million.

Sean Combs

Sean Combs is an American rapper, songwriter, record executive, and entrepreneur who is recognized for his albums “Forever”, “The Saga Continues…” and “Press Play”. When he was two, his father was shot to death while sitting in his car. According to CNN, Combs got a paper route as a boy to earn money in his gritty Harlem neighborhood when his mother couldn’t afford to buy him sneakers. Now, he has an estimated net worth of $820 million.

Celine Dion

Celine Dion is a Canadian singer who is widely known for her powerful and technically skilled vocals. She is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French language artist of all time. She grew up in a poor family as the youngest of fourteen siblings. Her family went through tough times trying to support Dion and her siblings. Dion later started her singing career, and gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, representing Switzerland. She is now believed to have a net worth of $800 million. [Source: www.tvovermind.com]