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Home • Celebrity

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous

He may be an Oscar winner now, but way back when, John Legend was a business consultant working a 9-5. Flip through and see what other jobs our favorite celebs worked before they made it big.
By Taylor Lewis · Updated October 27, 2020
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01
John Legend

Before Kanye discovered him, the “All of Me” singer worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, a global business strategy consulting firm.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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02
Gabrielle Union

While working at a Payless shoe store when she was 19, Union was robbed and raped by a former employee at gunpoint. She ended up filing a lawsuit against the company for negligence.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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03
Nicki Minaj

Nicki was fired from Red Lobster after chasing after customers who stole a pen and flipping them the middle finger. “I swear to God I was bad,” she told Billboard.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
04
Diddy

While starting out, Diddy worked as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant. “I sold lemonade to people when it was hot outside. I have just worked hard all my life,” he told Forbes.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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05
Jennifer Hudson

Before she landed on American Idol, before starring in Dreamgirls, before announcing a stint on Broadway, JHud worked as a singer on a Disney cruise ship. She also worked at Burger King, taking orders from the drive-through.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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06
Whoopi Goldberg
13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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07
Rick Ross

He may have a record now, but before he was famous, Rick Ross worked as—wait for it—a corrections officer.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
08
Kanye West

Kanye worked as a sales assistant at The Gap. “Let’s go back, back to the Gap / Look at my check, wasn’t no scratch / So if I stole, wasn’t my fault,” he wrote in “Spaceship.” That is all.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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09
Mariah Carey

Our favorite diva was once fired from her job in coat check room for being too much of a diva. No, seriously.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
10
President Obama

Even the president needs to start somewhere! As a teen, President Obama could be found serving up ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool
11
Morgan Freeman

While patiently waiting for his big break, Morgan Freeman worked as a fighter pilot in the air force, and a dancer at the 1964 World’s Fair.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
Stacie McChesney/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
12
Jill Scott

Our Black Women in Music honoree wasn’t always a singer. She studied secondary education at Temple University and was briefly a teacher’s aide. 

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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13
Halle Berry

Between her beauty queen days and her stint at a homeless shelter in New York City, Halle worked in the children’s department as Higbee’s Department Store.

13 Jobs Celebs Worked Before They Were Famous
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