1.
First, D’Arcy Carden once worked for Bill Hader as his children’s nanny before landing roles in Broad City and The Good Place. “I was his nanny for their oldest two daughters — that was my full time job,” D’Arcy explained. “I was with them every day, and I still am very close with them.” Now, D’Arcy stars on Barry alongside Bill.
2.
Before starring on Suits, Meghan Markle used to teach calligraphy, gift-wrapping, and book-binding at a Paper Source store in Beverly Hills. Her perfect handwriting led to her writing the invitations for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s wedding in 2005.
3.
Mindy Kaling was a script intern on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2001. “Interning here was so much fun,” Mindy told Conan O’Brien when she returned to the show as a guest to promote The Office in 2007.
4.
In fact, John Krasinski also interned at Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2000 before landing his breakout role as Jim Halpert on The Office. “I had a blast. My job was to hangout backstage with [Conan] before [he] went on. And [he’d] run through some monologue jokes,” John recalled.
5.
Whitney Houston did background vocals for Chaka Khan when she was just 14 years old. Whitney’s parents “did a lot of background work” for Chaka in the ’80s, and one day Whitney’s mom brought her to the studios and she began working for Chaka.
6.
Harrison Ford worked as a carpenter for director Francis Ford Coppola, writer Joan Didion, and more prior to becoming the big movie star we know and love today. In fact, Harrison was “installing a door for Francis Ford Coppola as a favor to his art director” when George Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss walked in. That’s when George first met Harrison and would later offer him the role of Han Solo in Star Wars.
7.
Cher started out doing background vocals for other artists like Darlene Love and The Righteous Brothers. She’s famously featured on the classic Righteous Brothers song, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”
8.
Aubrey Plaza interned for Lorne Michaels in the Saturday Night Live design department. She was also in the NBC Page program and even joked about making up facts on her tours around 30 Rock when she returned to host SNL in 2023.
9.
And, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star and creator Rachel Bloom was also an intern at Saturday Night Live, specifically she worked with Seth Meyers and the writers room. When Rachel was a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers years later, she hilariously told a story about Seth being annoyed when a fellow intern brought him the wrong type of salad.
10.
Scandal and Inventing Anna star Katie Lowes used to nanny for Connie Britton’s son before she landed her big breakout role in the Shondland series. Connie said, “I was so upset when she got this little pilot.” Katie went on to star in Scandal for seven seasons.
11.
Before going on to star in Girls, Get Out, and M3GAN, Allison Williams was Tina Fey’s second assistant while she was filming Baby Mama and a season of 30 Rock over the course of one summer. Allison said that her father, news anchor Brian Williams, helped get her the job.
12.
Sean “Diddy” Combs worked as an intern for music executive Andre Harrell at Uptown Records before Andre eventually gave him his start in music. When Andre died in 2020, Diddy penned a tribute to him, saying, “I hope to God that you are all blessed to have someone in your life that loves you and believes in you like this man believed in me.”
13.
Jennifer Garner and Stephen Colbert met when they both had very small parts on an episode of Spin City. At the wrap party for the episode, Jennifer mentioned she was “out of a job” and Stephen hired her as a babysitter. Eventually, Jennifer moved to Los Angeles and landed her breakout role in Alias.
14.
Prior to starring as Brittany on Glee, Heather Morris was a backup dancer for Beyoncé. During her time with Beyoncé’s tour, Heather appeared on The Today Show and at the American Music Awards.
15.
And, Harry Shum Jr. was also a backup dancer for Beyoncé before he went on to star in Glee, Shadowhunters, Crazy Rich Asians, Grey’s Anatomy, and more. Harry worked with Beyoncé when the singer was co-headling the Ladies First tour alongside Alicia Keys and Missy Elliot.
16.
The Vampire Diaries star Candice King was once a backup singer for Miley Cyrus during her Hannah Montana days. Candice accompanied Miley on her Best of Both Worlds concert tour and she can be seen in Hannah Montana: The Movie.
17.
Parks and Rec star Ben Schwartz was a CBS Page, specifically he worked at the Late Show with David Letterman and helped show the audience to their seats for the tapings. Eventually, he became a freelance writer who worked on David’s monologues.
18.
Prior to Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Khloé Kardashian worked as Nicole Richie’s assistant. Khloé went to school with Nicole and needed a job, so Nicole hired her as an assistant right around the time Simple Life was ending.
19.
And, Kim Kardashian organized closets for her friend Paris Hilton before Keeping Up with the Kardashians started. “I really would want to do anything for [Paris],” Kim revealed on an episode of KUWTK in 2021. “She literally gave me a career, and I totally acknowledge that.”
20.
Director Joel Coen worked for fellow director Sam Raimi on The Evil Dead as an assistant editor. It was on The Evil Dead set that Joel learned how to edit a movie down and the iconic shaky camera technique Joel, Sam, and Ethan Coen became known for.
21.
And finally, before his recent return to acting thanks to Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan worked as an assistant fight choreographer on The One directed by James Wong and X-Men directed by Bryan Singer.
We can’t fit everyone into one post, so which other celebs worked for another celeb before they were famous? Tell us in the comments below!
