17 rich and famous people who were once homeless

When Cameron was writing "The Terminator," he was "barely making ends meet, even living in his car for a time," according to IGN.

But his main concern at the time wasn't money. He was determined to direct his screenplay despite his limited experience.

When he pitched "The Terminator" at meetings, the production companies said they liked the script, but they didn't like the idea of him being in charge.

Cameron persevered and partnered with producer Gale Anne Hurd, who bought the rights to the screenplay for $1 and named Cameron the director.

The film went on to make $77 million worldwide.

According to the biography "Jim Carrey," the comedian dropped out of high school and lived in a VW bus with his family parked in different places throughout Canada. They eventually moved into a tent on his older sister's lawn and parked the van in the driveway.

Carrey said it was during these tough financial times growing up when he developed a sense of humor.

When she first moved to New York to become an actress at age 21, Berry ran out of money, and her mother decided the best thing would be to not send her daughter more cash, People reports.

During this period, the actress said she stayed in a homeless shelter.

In an interview with Reader's Digest, Berry said:

It taught me how to take care of myself and that I could live through any situation, even if it meant going to a shelter for a small stint, or living within my means, which were meager. I became a person who knows that I will always make my own way.

According to BusinessPundit, when Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, was 12 years old, he was homeless and living in a car in Kansas City with his father, who was interning as a psychologist.

McGraw later went on to obtain his own bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D., and he joined his father's psychology practice in Texas.

In the 1990s, Oprah Winfrey invited McGraw to appear on her show. He later became a regular on "Oprah" and eventually launched his own syndicated advice program.

The well-known Emmy-winning financial adviser, who has published numerous New York Times bestsellers, could not afford to move out of her van when she first moved to Berkeley, California, in the 1970s, according to The Huffington Post.

For two months, Orman and a friend took a job clearing trees for $3.50 an hour and lived out of Orman's van. Today she is a multimillionaire.

Craig now has several critically acclaimed movies on his resume, but The Independent reported that the 007 actor waited tables and even slept on park benches early in his career as an actor.

She would go on to sing for President Ronald Reagan in 1981, but before becoming "arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time," Fitzgerald was a homeless teenage runaway until debuting at the Apollo Theater in 1934.

Her voice quickly won her fame, and she went on to win 13 Grammy Awards and receive medals from presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

She died in 1996, and her face appeared on a US postal stamp in 2007.

Aside from a movie based on his life starring Will Smith, Gardner also has two New York Times bestselling books under his belt: his autobiography "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be."

But before his story was shared with the world, Gardner was living on the streets with his young son. At the time, he was trying to pursue a career in finance despite not having any experience in it, or even a college degree. He received a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but could not afford to live off of the small salary, and his wife eventually left him.

Today Gardner is a motivational speaker and CEO of Gardner Rich LLC with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Multi-platinum singer Jewel once lived on the streets after her boss fired her because she wouldn't sleep with him, she writes on her website.

"I ended up homeless for a year," she says. "I kept writing songs, and started singing in a local coffee shop called The Inner Change Cafe. I developed a loyal following. No one knew I was homeless."

She ended up securing a label and making an album that sold 12 million copies, according to her website.

During his childhood and teenage years, Oher was living on the streets while his crack-addicted mother lived in public housing, reported NPR.

He was eventually taken in to live with a wealthy family, played college football at the University of Mississippi, and drafted into the NFL in 2009 for the Baltimore Ravens.

His inspirational story was turned into Michael Lewis's 2006 book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" and the movie "The Blind Side."

W Magazine reported that when Lopez was 18, she wanted to be a dancer while her mother wanted her to go to college, so she moved out and started sleeping on the sofa of her dance studio.

"I was homeless, but I told her, 'This is what I have to do,'" Lopez told W.

A few months later she landed a job dancing in Europe, and when she got back, she booked "In Living Color" and became a Fly Girl, which proved to be her big break.

Forbes estimates the 46-year-old singer, actress, producer, and designer made $28.5 million in the past year.

At a young age Houdini knew he wanted to be a magician, and he ran away from home by hopping a freight car, according to Appleton Public Library, winding up in Missouri.

A few years later, he moved to New York City with his father, but they were so poor Houdini had to panhandle on the streets.

He began his professional career as a magician at 17.

The 58-year-old actor, TV personality, and author told People Magazine that when he was just starting out as a comedian in the late 1980s, "one or two gigs fell through," and he suddenly found himself homeless.

People reported that Harvey lived in his 1976 Ford Tempo for three years — he would wash up in hotel bathrooms, gas stations, or swimming pool showers — until he was called to appear on "Showtime at the Apollo."

That gig turned out to be Harvey's big break.

According to Time, Swank, who grew up in a trailer park, moved to California with her mother as a teenager to pursue a career in acting.

Before landing roles, she and her mom lived in a car and stayed in an empty house for a few months.

Swank told CBS News: "We had a friend who was selling their house. And so they said, 'You know, there's no furniture, but you can stay there at night. And then, during the day, you have to leave so we can try and sell it.' So we got air mattresses. Blew the air mattresses up. Slept on the air mattresses. And left in the morning."

She went on to win two Oscars by age 30.

After the early death of Chaplin's father, his mother was put in a mental hospital, and the young boy and his brother had to try to make a living by themselves, according to CharlieChaplin.com.

As both his parents were in show business, Chaplin and his brother decided to follow suit. Today he is known as one of the greatest actors of the silent film era.

Carey grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and his father died when he was just 8 years old.

According to the Kirkland Reporter, Carey told audience members at a 2010 benefit for the Friends of Youth organization that he was on his way from Ohio to California to see his brother when he ended up homeless in Las Vegas.

He sold plasma for $40 and looked for spare change to buy boxed mac and cheese.

The actor, comedian, game show host, and philanthropist is now a multimillionaire.