Childhood Photos Of Celebrities Before They Were Famous
Are celebrities really just like us? Before these A-listers made it in Hollywood, they were regular kids with big hopes and dreams. They may be on top now, but they still know where they come from. Check out these celebrities who've shared what their younger selves were like. A certain This Is Us star hasn't aged a bit!
John Stamos
Here is John Stamos as an adorable toddler. The actor was born and raised in Southern California. Growing up, he worked in his father's restaurants and reportedly had a job flipping burgers in Orange County.
Stamos skipped his first semester of college to pursue an acting career. After just a few weeks, he landed a role on ABC's General Hospital as Blackie Parrish in 1982. In the late '80s, he began acting in his most iconic role as Uncle Jesse on Full House. In April 2015, Stamos and his wife, model, and actress Caitlin McHugh welcomed their son, Billy.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon shared this picture of her school-aged days saying, "Yes, my dress has 'Reese' stitched to the front." The actress was born Laura Jeanne Witherspoon, eventually taking on her mother's maiden name "Reese" as her first name.
Witherspoon was born in New Orleans but raised in Tenessee with a traditional Southern upbringing. Her interest in acting began after she modeled for commercials and as a child was described as a Type A high achiever. Her first big role was the lead in The Man in the Moon at age 14. Witherspoon rose to prominence for her roles in Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde.
Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore shared this picture of herself from when she was in seventh grade. Though the This Is Us actress was born in New Hampshire, she grew up in Florida as the middle of three children. Moore began singing and acting as a kid and performed at the local theatre.
When she was thirteen, she began making her own music, and by the time she started high school, she was well on her way to becoming a pop star. Her debut single "Candy" came out in 1999, the same year she toured with NSYNC. A couple of years later, she began acting in films.
Beyoncé And Solange Knowles
Beyoncé shared this photo of her and younger sister Solange on Solange's birthday. Five years apart in age, Beyoncé and Solange were both born and raised in Houston, Texas. Both sisters showed talents for singing at a young age and were managed by their father.
Solange sometimes was a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, and on at least one occasion, she had to step in and perform when Kelly Rowland injured her feet. While Beyoncé's megastar status was earned over her career in R&B and Pop, Solange is also a star in her own right despite the fact that her music is more independent.
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake was born and raised in Memphis, Tenessee. He shared this throwback picture of him where he must be around five or six years old. Back then, Timberlake was reportedly singing country and gospel music. At age 11, Timberlake performed country songs on Star Search and went by Justin Randall.
We knew of Justin Timberlake in the early '90s as a cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club alongside other future celebrities such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling. As a teen, Timberlake rose to fame in the group NSYNC before becoming a solo artist and actor.
John Legend
Model Chrissy Teigen shared this photo of her husband, John Legend. Born John Stephens, the singer was raised in Springfield Ohio. Legend looks to be around three years old in this picture, a short time before he began performing in his church choir and playing the piano.
Legend attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he presided as the musical director of the a cappella group, Counterparts. In 2004, Legend's debut album was released on GOOD Music, a label by Kanye West, whose photo later in this list was probably taken around the same time as this one!
Hugh Jackman
Australian actor Hugh Jackman posted this throwback of himself from 1972. Born in Sydney, Australia to English parents, Jackman has stated that he used to want to be a chef on a plane because he wanted to see the world and assumed that planes had chefs since they served food.
After getting his Bachelor's degree in 1991, Jackman entered drama school at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. His first role was on the Australian show Correlli, where he met his would-be-wife for over 20 years, Deborra-Lee Furness. Jackman's breakout role as X-Men's Wolverine would come not long after.
Kanye West
This photo of Kanye West as an infant was shared by his wife, Kim Kardashian, on his birthday. Born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, West grew up in Chicago with his mother. Throughout his youth, West reportedly expressed an interest in the arts, beginning to rap in the third grade and making his own songs by the time he was in middle school.
West dropped out of college and began pursuing his music career in the mid-'90s. In 2004, he dropped his debut album, The College Dropout. Seven albums later, West has become a controversial public figure. His eighth album is to be released in June 2018.
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes shared this adorable photo of herself from back in the day. In this picture, she must be around seven or eight years old. Born on March 5, 1974, in Miami, Mendes grew up in Glendale, California where she and her mom lived following her parent's divorce.
In her late teens, she initially went to Califonia State University in Northridge to study marketing, but soon left school to pursue acting, studying under renowned acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck. Mendes modeled early in her career but found her first break in the film Training Day.
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds posted this photo of his two-year-old self to his Instagram saying, "Football would be a totally ridiculous game if the ball were this big." The actor has a reputation on social media for his sarcastic and his no-holds-barred sense of humor.
Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976, Reynolds would eventually drop out of Kwantlen Polytechnic University to pursue an acting career. He is known for his roles in The Proposal, Green Lantern, and most recently Deadpool. The 41-year-old actor shares two daughters with wife, Blake Lively, who is also on this list!
January Jones
Actress January Jones shared this picture of herself from when she was nine years old. She was allegedly named after January Wayne, a character from the novel Once Is Not Enough. Jones was born in South Dakota, spending her formative years in Hecla before moving to Sioux Falls, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1986.
Jones had supporting roles in film and television before hitting a break with the AMC series, Mad Men in 2007. For seven seasons, Jones played Betty Draper Francis opposite Jon Hamm. She has been nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy for the role.
Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Nyong'o posted this picture of herself during her school days. Although she was 14 in this picture, she still looks incredibly young! Nyong'o attended Rusinga School in Nairobi. Although she grew up in Kenya, Nyong'o was born in Mexico City and holds dual Mexican and Kenyan citizenship.
Nyong'o became a breakout star at age 30 for her role in 12 Years a Slave, for which she was the Academy Award for Best supporting actress. Despite being thrust into fame, Nyong'o is known for remaining humble and grounded. She is still close to the young girl she was in this photo.
Blake Lively
Blake Lively shared this throwback snap of her and a young Jason Priestly circa Beverly Hills, 90210. Born Blake Ellender Brown in 1987, Lively was raised in Southern California. Her parents and all her siblings worked in the entertainment industry and growing up, Lively sat in on her parents' acting classes.
Lively was at the end of her high school career when she starred as one of the leads in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, based on the book of the same name. Shortly after, she was cast as Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl which is her most iconic role to date.
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried shared this snap of herself from 1991 when she was six years old. Seyfried was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Throughout her teens, Seyfried worked as a model and appeared in campaigns for Limited Too.
It wasn't until 2003 that Seyfried gained popularity for her role as the dim-witted Karen Smith in Mean Girls. She left behind her admission to Fordham Univesity to act in the film. Seyfried was cast in HBO's Big Love and shortly after, co-starred with Meryl Streep in the film version of Mamma Mia! which put her on the map.
John Mayer
John Mayer was raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The skilled musician reportedly took an interest in the guitar after seeing Marty McFly's guitar solo in Back to the Future. Mayer's father rented him a guitar when he was 13, and he began taking lessons from a local guitar shop owner.
Mayer took a great interest in blues music after he received a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette and soon sought out the tunes of Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and other blues legends. Mayer dropped out of Berklee College of Music to pursue his musical career.
Dax Shepard
Actress Kristen Bell shared this photo of her husband, Dax Shepard. Shepard was born in Highland Township, Michigan and grew up in suburban Detroit. The actor has said that he was named after playboy Diogenes Alejandro Xenos in The Adventurers, a novel by Harold Robbins.
Shepard came to California to attend college. Growing up, he was more interested in doing stand-up but it wasn't until he moved to Califonia that Shepard felt compelled to try it out himself. Shepard is most recently known for his role in NBC's Parenthood.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt shared this photo of herself with the caption, "#tbt school pic from first grade. Gotta love a little kid school smile. I never grew out of mine." The actress was born and raised in Texas, where she took an interest in music at a young age. By the time she was 10, Hewitt and her mother moved to Los Angeles so that she could pursue acting.
Hewitt did many commercials before she was eventually cast on the Disney Channel's Kids Incorporated in the late '80s. She became a star in her late teens for her role in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
LeAnn Rimes
Country singer LeAnn Rimes shared this cute throwback snap of her childhood days. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Rimes' family moved to Texas when she was six years old. From a very early age, Rimes took vocal and dance lessons and eventually shes appeared on Star Search, where she was a one-week champion. By age nine, Rimes was touring nationally.
With the help of her father, she independently produced three albums by the time she was 14. She became the youngest person to win a Grammy, winning Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1997.
Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt shared this classic picture of his younger self, dressed as a rabbit. Born in Virginia, Minnesota in 1979, Pratt grew up in Washington state after his family relocated there when he was three.
Pratt was scraping by in Hawaii when he was discovered at 19 years old. He had minor roles in television before rising to fame for playing Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation. Pratt's career has really taken off since he was cast in the lead of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and the resurrection of the Jurassic Park films.
Kim And Khloé Kardashian
Here is a sweet snap of Kim and Khloé Kardashian, shared by momager Kris Jenner. The Kardashian family resided in Beverly Hills when this photo was snapped, which is where the siblings grew up. Aside from their father, Robert Kardashian Sr., being OJ Simpson's lawyer during his infamous trial, the Kardashian siblings were relatively unknown — that is until Kim got her name out there for all the wrong reasons.
You either hate or love this polarizing family, but it's nice to think how innocent and drama-free they might have been in old photos like this.
Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars as a kid looks like he didn't know he would grow up to become one of the catchiest song makers music has ever seen. We at least know that he's always had an amazing head of hair.
The "24K Magic" singer was adorable and grew up to become even more of a ladies man. We wonder how many 5th graders his mom had to repel away from her precious son. Our guess is the whole class.
LeBron James
LeBron James before he was the king of the NBA. Let's just call this Prince James. He's sporting a nice turtle neck and a cardigan to go with it. He's all smiles just like he is while he's playing the game he loves.
James grew up Akron, Ohio, so it's safe to assume this could have very well been a school photo taken on picture day. If not, his mom probably just wanted to see his nice smile.
Christian Bale
Well before he was the caped crusader of Gotham City, and playing an American Psycho, he was just your average adorable kid. Born in Haverfordwest, United Kingdom, you can guess understand his attire in this picture.
His birthday is January 30, 1974, fast forward 44 years later and he now has two kids of his own. Maybe one day they'll be famous and someone will be writing about how they looked as kids before they were famous.
Cardi B
Not only did this picture go viral of Cardi B as a youngster, it became one of the hottest memes of 2018. Basically, it's a generic picture of a young girl coming into the room with the adults just so she can taddle-tell on someone.
Cardi B is great at laughing at herself so she didn't mind everyone turning her childhood into a laughing matter. She probably encouraged. All that turns out to be is more publicity for her.
Drake
Here is a photograph of the only things Drake loves. His bed and his mother. In this picture, he is a young one while snuggled up with his mom. Many in the music industry today would have never imagined this Drake would end up becoming the biggest star.
From Degrassi to the best hip-hop artist in the last five years, Drake has certainly traveled a long way in his journey. Who knows where he will land next.
Tom Brady
The greatest quarterback of all-time used to play baseball it appears. Let's imagine a world where he stuck with this sport and didn't switch to football. There would be no deflate-gate, no weekly debates on Sportscenter over who can stop the Patriots in the playoffs, and Gronk wouldn't have as many touchdown spikes.
We know the Patriots are happy that he chose football over baseball, but opposing general managers are not as enthused by that choice.
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey best known for his role in Grey's Anatomy had the nickname of McDreamy in that show. As one can see, he's always been eligible for that name. This looks like its from his high school years.
Regardless of what era of McDreamy this photo is from, we believe he's always had that charming smile and great head of hair. It was like he was destined to be the heartthrob in every role he takes on.
Jerry Seinfeld
Doesn't it look like Jerry Seinfeld as a kid was already prepping all of the miraculous jokes before he grew up? The slight smile he has on his face here is priceless. He already looked like a young comedian.
Seinfeld is one of the greatest sitcoms of all-time and it's all thanks to this man. He grew into quite the character. Now, Seinfeld drives around other comedians in nice cars as they sip coffee and talk about life.
Rihanna
Rihanna almost looks exactly how she looks now. Same smile and forehead that you can see from a mile away (relax, she always jokes about it too). Only thing that's changed is how much success shes had.
Now, with her own makeup line Fenty Beauty, Rihanna is closing in on the billion dollar net worth status. She's also crossed over into the film industry as she played a big role in the latest Ocean's 8 movie.
Ariana Grande
If we didn't reveal who this was already, would have guess this was the "Thank U, Next" singer? We for sure would have been stumped for a few seconds or at least guessed wrong a few times.
Ariana Grande surely has become one of the biggest pop stars of her generation. By the way she's smiling here, it seems like she knew all along she would grow up to become the biggest star to star on a Nickelodeon show.
Tom Hanks
Look at young Tom Hanks. Look at that smile. Look at that hair. Did he have any idea at this point in his young life that he would grow up to be one of America’s icons? Probably not. Innocence is a beautiful thing.
Hanks would break out big with the movie Big. Released in the late ‘80s, he earned his first Oscar nomination. In 1994 he finally won the statuette for his unforgettable role in Philadelphia. His son, Colin, is following in Tom’s footsteps, too!
George Clooney
You probably recognize George Clooney from the picture here. He might be older, but it’s unmistakably him. He’s sure come a long way since grade school! If we had to give him a grade as an adult he’d get an “A.” What would you give him?
Clooney didn’t take an easy path to superstardom, though. He got his start on Roseanne before taking the lead role in ER. After the medical show made him a household name he transitioned to the big screen. Eventually he took up space in front of and behind the camera. He’s also a huge philanthropist. Is there anything he can’t do?
Bruce Willis
Best known as John McClane to action movie fans, Bruce Willis is one of the most successful actors of the last 30 years. Like Clooney before him, we bet you didn't realize Willis actually started on television!
When Willis started acting, long after this childhood picture was taken, he auditioned for a show called Moonlighting. The show was a huge hit, but wasn't exactly a great showcase for his action hero chops. Luckily, that didn't stop the director of Die Hard from taking on chance on him.
Keanu Reeves
We didn't believe this was Keanue Reeves when we first saw it, but it definitely is. He's just always looked like a surfer dude. Of course, as an actor he's also proven to have deft comic timing and impressive action chops.
Even late in his career Reeves has found success as John Wick. Don't mess with his of or he will hunt you and everyone you know down. What color pill did he take to go from Neo to John Wick?
Bill Murray
Few actors have kept us laughing as long as Bill Murray. From his start on Saturday Night Live, to Ghostbusters, and then a string dramedies in the aughts, Murray has stood the test of time as a true American treasure.
Born in Illinois, Murray is a diehard Chicago Cubs fan. When the team finally won the world series he was there to party with them, and it was an epic party. The World Series parade was one of the biggest gatherings in human history!
Julia Roberts
Admit it, you love Julia Roberts. In the '90s she was America's sweetheart. Her huge smile and boisterous laugh made it impossible to dislike her. How can dislike someone who only brings joy the world around her.
When Erin Brockovich came out, Roberts proved she had a flare for the dramatic, too. The role wound up winning her an Oscar. Not ready to retire in 2018, Roberts now stars on the Amazon Prime original series Homecoming.
Jennifer Lawrence
If Julia Roberts used to be America's Sweetheart, you can argue that today Jennifer Lawrence is. She might not be starring in romantic comedies, but those also what modern audiences to see. We want to see her kick butt and take names like in The Hunger Games.
Looking at the picture above, Lawrence looks like she's barely aged. Well, she really hasn't. We're guessing that picture is from high school, so it's maybe ten years old. Lawrence won't turn 30 until 2020!
Jennifer Aniston
Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Jennifer Aniston was always destined to be one of the queens of Hollywood. Let's all forget that she started as the "final girl" in Leprechaun, it was Friends that made her a household name.
After Friends ended, Aniston refused to let her star fade. She moved onto the big screen, finding success in comedies like The Break-up as well as dramas like The Good Girl. The only question now is this; how will she surprise us next?
Brad Pitt
Even as a young man, you can just tell that Brad Pitt was destined for great things. It's all in the hair, the perfect hair. It's very fitting that Pitt is coming after Aniston on this list considering they were a power couple in the '90s!
When they were together, Aniston was still on Friends and Pitt was busy making Interview with the Vampire with Tom Cruise. Two decades later Pitt was dating Angelina Jolie and dealing with monster again in World War Z.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman probably doesn't miss that perm. It's something...else. Then again, when she got it, it was the trendy hairstyle. The 1980s were different time for sure. What's important is that her hair didn't stop Tim Cruise from falling in love with her filming Days of Thunder.
Audiences didn't really take notice of Kidman until Batman Forever when she played Chase Meridian, the love interest of forever brooding Bruce Wayne. The movie, with her help, saved the Batman movie franchise. She wisely did not return for Batman and Robin. Sorry George Clooney!
