JK Rowling Slept In Her Car And Contemplated Suicide. Before the 'Harry Potter' franchise made her a multi-millionaire, Rowling was a single mother struggling to raise her child on welfare. At one point, after finding herself forced to live in her car, she was so depressed that he seriously considered killing herself. Luckily, she managed to avoid such a desperate act and proceeded to go from rags to riches with the Potter series of books.

Sylvester Stallone Once Made A Porno Flick. Before 'Rocky' launched him into international superstardom in 1976, Sylvester Stallone was just another struggling actor desperate enough to accept any role that came along. In 1970, Stallone found himself homeless and sleeping in the Port Authority Bus Terminal when he heard of a casting call for a would-be softcore porn flick called 'The Party At Kitty and Stud's'. He was paid a whopping $200 for a mere two days work. After he found success with 'Rocky', film producers tried to extort $100,000 from Stallone, offering to sell him the film in exchange for not re-releasing it. After Stallone told them he wouldn't pay even $2 for it, they retitled the film 'Italian Stallion' and re-released it nationwide.

Oprah Winfrey Dressed In Clothing Made From Potato Sacks. Everyone knows Oprah as one of the richest celebrities in the world. However, few realize that she grew up dirt poor as the daughter of a teenage mother. Money was so scarce that little Oprah was dressed in homemade clothes made out of burlap potato sacks. Eventually she fought her way out of poverty and made a name for herself as an actress, talk show host, media magnate and philanthropist.

Gene Simmons Once Lived On Only Bread And Milk. Before he became a rock legend, Gene Simmons was a poor boy named Chaim Witz. With his father choosing to abandon the family and remain in Israel, he was raised by his mother, a Holocaust survivor, in the United States. They struggled financially, with many family meals consisting of only bread and milk. That desperate feeling poverty often invokes remained deep within Simmons, driving him to ensure that he'll never be poor again.

Justin Bieber's Childhood Room Was Infested By Rats. Pop sensation Bieber once revealed that growing up poor as the child of a teenage mother was not much fun, especially when rats resided in his bedroom. Rat infestation certainly explains his behavior as of late, especially with all the ratfink things he does to people, such as throwing water balloons off the balcony of a hotel and onto cops and treating the sister of an MMA star that could easily break his arm just by staring at him like total crap.

Jim Carrey Worked As A Child Janitor. When his father lost his job and his mother became seriously ill, Carrey found himself so desperate to earn money for his family that, while still an underage child, worked nights as a janitor. He turned to comedy as a source of relief during these trying times, which ended up leading to his career as one of the funniest comedians of all time.

Hilary Swank Had A Childhood of Serious Hardship. Oscar-winner Hilary Swank had a rough childhood growing up. Abandoned by her father, she moved with her mother to Los Angeles in the hopes of a brighter future. Things were not pleasant at the start, with both mother and daughter sleeping in their car when finding affordable housing was difficult. Swank even dropped out of high school to make money as a movie extra before a casting director cast her in the lead of the 1994 drama 'The Next Karate Kid'. The rest was history.

Leonardo DiCaprio Grew Up In The Poor Part of Hollywood. DiCaprio grew up dirt poor, living in the worst part of East Hollywood in an area riddled with violent crime and drug abuse. His mother worked several jobs to make ends meet, so wishing to help alleviate his mother's burden, DiCaprio decided to enter acting while still a young boy. Amazingly, he managed to survive the child actor curse and successfully make the transition from child actor to teen idol to great adult actor.

Liz Murray Was A Straight-A Student Despite Being Homeless. Motivational speaker and Harvard grad Liz Murray is a truly inspirational figure. The product of drug addict parents who later contracted HIV and died of full blown AIDS, Murray managed to put herself through high school and maintain her studies despite being homeless. This led to a scholarship offer from Harvard courtesy of The New York Times.

Leighton Meester Was A Child Of Prison. 'Gossip Girl' actress Leighton Meester rose to fame playing a rich girl, but in real life, she was born within the Texas prison system. Her mother was serving time for drug smuggling. A sympathetic judge allowed Meester's mother to nurse her baby daughter at a local halfway house before making arrangements for her grandmother to gain temporary custody of the child until Mom's release from prison.

Stephen King Once Couldn't Afford To Have A Working Telephone. Long before he became one of the most successful novelists of all time, Stephen King was just another college grad struggling to support his family. He was making peanuts working part-time in a laundry while teaching high school while his wife Tabitha worked the night shift at a Dunkin Donuts franchise. Money was so tight that the King household had to do without phone service. King found out that his debut novel 'Carrie' was picked up for publication when his wife called from a neighbor's phone, reading a telegram sent by publisher Doubleday.

Dustin Hoffman Became Roommates With Two Fellow Future Movie Stars. In the late 1950s, long before he became a famous Oscar-winning actor, Dustin Hoffman was just another struggling actor. While studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, Hoffman saved money by sharing a small apartment with two other future Oscar-winning stars, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall.

Jim Henson's Story Is Quite Literally A Rags-To-Riches Story. In 1954, Jim Henson was a high school student of modest means who had a dream. He wanted to revolutionize puppeteering, but didn't have the money to buy the materials he wanted to. So, he took his mother's raggedy old coat and a few random pieces of cloth and plastic and voila!- the first Kermit the Frog puppet was born. Little did anyone suspect that this crude puppet would spawn a multi-million dollar franchise.

Victoria Rowell Once Survived By Eating Doughballs. In an interview with 'Seventeen' magazine in the fall of 1995, actress Victoria Rowell once discussed the desperation of being poor, hungry and homeless. During the worst of her financial struggle, she managed to curb hunger by subsisting on doughballs. Contrary to popular belief, doughballs are not the nether regions of the Pillsbury Doughboy. Instead, she mixed flour and water together until they formed little balls of dough.

Moe Howard Convinced His Fellow Stooges To Trust His Financial Acumen. Moe Howard may have portrayed a hot-tempered idiot in those classic 'Three Stooges' comedy shorts, but in real life, he was a mild-mannered gentleman who was a shrewd investor, being able to live in comfort for the rest of his life. Having grown up poor and knowing what frivolous spenders his brother Curly and friend Larry Fine were, he convinced them to let him manage a portion of their finances. It turned out to be a wise move.