For most celebrities out there, typically they move from relative levels of obscurity and make their way into the limelight. They go from aspiring actors or musicians and then eventually become rich an famous after hard work. At least, that is how most go through the process. But there are actually a few celebrities out there that were extremely wealthy or were from a wealthy family before they became famous. For these select few, it’s pretty much the ultimate luxury. They take solace in the fact that if they can’t make their dreams happen, they have something to fall back on. So just who are these celebs? Let’s take a quick look at a list of twenty celebrities who were rich before they were famous.
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20. Rashida Jones
We know Rashida Jones from things like Parks and Recreation, Boston Public, and I Love You Man, and she is a celebrity that was very wealthy before she became famous. While she does have a prominent and respectable acting career now, her parents are a sort of a power couple. Her mother is actress Peggy Lipton and her father, Quincy Jones, is a legendary record producer/entertainment manager. Her dad has the second most amount of Grammy wins and is worth around $310 million.
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19. Nick Kroll
Comedian, actor, and writer Nick Kroll is best known for his work in television shows like The League and his series the Kroll Show, but he’s another individual that came from a wealthy beginning. From New York, he is the son of Lynn and Jules Kroll. His father Jules founded Kroll Inc., a risk management and corporate investigations firm that is based in Manhattan. The company saw millions of dollars in revenue each year, and his family sold the company in 2004 for $1.9 billion dollars
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18. Allison Williams
American actress, singer, and comedian Allison Williams is one of the lead stars in HBO’s Girls. Outside of that show she has made a few other appearances as an actress, in addition to being wealthy before becoming famous. She is the daughter of Brian Williams, who is known for being a managing editor and lead anchor for the NBC Nightly News. He is worth around $40 million dollars.
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17. Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase has been in the entertainment business for quite some time. He’s made appearances in Saturday Night Live, the National Lampoon’s Vacation films, Caddyshack, The Chevy Chase Show, and Community. He’s had a very successful career, and also came from a prominent background before he was famous. His grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, was the heir to the massive Crane Company and his step-mom was a member of the Folgers family coffee empire.
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16. Psy
Park Jae-sang, who’s famously known as Psy, is a South Korean singer/rapper who became a world-wide sensation with the popular “Gangnam Style” song. The music video quickly became the most-watched YouTube video since it was released in 2012, and it was the first video to attain 1 billion plays. Before he was famous he was also born into an affluent family. His father, Park Won-Ho, is the executive chairman of the DI Corporation, a massive South Korean technology company.
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15. Taylor Swift
Taylor is easily the biggest name in the pop music scene right now, and has released a host of critically-acclaimed and commercially successful albums. While she did put in the hard work to get where she is now, she came from a comfortable upbringing. She grew up on an 11-acre estate in Pennsylvania and attended private school. Her father Scott was a prominent financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and her mother was previously a mutual fund marketing executive. Her dad was even one of the initial investors for Big Machine Records, the first label that signed Taylor.
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14. Jaden Smith
Jaden Smith is a 17-year-old American actor who has made appearances in the films The Pursuit of Happyness, The Karate Kid, and After Earth. But as many of us probably know, he is the son of successful actor/musician Will Smith and actress/singer-songwriter Jada Pinkett Smith. It certainly helps your career if your parents are wealthy, famous, and successful.
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13. Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal
I’m going to lump these two together since they are siblings. The Gyllenhaal’s have made a number of appearances in many films over the years, and they two come from a prominent background. Their father is film director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and their mother Naomi is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter.
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12. Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper is a prominent American journalist, news presenter, writer, and television personalty that is known for his work with CNN. He personally has a net worth around $100 million dollars, but like the rest of the individuals on our list, he comes from money. His mother is Gloria Vanderbilt who is the heiress of the massive Vanderbilt fortune. When she was just 18 months old, she already had $5 million to her name, and that only increased over the years.
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11. Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields became a child star at a young age, went on to become a model, then she quit so she could graduate from Princeton, only to eventually return to acting. Her career is very impressive, and she too came from a wealthy upbringing. Her father, Francis Shields, was a successful businessman who was an executive at Revlon Cosmetics. His father was a professional tennis star and his mother was an Italian princess. Brooke can trace her heritage through many Italian royal families, and she certainly comes from money.
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10. Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke is an American/Canadian singer-songwriter who has released seven studio albums, contributed with many other famous musicians, and has been nominated for four Grammy awards. He’s extremely successful now, and was also rich before he was famous. His mother Gloria Loring was a cast member on Days of Our Lives and his father Alan Thicke played a role in Growing Pains.
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9. Paul Giamatti
American actor Paul Giamatti has made appearances in films and television shows like The Truman Show, John Adams, Cinderella Man, Saving Private Ryan, The Illusionist, and countless others. His father used to be a professors at Yale University who would go on to not only become the schools president, but also became the commissioner of Major League Baseball.
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8. Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus is a former Disney television star who would then go on to become a prominent pop-musician and singer. Today she is worth around $150 million dollars, but before she was famous she was already doing pretty well. Her father is Billy Ray Cyrus, who is a well-known country music star that had released a few successful songs and albums. It was through his career that he helped Miley launch her own.
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7. Adam Levine
Adam Levine has a net worth of around $50 million dollars, and is known as the lead vocalist for Maroon 5 and as a judge on the reality television singing competition, The Voice. But before Adam was famous and well-known, he grew up comfortably. His father, Fred Levine, was a successful businessman who could afford to send Adam to private school and help him pursue his passion for music.
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6. Rooney and Kate Mara
Rooney and Kate Mara are sisters and American actresses that have made appearances is works like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, House of Cards, Her, Fantastic Four, and a number of other television shows and movies. Their father Timothy Mara is one of the current owners of the New York Giants, and his family actually founded the team back in the day. It gets even more interesting as their mothers family were the original founders of the Pittsburgh Steelers as well.
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5. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is a extremely succesful pop-icon and musician who has won a number of awards over the years. But little known fact is that she grew up extremely wealthy. She grew up in the Upper West Side of New York, raised by her parents Cynthia and Joseph. Her father was a successful internet entrepreneur who founded a company that sets up Wi-Fi networks in hotels and restaurants.
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4. Carly Simon
American singer-songwriter Carly Simon has released a number of successful and popular tracks that have made the top charts a number of times. She even wrote the song “Nobody Does it Better” which was used in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. But before she was famous, she was already very wealthy. Her father Richard was one of the original founders of the Simon & Schuster publishing houses, which is one of the largest English publishing houses in the world.
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3. Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton has a net worth somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million dollars, and she is one of the most famous individuals that were wealthy before they were rich. Paris is one of those people that are famous for being famous and she was born into incredible levels of wealth. She is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton who was the founder of the Hilton Hotels group. She grew up in New York City, Beverly Hills, and The Hamptons, so she was rich way before she became famous.
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2. Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is always popping up in the spotlight for…um…doing things? She’s another individual that’s famous for being famous, and like Paris Hilton, she grew up very wealthy before she became a socialite. She grew up in Los Angeles and her father Robert was a powerful attorney that was best known as O.J. Simpson’s defense attorney.
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1. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Known for her appearances in Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, and Veep among others, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an accomplished actress that has been in the industry for quite sometime. While she has achieved much on her own, she was extremely rich before she was famous. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus who founded the Louis Dreyfus Group, a massive conglomerate. Additionally her father Gérard is a billionaire that was affiliated with the family company, and previous was the chairman for Louis Dreyfus Energy Services.
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