Celebrity Internships
You're not the only one! Even the stars have made the coffee and done endless photocopying.
Alasdair McLellanBrooklyn Beckham
Brooklyn Beckham landed a pretty cool internship with his dad’s pal Guy Ritchie. The teen worked at the director’s London film office, SKA Films and turned up "dressed casually with a notebook in hand" and ready to muck in. Although apparently he was driven there in his dad’s Jaguar.
Getty ImagesLena Dunham
Lena Dunham had more success in the interning world than her Girls character Hannah. The actress worked at independent publisher Soft Skull in 2006. "She was great, as expected," said her then-boss Richard Nash. "The stuff she was doing on the side was all film."
GettyMindy Kaling
Back before she hit the big time on The American Office and got her own TV show, Mindy Kaling was an intern on Late Night With Conan O’Brien. The actress said her 19-year-old self wasn’t particularly helpful. Apparently she was "less of a 'make copies' intern and more of a 'stalk Conan' intern."
PAChloe Sevigny
Chloe Sevigny has undeniably good style and part of that might be down to her internship. The actress worked for Sassy Magazine before she was “discovered” on the streets of NY and was named an “It Girl” by the publication she once interned for.
PA PhotosDiddy
P-Diddy showed his dedication to music early on when he dropped out of Howard University in 1989 to work at Uptown Records. It didn’t work out too badly for the singer though; he founded his own label Bad Boy Records.
PARyan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest learnt his presenting skills on ESPN hosting a sports game show called Radical Outdoor Challenge. No, we can’t see it either.
Rex FeaturesKanye West
Kanye West might have raised eyebrows when he showed his debut collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2011 but the rapper’s background was originally in fashion. Kanye interned for both Fendi and Louis Vuitton before changing careers and creating music. Talking about his time there, Kanye revealed that he “worked at Fendi for four months undercover. I was there to give ideas for the men’s collection. I snuck into Giuseppe Zanotti’s factory still under contract and learned to design women’s shoes for two years before my first show in Paris.”
PA PhotosSteve Jobs
The late Steve Jobs got his big break when he interned for Hewlett-Packard president William Hewlett while he was at high school. Even as a teen, Steve Jobs stood out from the crowd, boldly asking Hewlett for parts to use for a school project he was working on. The HP president gave him the parts and offered him a summer internship, and it was here that Jobs met Steve Wozniak, with whom he later founded Apple. Who said internships were a waste of time?
Rex FeaturesMalia Obama
We’re super jealous of Barack Obama’s daughter, Malia. Apparently the 17-year-old interned with Lena Dunham on the set of Girls during her summer holiday. "I'm not sure how long she'll be interning for. It's a bit of a trial thing for her. They've known each other and discussed it for a while. Lena and her get along great," said a source. Don’t think Malia was given an easy ride though – she was spotted delivering coffee to the cast and crew.
Rex FeaturesBrooke Shields
Brooke Shields was a child model and star but that didn’t stop her indulging her love of animals and getting an internship at San Diego Zoo.
Getty ImagesEllie Kemper
Another Office star who’s also a Late Night With Conan O'Brien alumnae. Ellie Kemper revealed that she was too scared to talk to the presenter during her internship on the show. Fortunately, she got over her nerves when she was invited back as one of his guests.
Getty ImagesLauren Conrad & Whitney Port
A significant part of The Hills charted the internship dramas of Lauren Conrad and her friend Whitney Port. Their work experience at Teen Vogue included doing everything from calling-in clothes to filling in last minute as a model (remember when Whitney fell over on live TV?).
Getty ImagesAshley Olsen
The seeds of Ashley Olsen’s amazing fashion empire were sown during her time as an intern at Zac Posen. Talking about his former protégée, the designer said: “Ashley was present through a season in the studio one to two days a week, and I tried to create as hands-on an experience for her as possible… She came in person and knocked on the door to get her internship, which is four steps farther than most interns go. She had that drive and that’s what makes someone special.”
Getty ImagesSteven Spielberg
Even Steven Spielberg was an unpaid intern once. He worked at Universal Studios before bosses recognised his talent and he was offered a seven-film deal when he showed them a short film he’d made called Amblin’. The eagle-eyed will know this is the name of Spielberg’s film company.
Getty ImagesJohn Krasinski
Mindy Kaling’s not the only Office star to cut her teeth on Conan O’Brien. John Krasinski learned some skills working there during a script internship in 2000. Apparently his duties included (rather appropriately) “office” work like stapling, filing and copying, but he also got the chance to work closely with the show’s writers and see how the show was put together.
Getty ImagesTom Hanks
Oscar winner Tom Hanks interned for the Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Ohio. He credits the time with giving him stage confidence and theatre experience; in fact he enjoyed working there so much, he dropped out of college and stayed there three years.
