Everybody has to start somewhere, and so do celebs. Not many people were born a superstar, and the celebrities before they were famous were just like you and me. That means they were just ordinary people working ordinary jobs to get by. It’s hard to imagine the Queen of Pop Madonna working as a clerk for Dunkin Donuts or Beyoncé’s as a salon floor sweeper, but it’s true.
So let’s find out what these talented Hollywood icons do before they become, well, icons. Keep scrolling, cause these facts can blow your mind.
1. Madonna Used To Work As A Dunkin Donuts Employee
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Before she was the best-selling female recording artist of all time, Madonna used to work as a cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts. She lost her job after she squirted donut jelly on a customer. Who would have thought the naughty cashier would become the Queen of Pop?
2. Johnny Depp Worked As A Telemarketer
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Johnny Depp used to be a telemarketer, but he really, really hated his job. Allegedly, he only made one sale during this time, and he talked the customer out of the purchase. The guy might be a great actor, but he was a bad salesman.
3. Rihanna Was An Army Cadet
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We know that army cadet doesn’t count as a profession, but still, who can think RiRi is THAT tough? Now we definitely understand the famous singer a little bit more. No wonder she doesn’t look awkward in Battleship.
4. Chris Pratt Used To Be A Stripper
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Chris Pratt used to have a hard time living in Hawaii. To make ends meet, he worked as a stripper for a brief period. The actor is not ashamed of his past because he loves getting naked. “I was always a very much naked person. I loved to always get naked. I was very free, so I thought, I may as well get paid,” he shared in an Interview.
5. Cardi B Was A Grocery Clerk
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Speaking of stripping, almost everybody knows that Cardi B used to work as a stripper and she is not embarrassed about this fact at all. But not many people knew she was a full-time cashier at the Amish Market in NYC's Tribeca neighborhood before turning she was a stripper. She was fired after giving a discount on a purchase to her coworker. The rapper then applied for her new job at the strip club across the street after a manager told her she had a nice body.
6. Nicki Minaj Used To Work As A Red Lobster Waitress
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Another iconic female rapper who used to work a nine-to-five job before she became famous is Nicki Minaj. She was a waitress at Red Lobster and was fired after she followed a couple who stole her pen to the parking lot and flipped them off. "I like dealing with people, but I don’t really like a lot of bullshit, so maybe customer service wasn’t the best job for me," Nicki explained.
7. Brad Pitt Was A Chicken Mascot
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Brad Pitt has a past working with restaurants too. His first job in Hollywood was to play the chicken mascot for an El Pollo Loco chicken restaurant. The famous actor would stand outside in a chicken costume and wave at passing would-be customers. We have no idea why they would want to cover his face with a hilarious chicken mask.
8. Beyoncé’s First Job Was As A Salon Floor Sweeper
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Who can imagine the famous Queen Bee as a salon floor sweeper? Apparently, a young
Beyoncé had to earn her keep by doing mundane tasks for her parents. The famous singer shared about her time working in her mother's salon from when she was six until she turned nine, saying "I helped sweep hair off the floor for tips to pay for my season pass to Six Flags."
9. Julia Child Was A Spy
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And last but not least, we definitely didn’t see this one coming, but apparently, Julia Child was a spy before she was a legendary cook that published famous culinary cookbooks. Julia was an American spy during World War II. Because she was too tall to join the military, she worked for the Office of Strategic Services, which is the predecessor of the CIA. The chef even invented a new type of shark repellant for military use when she was working with the OSS.
Which of these facts you already knew? And if you have already known them all, then check out our list of the
10 Crazy Celebrity Facts. Some of these facts are so wacky that they might sound like a lie, but they’re not!