Stars Who Struggled Before Making It Big

Halle Berry

Despite her parent’s divorce and witnessing her father’s abuse towards her mother, actress Halle Berry did everything she could to live the life of a normal teenager. A high school cheerleader, honor student, and prom queen, Berry would go on to compete in pageants during her stint in community college. She was Miss Teen All-American and Miss Ohio USA in 1985 and 1986, respectively.

But after her pageant days, Berry decided to go to Chicago and New York to pursue a career in modeling and acting. During that time, she was on her own and had to live in homeless shelters and at a YMCA. Of that time, she said, “It taught me how to take care of myself and that I could live through any situation, even if it meant going to a shelter for a small stint, or living within my means, which were meager. I became a person who knows that I will always make my own way.”