16 Celebrities Who Worked "Normal" Jobs While Being Famous

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In her memoir, Drew Barrymore said, "I could tell my boss, who had hired me on the novel idea of having a washed-up former child actor behind the counter, was patient with all my learning curves but was also irritated with me."

Plenty of celebrities diversify their income sources with ventures like skincare lines and alcohol brands, but some balance their entertainment careers with surprisingly "normal" jobs.

Here are 16 celebs who worked "normal" jobs while being famous:

1. Steve Buscemi worked as a firefighter in Manhattan in the '80s. In the aftermath of 9/11, he returned to the FDNY and worked multiple 12-hour shifts to help locate survivors.

2. Former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth is "a state-licensed EMT [emergency medical technician] in New York."

3. Angelina Pivarnick from Jersey Shore was also an EMT. From 2016-2018, she worked with the FDNY in Staten Island.

In 2019, she made a guest appearance on the dating show Double Shot at Love to help "save" her former costars DJ Pauly D and Vinny Guadagnino from heartache.

4. Wizards of Waverly Place actor and podcaster Jennifer Stone is also an ER nurse. She decided to pursue nursing after her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 2013.

5. When Terry Crews was in the NFL, he supplemented his income by painting portraits of his teammates. Each piece of artwork cost about $5,000.

6. In 2009, Tony Danza spent a year teaching sophomore English at a Philadelphia high school. His time as an educator was partially chronicled on the reality show Teach: Tony Danza.

7. While Dylan Sprouse was a student at New York University, he worked as a restaurant host.

8. At one point after the end of That's So Raven, Anneliese Van Der Pol "worked in New York in several restaurants."

9. Actor and podcaster Devon Werkheiser tried to find his next "big thing" after Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, but he ended up "living pretty modestly on" his savings until they ran out when he was 25. So, he "got a 9-to-5 for the first time in [his] life."

10. After emancipating herself from her mother at age 14, Drew Barrymore "needed a job," so she got hired at the Living Room, a coffeehouse near where she lived.

11. While Danielle Fishel was a student at California State University, Fullerton, she worked as a gift wrapper at Bloomingdale's.

12. In 1997, MC Hammer was ordained as a pastor in the Church of God in Christ. Two years later, he began leading a hip-hop gospel prayer service called "Hammertime" at a large church in Northern California.

13. In 2022, while Pamela Anderson was temporarily living in NYC for her run in Chicago, she reportedly had an unpaid gig as a dog walker because she missed her dogs. Her only client was an Irish setter named Dash.

14. In 2015, Matthew McConaughey returned to his alma mater, UT Austin, as the Minister of Culture. Four years later, he took up the mantle of professor of practice at the Moody College of Communication.

15. Jeremy Renner moonlights as a real estate developer who flips multi-million dollar houses.

16. And finally, before the Jonas Brothers reunited as a band in 2019, Kevin Jonas started JonasWerner, a real estate development company that specialized in building custom mansions.

Have you ever interacted with a performer you recognized while they were working a non-entertainment job? Share your experiences in the comments!

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