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Celebs Before They Became Famous
Before hitting the big time these celebs were just normal people with dreams of fame and fortune. But when it came to their defining role, they stunned everybody.
Thanks to hard work, perseverance, a lot of luck – and some visual transformations – the following became the superstars we know and love today!
Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner first burst onto our screens at the age of ten, thanks to her family’s hit show Keeping up with the Kardashians. Since then the youngest Kardashian-Jenner member has undergone some serious transformations – not to mention those bee-stung lips and killer curves.
Megan Fox
Megan Fox became a sex symbol sensation thanks to her role in the 2007 flick Transformers but Megan didn’t always have it so easy. The actress has revealed she was bullied in middle school and was forced to eat lunch in the bathroom to “avoid being pelted with ketchup packets.”
Kim Kardashian
She may be worth a reported $51 million, but long before Kim Kardashian-West found fame and fortune with her reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians she made her money working as a personal closet organizer for the rich and famous in L.A.
Hailey Baldwin
The daughter of Stephen Baldwin, Hailey Baldwin hails from Hollywood royalty. The successful model famously dated Justin Bieber, before trading out her brunette locks for blonde tresses and a slightly smaller nose.
Kristin Cavallari
The original bad girl on MTV’s Laguna Beach, Kristin Cavallari epitomized Southern California beach style. She went on to marry NFL star Jay Cutler and is now a busy mom to two boys.
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood was just 21 when she auditioned for American Idol, unaware her life would change forever. Before finding fame on the show, Underwood worked at a gas station, pizza place and a veterinary clinic.
Bella Hadid
Some of us are just blessed with good genes and Bella Hadid is one of them, thanks to her model mom Yolanda Hadid. But before becoming one of the world’s most recognized supermodels, Bella was an accomplished equestrian with dreams of competing in the Olympics.
Jennifer Lawrence
Discovered on the streets of New York City at the tender age of 14, Jennifer Lawrence has always been the outgoing blonde bombshell we know and love. Before hitting it big JLaw played the oboe in high school and performed in church plays and school musicals.
Khloe Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian’s look has changed dramatically since she first bounced onto our screens in Keeping up with the Kardashians. The expectant mom has since gone blonde, slimmed down, toned up and perhaps undergone some cosmetic facial procedures.
Bella Thorne
Our favorite bright-eyed redhead Bella Thorne became a child star at the age of six. She has since undergone what appears to be a nose job and perfected some seriously awe-inspiring cat-eye makeup techniques.
Ariana Grande
It’s amazing what polished brows and straight, sleek hair can do. Pop sensation Ariana Grande replaced the curly locks with her trademark long brunette tresses and perfected her trademark doe-eyed makeup to become one of the most successful pop stars in the world.
Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel epitomized 90’s fashion as she rose to fame playing Mary Camden on the hit show 7th Heaven. The Minnesota native started acting in hometown plays before landing the role of Mary at the age of 14. Married to Justin Timberlake since 2012, the couple have one son named Silas Randall Timberlake.
Melania Trump
Born in the former Yugoslavia, Melania Trump went on to become First Lady of the United States, but not before having a career as a model. Melania started modeling at the age of 16 and even appeared nude in a January 2000 edition of GQ.
Nicole Kidman
Favorite Australian export Nicole Kidman wasn’t always so sleek and sophisticated. During the late 80’s Kidman sported a seriously curly hairstyle as seen on her Hollywood breakout role Days of Thunder opposite Tom Cruise, whom she later went on to marry – and divorce.
Heidi Montag
After rising to fame on the Laguna Beach spinoff The Hills, Heidi Montag underwent ten different cosmetic surgeries in the space of just one day. These included ear-pinning, brow-lifts, a chin reduction and another breast augmentation. These days she is still married to Spencer Pratt and the couple just welcomed their first child.
Blake Lively
Gossip Girl Blake Lively began her acting career at the age of ten – her father was an actor and mom was a talent scout, so it seems only fitting Blake would take Hollywood by storm. Blessed with natural good looks Blake has never confirmed rumors of a nose job and breast augmentation.
Taylor Swift
Spotted singing at The Bluebird Cafe at the age of 15 by a Dreamworks Record exec, Taylor Swift originally started her career as a country singer, before becoming the world dominating popstar we know today.
Kerry Washington
Beauty and Brains! Scandal star Kerry Washington graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double degree in anthropology and sociology from George Washington University before pursuing acting full time. Kerry also revealed she took dance lessons from a then, unknown, Jennifer Lopez in the early 90’s!
Nicole Richie
As Lionel Ritchie’s adopted daughter, Nicole Ritchie, has lived a privileged life, something that became a topic of entertainment when she paired up with then BFF Paris Hilton for the hit reality show The Simple Life. But things could have been different. Nicole was sent to live with Lionel and his wife Brenda at the age of three when her real parents could not afford to provide for her.
Meghan Markle
Soon-to-be-bride of Britain’s Prince Harry, Meghan Markle started acting in school plays at all-girls Immaculate Heart Catholic high school in Los Angeles. She also spent a lot of time on the set of 80’s hit Married with Children where her dad was lighting director and director of photography.
Rihanna
Before she was famous, Rihanna was just a kid in Barbados dreaming of hitting it big as a singer. Fortunately, she didn’t have too wait long. After being spotted by record producer Evan Rogers while he was on vacation in Barbados, Rihanna was snapped up within hours of auditioning for Jay-Z’s record label Def Jam Recordings.
Katy Perry
Previously known as Katy Hudson, natural blonde Katy Perry has Christian Ministers for parents and was headed towards a career as a Christian music artist. Fortunately for the pop world, Katy rebelled, dyed her locks brunette, sang about kissing a girl – and the rest is history.
Naomi Watts
English beauty Naomi Watts started her career in Australia, appearing on the hit Ozzie soap opera Home and Away before making her big breakthrough in the 2001 hit thriller Mulholland Drive.
Kendall Jenner
Kendall Jenner was only a kid when she found fame on Keeping up with the Kardashians something the supermodel revealed to Teen Vogue actually hindered her steps into modeling. “People didn’t want to take a chance on me,” Kendall admitted. “I had to work even harder.”
Kate Beckinsale
Beautiful actress Kate Beckinsale has talent, an amazing figure and gorgeous good looks, yet Kate has revealed to the Sunday Express she hates all the plastic surgery rumors surrounding her. “That implies a kind of insecurity, shallowness and thoughtlessness that I don’t feel applies to me very much,” the star told the paper.
Beyoncé
Some people are simply destined for stardom – and Beyoncé Knowles is one of them. As a girl Beyoncé would sweep up hair at her mother’s hair salon and sing to earn tips to pay for her season pass to Six Flags!
Angelina Jolie
Blessed with beauty and those enviable bee-stung lips, Angelina Jolie was a fifteen-year-old aspiring actress when she sat for this black and white modeling photograph with Harry Langdon. It was her role as Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider that established Jolie as the Hollywood force we know today.
Aubrey O’Day
Former member of girl-group Danity Kane, Aubrey O’Day started performing at the age of five and has since undergone numerous rumored enhancements including a nose job, butt and breast augmentation, cheek and lip fillers, and Botox – something O’Day vehemently denies.
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan was just three-years-old when she began her career as a fashion model before finding fame at the age of 11 on the set of Disney’s The Parent Trap. Lohan has gone through many physical transformations during her career, including rumored lip and breast augmentations.
Nicki Minaj
Long before she catapulted onto our screens with her killer curves and ultra-long sleek hair-do, Nicki Minaj sported an all-natural girl next door look. After signing on with Young Money, the rapper transformed herself with over-the-top colored wigs and outfits before morphing into the sleek pop goddess we know today.
Kourtney Kardashian
As the eldest Kardashian sister, Kourtney was actually somewhat of a reality pro before hitting it big on Keeping up with the Kardashians. Long before the Kardashian family captured the attention of the television world, Kourtney appeared on the 2004 reality show Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, which took a group of wealthy, privileged kids and made them work on a ranch! She’s also the only sister to have graduated from university.
Scarlett Johansson
Aside from the rumored rhinoplasty, Scarlett Johansson has been mesmerizing fans with her natural beauty and enviable full lips since she scored her first film debut at the age of ten in North. But it was her performance in 2003’s Lost in Translation that established Scarlett as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
Much has changed about Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi’s look since she captured our attention on Jersey Shore. Before pounding the Jersey boardwalk, Snooki was a high school cheerleader and also battled an eating disorder. Since Jersey Shore, Nicole has undergone quite the visual transformation, admitting only to a breast augmentation.
Minka Kelly
Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly has been the subject of many plastic surgery rumors, including some who believe the star has undergone a liquid facelift. But according to Minka, that’s not the case. Minka revealed early in her career she started working at a doctor’s office in exchange for plastic surgery, but says she left when she realized she didn’t want one.
Amber Heard
Before making her film debut in Friday Night Lights, Amber Heard starred in Kenny Chesney’s music video There Goes My Life. Prior to hitting it big, Amber dropped out of high school, eventually earning her diploma online.
Emma Stone
As the highest paid actress in the world, Emma Stone first cast her sights on acting as a young child. At school Emma revealed she suffered panic attacks, something participating in local theater helped cure. As a teenager her mother whisked her off to Hollywood – and the rest is history.
Ashley Tisdale
Famous for her role in the High School Musical franchises, Ashley Tisdale has been in front of the camera since the age of 3. The New Jersey native starred in numerous television commercials, before touring at the tender age of 8 with the musical Les Misérables. Thanks to her breakout role in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Tisdale entered into her lucrative television acting career.
Zooey Deschanel
Before shooting to fame in 2003’s Elf, Zooey Deschanel sported blonde hair and no bangs! She also performed in a 1998 music video for the Offspring’s She’s Got Issues before adopting her trademark long brunette hair with full fringe.
Jennifer Aniston
As the daughter of two actors, it seems only fitting America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston would one day become a successful actress. But fame didn’t come easy for Jen, who started her career supporting herself as a telemarketer, bike messenger and waitress before hitting it big on the 90’s hit Friends.
Allison Williams
Daughter of former NBC news anchor Brian Williams, Girls star Allison Williams is a Yale graduate who performed in the improv comedy troupe Just Add Water.
Emmy Rossum
Known for her role in Phantom of the Opera, Emmy Rossum joined the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus at the age of 7 before making her television debut on the soap opera As the World Turns.
Jessica Chastain
Born in California to a firefighter dad and a stay at home mom, Jessica Chastain has revealed she caught the acting bug after her grandma took her to see a production of Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat featuring David Cassidy when she was seven-years-old. “That was a complete a-ha moment for me,” the actress told The Telegraph.
Whitney Port
As a Teen Vogue intern alongside Lauren Conrad on MTV’s The Hills, it seemed only fitting Whitney Port would carve out a career in fashion. She has since gone on to create her own fashion line “Whitney Eve” and star in her own reality show The City where she met her husband, producer Tim Rosenman.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Famous for her role as Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker actually started acting at the age of eleven, before snagging the lead role in Broadway’s Annie at 13.
Olivia Munn
Known as Lisa Munn early on in her career, Olivia Munn started her career as a television journalist and interned at Fox Sports Network as a sideline reporter for women’s basketball. Olivia credits eating Japanese potatoes with keeping wrinkles at bay and has dispelled rumors of plastic surgery by touting the benefits of well-shaped eyebrows!
