13 Celebrities Who Overcame A Difficult Childhood And Achieved Stardom

Sometimes, when we see the famous with their luxuries and whims, we think that they just got lucky in life. In reality, behind all these privileges that they can enjoy today, there are many stories of struggle and personal overcoming. The artists that we will present here had quite complicated childhoods. Some were plunged into poverty, misunderstanding or loneliness, but they managed to overcome all these adversities and triumph.

At the awesome.club we love dreamy people and we celebrate when, with a lot of effort and without giving up, they manage to make their dreams come true. Their stories are pure inspiration, so they deserve to be told.

The actress with Mexican and Spanish roots was born in Texas in 1975. She grew up on a ranch with her parents and her four sisters, of whom she is the youngest. Her lifestyle was humble and sometimes, out of necessity, the family was forced to feed on what they could hunt.

During an interview, Eva clarified that they did this out of necessity, and compared her past with her present saying: “Before, I hunted to eat; now I order food and they bring it to my table.”

The famous singer Juan Gabriel did not have a rosy life. During his childhood and part of his youth he lived without money and spent most of his time in boarding school. There, he suffered constant abuse and bullying, until he managed to escape at the age of 16.

Far from his family and without anyone’s help or support, he worked to survive even washing clothes for upper-class women. But he never gave up on his dreams and didn’t stop fighting until he started his career as a singer, gaining international fame that stayed with him until his last days.

Another warrior who did not have an easy childhood was the Canadian singer Shania Twain, whose international fame arrived with the song Man! I Feel Like A Woman, reaching number one on the most listened lists in several countries. During an interview, she said that she grew up surrounded by violence, abuse and need: “It’s very difficult to concentrate, when your stomach rumbles with hunger”, she declared.

But his luck changed when he released his first album, and concerts and tours began. In recent years, due to a voice problem, the singer has moved away from the stage, adapting to her new condition and preparing to return to show business with a renewed style.

This great artist always knew where she wanted to go. Born in the Bronx, in the United States, she found herself on the streets at the age of 18, after refusing to go to university. She was determined to dedicate herself to dancing, and ended up being kicked out of the house by her mother. Since she had nowhere else to go, her dance school administration helped her by allowing her to stay there.

She slept on a couch, but she was getting closer to fulfilling her dreams. Her performance in the movie Selena was her big break to make a name for herself, and she didn’t waste it. Since then, she’s reaped triumphs and fortune in abundance, a reward she’s more than deserved after all she’s been through.

“I spent my days contemplating the ocean and dreaming of one day reaching the United States, a country where anything is possible. Growing up on just a quarter of a chicken a month, a loaf of bread a day and limited food portions, I was always hungry,” said the actor in an in-depth Instagram post, in which he was honest with his fans about his difficult childhood. Both he and his brothers grew up without frills and “no luxuries” when it comes to simple things for the most part, like having toothpaste or meat on your plate a few times a week.

He arrived in the United States without money and without speaking the language, but his desire to conquer the world was so great that nothing could stop him. Over the years, the actor has been building a successful career, until he managed to live with big Hollywood stars.

Selena’s case is totally different from those seen previously, as the actress did not have to deal with poverty and misunderstanding, but with early fame and professional pressure from a very young age. At just 10 years old, her career was already at its peak, she was a children’s television superstar, with all the stress that entailed. Hours of filming, tight schedules, rehearsals, costume tests, interviews, public image… a lot of pressure for a girl.

Currently, with a more mature look and “more order” in her life, the actress confesses: “I didn’t know what I was doing. I just ran around the sets and didn’t learn much. Now I feel like a sponge, trying to soak up all the knowledge I can.”

Undoubtedly, this man is an example of what can be achieved with patience, perseverance and the will to overcome. He has experienced misery and misfortune since he was a child, being evicted from his home and having to sleep in a bus station. But he was confident in himself and his work. So he bounced his Rocky script around from production company to production company until he got someone to take a chance on his idea.

And it didn’t disappoint. The film became a cinematic classic, followed by numerous sequels and other major projects, all of which, in addition to grossing many millions at the box office, helped the actor leave his days of poverty and need behind him.

Rihanna was born and raised in Barbados with her siblings and her father, who, in addition to being very strict, suffered from certain serious addictions. The singer said that during her childhood she even sold hats, belts and scarves on the streets with him to help support her family, as money was extremely unstable.

Years later, it’s all just a memory. Now, the singer has a whole business empire and not only accumulates successes in the musical field, but also has her own brand of cosmetics.

Not long ago, the actress revealed on her Instagram account how her childhood was traumatic. Her relationship with her father was really difficult, and today, that he is no longer with us, she remembers: “In my childhood, there was a lot of abuse. I grew up with a father who was very abusive, both verbally and emotionally and physically.”

However, over the years, she learned to forgive and realized that everything she experienced in childhood turned her into a strong and courageous woman, awarded on several occasions, capable of fighting for her desires and surpassing herself day after day.

Jay-Z was a troubled neighborhood kid who got into a lot of trouble during his youth. Violence, crime and little hope for a prosperous future, that was his reality. But something changed, and he didn’t resign himself to accept that his life ended like that.

No one would have guessed that this kid who negotiated with bands and “bad people” would end up becoming one of the most powerful and influential rappers and music producers in the entertainment world.

The name Pabllo Vittar is today synonymous with success and hits in all corners of Brazil. But it was not always so. Born in the interior of Maranhão, Phabullo (according to his birth record) had to go through many challenges until he got his first opportunity to shine. In interviews, the drag queen has already revealed that, at the beginning of her career, she had the support of many people to carry her dream forward. And never got discouraged.

On many occasions, Pabllo even did shows in exchange for food. The fee for many presentations was paid in slices of pizza. However, after four albums, countless appearances on TV and even in the cinema, the artist has a busy schedule and the cost to have the singer at an event, in 2021, easily exceeded 100 thousand reais.

Simone and Simaria are from Uibaí, Bahia, and started singing when they were teenagers. With a prospector father and a washerwoman mother, their childhood was very poor, but with great joy and a united family. From an early age, they participated in singing competitions and won them all. However, after the death of the father, the mother had to move to São Paulo in order to be able to support the daughters. Already in São Paulo, they got a job as a backing vocalist for singer Frank Aguiar.

After seven years, they decided to shine in front of the stage and joined the band Forró do Muído, sharing lead vocals with another singer. Five years later, they became a duo and already had a legion of fans. They were responsible for promoting the sisters’ sound and making them reach television. Today, they have established themselves and become one of the most famous and requested names in Brazilian music.

Before achieving success on the small screen, Thaila Ayala did not have an easy life. The muse is from Presidente Prudente, in the interior of São Paulo. “I grew up in a very poor and very violent place,” she describes herself. She also remembers growing up “playing in the dump next to the house”. The now model and actress, “left home alone at the age of 15, leaving school, family, everything behind” in search of a dream. “Nobody knows and I’m sure they don’t even imagine where I came from, and everything I went through, everything could have gone very wrong, everything”.

What is your history? What obstacle did you have to overcome that you can proudly count on today?