We all want that Cinderella story where all our hard work will result in good fortune and a better life. There are many celebrities who have their own rags-to-riches tale. These celebs are so wealthy now that it seems impossible to imagine them living humble lives. It’s important to know the struggle of these people as it gives us inspiration, that with the right amount of hard work, perseverance, and opportunity, we can also build the lives we dreamt of for ourselves.

Leighton Meester

The singer-actress recently dyed her hair ice blonde

Blair Waldorf may be the queen of all the spoiled brats in New York but the actress behind the famous character lived the complete opposite life. Leighton Meester was a daughter of a convicted woman and she was birthed in her mom’s prison cell. Because of the precarious situation, Leighton was raised by her grandmother. They lived in Mango Island, Florida for most of her childhood. She eventually moved to New York when her mother was set free from prison. The concrete jungle inspired the young Meester to look for a job as a model at the age of 17. Though modelling was her target, she really wanted to become a singer and an actress. All of which came true when she was given a break in the hit TV series, Gossip Girl.

Tom Cruise

With one of Hollywood’s most recognisable (and not to mention, handsome!) faces, it is quite hard to imagine that actor Tom Cruise lived a hard life. Tom was a son of an electrical engineer and a teacher but his family still lived paycheck-to-paycheck. He also had an abusive father, which is why his mother left them when he was still 11 years old. His father eventually died just shortly after his mother left their home. He discovered his passion for acting when he was still in school. This became his motivation to audition in films and he eventually landed a role in Top Gun. That became the start of his up-spiraling career and now he has a reported net worth of $270 million.

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs

Diddy used to work as a paper boy to buy his own pair of sneakers

Diddy is a powerhouse in the music industry. He has been named as the most successful rapper countless times and his bank account is testament to it. But before the rich version of Diddy existed, the young Sean has had a fair share of a difficult life. He used to work as a paper boy to buy his own sneakers since his mom can’t afford a pair. Now, Diddy has a separate room in his mansion, just to house all of his sneaker collection. The rapper’s net worth is currently at $820 million, huge enough to buy that newspaper company he used to work for.

J.K. Rowling

It’s hard to imagine a childhood without the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The author J.K. Rowling who made it all possible has made an enormous fortune from it. But before she was ‘The J.K. Rowling’, she was a single mom Joanne who didn’t have enough money to eat three times a day. She had to care for her baby all by herself while as she wrote manuscripts and stories for children’s book. Now, Rowling’s net worth is supposedly $1 billion. Her erstwhile poverty and rough phase inspired her to become a philanthropist, who gives opportunities to young dreamers just like her.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s $165-million-home in Montecito, California

If the music industry has Beyoncé as their queen, then television has Oprah Winfrey. Oprah was a baby born out of wedlock, and was raised by her grandmother from her early childhood until she turned 6 lived with her mother and half-sister in a boarding house. The three of them depended on welfare to survive. Oprah has been open about all the hardships she has endured while lot growing up, including physical and indecent abuse. Now, she is living proof that a person is not limited to the status he/she was born with, and she has her reported $2.7 billion net worth to show for it.

The glamorous life that these celebrities are living wasn’t just given to them. All the cars, properties, and that hefty bank account they have now are products of their hard work and toil. If a baby born in a prison cell can do it, so can we.