Celebrity origin stories you don't believe

I wish I had saved articles about certain celebrities whose stories contradict one another.

That Kim Jong-il was Born on n Paektu Mountain when he was in fact born in Russia.

Lana Turner was NOT discovered by Mervyn Leroy at the soda counter in Schwab's Drug Store in Hollywood

R1 Me too. As a gayling in the 90s, I read so many celebrity magazines.

I don’t believe that Jewel was homeless and living out of her car when she was discovered. I do believe that’s where she is now though.

The late singer Prince early in his career claimed his father was black and mother Italian in order to expand his “crossover” appeal. Both his parents were black albeit light skinned.

Tommy Mottola lives in the road. He lost his lady two months ago. Maybe he'll find her, maybe he won't.

Had no idea Markles graduated NW with a Theater degree. I just looked it up and she graduated with an Ex of mine. Im gonna have to get some info!

[quote]The late singer Prince early in his career claimed his father was black and mother Italian in order to expand his “crossover” appeal. Both his parents were black albeit light skinned.

not sure how this fits into this thread. since for the last 30-40 years everyone knew his parents were both black.

Wasn’t the bullshit story about Charlize Theron that she was “discovered” pitching a fit to a bank teller?

Ummm, ok.

I don't believe Liza's father gave her her dreams, nor do I believe her mother gave her her drive.

That Brad Pitt dropped out of college “two credits shy of graduating” to go to Hollywood. Probably flunked out.

Lana Del Rey claims that she was a struggling artist who got lucky when "Video Games" caught on through the internet, but I think there is far more that story than she likes to lead on. She was trying to make it as a musician for years, and when she finally did get famous (because of "Video Games"), there were all sorts of rumors that her dad helped buy her way into the industry (which I'm not necessarily sure is true, although he does seem to be very involved in her career—he consistently pops up at her shows and seems very interactive with her fanbase, which is weird to me).

As far as "Video Games" goes, the music video itself consists of webcam clips of her which are cross-cut with vintage footage. She claims she made it herself on iMovie, and I believe that—but it seems clear to me that Interscope planted the video to make it look like they "discovered her" through it, when the reality was that she was already signed with them. Her debut album was released through Interscope only a few months after "Video Games" landed online—the turnaround was just too quick for her to have been "noticed" by Interscope, signed to the label, and then laid down an entire album. It was very calculated.

That Teri Hatcher was living in a van down by the side of the river.

That Jamie Lee Curtis was born a man

I'm always suspicious when I hear about some actor saving someone from drowning or after a car accident.

Madonna’s $35 bullshit

I’ve been seriously thinking about it, and I don’t think Britney Spears was being honest about being a virgin.

OP is dumb. Brenda K Starr was popular at the time with "I Still Believe." Mariah was her background singer on a few tour dates and heard Mariah's demo and tried to help her. She told Mariah she was invited to an industry party and invited Mariah and gave her demo to another executive and Mottola grabbed it. Listened to it in limo, turned around cuz so impressed, but Mariah left. He got her number from Brenda's manager and left a voicemail on an answering machine Mariah shared with other girls and they had a stupid message and Mariah couldn't believe a record executive heard it. Mariah and her mom went to the record company a few days later and signed her deal without consulting a lawyer.

Preach R19!

R12, Talked to one of Brad Pitt's frat brothers who had some interesting stories. Said he drove an old car and although relatively short was very popular with the ladies. Also said that he enjoyed smoking and partying a lot.

NY advertising co did a casting at the college. Brad got the gig and was flown to NY. Realized he preferred acting to architecture. That's why he impulsively dropped out and went to Hollywood.

I don't believe that Lana Turner was discovered at a drugstore lunch counter.

I find Jewel's claim that she was living in a van when she was "discovered" a bit dubious. She's been harping on about it for 20+ years now, too.

"Legend" has it that Rod Stewart's big break came when he was overheard singing while strolling along some railroad tracks.

There's a Rod Stewart story more famous than that one......

Her rich daddy bought her a record contract. Taylor Swift's parents bought her one too.

R10 When she first became famous, Theron claimed her father died in a car accident. Her mother killed him. Supposedly in self defense.

Lana Del Rey's voice makes me want to stab pencils into my ears. So glad she flopped monumentally on SNL. Fake little rich girl.

R28 I actually love her music—her first album is so-so, but all the others after have been very, very good. She's proven herself IMO even after that SNL bomb (which was truly awful). She has a penchant for making atmospheric, downbeat pop music, which appeals to my taste, so I count myself a fan. That being said, I think it's absurd to pretend that she was some starving artist who got plucked by the biggest record label in the world because she put out a self-made video on YouTube. There was behind-the-scenes calculation to the way she came up into the mainstream.. And yes, she is a rich girl; she went to Kent School in CT and after that, Fordham. Her family has money, whether she wants to admit it or not. I still appreciate her as a musician, but come on now.

Diane did NOT discover the Jackson 5.

"Lana Del Rey claims that she was a struggling artist who got lucky when "Video Games" caught on through the internet, but I think there is far more that story than she likes to lead on."

R13 Her father is fairly wealthy (not a billionaire, though) and Elizabeth Grant has never "struggled" for anything.

That Madonna came to NYC with $35. Gurl, please.

Hillary Swank, another one with a "I lived in my car" story.

I was born in Scotland!

R32 Madonna also likes to claim that she grew up "working class" when her dad was an engineer designer and she grew up in upper middle class Rochester Hills.

I've read lots of interviews were celebrities claim that they were outcasts in high school and was surprised when I saw pictures later showing that they were the prom king or a cheerleader.

Lindsay Lohan made a big deal out of how she got bullied around the time she was on Ugly Betty. Some of her old classmates came forward and said LiLo was a bully.

R35 Yeah that's a good one. The "I was a bullied outcast nerd " line was huge for a few years among actor /actresses/models.

Charlize Theron - "I was ugly and awkward when I was a teen..."

Pink is another singer that claims she grew up "working class" when her family was well-off.

Lindsey Lohan could proudly proclaim her humble, trashy origins without a possibility of exaggeration.

Haha R39 you're right. I got "discovered" when my thirsty, greedy stage parents dragged my to my first audition straight from the delivery room.

OP, I don't know how accurate this is but Brenda K Starr ("I Still Believe")--a singer Mariah was friends with and did backup for before she got her deal--confirmed that the story was true in an interview with Wendy Williams. And she hasn't spoken to Mariah in years so she didn't really have an incentive to lie for her.

Lady Gaga has lied about a bunch of stuff but I had to laugh at her claims of being bullied in school because she was blonde. Where in America is ANYONE bullied for being blonde? Poor, poor Aryans. She also claimed that she felt like a misfit because she was SO unpopular and that's why she is always stressing for people to love themselves. This is also complete BS--her classmates have confirmed she was never unpopular, and she was very well liked in school.

So many actors talk about how they had like 6 dollars in their checking account left before they got a specific role.

Well, didnt you have some sort of other job? Thats just being between paychecks. Millions of americans deal with this twice a month.

Whatever Tom Cruise's official story is, he was actually a hustler.

Ava Gardener was discovered after having a photo of her in the window of a photo studio in NYC, taken by her brother in law. I was seen by an MGM talent scout and the rest is history.

Sounds possible.

I'm totally white and was born in Tasmania. Yeah, that's the ticket!

When I was a kid I liked Rosie O'Donnell's talk show. She once showed her yearbook to the audience. She said she brought it in because she mentioned to her staff that she had been both homecoming queen and prom queen and nobody believed her.

Dakota Fanning and Kirsten Dunst have also admitting to being popular in high school.

Fanning and Dunst were already well-known actresses before they were high school age so that's not hard to believe.

R48 So many child actors say the opposite. Corey Haim said he dropped out due to bullying. Which might be true, I just hate how every celeb say "I was the biggest outcast ever."

Lynda Carter had $25 left in her bank account when she got the call that she had landed the part of Wonder Woman.

That story about Brad Pitt up above, that he dropped out two credits shy, is so common. Nobody dropped out freshman year. They were always nearly done with their studies.

Jennifer Lopez said she shared a living space with a handful of other people in Los angels while going to auditions and working hard to make her career happen.

She also said she would sleep on a hard floor and eat cold day old pizza, because she had very little money when she first went out to LA.

Now she's a global superstar, worth hundreds of millions of dollars about to preform at the super bowl.

She's come a long way.

It seems like it was so much easier to become a Star back in the old days. If you we're beautiful and spotted by a studio talent scout. The way they make it sound is like, you'd automatically get a major studio screen test, and if you we're good enough, you'd get a contract as a chance to prove yourself.

Becoming a star today, seems to be on the same level as the chances of winning the mega millions lottery.

You have to be someone’s passable daughter and buy a face. And we’re rejecting it, and they haven’t cottoned on yet.

Michelle Pffiefer - however you spell her name - was discovered as a grocery store checkout clerk.

I don't believe it, although she certainly looks like one.....then and now.

R55 she was Miss Orange County I believe. From Santa Ana, the “ghetto” of the OC, per some assholes I’ve known.

Pfeiffer was a well known escort as well. That’s how she got into their circles. No dumb broad there.

Michele Pfiefer grew up in suburbia in Fountian Valley Ca. aka Midway City which isn't a real city. It's all middle class blandness. And yes, she worked at a Grocery Store as a checker. She hung out at the beach with the surfers. It's true. I grew up in that area and met a woman who worked with her at the grocery store. But keep in mind, she was in high school.

Halle Berry is guilty of this charade. She claimed she was a victim of RACISM in high school. BITCH YOU WERE HUGELY POPULAR, YOU WERE A CHEERLEADER, YOU WERE HOMECOMING QUEEN!!!! DA' FUQ????? BITCH PLEASE!!! SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!

I receive the arkiteckt degrees. And speak 6 language -- all equal good. And I never whore. I only model for art. And I love the bad man. And speak to the Ivanka thing all times.

R50 Matt LeBlanc supposedly spent his last dollar right before he got the role of Joey on Friends.

You're right. There are so many variations of that story. However, when you look at most of these people's IMDB pages, most had been jobbing actors for a few years before landing their big break, which I'm sure didn't make them rich, put a roof over their head and food in their fridge.

My favorite story is that Joan Allen was allegedly a cocaine dealer in Chicago when she was a struggling actress. No idea if that is true or not, but I love the image of Joan Allen dealing coke.

R42, Jewel also claimed she had been bullied for her blond hair while growing up in the wilds of Alaska.

This was before she bought her van, I believe.

I just remembered that Susie Essman from Curb Your Enthusiasm really was a coke dealer, in NYC in the early 80s. She's talked about it in interviews. She's said when she looks back, she can't believe she ever did it and she's very lucky she wasn't caught.

R63, that may explain why I've always thought Jewel sucked.

When doing press for Boardwalk Empire a few years ago, Gretchen Mol said a lot of the things in her bio when she first started where made-up.

Kelly Ripa said the in his early soap mag profiles, they made it sound like Mark Consuelos had a major career as a soccer player before he started acting when he didn't.

Vanilla Ice claimed he grew up in Miami and went to high school with members of 2 Live Crew. He actually grew in a suburb of Dallas. He now says that the record company forced him to lie.

R65 Jewel did that same weird falsetto voice that Shakira does. It's like sandpaper to the ears.

R67, that was annoying but what was even worse were her "precious" lyrics.

R67 Not to mention the teeth.

meant R68^^.

[quote]R24 Legend" has it that Rod Stewart's big break came when he was overheard singing while strolling along some railroad tracks.

They tried to say Petula Clark was discovered this way, too - someone supposedly heard her singing to herself through an open window.

Wasn’t Shawn Mendes also “discovered” via his YouTube and Vine videos? I guess that’s possible but I don’t think people were watching for his vocal talent.

[quote]R45 Ava Gardener was discovered after having a photo of her in the window of a photo studio in NYC, taken by her brother in law. I was seen by an MGM talent scout and the rest is history. Sounds possible.

This is apparently true. But I think the guy was just an office boy from the NYC office of MGM, and he was simply hoping to get a date. Gardner’s brother in law was like, “Uh, yeah, NO, we’re not giving you her number. We’ll send the pictures over ourself. BUH-BYE!”

You can see why the pic was noticed, though. Her face is flawless.

Gardner’s southern accent was so thick the director of her resulting screen test decided to shoot it without sound, to give her a better chance : )

[quote] Matt LeBlanc supposedly spent his last dollar right before he got the role of Joey on Friends.

You're right. There are so many variations of that story. However, when you look at most of these people's IMDB pages, most had been jobbing actors for a few years before landing their big break, which I'm sure didn't make them rich, put a roof over their head and food in their fridge.

Matt LeBlanc was on more than one TV series before he was cast on Friends. He was on two different spin-offs based on his character on Married...With Children. And he was on a show called TV 101 where he was in high school and Sam Robards starred as the teacher (son of Lauren Bacall and Jason Robards). These shows were flops but he also did a lot of music videos and he was in a few commercials, so he shouldn't have been broke.

I'm glad someone said it because I get really annoyed when these extremely attractive people tell these sob stories about how they had no friends as kids or teens and were social outcasts - yet you see pics of them as kids and they were usually as gorgeous as they were later. While I'm sure it's true in a few cases - I mean, come on. Every good looking person I knew as a child or teenager was popular, unless they were complete assholes - which is a possibility with some of these celebs who cry that no one liked them. Maybe there were reasons.

R37 she was never ugly but Charlize def went through an awkward phase

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[quote]Michelle Pffiefer - however you spell her name - was discovered as a grocery store checkout clerk

Pretty sure the claim was never that she was discovered as a grocery store checkout clerk. She worked at Vons, a grocery store, as a bag girl.

And she wasn't an Escort. There was no reason in her timeline for her to have been one. She worked at a grocery store. Was in a Sorority. Entered a Beauty Pageant. Got gigs right away.

The story is always that Tom Cruise was discovered in a high school play, I think Guys And Dolls? Maybe after he came to LA he was a hustler...I'm always amazed at how many origin stories today begin with someone discovered in a school play. And then they're put into commercials. And from there a national agent discovers them.

Like, there are no talent scouts any more (do people even know what those were? Movie studios used to have them all over the country and Europe). I'm amazed (or skeptical) so many of the young actors today have such similar and unlikely origin stories. And they always say "One thing just led to another" or "It all snowballed".

"snowballed" is the key word there, r80.

For reasons which are well known to them - -

That's not "awkward," R77, that's the 1980. She was very, very cute there. Maybe you're reading the big frames as "nerdy"?

GodDAMN it!!

—————————————

[quote]r76 Every good looking person I knew as a child or teenager was popular, unless they were complete assholes - which is a possibility with some of these celebs who cry that no one liked them. Maybe there were reasons.

For reasons which are well known to them - -

"Goddamn it" for me, too. 1980s s/b plural.

Ava Gardner's discovery story reminds me of Janet Leigh's—allegedly, Norma Shearer saw a photo of Leigh in a photo album in the lobby of a ski resort where Leigh's parents worked. It could have been fabricated, though it seems possible to me. This was the photo Shearer saw that caught her attention—she apparently thought Leigh's face was the "most fascinating she had seen in years."

Never heard that story disputed. Norma had been retired for a while by then. She was a skier. She even married a ski instructor. She posed with the photo and Janet Leigh (and Leigh's costar in her first film, Van Johnson). Seems legit. And Janet Leigh told about in in more detail in her autobiography. There Really Was A Hollywood, or something like that.

Janet Leigh did have striking features. I don't think she was ever a bombshell, but she was uniquely beautiful

She had huge tits...and that’s what mattered to Shearer.

A lot of them were whores. Sometimes literally.

Janet went from sweet ingenue in the 40's to 50's sex symbol to 60's actress and beyond.

Glen Campbell was the seventh son of a seventh son (he wasn't).

It celebrity photographer Damon Baker claiming he was some poor guy with a few photos on a broken iPad traipsing around London trying to get a job (in one of the most expensive cities to live IN THE WORLD) has got to be the biggest, most laughable pile of horseshit I've ever heard. As a genuinely poor photographer, he can also fuck right off.

Normally, I'm not bothered about people stretching the truth about their past a bit - makes for a more interesting story and all. But shit like what Baker pulled is insulting because it is just so stupid.

[quote]Whatever Tom Cruise's official story is, he was actually a hustler.

I totally believe this. The story goes that his hustling contacts led him to Hollywood. His first film role was a small part in the Brooke Shields movie "Endless Love," which was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. No way Tommy didn't give up his ass to get that part. Zeffirelli was a notorious chicken hawk. That's not a rumor, it's been confirmed in multiple sources.

[quote]Pfeiffer was a well known escort as well. That’s how she got into their circles. No dumb broad there.

I think many of them were, both male and female.

R58 R79 Michelle also worked at Disneyland as a face character in the 70’s. She apparently played Alice and Cinderella. Kevin Costner was a Jungle Cruise Skipper.

I'm late to the party, but I've always believed Madonna's story. She said she met a man on the street. He gave her a place to sleep, and donuts for breakfast everyday? She was turning tricks. That was probably a pimp. Madonna is pure trash and speaking of people who like BBC. I fully believe she was a hooker for several years while trying to hustle a connection to make a demo.

[quote] My favorite story is that Joan Allen was allegedly a cocaine dealer in Chicago when she was a struggling actress. No idea if that is true or not, but I love the image of Joan Allen dealing coke.

That one is my favorite too.

Madonna was so insanely famous and so hated by her competition in her prime that if she had been a hooker it would've come out, believe me. Clive Davis and Tommy Mottolla probably hired private investigators just to make sure, hoping it would be true!

R99, agreed. It would be EVERYWHERE if it was true. I don't think she was hated by the competition--minus that letter she wrote, Madonna only had good things to say about Whitney (and vice versa). It was other record label execs who probably hated her. Like (as you mentioned) Davis and Mottolla.

Cassandra Peterson/Elvira. She claims she was horror obsessed even as a child and idolized Vincent Price. And that the other kids thought she was a weirdo because they didn't care about scary stuff at all. What a coincidence she got into horror hosting later.

I also sometimes wonder if she knows more about Vampira's act being stolen than she lets on.

Don't forget a lot of pretty boy actors that were supposedly promising athletes until a sudden sports injury made them choose an alternative career.

[quote] Matt LeBlanc was on more than one TV series before he was cast on Friends. He was on two different spin-offs based on his character on Married...With Children. And he was on a show called TV 101 where he was in high school and Sam Robards starred as the teacher (son of Lauren Bacall and Jason Robards). These shows were flops but he also did a lot of music videos and he was in a few commercials, so he shouldn't have been broke.

Don't forget the modelling.

Isn't there a rumor that Sofia Vergara had some Hollywood support, because she was a drug dealer to some influential Hollywood bigwigs?

I guess even back then nobody believed that Tori Spelling story that she auditioned for BH 90210 under a fake name and still got cast because of her great audition and not because she's the daughter of the big Hollywood TV producer Aaron Spelling who also produced BH 90210.

R21 Apparently he's 5'11 but wears lifts. That's pretty vain.

R75 he moved to NY to model/act at 18 and to LA at 21 he didn't get Friends until 27, it makes sense he might have been low on money but apparently his Heinz commercial paid his rent for four years from reruns and winning an award which is pretty amazing if thats true

R74 Wow - such a strong yet delicate face. Just gorgeous.

I love that Mariah repaid Brenda K Starr by doing a cover of Brenda's biggest hit. Such a cunt move

People Magazine did an article on Trent Reznor in 1995 that flat-out said his entire outcast hardcore image was 100% fabricated and calculated. They had interviews with high school friends and teachers, plus some relatives I think, all of whom said he had never been unpopular and he was always nice, clean cut, happy. I can't find the whole article but some of that People article is in this Wiki about Trent.

He apparently "clarified" the whole thing in Spin a year or so later saying he may have been boring back then but it was because he wasn't being honest with himself as a teen. Uh huh.

[quote]R22 I don't believe that Lana Turner was discovered at a drugstore lunch counter.

It’s actually true. But it wasn’t a drugstore. It was a malt shop called the Top Hat. A newspaper editor spotted her, introduced her to an agent, and that agent got her a meeting at a studio.

Beautiful girls are always approached in Hollywood by people who might make money off their careers. They are a marketable commodity. That part isn’t surprising. The strange thing is that in this case all the pieces fell into place and Turner ended up being a success.

(I think she was a very bland actress, but it wasn’t her acting they were interested in. She was a very pretty teen with big boobs!)

[quote]R108 Wow - such a strong yet delicate face. Just gorgeous.

I agree. I consider her to be the most beautiful actress to come out of Hollywood in her era.

I heard it was drug dealing in Florida R104. I wish I could remember where I read it since I'm not even a fan of hers and didn't watch the TV show she was in.

[quote] Mary Wilson, the Pretty Supreme

Mary, honey, there is no 'r' in the word 'petty'. You were the slutty Supreme but you never were very bright, were you?

[quote] People Magazine did an article on Trent Reznor in 1995 that flat-out said his entire outcast hardcore image was 100% fabricated and calculated. T

R110, many people don't know this, but Trent was in a new wave band before he started Nine Inch Nails. It sounded a lot like early depeche mode. Whereas Pretty Hate Machine is like an angrier, darker version of later Depeche Mode.

Barbra's bio...

G was discovered boiling a bunny in her hillbilly mobile home.

OP I think mariah carey story is credible. She is pretty and sing well in her youth. I would not be surprised if record label sign her without any shady dealing.

I think Justine Bieber and his dad fuck

R116, Babs has at least always been candid about having made up her Playbill bios to make herself sound more interesting than just "Born Barbara Joan Streisand to a Jewish family in Brooklyn".

Her Wholesale bio read, "Born in Madagascar and reared in Rangoon."

I remember how Vanilla Ice's street cred got ruined by a picture of him and some other pals posing with Masters of the Universe action figures like total dorks. LOL.

i'm with posters upthread re: Charlize. She was always very beautiful, despite stupid 80s glasses. She may have thought she was geeky but i doubt that her classmates felt that at all. Stunning from an early age.

R105 I believe Tori was led to believe that! (Aaron Spelling to the other producers, "I don't want my daughter to think she got the role because she's my daughter. Let her think she got it on her own. It will be our secret!")

Did Mariah start fucking Mottola from Day One to seal her record deal? The bitch pretends to have hated being with him and acts as though she was forced to marry him, but I think it is a safe bet that she gave head to get ahead and then offered up every orifice in her body for her recording contract.

That Sarah Michelle Gellar was “discovered” in a restaurant. That stage mother dragged her to every agent and manager when she was fucking three years old.

R123 When Mariah first become famous, a talk show host asked her what she did behind the scene to get ahead. Basically saying she gave head to certain people. I don't remember the host name though.

But then fewer and fewer people talked about it. Maybe because she can sing so people don't believe that.

r123 her nose would seemingly not have had anyone honking up her tree to get her into acting. she's fairly not hollywood attractive by any means. the only thing would be she was an actual talent. i'm not going either way...she could have had an IN in hollywood via a relative possibly. but she did do great in that show. not much outside of that though.

Pretty much any story where someone claims to have been “discovered” randomly on the street by some talent scout or agent is probably a lie.

Is the story about Barbra winning the talent contest in the Greenwich Village bar apocryphal too?

[quote]R112 I believe Tori was led to believe that! (Aaron Spelling to the other producers, "I don't want my daughter to think she got the role because she's my daughter. Let her think she got it on her own. It will be our secret!")

Daddy also claimed Tori’s character was originally just to appear in the pilot.... but soooooooo many, many, MANY people around the GLOBE wrote in DEMANDING to see more of her that the role of Donna was made permanent.

Zzzzzzzzz

that tom cruise with tiny roles in endless love, losing it and taps, none of them successes, SUDDENLY became aware of when casting for "risky business" and basically hired because of producer gay david geffen, because he was the best actor with his very very limited resume for the role...

99.9% of the time actors with such a slim resume wouldn't even KNOW about the audition, WOULDN"T EVEN GET in the audition BUILDING much less get a audition for a major motion picture and the starring role no matter how talented,handsome, charisma they had...

Robin Givens droping out of Harvard Medical School to pursue acting, Will Smith's declined offer and scholarship to MIT.

I think the Givens' story was debunked during her divorce from Mike Tyson.

R123, Brenda K Starr said Mariah didn't say anything at the time before her record was released but she knew they were fucking because it was obvious. What's interesting is that Mariah said to Starr that she was afraid of being promoted as a "white Whitney Houston".

That Keira Knightley insisted on getting an agent when she was three. Her mother Sharman MacDonald, who is a playwright and also had an unsuccessful attempt at an acting career of her own, has always been an ambitious stage mother behind closed doors, but was able to keep it largely under wraps so she never became the subject of criticism herself. She basically pushed her daughter to be an actress from an early age and gave the OK to many things that she thought would help Keira succeed in the acting world: I don't mean the casting couch, but encouraging her to get lip injections (such as for Pirates of the Caribbean) even though she was only a teenager. Notice how these days, now her career is firmly established and she is married with a family of her own, you hardly ever see or hear Keira in the media except when she is obliged to publicise a film she is in. This is her asserting herself the way she couldn't when she was pushed into a career in the public eye when she was too young to have a say in the matter.

[quote] That Keira Knightley insisted on getting an agent when she was three.

Kids at 3 are only into playing, sleeping and eating. WTF kind of three year old would even know what an agent is!? Such a BS story.

The babble at R130 is idiotic. Tom Cruise was filming The Outsiders when he auditioned for Risky Business, and Taps had done well at the box office. He was already signed with the biggest agents at CAA and was friends with Sean Penn, who also had all kinds of connections. RB was filled with then-unknowns and it was Paul Brickman's directorial debut. Cruise's career trajectory makes perfect sense, his alleged relationship with David Geffen notwithstanding.

Back in the 1980s, there was a story that B-list action star Dolph Lundgren had gotten into the MIT chemical engineering program, and dropped out to become an actor.

It is SO not true!

He got his bachelors in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, and a masters in chemical engineering from the University of Sidney. There's nothing in his bio about MIT, but apparently he gave up an interesting career in real world science to be a B-list actor who played idiot muscleheads.

R137, there is much more money to be made in B-grade films than in science, with much less dedication and effort. Also, it offers the incentive of being famous, admired and desired, which Lundgren was in the 80s and early 90s.

R5, Jewel's grandfather Yule Kilcher, was an Alaska state senator and the co-writer of the state's constitution, as well as a prominent businessman. Jewel's parents were 'I can afford to be a hippie because my rich daddy pays all the bills' types, and they lived in a supposedly remote cabin within her grandfather's large and very profitable ranch. When Jewel got her degree in Musicology, she briefly worked as a waitress and phone operator at a computer warehouse, before becoming tired of having any responsibilities, buying a van and deciding to lead a Bohemian lifestyle. Only rich kids can afford to travel around singing in coffee shops, surfing and not worrying about anything, as she did. She was also friends with prominent musicians, who helped her to get her record deal.

The 'I grew up poor in remote Alaska in a cabin without electricity nor water, and then I was homeless and fame found me by accident' story, is utter nonsense.

The bullshit story PLuPony tells about getting the role in "Evita" by auditioning for it. Slithering under the desk to show Lloyd Webber and Rice, "Anyone Elaine Paige can blow, I can blow better", doesn't count as an "audition" unless the role she was up for was "Debbie Does Dallas".

R136.. and what were cruise's resume? a few lines in endless love, a supporting role in the b-comedy bomb that was "losing it". another supporting role in "taps" that while it was a success, was HARDLY a box office blockbuster, and filming another very small supporting role while filming "the outsiders"... still hardly worthy of having the MAIN role in ANY film that had even before it was filmed the possibility of being a blockbuster film that risky business became....

he got the few lines in "endless love" because of why? having been in high school plays? surprised he even got a agent to even have him audition for a few lines in a major motion picture...

he lucked into getting his small supporting role in "taps" because the actor who had his role was fired for some reason...

"losing it"? not sure what the story with that is for his supporting role in that bomb..

"outsiders" i guess he DID pass the audition since every young actor tested for the roles....

STILL with this resume, the idea that he got this role in risky business to star in it over HOW MANY other far more experienced young actors is a interesting story, because it WAS David GEFFEN who singled cruise out and wanted him that badly for the role....

MOST actors especially those in nyc and l.a. have to act for years in crap to even GET a audition for ANY supporting role in motion pictures.. 99.9% of them toil away in student films, commercials, extra roles, low, low, low budget films, tv roles and so on for a few years when they are starting out (most actually do this work forever)... to say cruise's rise from being a nobody with such a slim resume AND no acting school of any prestige on his resume to where he got to is pretty amazing if somewhat 'suspect"... who did he know? and WHY did they help him so so very much over countless others more experienced, just as handsome if not more so, and so on....

supposedly he couldn't get commercials, because he was too intense and couldn't get soap operas because he wasn't pretty enough?

i will say in closing, that cruise DID hit that role of Joel out of the ballpark.....

All the talented actors you talk about R140, where are they now?

[quote]R140 what were cruise's resume? ... hardly worthy of having the MAIN role in ANY film that had even before it was filmed the possibility of being a blockbuster film that risky business became.

Movies are always looking for the next big thing. He was gorgeous, perfect for the part, and presumably gave a good screen test.

Rebecca De Mornay had only done a bit part in one other film before Risky Business, so clearly the production was not dependent on star power.

Tom Cruise was cute as hell in the 80s.

Cruise was cute in the early 1980s, the camera loved him, and had screen presence out of the wazoo. I can believe that his initial screen tests impressed.

Acting wasn't a closed shop in those days, now it's only available to those from wealthy families and the relatives of people in the industry, but in the 1970s and 1980s people who came from nowhere could occasionally break in.

R129 Tori is actually appealing and always has been.

Is that why her career took off like gangbusters and she barely did anything else?

OKAY R141 and R142... i see your point, that cruise was perfect for the role in "risky business".... he did have major connections somehow, someway though... reminds me of those photos from the old studio 54 days and seeing cruise in photos with andy warhol and keith haring and others, makes you wonder how a nobody kid from jersey in a couple of years of a career was hanging out (AND ALLOWED IN!) in studio 54 with famous people....

by the way, i have the movie "risky business" on dvd and included are the actual audition with cruise and demornay... and frankly both were NOT good, their actual scenes/roles/acting in the movie was so so much better...

at the end of the day, i can't think of any huge major celebrity who went from nobody with no connections in the industry, no training who went from 1980 high school graduate to 3 years later a star with risky business and 3 years after that SUPERSTAR with TOP GUN... 1980 to 1986 nobody to HUGE global superstar! now that is fast track!..

R140, holy shit you are an idiot. You’re retconning the fact that Risky Business was a big hit to say Cruise was unworthy of the role? How do you explain the fact that there were NO big names in the film? Cruise’s role in Taps was expanded because the director was impressed by him. Everyone who worked with him during this time has a story about how hard working and ambitious and impressive (and an asshole) he was. Try this: young, good looking and very talented/charismatic actor with lots of buzz from small but memorable roles, who is signed to the most powerful agencies and friends with one of the most well connected in-demand actors, lands the lead in a modest budget movie with a first time director and unknown cast. The movie does exceptionally well at the box office and the actor follows it up with bigger and bigger hits. Not a remotely unbelievable story at all.

I get having a hate-in for the Xenu Warrior, but it’s not at all hard to imagine a young actor who looks like this on camera and is actually talented and getting a rep for putting 150% into his roles would get scooped up to star in a modest budget sex comedy:

R146 She got more reality shows and gigs than she would have otherwise.

Risky Business was not a big A-List movie. As others said, it was a modestly budgeted movie with unknown actors and was basically a teen sex farce, many movies like that were made at the time. It just happened to become a huge hit, bigger than anyone's expectations. It wasn't a "prestige" movie in its development or marketing, kind of like Dirty Dancing a few years later. That was also a modest movie with no big-name actors, but it took off and became an enormous hit.

The Risky Business fight is stupid.

R147, Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey.

R148.. i respectfully ask you NOT to insult and name call me please!

i respect your comments and i agree with most or at least some of them.. the fact does remain he had to get his foot in the door, had to GET connections somehow, someway that 99.9% of equally handsome if not more so, more experienced young actors didn't get, that is the question....as i stated above, how does he get into studio 54 and hanging out with warhol and others 2 years into a career from high school?

Speaking of allegedly living in one's car, Steve Harvey used to tell a BS story about living in the back of his 1976 Ford Tempo. The reason I know it’s BS, never having met the man (nor wanting to), is because the Tempo was only introduced for the 1984 model year.

[quote]R147 i can't think of any huge major celebrity who went from nobody with no connections in the industry, no training...

Sean Young?

She was immediately put into lead roles, and even screen tested for “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when she’d only been in one obscure independent film prior, that hardly anyone saw.

Being young, beautiful, and charismatic is what Hollywood wants, not an acting degree.

R155, was Ava Gardner connected at all? I don't think so but I could be wrong. Maybe the same for Lana Turner?

Like I said, back in the 1980s, nobodies from nowhere could occasionally get lucky and break into Hollywood. It lasted until the 1990s, where yahoos like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt could still happen, but no more!

And in the 1970s, an unknown director making a low-budget sci-fi cheapie could put his ex-actor carpenter and/or dope dealer into a major role, as long as he got paid so little the director gave him a percentage of a percentage of the gross out of pity. Which is how Harrison Ford hit the big time.

R144, that is a goos point. However, I think that the "everyone has a chance" approach of the film industry up to the 1980s, comes from the fact that it was a new art form that was becoming established, and it hadn't been monopolized yet by the wealthy like the rest of the arts, which have always been a realm dominated by the rich.

If you analyze the lives of most renowned artists, the vast majority of them came from very powerful, wealthy and well-connected families that could support them while they devoted their entire time to artistic creation, and had the means to promote their work. Otherwise, many famous artists are just plain lucky, social climbers and opportunists or simply, people who were supported by someone rich that believed in them... Of course, in the past the majority of artists did have a lot of talent, as opposed to nowadays, when the worthless, lazy kids of the rich make utter crap and call it "unique".

Sorry, I meant to write GOOD point - stupid me.

[quote]R156 was Ava Gardner connected at all?

No, she was from a poor southern town.

The odd thing about Gardner is she was doing small parts at MGM for years before she had a lead role and a hit, and that was when loaned out to another studio. She was still doing bit roles after marrying Mickey Rooney.

[quote]R158 If you analyze the lives of most renowned artists, the vast majority of them came from very powerful, wealthy and well-connected families that could support them while they devoted their entire time to artistic creation, and had the means to promote their work.

Yes! This is the point of Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own.” That one has to be able to AFFORD to be a writer, an artist, whatever. You need time and privacy to create and edit.

She herself was from a well off family. But if you’re running a house without help and raising several kids, or doing manual labor all day, it’s unlikely you have the time, energy or resources to also craft a book!

And what if you have no education... another financial hurdle?

[quote] That Brad Pitt dropped out of college “two credits shy of graduating” to go to Hollywood. Probably flunked out.

Agree that any story about dropping out that close to getting a degree is Bullshit with a capital B.

I actually can believe that models (who don't act) are "discovered" on the street, in the mall, etc.

^^ Yes, they are. Models are purely physical specimens.

There are model scouts who travel around all over the world, looking for fresh young teens in malls, nightclubs etc. (God that sounds sordid!) I read they turn up the best results in Scandinavia.

"The odd thing about Gardner is she was doing small parts at MGM for years before she had a lead role and a hit"

It probably took her a while to learn to act for the camera, she came from nowhere and had no training. And that's what the old studios did, they sent the scouts out all over the country to find faces that the camera loved, and then they tried to teach the people with the faces to act. They'd actually invest in unknowns in those days! Doesn't that seem inconcievable now?

One of the oddest "origin stories" seems to be true. Burt Lancaster had been a vaudeville acrobat, a soldier, a salesman, various other things, and at age 30, he was ready to settle down and be a salesman with a wife and kids. But in 1945 an agent shared an elevator with him, and as there was a desperate shortage of male actors what with the war, asked the tall butch guy if he was an actor. Lancaster said "Yeah, I'm a dumb actor" (a vaudeville term for a performer who didn't speak), and the agent offered him an audition for a Broadway play. Lancaster went for the hell of it, bluffed, got a supporting role, and was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout. He got a contract during a man shortage, realized he was onto a good thing, learned to act as fast as he could, and had his first hit film in 1946 - "The Killers" is still a damn good movie. He kept acting for the rest of his life, and always stuck to the elevator story.

R143 He is giving me major Monty Clift vibes there.

[quote]R164 It probably took her a while to learn to act for the camera, she came from nowhere and had no training.

But FIVE YEARS ? ?

The amazing thing, R166, is not that it could take a person 5 years to learn to act, but that a major film studio was willing to keep a bit player on contract long enough to learn to act!

It was worth the trouble with Gardner, I mean here we are still talking about how fabulous she was all these decades later, but even then she was a rare cast. Studio contract players were quietly dropped if they didn't seem to be progressing into stars, but Gardner always had promise, and being married to a major star might have helped her keep her contract even when she wasn't progressing as fast as some.

But she only had a 7 year contract. To keep someone in bit parts for 5 years with no assurance they’ll resign if they do hit it big...

Still, MGM was the most luxe studio. Where was she going to go? Especially since she wasn’t exactly an [italic]artiste...

One studio ploy I read about was movie studios loaning their stars big sums to buy houses etc., to bond their loyalty. This was a debt they could wield when a star became difficult.

At this point, I'm jaded about studio bigwigs waiting years for an actor or actress to develop their talent. IMO, there were some blowjobs and fucking going on while these actors & actresses "developed" their talent.

They did have starlets under contract who were there just to service studio executives, stars, and visiting distributors, but Gardner wasn’t one of those.

[quote] Steve Harvey used to tell a BS story about living in the back of his 1976 Ford Tempo. The reason I know it’s BS, never having met the man (nor wanting to), is because the Tempo was only introduced for the 1984 model year.

Are you [italic] suuuuure [/italic]?

R167, Gardner may not have been given the right roles. Marilyn Monroe—talk about someone who came from nowhere—didn’t break through as a star for years. Her loopy, dazed quality made it incredibly hard to cast.

[quote]R174 Marilyn Monroe—talk about someone who came from nowhere—didn’t break through as a star for years.

But even as an unknown she was given a leading role within her first year at Columbia Pictures, even if it was in a B movie.

R153, CAA scooped him up at 19 because he impressed Paula Wagner, who was a fierce warrior agent for him and whom he later rewarded with an insanely lucrative production partnership. He was good friends with Sean Penn (I think they were roommates at some point?) who grew up in Hollywood with all kinds of connections. He was undeniably talented with IT factor to spare. Hollywood does not value “experience,” they value IT.

It’s really not that complicated. And I’m not sure why you’re obsessed with Studio 54, but it’s not likely he was ever there during its heyday since it closed in 1980.

Re Ava Gardner, Louis B. Mayer loved her onscreen enough to invest a lot into developing her speech, acting, and singing. Clearly the bit parts we just to keep her busy as they worked on making her starring role ready. The studios kept talent on contract sometimes just to keep them from getting scooped up elsewhere, and he probably figured with all the work that went into her, he wasn't going to risk her hitting too early and then getting bought out by another studio. Contrast that with Columbia making the mistake of letting Marilyn Monroe go after investing in revamping her look and acting classes and putting her in one low budget flop. Then Johnny Hyde gets her a bunch of small but noticeable roles and her career explodes. Mayer and Hyde clearly knew what they were doing.

[quote]R176 Re Ava Gardner, Louis B. Mayer loved her onscreen enough to invest a lot into developing her speech, acting, and singing. Clearly the bit parts were just to keep her busy as they worked on making her starring role ready.

But again, they groomed Ava Gardner with training in small roles for 5 of her initial 7 year contract. What if she decided to marry and retire (she had her pick of men in town, including Howard Hughes) ) and never re-sign?

I still say 5 years without a starring vehicle is an unusually long length of time, as they had no assurances. But then again, maybe they weren’t paying her very much.

I’m not saying it was unworkable or even a mistake... just odd.

^ She did marry. That's a risk with anyone, and they really weren't paying her much at first--she got $50 a week for mostly modeling shots and non speaking roles.

Another factor may have been that Mayer was pissed about Gardner and Mickey Rooney marrying so young. Mayer was banking almost entirely on her looks, maybe he didn't think he could sell her as a married leading actress without more talent.

Back then R178 they wanted to keep the illusion that a "star" was single. They felt if it was revealed they were married people would lose interest.

R162 The dropping out of college "just 3 credits shy" of graduation is one that I didn't think much about until I went to college. It just doesn't make sense. I mean, okay, dropping out after a year or two makes sense, but THREE credits shy? Damn, just finish the fucking thing.

R12, Went out with a man who was his frat bro. Said Brad Pitt was very popular with the ladies despite driving a very old car and being rather short in stature. Said he was very charming.

Well a NY casting agent came to the college specifically seeking an all-American Mid-Western-type look. Pitt was then flown to NY for an all-expense paid gig.

Came back to the frat and told everyone he was going Hollywood as he was tired of his field of his major and current career trajectory.

Continued, frat bro also said Pitt smoked a LOT of dope. Well everyone smoked but Brad was a heavy smoker. Maybe that's why the ladies hung around him? He had a good connection?

[quote]R180 I mean, okay, dropping out after a year or two makes sense, but THREE credits shy? Damn, just finish the fucking thing.

It would also mean one was just taking one (?) class in their final semester... which would be unusual.

Hager said School of Journalism officials have given Pitt the chance to earn the two credits he’s missing.

“The message that we’ve sent is, ‘Look, to get that credit, simply edit some scenes from your films,'” he said. “That probably would show the professionalism that we require.”

So far, Hager said, Pitt has not taken them up on the offer.

R147 Eric Roberts was pretty successful and Oscar nominated before his sister became a superstar. I'm pretty sure there was help there. Didn't she sign with William Morris very early on?

Sorry, R152^

"One studio ploy I read about was movie studios loaning their stars big sums to buy houses etc., to bond their loyalty. This was a debt they could wield when a star became difficult."

The old movie studios used to encourage actors to live high and buy big-ass mansions, because they knew that an actor who was deep in debt was a lot easier to negotiate with than someone like Greta Garbo. Directly loaning them money for a big-ass mansion would have been part of the same ugly deal.

As for Ava Gardner's long tenure as a contract player, being married to an MGM star for a year or two had to help keep her on even if she wasn't earning big bucks. That meant she had someone with a bit of power backing her up for a while, and it got her into the public eye, I presume the marriage made a contract player into a minor celebrity. But really, there was nothing girlish about her screen persona, she was 18 when she signed with MGM, I think she just needed the time to grow up before she could blossom as a sexy, womanly, grown-up movie star. She was lucky that she lived in the one time and place in human history, where an actor would have a steady income while they grew into their full potential. Gone are the days!

[quote]R187 The old movie studios used to encourage actors to live high and buy big-ass mansions, because they knew that an actor who was deep in debt was a lot easier to negotiate with than someone like Greta Garbo.

One of the stories that makes me laugh is when Grace Kelly, who had plenty of savings and family money to fall back on, was placed on suspension for turning down mediocre scripts.

A reporter asked her how she felt about it and she said, “I suppose it means I’ll have to stop redecorating my New York apartment for the time being.”

This didn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts of studio heads [bold] :)

^^ oh wait, I think I mean it DID sort of strike fear in the hearts of studio heads.

I believe I should log off now!!

r184, that story is such bullshit:

[italic]TG: You studied journalism in college. What did you expect to become?

BP: I wasn’t really sure. i was just investigating for myself — they have one of the best j-schools in the country.

TG: This is, where?

BP: University of Missouri.

TG: OK.

BP: It just came to the time of graduation and everyone — all my friends were committing to jobs — and I just realized I was not ready for that yet. ..I packed up my car. I didn’t graduate — I had two weeks left — and I moved out to L.A.

TG: Why didn’t you finish those two weeks? I mean, two weeks is a blink of an eye.

BP: …I just felt I was done; I was done with it. i knew where i wanted to go. I had a direction. I always liked those moments of epiphany when you have the next destination.[/italic]

No one would forego a four-year-degree with just two weeks left.

Sharon Stone is doing the talk show circuit. I didn't listen to much but she claims she was such "genius" she was in college by 15...And that her parents sent her to New York to "protect" her from a doper brother---um why not kick the BROTHER out?.... I knew she was BS in the little part I heard.

Fucking 2 weeks, brad? i had 58 hours of credits and work credits to complete at least an Associates BS as well but was working at an extremely lucrative commercial RE bank in Santa Monica to finish off the BA at Loyola with tuition assistance and go onto a further degree when the crash fell in 2007. if they hadn't folded, i would have taken a 2cr edit course and completed that shit those requirements and continued on. i didn't have the money beyond tuition assistance at that time, and then was unemployed and it was never an option after that. he took the acting piss and did well. even if he wanted to continue his education, he is certainly set to do it now. so it worked out for him. but for less than 1 percent of the population, this would NEVER happen the way it has for him.

Jesus, people will NOT let things go.

Apparently, Brad Pitt really did bail on college a couple credits shy of graduating. Strange, but true...and, in his case it paid off for him.

Of course, he was gorgeous...gorgeous people are well aware they can get breaks normal schmoes won't get.

Brad Pitt seriously popped onscreen in his small role In Thelma and Louise. He was a star no turning back

Tom Cruise was on screen for a nano second in Endless Love and I remember thinking "WHO is this guy?"

I'm not a huge fan but the guy was a Star the second he got his shot on screen.

Rami Malek is another one who said he was an outcast/friendless in high school when he hit it big with MR. ROBOT 5 years ago. Then he did that Variety Actors On Actors interview series with Kirsten Dunst (she was promoting FARGO) and she mentioned that they went to high school together (alongside THE O.C.'s Rachel Bilson) and she let it slip that he was quite popular.

I never believed the PR story that Jennifer Lawrence was so smart she graduated high school early with a high GPA, which then enabled her to pursue acting full-time, with her parents' blessing.

The bitch later admitted that she dropped out of middle school at 14 and never continued her education. “I don’t technically have a GED or a diploma. I am self-educated.”

Sure, Jen. I guess they don't enforce truancy laws in Kentucky.

The Brad Pitt fanfrau at r193/r194, thinks he got his break instantly after flunking out of college. No, he took a number of jobs including wearing a chicken suit and two years as a *ahem* "house boy" for Thom Racina.

R197 I know J. Lawrence is disliked by a lot on this board, but to me, if that's true, it only makes her more impressive.

i wouldn't all Jennifer Lawrence's acting impressive. AT all.

R198 I'm 193 but not 194 and why are you such a stupid cunt?

No one said he left college and immediately became a star.

And, as a dedicated DLer, I'm well aware of Brad's years pre-stardom plumping pillows for Thom Racina.

Rami Malek is a notorious teller of tall tales. He told some fake as shit story on Graham Norton about switching places with his twin during high school which was a complete lie.

Madonna regularly wheels out the story that she arrived in Times Square with no money and was taken in by some fabulous gays and then her life began. Interestingly, the Andrew Morton bio of her paints a different, much more believable story. She came to New York with her boyfriend at the time because she was too frightened to do it alone. They slept in a car for a few nights until they found a place. She made connections, moved out and moved on up.

Once David Geffen fixed Tom Cruise's teeth he became a star. Cruise didn't have the money to fix his own teeth. What Geffen got out of the deal, nobody knows. But we all know that David Geffen doesn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart.

R204..i thought cruise's teeth were already fixed as he wore a removeable cap on one of his front tooth/teeth BEFORE he met with geffen for risky business? then again, did they never meet until casting was being done for risky business?...i mean when you see his teeth/smile from "endless love", "losing it" and "taps" his teeth look fine. i believed he removed the cap when he did "the outsiders" in lieu of his character...maybe geffen fixed his teeth permanently i guess?

would be interesting if some biographer made mention of this...

R204 is full of it. Cruise capped his teeth in high school. Or I suppose he'll claim next that David Geffen was trolling Glen Ridge New Jersey High School looking for rent boys?