30 Hollywood Celebrity Stories, Before They Were Famous

"Everyone in his family loves Queen Latifah because they were about to lose their house and she paid it off for them."

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• March 22, 2022

We only know about celebrities now that they're already famous all over the world. We only know them from the characters they play on movies or TV shows as well as the various interviews they do.

Unless you know them personally or you're related to them, celebrities are not as accessible to us regular folks. Despite their distance and seemingly unattainable stature, celebrities are people just like us.

They were once relatively unknown people who are just trying to survive the rat race like the rest of us. We don't always learn about the obscure stories about their life before fame unless they offer those up themselves.

Well, now we have an opportunity to read such stories and they are unbelievably interesting. We've all read endless Twitter threads and Reddit forums discussing celebrity interactions whether good or bad.

This time we're exploring their lives pre-Hollywood and these stories will either endear these A-listers to you or make you see them in a very different light. Either way, they are stories worth reading.

A Reddit user asked: "People of Reddit who knew celebrities before they were famous, how different do they act now?" And boy, oh boy did Reddit users deliver.

Whether you enjoy the celebrity culture or not, there's no denying that stories like these are incredibly fascinating. So read on and find out what your favorite Hollywood superstar was like before they were famous.

The question that opened a door to the past:

1. Dolly Parton has always been one of the best humans even before she was famous

Bonus Dolly story that is very on brand for her:

2. Rupert Grint loved acting but didn't care for the endless attention that came with it

They thought he was moody but he could just be averse to the fame of being Ron Weasley

3. Steve Irwin truly loved animals and didn't say 'crikey' as much as we think

He liked to goof around and prop comedy apparently

4. Steve Harvey left the woman who supported him before he was Steve Harvey the moment the spotlight was trained on him

5. Paul Rudd has stayed the same (physically and as a person. Seriously, what water does he drink?)

6. Wesley Snipes is a great guy who never forgot those who helped him and treated him like family

7. Jack Black is a ball of joy and energy

Plus, this very Jack Black story

8. Dave Chapelle has always been down to earth

9. Jack Nicholson was rebellious but competent at math

10. Tom Cruise used to be an amazing guy before fame got to him

11. The only difference with Kendrick Lamar is that he has millions of dollars now

12. Queen Latifah was, still is, an amazing human being and is undoubtedly a queen

13. Madonna used to be pretty grounded before literal stadiums of people practically worshipped her

14. Matt Smith, a time lord, fixed someone's flip-flop at a wedding reception

Bonus Matt Smith story

15. Drake became a different person once his music started taking off

16. Tyler the Creator has always been himself and we all love him for it

17. Will Smith has always been someone who seemed like they would be great to hang out with and it is actually true based on this story

Another Will Smith story:

18. Megan Fox has always been everyone's crush but she is timid and kept to herself

19. Joe Keery is a good guy and his hair has always been awesome

20. Seal is a sincere person who made it a point to foster genuine connections with the people he interacted with

21. The Norah Jones did not let all the awards and fame get to her as she has always been sincere and humble

22. Tom Hanks sends personal notes with his typewriters

23. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! have managed to keep contact with the people they were friends with prior to their fame

24. Tom Holland is funny and friendly guy, much like Spiderman

25. Kurt Cobain wrote 'About A Girl' based on this person's family friend

26. Will Ferrell dated this guy's mom and he has always been incredibly funny

27. Emma Chamberlain was a bully in high school

28. Dacre Montgomery of Stranger Things fame was not a nice guy and pretty egoistic

29. Pete Davidson used to play basketball and was not good at it

30. From a long, long time ago Daisy Ridley has always wanted to be an actress and she is lovely as a person

Celebrities play a ton of characters on films and TV shows but who they really are behind the camera remains a mystery for those of us who don't know them personally. These stories pre-Hollywood give us a glimpse into their real personality.

They may be absolutely charming on camera but it can be a totally different story once the stage lights are off. Of course, take these stories with a grain of salt but much like their industry, it's showbiz, baby.

Chelsi