A while back, we shared stories from people who knew celebrities before they got famous. Then, a bunch of readers submitted their own stories. Here’s what they said:
The people who shared their stories allegedly speak from personal encounters. Obviously, we weren’t there when they happened, so feel free to take them with a grain of salt.
Some responses are also from this thread.
1. “I grew up in Houston, TX. My brother went to school with Hilary Duff before she left for Lizzie McGuire. So, long before she was famous. They’re about the same age. They had a similar group of friends. He was a better friend and had a huge crush on her sister, Haylie. It was really weird to see Hilary on TV after seeing her playing outside at a birthday party my brother was invited to, but I, like most girls my age, loved her and followed her religiously LOL.”
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2. “My dad knew Barack Obama. His best friend was a college roommate, and he even stayed with his grandparents in Pakistan. He is apparently an extremely humble and genuine person. My dad had great things to say about him. When in Pakistan, I heard he treated the servants/poor folks with a ton of respect as well.”
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3. “In my first job in Seattle, I knew Brendan Fraser a bit before he got famous. He was very friendly, humble, and sweet. He was also gorgeous, much more in person than on film.”
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4. “Jennifer Lawrence. She was a neighbor, in my stepsister’s Brownie troop, and they went to school together. At one point, Jennifer was pet-sitting my goldfish, and she almost killed it.”
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5. “I went to middle school with Jeremy Allen White. He was a year below me, and awkward, but still really chill.”
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6. “I went to high school in Minneapolis with Rogers Nelson, aka Prince. He was quiet, kind of a loner.”
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7. “Natasha Lyonne and my girlfriend became friendly in the late 90’s. We hung out in the East Village a bit. She’s exactly the same — a salty old New York cabbie trapped in the body of a downtown cool kid. Funny as hell.”
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8. “One of my close friends worked at Chanhassen Dinner Theater with Amy Adams… said she is the sweetest person, everyone knew she was going to be a big star.”
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9. “Tony Hawk was just a regular skater kid like everyone else. He had the only full-sized half-pipe in town, which made him a big local celebrity, but other than that, he was just one of us. Laid back and nice to everyone.”
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10. “I have friends who knew Pedro Pascal when he was a struggling actor in New York City. He used to come into the coffee shop my friends worked at and chat with them about auditions and plays he was in. He even comped them tickets to a few of his performances. For a while, he used to comment on their Instagram photos of their kids, wishing them happy birthday and whatnot (he might still, but I’m not on Instagram anymore to see it). Obviously, they thought he was a great guy. And for him to stay in touch with a couple of baristas years after he knew them seems to prove he is.”
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11. “I grew up with Chris Stapleton. He was the most popular kid in school, but he was super nice and genuinely a good guy. Went to one of his shows when he was just starting to blow up and talked to him afterward. He was exactly the same. Seemed to be sincerely happy to see me and talked about a few old times before he had to go. Super happy to see him have so much success.”
Taylor Hill / WireImage
12. “Anthony Carrigan was on my floor in college. He was kind, funny, maybe a little aloof, but a sweetheart. It’s wonderful to see him achieve success and advocate for alopecia.”
Shawn Goldberg / WireImage
13. “Jon Bernthal. When we were kids, he was best friends with one of my cousins. I used to be at that house all the time (and eventually my aunt and uncle took me in). Jon was a typical boy, super wild, but a nice kid. Used to absolutely WRECK my pillow forts, fart on the pillows, and laugh like a maniac! LOL. He was always really smart, though, and a good person. I bumped into him years ago when we were in our 30s and congratulated him on his success. He remembered me and said, ‘Sorry, I wrecked your forts.’ Aww. He deserves all the happiness in the world.”
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images
14. “My parents both knew Ryan Gosling when he was going to the high school where they worked. They always talk about how nice and polite he was. My mom worked with special education kids, and she still talks about how Ryan (who was already a bit of a celeb) would always take time to talk to them, sit and chat, and was just great with them. The drama teacher at the school at that time was my dad’s friend, and he always claims he taught Ryan everything he knows.”
Dominik Bindl / FilmMagic
15. “Danny DeVito used to cut a friend’s hair in Jersey. She said he was very nice, but had to stand on boxes to reach over her hair.”
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16. “I went to the same high school as Josh Hutcherson, and one of my good friends lived in the same neighborhood. He wasn’t around too often because he was already in some movies, but he was just a quiet kid who, at the time, I thought was stuck-up. Now I realize it was probably difficult for him to juggle the normal high school life and a budding Hollywood career.”
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17. “I grew up with Matthew Lillard. He was always the class clown. He was born to play Shaggy.”
Kristina Bumphrey / Variety via Getty Images
18. “Chris Hemsworth. His manager was my buddy, and I used to get him into clubs and take him around LA, introducing him to people. I’ve run into him a few times since he blew up, and he always gives me a bear hug and tells whoever he’s with, ‘She babysat me when I moved to LA.’ I love him, the sweetest guy.”
LISA O’CONNOR / AFP via Getty Images
19. “I used to work with Tyler Joseph from Twenty One Pilots before they took off. Nice, funny dude that was way too modest about his talent. He begged us to go to their first show, and after one song, we all kinda looked at each other like welp, he’s gonna be famous.”
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20. “Zach Galifianakis. He’s a great guy. Kind and easy to be around. We worked together and were drinking buddies, so we spent a lot of nights/mornings together.”
Kevin Winter / WireImage
21. “My mother grew up with Paul Walker, Lane Frost, and Joe Nichols. She played in the same volleyball league with Paul as a kid and said he was always into cars and super friendly. She was ecstatic when he hit it big, and devastated when he passed. She says that, among his brothers, he was always the most friendly and outgoing to her and was always super graceful, whether his team won or lost. Lane, she rode with before he passed. She was a couple of years younger than him, so she wasn’t super close to him, but she had some photos of them both winning events, and all the winners had to take photos together. As for Joe, she went to the same high school, but was two years ahead of him. She said he always kind of kept to himself and, honestly, wasn’t super popular, but was always nice when she’d interact with him. To this day, she still talks about how such a quiet kid turned into such a huge star.”
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22. “My brother grew up with all the impractical jokers, and Sal [Vulcano] was one of his best friends who gave a eulogy at his funeral. Sal is the exact dude you see on the show. He used to dress up as a turkey and visit my family every Thanksgiving. We called him the turkey man. After my brother passed, he stayed in touch with us, even once bought me and my mom tickets to come see one of their traveling shows, and got really emotional seeing my mom. He also wore a shirt for my brother in the movie. All around, just a good dude. Still talk to him every now and again, he doesn’t always get back to me right away but he always eventually does and is always super concerned about how my family is doing.”
Cindy Ord / WireImage
23. “I met Jerry Springer on several occasions when he was in politics, before he got into media. The first time I met him was during his unsuccessful congressional run in 1970. He drove a beat-up VW with one headlight pointed straight up. He was always funny, thoughtful, and a good listener.”
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24. “Adrian Brody was a putzy kid at the summer camp where I was a counselor. He’s allergic to chocolate.”
Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
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25. “Jessica Chastain and I are both from Sacramento, and we worked on a play for two Christmas seasons. She was focused, kind, extremely sharp, and had the most luxurious red curly hair I have ever seen. She used her mother‘s birth name from that on, and worked everywhere. After our second season, she got the part of Juliet in a Bay Area company, and that secured her Equity card. The rest is history. Talented and deserving.”
Lyvans Boolaky / WireImage
26. “I went to high school with Taylor Swift. She was always singing, and she was always shy and funny.”
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27. “My teacher in third grade knew Bill Nye personally. He worked at, I believe, a radio station with her and was very kind and humorous.”
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28. “My niece and nephew have been friends with WWE wrestler Tony D’Angelo since elementary school. Very nice and chill guy who is still down to earth. My niece’s best friend is good friends with him. Tony loves the community that he grew up in and comes home often to visit. My niece, nephew, and their friends speak very highly of him, and his personality hasn’t changed now that he’s famous.”
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29. “I went to college with Linda Hamilton. I think we had an economics class together. She sat on the far side of the room from me and always wore dark glasses (a very ‘movie star’ thing to do). She took a couple of classes with my father, who was a physical education professor at the school. She left the school after two years to pursue acting. That worked out well! I’ve enjoyed following her career ever since.”
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Did you know a celebrity before they got famous? Leave your story in the comments below, or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave a submission in the form below.
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