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The job Kate Middleton had before she became a Duchess

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Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle attending day 12 of the Wimbledon championships in London, earlier in July.
Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle attending day 12 of the Wimbledon championships in London, earlier in July.

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton has perfected the art of royal poise. Living life in the spotlight as a member of the royal family, she’s become both accustomed and comfortable with being in the public eye. 

She’s much-loved by most people not only for her open  and engaging friendliness and charitable work, but also because despite her station, she still seems incredibly humble.

And if you were by chance feeling a little intimidated by her, it might comfort you to know that before she married into royalty, she held down normal jobs just like the rest of us.

According to Marie Claire.com, Kate, who has a degree in art history, worked for Party Pieces, her family’s business which sells and provides party supplies. 

She also held a position as an accessory buyer for a British jewellery company, although given that her tasks included running menial errands such as making tea and working on the set of photoshoots (providing snacks to the team), it does rather sound as if her job description was a euphemism for being a personal assistant.

Either way, it just goes to show that even Kate, who is now part of the royal entourage, had humble beginnings. 

It’s hard to believe that famous celebrities once also had to make ends meet in whatever ways they could. From the ordinary to the quirky and strange, many celebs have shown that they were willing to do whatever it takes to get their big break.

Here’s a roundup of 20 other celebrities who worked as either janitors, mascots or street performers, to mention but a few.

1. SZA worked at beauty store Sephora before she hit the big time.

2. Pierce Brosnan used to be a fire-eater in his teens. Here’s a video of him doing it on the Muppets Tonight if you don’t believe me.

3. Jim Carrey dropped out of school to become a janitor full-time to support his family. 

4. Megan Fox was a banana mascot for a smoothie store where she had to wear a giant banana costume and stand on the side of a highway. Watch her getting scared by a giant banana on the Ellen DeGeneres show as she tells the story.

5. Amy Adams worked at the American chain restaurant Hooters to earn money when she was just 18 and says it was a great experience 

READ MORE: Celebs and TV shows making big comebacks in 2018


6. James Franco used to practise his accents when he was working the drive-thru at McDonalds

7. Rihanna was in the army! She was an army cadet in a sub military programme in Barbados. Shontelle, the singer-songwriter was her drill sergeant.

READ MORE: PICS: 30 times Rihanna absolutely slayed in the fashion game

8. Brad Pitt used to dress up in a giant chicken suit and wave at cars in front of a restaurant called El Pollo Loco.

9. Barack Obama used to scoop ice cream at Baskin Robbins ice cream store in his local Honolulu. He says it taught him:  "Responsibility. Hard work. Balancing a job with friends, family, and school."

10. George Clooney used to sell women’s shoes when he was just 18 and says it was a “terrible job”

11. Chris Pratt was a stripper when he was 18, barely legal and he even did a show for his friend’s grandmother’s birthday party.

12. Kate Winslet dropped out of school at 16, then worked in a deli making sandwiches to make money to go to London to go to auditions.

13. Whoopi Goldberg “did hair and make up on dead people” after reading an ad in the paper because she’s actually a licensed beautician.


14. Jon Hamm used to work as a set-dresser for porn films. He said it was “soul-crushing”.

15. Lucy Liu had THREE jobs. She was a secretary five days a week, then an aerobics instructor on the weekend during the day and then a hostess at a restaurant at night. 

16. Patrick Dempsey was a street performer and used to juggle.



17. Nelly Furtado used to work as a chambermaid in Canada where she’s from.

18. Harry Styles worked in a bakery before he became famous and went back there when he shot the 3D movie for One Direction. 

READ MORE: 7 ways to land a job abroad

19. Ellen Pompeo might be Meredith Grey now, but she was a bartender and cocktail waitress before she was famous.

20. Kerry Washington was a substitute teacher until she appeared in Save The Last Dance.

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