Well, talking about inspiration is not easy, “Never give up,” that’s the first thing that hit your mind. It’s probably one of the most cliché phrases you’ll hear as you’re building your career. But there’s a reason these sayings are clichés—you never know when success really does lie around the next corner.
But sometimes even Hollywood movies like The Social Network, The Pursuit of Happyness, Wall Street, etc. can inspire us, but we know less about the actors that work in Hollywood movies. They too have a life that can inspire us. Celebrities, they’re just like us. Or are they? It’s no surprise that a lot of celebrities have had interesting histories.
Personalities with inspirational life stories are always good to have as role models because their struggle and rise to the levels they are at right now, can give you a massive inspirational boost. Remember the times you were down and you thought of your very own role model and said, “Hey, if he/she can do it, so can I”? That’s exactly what we are talking about here.
Tom Cruise:
The 55-year-old actor, who have won Golden Globe Awards for his roles in Born on the July 4th, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia. But before even getting started as actor he had pretty rough life in his past. Tom Cruise, born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, always thought he would be a priest. He ditched the idea in high school, and focused on becoming an actor.
Tom Cruise’s father used to physically abuse him. His father couldn’t hold down a job, due to which his family lived in poverty and had to move constantly. He suffered from dyslexia, which made academic success difficult for him. He didn’t learn to read properly until he was 26-years-old. Before that when attending auditions he would ad-lib from whatever information he could pry from the directors.
Jim Carey:
James Eugene Carrey, popularly called Jim Carrey, the famous comic actor, had taken a beating after being rejected as a performer the first few times, we would not have had great movies like ‘Bruce Almighty’ and ‘The Truman Show’.
Faced with dire poverty in his childhood, this brilliant entertainer was unable to complete school, and was forced to fend for his family. His only form of practice was at home, when he would try cheering up his mother in time of economic calamity.
This however, did not undermine the young lad’s confidence, and he went on to prove to the world, that he had talent. With splendid comic performances in films like ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’, ‘The Mask’, ‘Dumb and Dumber’, ‘Liar Liar’, and ‘Me, Myself & Irene’.
Sarah Jessica Parker:
Bestowed with such a remarkable talent in performing arts, Sarah Jessica Parker, without doubt, has gained the status as one of the most prominent actresses in Hollywood film industry. Parker was born in a poor coal-mining town in rural Ohio, the youngest of four children. Her parents divorced when she was two, and her mother remarried shortly thereafter and had an additional four children. Parker’s stepfather, a truck driver, was often out of work, so the future starlet took up singing and dancing at a very young age to help supplement her mom’s teaching income and feed their 10-person family.
Despite hard times and occasionally being on welfare, Parker’s mom continued to encourage her children’s interest in the arts. The family moved to Cincinnati, where Parker was enrolled in a ballet, music, and theatre school on scholarship. When she was 11-years-old, the family took a trip to New York City so Parker could audition for a Broadway play. The trip was a success—she and her brother were both cast, and the family relocated to New York. Parker continued to work hard and land roles, eventually becoming the title character of Sex and the City.
Oprah Winfrey:
(Photo by Leigh Vogel/WireImage)
Oprah Gail Winfrey dealt with a lot throughout her public life—criticism about her weight, racism, intrusive questions about her sexuality, just to name a few—but she never let it get in the way of her ambition and drive. When you look at her childhood, her personal triumphs are cast in an even more remarkable light.
After a troubled adolescence in a small farming community, where she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, she moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. Later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child at age 14, who passed away just two weeks later. But Oprah persevered, going on to finish high school as an honors student, earning a full scholarship to college, and working her way up through the ranks of television, from a local network anchor in Nashville to an international superstar and creator of her OWN network (we couldn’t help ourselves).
Robert Downey Jr.:
Robert Downey Jr., was born on April 4, 1965, in New York City, the son of the avant-garde filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., who is best known for the 1969 film Putney Swope. He now one of the most bankable and highly paid actors in show business, starring in blockbuster comic book films like Iron Man and The Avengers. But not so long ago, he was practically unhireable, due to his drinking and drug abuse—not to mention the time his addictions landed him in prison.
Both show business and addiction run in the Downey family. The cult filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., also an addict, allowed his son to try marijuana at the age of six. According to a 1996 People article, drugs facilitated an emotional bond between father and son. This apparently led to Downey becoming a daily drinker. As reported in a 2003 interview with the New York Times, Downey was arrested multiple times for drug offences and cycled in and out of jail.
Instead, he escaped from rehab twice and, in 1999, was sentenced to 36 months in jail, though he served just under a year. After two more arrests, including the time he was found wandering the streets of Los Angeles barefoot, Downey checked into rehab and finally got clean. Thanks to his wife, Downey’s wife Susan Downey (they got married in 1992) told Harper’s Bazaar that he quit drugs for good in 2003 after she gave him an ultimatum. According to a 2013 Daily Mail article, the actor credits a combination of 12-step programs, yoga, meditation and therapy in keeping him sober.
