20+ Famous People Who Grew Up Rich & 20+ Who Are Actually Self-Made

It’s hard to beat the fame that Dolly Parton has earned for herself. Music fans of all genres love the “Jolene” singer. Parton grew up in Tennessee in a big family — she’s one of 12 children!

The singer once told AARP, “Back in the early days, what we had was each other,” as she described growing up with her siblings and parents in mountainous Tennessee. Today, she’s one of the most recognizable names in music.

Cara Delevingne has become quite well-known for her work as a model. However, you might recognize a few of her family members, too. For one, her godmother is none other than award-winning actress Dame Joan Collins herself.

On top of that, she has an aristocratic grandmother on her father’s side and, on her mother’s side, her grandmother was a lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret. As for Delevingne, she and her sister, Poppy, branched their own path into modeling.

Now, Billy Bob Thornton is a fairly well-known actor. The star even has a few Oscars under his belt! However, Thornton didn’t grow up in Hollywood but rather in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

He was originally set on sports but an injury led him to change paths. Around the second half of the 1980s, he stepped into acting and has branched out into screenwriting as well. It seems that was a wise choice!

Anderson Cooper has become a household name through his work on outlets like CNN. His family goes back quite a ways, as well. If you go all the way back a few generations to Cooper’s great-great-great-grandfather, you’ll meet incredibly wealthy Cornelius Vanderbilt.

More recently, you might recognize his mother’s name, Gloria Vanderbilt. She was most famous for her work as a fashion designer. Cooper himself started appearing in the media almost from birth.

While Leonardo DiCaprio grew up in East Hollywood, the young star didn’t come from money or fame in the beginning.

In 2016, the actor shared with Telegraph magazine, “Money was always on my mind when I was growing up. So, I was always wondering how we were going to afford this and that. Acting seemed to be a shortcut out of the mess.” It seems like it worked out for him!

Gwyneth Paltrow was no stranger to Hollywood as a child. Her father, Bruce Paltrow, was Emmy-nominated for his work as a writer and producer, and her mother is actress Blythe Danner.

She probably met a few other young stars in her time at Santa Monica’s Crossroads School. After moving to Manhattan, the actress switched to an all-girls school — a private school named the Spence School. The actress is also the goddaughter of none other than Steven Spielberg himself.

Another celebrity from a big family, singer Céline Dion is one of 15 children — the youngest child too! Dion once spoke to CBS News about her life growing up in Quebec.

She said, “We were three, four in the same bed. I did not have a bedroom. Up the stairs, before going in the bedrooms, there was a little ramp. And my bed was there. So everybody went up, they saw me, and I could wave goodbye and goodnight.”

Bradley Cooper is an actor whose easy to recognize. Who doesn’t know the A Star Is Born actor in a piece of media? While his parents weren’t in Hollywood themselves, they were pretty successful when he was young.

His father, Charles Cooper, worked for Merrily Lynch as a stockbroker — and his mother worked for NBC. Before he started his career acting, Cooper attended Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania prior to studying at Villanova University. He later transferred to Georgetown.

Justin Bieber has been in the spotlight since he was young. However, that doesn’t mean the musician started with money. Before he released “One Time,” Bieber lived with his mother and the two weren’t rich.

He told Clique TV, “I remember being poor and being teased by other kids.” The singer continued, “And I also remember that when I got my first big paycheck I was so glad to be able to use that money to take care of my mother.”

There aren’t many comedy fans who haven’t heard of Rashida Jones. She’s perhaps most recognizable from her work on Parks and Recreation. You might also recognize her father, Quincy Jones.

Quincy Jones is a musician and music producer, largely working in jazz music. He isn’t just any artist, though. Rather, he’s often regarded as highly influential in the genre and has 80 Grammy nominations to back up the claim.

When it comes to self-made celebrities, Oprah is among one of the most famous stories of success in Hollywood. The talk show host’s name is synonymous with success but she wasn’t always rich and famous.

Oprah has spoken more than once about her upbringing in Mississippi, sans running water. Today, the television personality is a household name with a multi-billion dollar net worth behind her name and projects, both written and on-screen.

Rooney Mara and Kate Mara are two sisters with a lot of star power. Rooney is known for roles in movies like The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo and Kate has been in projects like House of Cards.

You might recognize the Mara name from other places, though. For instance, it was their great-grandfather, Art Rooney, who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers — and their other great-grandfather, Tim Mara, founded the New York Giants.

Most fans recognize Sarah Jessica Parker from her work on Sex and the City or even her work in the classic Hocus Pocus.

Discussing her life before fame with the New York Times, the star shared, “I remember being poor. There was no great way to hide it. We didn’t have electricity sometimes. We didn’t have Christmases sometimes, or we didn’t have birthdays sometimes, or the bill collectors came, or the phone company would call and say, ‘We’re shutting your phones off.'”

Edward Norton has become quite a name in Hollywood. Thanks to roles in movies like Fight Club, he’s pretty much a household name. The actor comes from generational wealth, too.

His grandfather was none other than James Rouse of The Rouse Company. That same company was sold in 2004 with a hefty sale price of about $7.2 billion. As for Norton, his career started in the ’90s and is still going strong.

Hilary Swank has been in Hollywood for a while now but, as a child, she grew up in the state of Washington. “I had a roof over my head and I had food, and so it wasn’t that being poor and having those experiences was a negative,” the actress told Together.

She continued, “The negative part of it was learning about class from such a young age, not from my friends, but from my parent’s friends, who would say, ‘You aren’t to hang out with her.'”

House fans will immediately recognize Olivia Wilde. She’s branched out since the show ended and continues to pull in plenty of fans. Her parents were both involved in film as well before Wilde’s own career took off.

Her mother is Leslie Cockburn, a writer and producer — while her father is producer Andrew Cockburn. Growing up, Wilde traveled often and attended private schools like Georgetown Day School and the boarding school, Phillips Academy.

Tyler Perry is famous both for his work in production and as an actor. Many immediately recognize him from his Madea series but you can catch him in a slew of different projects.

The now-famous producer and actor has spoken more than once about his early life before making it big. He’s even shared that his first play was produced while he was living out of his car. Now, there are very few people who haven’t heard of the star and his body of work in Hollywood.

Glee fans will recognize Darren Criss from his work as Blaine. He’s also been in titles like The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

As for the actor’s family, his father is an investment banker with plenty of money to spare. He even started a bank of his own: EastWest Bank. Unsurprisingly, he was interested in the arts as well, often donating to different organizations and working as a director of a few artistic organizations.

Leighton Meester is well-known to Gossip Girl fans. The star started preparing for her career with acting classes in her teens. Meester has openly discussed her childhood.

She has even shared how she’d always preferred her classes with adults, explaining that she found them more relatable — “‘Jimmy doesn’t like me!’ Who cares? I was worried we didn’t have gas money or food. Those were my concerns.”

It wasn’t too long ago that Kim Kardashian made comments about women in business working harder. Not to mention, Kylie Jenner’s title from Forbes as a self-made billionaire.

The family didn’t suddenly appear on the scene, though — they come from quite influential parents and step-parents. Robert Kardashian was a lawyer and businessman, while Caitlyn Jenner was a gold-medal Olympic athlete. The younger generation of the Kardashian-Jenner clan was more able to meet influential people at a young age.

It’s hard to imagine Mariah Carey not being rich and famous. The singer is among the most successful and she’s earned quite a name for herself.

Carey once admitted on Mariah’s World, “I moved to Manhattan alone as a teenage girl. It was an exciting time for me, even though I had nothing. I lived, like, on a mattress on the floor. I was writing my songs and being a horrible waitress. My demo tape ended up at Sony and they signed it away.”

There aren’t many Hollywood siblings with the same comedic power that Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein embody. The two versatile actors have shown up in a variety of roles, though.

Hill and Feldstein’s parents included their mother, who was a costume designer and a stylist, while their father was an accountant. The fact that he was an accountant only gets more impressive when you hear his clientele — which included Guns N’ Roses.

If you’ve seen American Hustle or Zero Dark Thirty, you probably recognize Megan Ellison. Ellison even founded her own production company when she was only 25. Of course, these things come at a cost.

It probably helps that her father, Larry Ellison, is a billionaire in his own right as the chairman of the Oracle Corporation, a technology company. Beyond that, though, the star prefers to stay fairly private.

It’s hard not to know Nicki Minaj’s name at this point. Her career as a rapper rocketed her to fame and accrued plenty of fans. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Minaj shared that her life growing up didn’t feature wealth.

She told the magazine, “I would go in my room and kneel down at the foot of my bed and pray that God would make me rich so that I could take care of my mother.”

Chris Pratt has taken on a number of different roles over the years. He’s been in Marvel projects, Parks and Recreation, and even Jurassic World. Before that, the star was a college dropout who lived in his van.

Pratt lived in Hawaii and shared that he “worked minimal hours, 15 to 20 hours per week, just enough to cover gas, food, and fishing supplies. You know, it was a charming time.”

Even if you don’t recognize Carly Simon by name, you’d probably recognize her music such as her song, “You’re So Vain.” She’s even been on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart 24 times. The Grammy-winning artist is the daughter of Richard L. Simon.

If you don’t recognize the name, we can’t blame you but you’ll likely recognize the company he co-founded: Simon & Schuster Publishing. This company is among the most profitable when it comes to the publishing business.

Ralph Lauren has cemented his place as a fashion icon and his brand of the same name is valued in the billions of dollars. The designer didn’t grow up with billions to his name, though.

Rather, he grew up in much less wealthy conditions. Interestingly, he wouldn’t be the only designer to appear out of the Bronx — Robert Denning and Calvin Klein both grew up there, too!

It’s no surprise that Paris Hilton grew up rich. It’s something the heiress has never hidden during her time in the spotlight. As the name suggests, the family’s money is largely tied to Hilton Hotels, founded by Conrad Hilton — Paris’ great-grandfather.

As for her father, he founded his own company, a real estate brokerage named Hilton & Hyland. As for Paris, she’s spent a lot of time in the spotlight since she came onto the scene as a celebrity.

Kelly Brianne, formerly known as Kelly Clarkson, came into fame as the first winner of the talent competition, American Idol. Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Brianne described her life before fame.

“We lived prepay check to prepay check. I was like, whatever I’m gonna do, I just don’t wanna have to worry [like] that. I always used to hate when people would be like, ‘Money doesn’t buy everything,’ when you are little and poor. Rich people say that, not poor people.”

As far as her family goes today, Kristen Stewart might have the most recognizable name. Yet, her family is famous, too! Her father worked as a stage manager.

Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and actress. Still, Stewart has said, “I never wanted to be the center of attention — I wasn’t that ‘I want to be famous, I want to be an actor’ kid. I never sought out acting.”

Shia LaBeouf started acting pretty early with roles on the Disney Channel. Yet, the actor wasn’t born into Hollywood.

In an interview with Parade in 2009, LaBeouf described his early life, saying, “My and my mom were both artists who never found an audience for their artwork and so I lived in poverty. Now that I’m not poor, I know that is what it was.” He later continued, “So I look back at that stuff, and I’m grateful. It’s like scars. You become proud of them.”

Salma Hayek has definitely left her mark on Hollywood. She’s appeared in everything from horror to biopics to telenovelas and more. She’s even lent her talent to voice acting roles. Hayek isn’t the first artist in her family either.

Her mother is an opera singer named Diana Diana Jiménez Medina. As for her father, Sami Hayek Domínguez, he found his fortune as an oil executive. This offered Hayek a much wealthier upbringing than average.

Jennifer Lopez is a successful actress, musician, dancer, and model who almost everyone knows by name. Whether it’s a movie or a song, you probably have a J.Lo favorite!

Speaking to Daily Mail, Lopez said, “I watched my parents. My dad worked nights, and I was aware of how much he was doing for us. My mom was a Tupperware lady and also worked at the school. I always felt that I couldn’t let them down. And I had a natural discipline from early on. I was always training for something.”

Ariana Grande has been in the spotlight for quite some time. Even before she was a famous pop star, she acted on shows like Victorious.

Though not in showbusiness, both her parents are successful in their own right. Her father founded his own graphic design company while her mother was the CEO of a company that focuses on communications. Still, Grande is the most recognizable and famous name in the family.

Demi Moore started out her career as a model. She was only 16 when she signed on with Elite Modeling Agency and started working in Europe. Before that, the star has said she was raised in a tumultuous trailer home in New Mexico.

However, that only marks part of her experience, as the star has noted that she moved more than 30 times when she was younger. Today, the star has a net worth of over $150 million.

Sigourney Weaver has cemented herself as an icon in Hollywood. Who doesn’t know her work as the protagonist in Alien? She isn’t the first in her family to step in to show business either.

Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was an actress as well. Her father, Pat Weaver, was a TV executive. Not just any executive, though — he served as the president of NBC and actually created the show Today.

Selena Gomez is another star who started working on their career when they were young, with roles on the Disney Channel. The singer and actress didn’t grow up in wealth, though.

She’s described growing up with a young, single mother and once told E!, “I remember my mom would run out of gas all of the time, and we’d sit there and have to go through the car and get quarters and help her get gas.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a key comedic player in Hollywood. From her work on Seinfeld to VEEP, she’s well-known for her comedic acting. Her family’s wealth goes a ways back, too.

Her great-great-grandfather was once among the wealthiest in France and founded the Louis Dreyfus Group. Her father would later found Louis Dreyfus Energy Services and her stepfather held the role of Dean at the George Washing University Medical School for some time.

Before he was an actor, Sylvester Stallone grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. He wasn’t quite as wealthy before Rambo or Rocky.

Before the action star hit it big, he and his mother didn’t have any wealth and he started acting in small parts to bring in some extra income. At one point, the actor even had to sell his dog to help make ends meet.

Plenty of Hollywood talent comes from people who grew up around already-famous parents. There’s some built-in networking there. As for Zoë Kravitz, it definitely helped her early life wealth to be born to two stars.

If you aren’t already familiar, Zoë is the daughter of musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet. For Zoë, her career started in her teens when she was cast in No Reservations.

Jim Carrey is a highly-recognizable actor. In fact, he’s not even hard to spot in full prosthetics for roles and characters such as the Grinch. The star didn’t grow up in fame and fortune either.

Carrey has described a period of homelessness in his life around the age of 13 and started doing standup around 15. By 16, he helped support his family with his comedy earnings, quitting school to focus on the task.

Brooke Shields has worked in Hollywood for a while. She’s debuted both as an actress and a model, leading to a successful career. Her father was wealthy in his own right as a Revlon executive.

Her mother was also an actress and model whose name was Teri Shields. If that wasn’t enough, Shields apparently has a lot of ties to Italian nobility — including her grandmother, Marian Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi, who was the daughter of a prince.

Walt Disney is a name synonymous with one of the biggest companies in the world. Yet, Disney didn’t start off with much. The businessman and animator went without jobs for long spells before he found success.

Growing up, he lived on a farm and often used his skills to earn money from neighbors with his drawings. This can seem surprising given how lasting the company he founded is.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal are another pair of star-powered siblings. They come from a famous family as well.

Like her children, Naomi Foner (the pair’s mother) was an actress — and their father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, was a talented director. Even further, Stephen Gyllenhaal actually is a descendant of the royal family in Sweden. All in all, it afforded the two a wealthy upbringing.

Rihanna is wildly successful now. Not only does she have a successful career in music but her line Fenty Beauty is incredibly popular as well. Growing up, the famous star wasn’t always a billionaire with nearly unlimited resources.

It was in 2003 that Rihanna would first start singing with a few classmates, leading to her discovery by a record producer named Evan Rogers. Rogers later spoke of Rihanna’s early star power saying, “The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist.”