Jennifer Hudson had her big break in 2004 when she competed on “American Idol.” The show was just the springboard she needed to have a full career as a respected musician. Just a few short years after competing, Hudson won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress win for her performance in “Dreamgirls”.
The world needed some time to recognize this oscar winner’s talent. And before that happened, she needed to work somewhere. That somewhere was Burger King restaurant in Chicago. In 2007, a year after “Dreamgirls” was released, the chain gave Hudson something most people can only dream of — free burgers for life.
Melissa McCarthy: Starbucks
Ooh, Melissa McCarthy has always been such a delightful actress. She portrayed Sookie on "Gilmore Girls" and has since appeared in many other projects like "Spy", "Tammy", and "Bridesmaids". But there is a chance you could have recognized her as that girl who used to serve you coffee.
Before rising to stardom, McCarthy worked as a Starbucks barista. While serving coffee may not have been her favorite thing to do, she did enjoy an occasional celebrity sighting — most notably Chris Farley. "I got so overwhelmed because he was right there, that I started crying," McCarthy recalls.
Megan Fox: Smoothie Shop Mascot
Megan Fox became a staple in the TV sitcom, "Hope & Faith". In 2004, she achieved her first film appearance in the teen comedy, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen", and a breakout performance in 2007 in the hit action franchise, "Transformers".
But before becoming a big star and fighting on-screen robots, the only acting Fox got paid for was acting bananas — literally. Fox used to work as a smoothie shop mascot in a banana costume. Clearly, her boss's vision was impaired, because when your mascot looks that good, there are no costumes needed.
Naya Rivera: Hooters
Young actress Naya Rivera played Santana Lopez on 'Glee' for five seasons. Since she left 'Glee', she has had a starring role in shoes like "Devious Maids" and "Step Up: highwater", where she could show off her sweet dance moves.
Before the world knew who this talented woman was, she worked at a couple of chains: Hooters (which she hated for obvious reasons) and Ambercrombie & Fitch (which she got fired from for listing her own purchase as a regular sale).
Eva Mendes: Hotdog on a Stick
Eva Mendes has everything that women of this world could want — a glamorous acting career, beauty beyond compare, and Ryan Gosling. However, she didn't always have all those things. Yes, she was always beautiful, but things like Ryan Gosling and being recognized in Hollywood take time. Before she became a world-famous actress, Mendes has had to work in other jobs until she made it big.
One of those jobs was selling hotdogs at the Hotdog on a Stick franchise. The job included serving hotdogs and wearing a waitress uniform that would never look like what she wears on the red carpet these days. A version of the striped uniform was worn by Katy Perry during her 2016 halftime show at the Superbowl!