15 Celebs Success Stories You Can Relate To

Many celebrities are born into families that are already rich and successful (if not super famous themselves). After all, it's a lot easier to get in the right doors when they're already open for you. Of course, it takes hard work, but some people have to work harder than others to get to the top. On the other hand, there are a lot of other celebrities who had to overcome some pretty massive challenges (either in their personal lives or just because of life circumstances) to create their version of success. Here are 15 celebrity success stories that you can actually relate to and get some inspiration from as well. These people have dealt with everything from rough childhoods, lack of money, rejection, stuttering, and even abuse, but they all more than made something amazing with their lives. If they can live out their dreams, then there's definitely hope for the rest of us, right? Read on and get totally inspired.

15 J.K. Rowling

You probably haven't penned a massively successful series of books like Harry Potter that went on to become a massive film franchise as well. But you totally could. J.K. was a single mom living on welfare when she completed the first book. Shortly after she began writing the book, her mom died, and then her marriage fell apart as well. She was literally on the brink of being suicidal but wrote the book anyway… and then got tons of rejections. Yes, really! But luckily for us, she made it anyway. When she did finally get the chance to publish the book, she was asked to make her name less female so she wouldn't turn away young male readers. In 2011, she was supposedly worth $1 billion but has given a considerable amount of money away to charity. She has said, "I have not forgotten what it feels like to worry whether you'll have enough money to pay the bills. Not to have to think about that anymore is the biggest luxury in the world."

14 Oprah Winfrey

If Oprah can make it, then anyone can. Oprah not only grew up incredibly poor with a young mother, but she also went through a period of physical abuse that resulted in a miscarriage. Not exactly uplifting. But she didn't let her childhood slow her down at all. She not only made it but she became one of the most successful media moguls of all time. Not that it was all uphill from there, of course. When Oprah first started working as a newscaster, she was told that she was "unfit for television news" because she cared too much about the people that she was reporting on. But that was fine for her. She stuck to who she is and figured out how to create an entire career around talking to people who she truly cares about. Her story is not only a lesson in perseverance but of making choices from a place of total authenticity as well.

13 Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester wasn't born with a silver spoon her mouth like her character on Gossip Girl. The actress was actually born in prison. Leighton's mom was doing time for an illegal substance trafficking conviction. Her father was also in jail at the time on some drug charges, so she went to live with her grandparents. When she was eleven, she moved back in with her mom who was now living in New York, which is when Leighton started pursuing the professional acting career that ultimately took off in some big ways. This story is relatable to a lot of people. Not that Leighton's parents were not around when she was a kid, but they were incarcerated. Plenty of kids grow up in those kinds of circumstances and it can make the idea of a big future (or even a future at all) kind of tough. Leighton is proof that following your dreams starts with a personal intention as opposed to an invitation from anyone else.

12 Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson didn't realize that she wanted to be an actress until she came down with malaria and hallucinated about it. No, really! We're not lying to you. She has said, “I was in Mozambique [on a] trip. I caught malaria and the medicines caused a hallucination. I dreamt I won an Oscar for acting. I know it sounds stupid, but it was so real and I just knew then it would happen. When I came back, everyone was like: 'Rebel, you can't be an actress because you're so smart,' but I was sure.” We don't all have straight up hallucinations, but we all certainly do have our dreams and moments where they seem more poignant than ever. Also, the fact that people didn't think that Rebel should be an actress because she's smart is interesting. It's pretty easy to see that the greatest actors are pretty smart people. She didn't listen to the naysayers which is super lucky for us since she's hilarious and enjoyable on-screen.

11 Katy Perry

Katy Perry was born into a very religious family. Both of her parents are preachers and she grew up in a very conservative environment. Not surprisingly, they wanted her to go the conservative route as well as she began her singing career as a Christian singer. Eventually, her real self came out and she moved on to become the outspoken and authentic person that she is today. A lot of people can relate to having parents that have a different idea about what they want their children to do with their lives (whether that is related to religion or not). And many people can relate specifically to the religious aspect. It can be tough to do something different when you come from a very religious background if everyone seems really close-minded around you. Sometimes following your own path means going against the beliefs of people that are very close to you which can be rough but also empowering.

10 Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is one of the biggest movie stars of all times but his acting career didn't take off overnight. He's a great example that sometimes it takes a really long time to get to where you're going and you're really only beginning your journey. Harrison was working as an actor for years but mostly had really small parts that paid little and were sometimes even uncredited. Eventually, he started working as a carpenter to better support his wife and family. It wasn't until he took a step back that a casting director got him an audition for George Lucas in American Graffiti. Then Francis Ford Coppola gave him some small acting roles and also hired him to do some carpentry work expanding his office. We all know where his career went from there. What's relatable about this is that Harrison didn't shy away from doing what he needed to do not to starve, even after he started making some massively large connections in the industry. He did what he needed to do to make things work.

9 Sarah Jessica Parker

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Sarah Jessica Parker grew up in a family so poor that she started working as a performer to help supplement her parent's income when she was still a child. Her ten family members (yes you read that right, ten!) lived in a small town in Ohio and needed all the help they could get. Luckily for her, her mom never stopped encouraging her dreams of pursuing the arts despite the family's struggles, and they later moved to Cincinnati when she got a theater school scholarship. Later, she and her brother both got cast in the same New York play so the family picked up and relocated once again. Sarah Jessica has always seemed like a pretty humble person in the celebrity world. It's definitely easy to see why after hearing her story. She has always been really committed to her craft and she also has some family support which definitely helped.

8 Stephen King

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Stephen King is a household name but he definitely didn't start out that way. The writer was so broke when he was once pursuing a writing career that he and his wife lived in a trailer and got rid of their phone to save money. Talk about serious dedication to the craft. He got back 60 rejection letters before he ever published his first short story called "The Glass Floor" which he sold for $35. He wasn't deterred by the lack of interest in his work. He got tons of rejections before he got someone to buy "Carrie" but even then the book only made 13,000 sales in hardback. It wasn't until a different publisher signed on for the paperback rights that he made $200,000 off the $400,000 deal. Stephen's story is relatable because he didn't let the rejections get to him. In fact, he started saving them from the age of 14 and just kept writing anyway because he's a writer and he wasn't going to let anyone else tell him otherwise.

7 Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt started out with a debilitating stutter, which is relatable to many people who have trouble communicating in any way, whether it's a stutter or just a fear of speaking their mind. She dealt with the stutter from the age of seven to 14. She has said in interviews,"I was a smart kid and had a lot to say, but I just couldn't say it. It would just haunt me. I never thought I'd be able to sit and talk to someone like I'm talking to you right now." The stutter ultimately went away after a teacher gently pushed her into trying out for the school play in middle school. She resisted at first, but after spending some time practicing different accents she realized that it was possible for her to get her words out. The acting thing stuck and the stutter faded away. Shoutout to the teachers who really know what's up. Emily's story proves that sometimes other people do know what's best for us.

6 Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry has been one of the highest paid men in the entertainment industry but it's not because things started out easy for him. He was actually physically abused as a child, got kicked out of high school, and tried to end his own life by the time he was 22. Everything changed the next year when he moved to Atlanta and started working part-time jobs to support his dreams of a stage career. He was ultimately successful in writing, producing, and starring in his first production I Know I've Been Changed. Not that the show was a hit at first. It actually took seven productions and six years for the show to become a success. Today? Well, today he runs his own empire. To say that the guy is committed is putting it mildly. Not many people would continue to put out the same project over and over again over a six year period, but he proved that when you believe in something enough, eventually it all works out.

5 Colonel Sanders

Colonel Harland Sanders, of course, made it big with Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it took him an incredibly long time to do so. When he first started selling his beloved chicken recipe, it was from the living quarters of a Shell service station in 1930. It wasn't even a restaurant and he was already 40 at the time. For the next ten years, he enjoyed some moderate success selling the chicken and upgraded his space, but then a change to the roads took the traffic away from his restaurant and he retired totally broke. Still undeterred, he started living out of his car and traveling around trying to get people to franchise his recipe. He was rejected 1,000 times before he got the big offer. Let that sink in. He was retired by the time things worked out the way he had always dreamed. Hopefully, it doesn't take that long for any of us, but that's an extremely crazy story to keep in mind. Sometimes it's just about timing.

4 Walt Disney

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It's safe to say that Walt Disney had a pretty unique vision, which is also why it took awhile for other people to catch onto it. He was actually fired once from a newspaper because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." See, not everyone can spot a winner. Walt went on to launch some failed businesses that actually led him into bankruptcy. Not exactly a smooth start. Animation was actually a last resort job after he was denied from every other department in the entertainment industry when he moved to Hollywood. The first time he got a distribution deal he started Disney Brothers' Studio with his brother Roy and his best friend Iwerks. His first hit was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit but then he actually got let go from the project when he no longer owned the rights to it. That's when he knew he needed to come up with a new idea, which was a mouse named Mortimer. His wife urged him to rename him Mickey.

3 Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team which just goes to show you how bizarre life can be sometimes. Maybe he just wasn't quite ready, or maybe someone didn't quite see the talent he possesses. Obviously, he didn't let that cut stop him and he went on to become one of the best athletes of all time. He not only proved that failures are just a step on the way to success but he also has continued speaking out on that notion in super inspirational ways. He has said, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” We all fail all the time no matter what we're doing with our lives. It doesn't matter unless you let it stop you.

2 Sidney Poitier

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Sidney Poitier grew up in poverty in the Bahamas, and on his first audition he was told: “Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” Talk about a super harsh and unnecessary rejection. Sure, it was mean, but he did not let it stop him. He not only kept at it but eventually became the first black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor. Wasting people's time, huh? Not so much. In addition to enjoying a successful acting career he has also directed a variety of films, and for ten years he served as the non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan. Sidney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Obama and was also recognized by the BAFTA Fellowship for outstanding lifetime achievement in film. He knew that casting director was wrong and definitely proved him otherwise. Talk about some awesome achievements during his time!

1 Steven Spielberg

We put so much importance on education and degrees that it's particularly interesting to hear about successful people getting rejected from schools. Steven Spielberg was rejected from USC three different times as a filmmaker and wasn't let in until he got an honorary degree and became a trustee. In 1996 he said, "Since 1980, I've been trying to be associated with this school. I eventually had to buy my way in." Not only did Steven let the rejections stop him from pursuing his career and being very successful at it, he also kept a sense of humor about the whole thing. As a student at California State University Long Beach, he got an unpaid editing internship at Universal Studios. He wrote and directed a short film that was so well received that he was offered a seven-year contract as the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio. These days he's one of the best-known directors and producers of all time and is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era. So the next time you get rejected, just let that sink in.