Celebs showing off their lavish lifestyles may feel cringey or over-the-top for some, but for some of these stars it’s a reminder of how far they’ve come, and how hard they’ve worked to pay for their lavish lifestyles. Not all of your faves grew up with silver and have worked hard from day one to afford financial stability and the success they boast about today.

These stars have one thing or another in common and it’s not just growing up with less financial stability than the average family, but it’s their belief that there is more for them. It was Viola Davis, Nicki Minaj and even JLo’s belief in themselves and their careers that they attribute to their success.

But for some they felt the need to resorts to not-so-legal ways to pay their bills, like Jay-Z’s checkered past, before he became the Hip-hop sensation we know today, he used to deal drugs to help support his family, but he has since left that life behind to pursue more positive change in the world.

Other stars grew up with little to no means, with family support like Dolly Parton and Celine Dion, but for some others, some parent-child relationships took years after their success to heal, like Rihanna and her father’s.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:35 Nicki Minaj’s tumultuous past

01:18 Cardi from the Bronx

01:55 Always Robyn Fenty

02:40 From Shawn to Jay-Z

03:22 Selena Gomez has always been charitable

04:07 The success of Justin Bieber

04:52 Jenny still loves her block

05:34 From Baltimore to Hollywood

06:14 Viola Davis never gave up

07:05 SJP before Carrie Bradshaw

07:45 No more 9-5s for Dolly Parton

08:20 P Diddy’s hard work and daydreams paid off

09:00 Jim Carrey’s million-dollar dream

09:56 Céline Dion’s humble roots

10:34 Believing in Oprah

11:15 Outro

Written by: Elizabeth Oloidi

Narrated by: LanessaVO

Edited by: Ajay Danny