Ooh, Melissa McCarthy has always been such a delightful actress. She portrayed Sookie on “Gilmore Girls” and has since appeared in many other projects like “Spy”, “Tammy”, and “Bridesmaids”. But there is a chance you could have recognized her as that girl who used to serve you coffee.
Before rising to stardom, McCarthy worked as a Starbucks barista. While serving coffee may not have been her favorite thing to do, she did enjoy an occasional celebrity sighting — most notably Chris Farley. “I got so overwhelmed because he was right there, that I started crying,” McCarthy recalls.
Channing Tatum: Exotic Dancer
You may have first seen Tatum as the lead character in "Step Up", but acting hasn't always been his main profession. Channing made his way into the entertainment industry as an exotic dancer. Exotic dancing turned into a modeling career with Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, and Nautica all clamoring for his chiseled bod.
A fortuitous spot on Ricky Martin’s music video, “She Bangs” earned him four hundred bucks and a big break into film acting. Just as his stint as an exotic dancer prepared him for "Magic Mike", his martial arts cued him for action roles.
Miley Cyrus: Bra Collector
We probably don’t need to brief you on who exactly Miley Cyrus is anymore. Obviously, she’s one of the most famous celebrities both as an actor and as a musician. She had her big break as the star of her own Disney show, "Hannah Montana", as a young teen, which usually means this was her first job. However, this is not the case.
Before her Hannah Montana days, Miley worked for her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She would go up on stage after his concerts were over and collect all the bras his screaming fans threw on him during the show. She was paid $10 per show for her lingerie-picking services.
Megan Fox: Smoothie Shop Mascot
Megan Fox became a staple in the TV sitcom, "Hope & Faith". In 2004, she achieved her first film appearance in the teen comedy, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen", and a breakout performance in 2007 in the hit action franchise, "Transformers".
But before becoming a big star and fighting on-screen robots, the only acting Fox got paid for was acting bananas — literally. Fox used to work as a smoothie shop mascot in a banana costume. Clearly, her boss's vision was impaired, because when your mascot looks that good, there are no costumes needed.
Jennifer Hudson: Burger King
Jennifer Hudson had her big break in 2004 when she competed on “American Idol.” The show was just the springboard she needed to have a full career as a respected musician. Just a few short years after competing, Hudson won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress win for her performance in "Dreamgirls".
The world needed some time to recognize this oscar winner's talent. And before that happened, she needed to work somewhere. That somewhere was Burger King restaurant in Chicago. In 2007, a year after "Dreamgirls" was released, the chain gave Hudson something most people can only dream of — free burgers for life.