Famous people who were once homeless

Guy Laliberte' wanted to travel the world.  He landed in London with $50 in his pocket, and slept on a park bench that first night. He not only became an accomplished street performer, he co-founded Cirque du Soleil, and traveled into space and stayed on the International Space Station, as a 50th birthday present to himself, among many other things.  The point?  Just because you see somebody sleeping outside doesn't mean they will never accomplish anything.  I worked on the Saltimbanco, the first Cirque du Soleil show to come to Orange County, CA, in 1993.  Cirque was one show, one troop of smart, hardworking people with a Big Top then.  I met Guy on the site two shows later, in 1997.  Cirque du Soleil is the single best run business I've ever seen or worked for.  Really.

Steve Harvey.  Tyler Perry.  Daniel Craig.  Sean Parker (Napster).  Tupac Shakur.  Robert and Kim Kiyosaki.  Lil' Kim.  Jennifer Lopez.  Ed Sheeran.  David Letterman.  Jewel.  Djimon Honsou.  Jay Leno.  Shania Twain.  Col. Harlan Sanders (who founded KFC). Jim Carey.  Jesus of Nazareth (he appeared to be on a "couch tour" through his three ministry years in the Gospel).  The Buddha (Siddartha Gautama).  Halle Berry.  Michael Oher.  Jean-Michele Basquiat.  Sylvester Stallone.  James Cameron.  Patti Smith.  Kelly Clarkson.  Hilary Swank.  Matisyahu.  Carmen Electra.  Ben Franklin.  KRS-One.  Jim Cramer.  Kurt Cobain.  William Shatner.  Charlie Chaplin.  Dr. Phil.  Suze Orman. John Paul Dejoria. Ella Fitzgerald.  Harry Houdini.  

I could (and already have) write thousands of words on homelessness.  I first became homeless for about three weeks in 1987, because a roommate moved out and left me with more rent than I could pay.  I slept on top of a quarterpipe in the American Freestyle Association trailer, until I found a sketchy, but cheap, room I could rent.  At the time, homeless people were largely considered down and out, and the general attitude was that most of them would get back on their feet at some point.  In the 34 years since, there has actually been a concerted effort by some groups to dehumanize homeless people.  

Now there's a widespread notion that most homeless people simply fucked up at life itself, and are worthless, an will never, ever, amount to anything.  The reality is that the vast majority of the estimated 3 million homeless people a year have no place to stay for a week to maybe 2-3 months.  Most of them get back on track, relatively quickly.  But you don't see those people.  

What we see in many major cities is homeless people everywhere now, visible homeless people.  You are told (by P. R. campaigns) that these people are homeless for three reasons: 1) Drug addiction issues.  2) Mental illness.  3) Alcoholism.  The reality is, and you already know this, MOST drug addicts have a place to live.  Most mentally ill people have a place to live.  Most alcoholics have a place to live.  You can think of people in each of those categories, that you know yourself, that live in a nice house or apartment.  

So why are some people in those categories homeless (like me, the guy writing this blog post)?  The main reason is lack of a strong family or social network, that will help us get through a tough situation.  Those addiction and mental health issues are part of the picture for a large number of homeless people.  But it's the social network, and the high bar to get going again once you hit a certain level of homelessness, that keeps people on the streets long term.  

In addition, our society has gone through major changes in the number of high paying jobs available over the last 40+ years.  We've all gone through major technological changes, which has completely changed the work world in the last 40 years.  These major societal shifts are displacing a huge number of people, many of which become homeless or impoverished at some point. I've written a lot on these major societal shifts, which you can read here.  

One last thought (for now).  The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness was led by the United Way, and it started in 2002.  Nineteen years later we have far more visible homeless people than ever before.  Think about that one.  

My point here is simply restating the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover."  You don't really know what that homeless person you see on the street will become in the next few years.  Most of them will not be superstars.  But a huge percentage of them will get out of homelessness, one way or the other. 

Famous People Who Were Once Homeless

Noted Individuals Who Were Once Homeless  (212 names) 

Blogger's note- 9/27/2021:  I was homeless when I started this blog, just for the record.  Adding this note in late September 2021, still homeless, still blogging.