Celebrity CVs
If Hollywood went bust, what would these A-Listers have to fall back on? We take a sneak peek at the CVs of the rich and the famous
Rex FeaturesRyan Gosling
Job History: Ryan got his big break at the tender age of 12, when he performed as a Mouseketeer on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club alongside Justin Timberlake. Then, in his teens, the actor was offered a spot in chart-topping boyband, The Backstreet Boys – but didn’t take it because he didn’t think it would be a success. Member AJ McLean revealed that the actor then rang him about a possible slot when the Backstreet Boys' career sky-rocketed. "Ryan, I am so sorry that I didn't call you back..." AJ said. "If we ever want a sixth Backstreet Boy member, I'm gonna call you…"
PA PhotosVictoria Beckham
Job History: Since stepping into the spotlight with the other Spices in 1996, Vic has certainly turned her manicured hand to many a media field; singer, author, ‘actress’ and full-time fashionista. But it might surprise some to find out that before Posh pulled on the LBD, she played a roller-skating ‘sperm’ in BBC sex education production Body Matters.
PA PhotosTom Cruise
Job History: Like many a young, working-class boy, a pre-Hollywood Tom worked as a paperboy during a childhood stint in Kentucky. More surprisingly, the devout Scientologist joined a seminary at an early age in order to become a priest.
PA PhotosNatalie Portman
Education: Despite being discovered by a model scout in a pizza parlour at the age of 11, Natalie was determined to stick with her studies. The diminutive red carpet darling has a BA in Psychology from Boston’s much-celebrated Harvard University, is a Math prodigy and, in addition to being bilingual in English and Hebrew, has also studied French, Japanese, German, and Arabic. Phew!
PA PhotosGeri Halliwell
Job History: In the quest for fame and fortune, Geri turned her hand to anything and everything to make ends meet; hosting an aerobics class as Miss Motivator in her local gym, podium dancing in a Mallorcan nightclub, topless modelling and being a cheesy-grinned hostess on Secbakalim, a kind of Turkish The Price Is Right.
PA PhotosReese Witherspoon
Education: She may have portrayed a dumb blonde in her breakthrough role as Elle in Legally Blonde, but Reese in reality is anything but. The Oscar-winning actress attended the prestigious Stanford University, California, where she majored in English Literature.
PA PhotosEva Longoria
Education: Should she ever get bored of being a Desperate Housewife, Eva could easily nurse basketball playing ex-hubby Tony Parker back to health after a nasty on-court injury. The teeny Latino boasts a degree in Kinesiology – the study of human movement, which applies scientific-based medical principles towards the analysis, preservation and enhancement of the body. Go, Eva!
Job History: Before becoming a nation’s sweetheart in her breakthrough role in Desperate Housewives, Eva wowed in front of a different camera as a lingerie model.
PA PhotosBrad Pitt
Job History: His CV already boasts him being voted the Sexiest Man Alive by America’s People magazine. Twice. But scroll down a little and you’ll also see that Brad once earned a crust driving limos, moving refrigerators, and dressing as a chicken to entice people into Mexican restaurant chain, El Pollo Loco. We want to know who the moron was that told Brad to cover up those infamous good looks (and body) in a giant, feathered get-up!
PA PhotosSean Connery
Job History: In 1950BB (Before Bond), Sean was just a 20-year-old trying to make a living in Edinburgh, in any way a hard-working lad born to humble beginnings could. Before his breakthrough role uttering those immortal words “Bond, James Bond,” in 1958, Sean worked as a lifeguard, a milkman, a model and, rather disturbingly, a coffin polisher!
PA PhotosColin Farrell
Job History: Not quite the bad boy he would have us believe, during Colin’s quest for international stardom, the wannabe not only auditioned to be in Boyzone (!), but also toured his native Ireland teaching line dancing (!!).
PA PhotosSimon Cowell
Education: Despite acting the ‘know-it-all’ today, Simon left school in the Seventies with just two O-Levels.
Job History: A teenage Simon was desperate to break into showbiz and got an after-school job as a runner at Elstree studios; making tea, taking messages and transporting scripts. However, it was when Cowell Snr., who was an executive at EMI, offered Simon a job in the post-room that the media-savvy, music mogul started his climb up the career ladder and never looked back.
PA PhotosJennifer Aniston
Job History: Everybody’s favourite Friend Jen turned her hand to many a blue-collared job whilst struggling to break into acting. She worked as a telemarketer, a waitress and a bike messenger before hitting the big time playing Friends’ Rachel Green, a waitress-turned-fashionista, in a case of art imitating life.
PA PhotosMadonna
Job History: Once just another New York wannabe in her quest for superstardom, the material girl earned a crust squirting jam into doughnuts at Dunkin’ Doughnuts, and judging by the 50-year-old’s bod today, it doesn’t look like she’s been near a doughnut since.
PA PhotosBarack Obama
Job History: Long before he became the most powerful man in the world, Barack Obama worked as a humble ice-cream seller in American favourite Baskin-Robbins to help put himself through Harvard Law.
PA PhotosDavid Duchovny
Education: Before he became the thinking woman’s detective du jour, David was something of a brainbox. The X-Files hottie holds an undergraduate degree in English from Princeton, a masters degree from Yale, and even began a Ph.D. He didn’t finish it though, deciding he could make more money from acting than as an English lecturer. Education’s loss is our gain.
PA PhotosAngelina Jolie
Job History: Whilst dreaming of making it big in movies, unsurprisingly, a 14-year-old Angelina worked as a model and even starred in several music videos, including Meat Loaf’s When Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through, Lenny Kravitz’s Stand By My Woman, and The Lemonheads’ It’s About Time. More surprisingly perhaps, is that also at 14, Angelina dropped out of acting for a while and, instead, focused her dreams on becoming a funeral director (dun, dun, DUN!)
PA PhotosJohnny Depp
Job History: Long before 21 Jump Street and his film debut in Nightmare On Elm Street, the GORGEOUS Johnny Depp worked a series of odd jobs to make ends meet while dreaming of being a rock star, including a stint as an over-the-phone salesman of ballpoint pens. Thankfully, Hollywood came a’ calling, and rightly so. A face like that has no need to hide behind a phone.
PA PhotosEllen DeGeneres
Job History: Hollywood’s most powerful lesbian Ellen knocked up quite a blue-collar CV before taking the comedy circuit by storm. The chipper stand-up worked as a painter, a vacuum saleswoman, a paralegal, a waitress, a bartender and even an oyster shucker before getting her big break as Master of Ceremonies at New Orleans’ comedy hot spot, Clyde’s.
PA PhotosVin Diesel
Job History: With a macho moniker like Vin Diesel, it should come as no surprise that the Hollywood hard-man worked as a bouncer for nine years in New York City’s nightclub Tunnel (a hotspot in the Eighties). What might shake that hard-man image a little is that he also performed in an instructional break dancing video (Breaking in the USA) whilst heavily involved in theatre. Go Vin!
PA PhotosJob History: Chace Crawford is no stranger to hitting the headlines since he became famous for his role as the impossibly gorgeous Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl. But did you know that before his acting career kicked off, he was training to WRITE the headlines as a Broadcast Journalist? Didn’t think so…
PA PhotosJob History: TV shows like Punk’d may have led some to believe that there’s an awful lot of cotton wool between Ashton Kutcher’s ears. Wrong – the super-smart actor actually studied to be a biochemical engineer before he hit the big time.
PA PhotosIce Cube
Job History: Ice Cube has built his reputation up from scratch – first as one of the world’s most renowned hip hop artists, and second, as a big screen action movie star. But before his name was up in lights, the rapper – real name O’Shea Jackson – earned himself a degree in architectural drawing from the Phoenix Institute of Technology.
PA PhotosJob History: Harrison Ford can boast playing two of the best-known characters in movie history – Hans Solo and Indiana Jones. But it turns out he’s just as good with his hands as he is in front of the cameras – Ford built himself a sterling reputation as a master carpenter before he was famous.
PA PhotosJob History: Halle Berry won an Oscar for her emotional performance in Monster’s Ball. Perhaps it was this special talent that helped her to convince beauty pageant judges years before she became an actress to crown her queen? Berry was named Miss Ohio USA, Miss Teen All-America, was the first runner-up in Miss USA in 1986, and even came fifth runner-up in the Miss World competition in 1986.
PA PhotosJob History: Hayden Christensen’s career spiked dramatically when he played the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. But life wasn’t always so peachy for the star – Christensen had several odd jobs to make ends meet in his youth, including being a professional tennis ball boy. Rumour has it, he once accidently interrupted the play of famously angry tennis star John McEnroe. Oops!
PA PhotosJob History: Oh, to lead Cheryl Cole’s glamorous life of hair, make-up, fashion, events and pop super-stardom. However, before she found fame with Girls Aloud, the star tried her hand at the rather less glamorous world of commercial acting. One of her first roles was in an advert for British Gas central heating, alongside her brother.
PA PhotosJob History: Courteney Cox is one of the highest paid TV actresses of all time, which is why we were surprised to learn that pre-Friends, she worked as a tampon spokesperson (no, seriously). We were even more surprised to learn that she was also the first person ever to say the word ‘tampon’ on American TV.
WennJob History: Long before he embarked on his “most excellent” acting career, Keanu Reeves worked as a janitor, mopping floors, cleaning toilets and generally clearing up all the unpleasant mess made by others. Yes way.
PA PhotosJob History: Robert Pattinson has become one of the world’s most adored actors since signing on the dotted line to play the pale, interesting and incredibly good-looking Edward Cullen in the Twilight sagas. But did you know that, before the hysteria began, R-Patz had a career (albeit an unsuccessful one) in modelling?
PA PhotosMorgan Freeman
Job History: Shawshank Redemption actor Morgan Freeman’s so well thought of he’s one of the only actors in Hollywood who’s repeatedly drafted in to play ‘God’ in movies. He’s travelled a long way up since his earlier career as a mechanic in the US Air Force, that’s for sure!
PA PhotosJob History: Best known for his role as super-smooth executive Don Draper in Mad Men, Jon Hamm is as gorgeous and poised off-screen as he is on. That’s why we were super-jealous to learn that before he was famous, he had a job as an elementary school drama teacher. Why didn’t our teachers look like that?!
PA PhotosJob History: In his prime, Hollywood superstar Alec Baldwin was known as much for his acting skills as he was for his muscle-bound physique. Must have come in handy – the actor worked as a club bouncer before hitting the big time.
PA PhotosJosh Holloway
Job History: Josh Holloway really landed on his feet when he scored the role of Sawyer on hit HBO series Lost. We can’t quite believe his first job though - the actor earned his keep picking up dead chickens at a farm.
PA PhotosDan Aykroyd
Job History: Tom Cruise wasn’t the only actor who wanted to become a Catholic priest – Dan Aykroyd had the same holy ambition when he was a teen. He also worked sorting mail for Canada’s national post service. Life definitely got more exciting for the actor, that’s for sure!
Rex FeaturesJob History: Way before he became the stuttering king of rom-com, Hugh Grant had a much more academic career mapped out for him. The terribly English actor actually wanted to be an art historian, and even applied to do a PhD in the subject at the Courtauld Institute in London.
PA PhotosGwen Stefani
Job History: Before becoming the nouveau-Ska icon and show-stealing fashionista we all know and love today, the ‘Hollaback Girl’ was more of a ‘mop and bucket girl’, working as a cleaner for US ice cream giants, Dairy Queen.
PA PhotosHugh Jackman
Job history: He was voted the sexiest man of the year by People magazine in 2008 – probably not what his old workmates would have predicted when he was working as a professional clown. The X-Men actor spent three years entertaining kids at birthday parties wearing a big red nose and humungous shoes. He also went by the name Coco.
Rex FeaturesMegan Fox
Job history: She was once ‘forced’ to wear a fruity outfit in one of her first jobs. Certainly not as risqué as it sounds - she used to dress up as a banana to promote the smoothie shop she worked in.
Rex FeaturesBeyoncé
Job history: Before Beyoncé was in Destiny’s Child, she used to work at her mum’s salon, sweeping up customers hair. We’re guessing she spent more time singing into a hair brush and dancing round a broom than working.
Eva Mendes
Job history: The gorgeous actress once worked as a hot dog seller. We’re pretty sure the food wasn’t the only thing her customers found hot.
PA PhotosAmy Adams
Job history: She was clearly a bit of a minx before she turned her hand to acting. When she was 18, she worked at men’s drinking club Hooters. She admitted: “There was definitely an innocence to my interpretation of what Hooters was about. Though I did learn, quickly, that short shorts and beer don't mix!" After three weeks she managed to save up enough money for a car and got herself the hell out of there.
Big PicturesLady Gaga
Job history: Once upon a time, Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters would have found her smashing plates in a Greek restaurant. Before she was famous, the extroverted singer worked as a waitress for a small, family-run business. We dread to think what she used to wear to work!
PA PhotosMcDonalds all-stars
Job history: We have a collective entry for all those stars (and we’re sure there’s more), who began their golden (arches) path to stardom at McDonalds. Pink, Sharon Stone, Shania Twain, Rachel McAdams, Fred Durst and Seal have all flipped burgers, worked the deep fat fryer and cleaned the toilets for the fast food giant.
