HomeLifestyle10 Celebrities Who Faced...

10 Celebrities Who Faced Rejection in Early Days of Their Careers

Do you feel like giving up? Maybe the stories of some celebrities who have once been embarrassed and humiliated can inspire you.

1. Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the “Queen of Latin Music” and is noted for her musical versatility.

She made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia at the age of 13.

While in school, she was rejected from the school choir because her teacher thought her voice sounded “goat-like”. Shakira is now the world’s wealthiest Latin artiste.

2. Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey, often referred to mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist.

She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.

Prior to fame, because she was “unfit for television journalism” and couldn’t separate her emotions from her reports, Oprah was fired from her position as an evening news reporter at Baltimore’s WJZ-TV.

Oprah is now listed as one of the most successful women in the world.

3. Michael Jordan

In his early years, he tried to get on his high school basketball team. But due to his height, he was turned down and mocked.

Michael trained harder afterwards; now, the list of the greatest basketball stars cannot be mentioned without MJ’s name.

4. Hugh Jackman

As a struggling actor, he found it hard to keep his 7-11 job at a convenience store.

Fired just six weeks after being employed because the manager thought he spoke to the clients too much, Hugh now has a Golden Globe best actor award for the movie, “Les Misérables”.

5. J.K. Rowling

Before becoming a huge seller, her “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was rejected numerous times.

The author was sacked from her position at the London office of Amnesty International because she would compose stories on her computer instead of working.

6. Abraham Lincoln

When Lincoln was young and entered war, he entered as a Captain but came back as a much lower Private.

Later on, he tried to start up a ton of businesses, all of which failed, and before becoming president, he lost several runs for public office.

7. Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author who was described in his time as a “natural philosopher”.

He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment.

Prior to his fame, though, Newton was a wiz at math, but he did not excel when it came to other subjects.

He never thrived in school, and when he was once put in charge of running the family farm, he failed terribly.

That was when he was sent off to Cambridge, and the rest is history.

8. Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III is an American business magnate, author, investor, and philanthropist.

He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen

When he dropped out of Harvard, he started a business with Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data, which flopped.

Luckily, they tried their hand at business again and this time Microsoft was born.

9. Albert Einstein

He didn’t speak until he was four and didn’t read until he was seven. He was subsequently expelled from school and was not admitted to the Zurich Polytechnic School. Long story short, he came around.

10. Madonna

She dropped out of college, moved to new york, and took a job at Dunkin’ Donuts in Times Square, where she apparently didn’t last a day. What sealed the deal was when she squirted jelly filling all over a customer.


Disclaimer

The information in this article was curated from online sources. All details cannot be independently verified by NewsWireNGR or its editorial team.

Always visit NewsWireNGR for latest naija news and updated naija breaking news.

NewsWireNGR Latest News in Nigeria

Send Us A Press Statement/News Tips on 9ja Happenings: [email protected]

Advertise With Us: [email protected]

Contact Us

LISTEN to NewsWireNGR PODCASTS

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Most Popular

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

More from Author

Cheta Nwanze: Failed visa Marriages

by Cheta Nwanze The 1990 film Green Card told a relatively innocent...

Digital Marketing for Attorneys

In the competitive landscape of legal services, personal injury and medical...

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Read Now

“No Victor, No Vanquished” — Angbazo calls for unity after Nasarawa ADC Governorship Primary win

LAFIA — Retired General Nuhu Angbazo has emerged victorious from the Africa Democratic Congress, ADC, governorship primaries in Nasarawa State, calling on all party faithful to sheathe their swords and rally behind a common vision for the state's development. In a press statement issued shortly after his victory...

Lazarus Angbazo: The Countries that will lead the AI Economy are being decided right Now — By Their PowerGrids

Nigeria has enough installed generation to power a mid-sized country. The grid delivers less than half of it. Around the world, the race to build AI-ready power infrastructure is already underway — and the decisions African governments and investors make in the next eighteen months will determine...

Cheta Nwanze: Failed visa Marriages

by Cheta Nwanze The 1990 film Green Card told a relatively innocent story: a French immigrant and an American woman enter a marriage of convenience so he can stay in the US. They barely know each other. They hope never to see each other again after the deal...

Digital Marketing for Attorneys

In the competitive landscape of legal services, personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys are finding themselves overshadowed by competitors who dominate online visibility. The root of this issue lies in the digital presence that many firms lack. While traditional word-of-mouth referrals still hold value, the digital age...

Lazarus Angbazo: The global power industry is leaving Africa behind

 Dr. Lazarus AngbazoThe nascent AI revolution is not just driving electricity consumption and massive demand for additional capacity—it is reshaping how power is built, maintained, and delivered. For Africa, the real risk is no longer just insufficient capacity—it is also losing control and ability to manage the capacity it...

Bunmi Onabanjo-Kuku: The first thing you feel when you land in Nigeria

By Bunmi Onabanjo-Kuku The first thing you feel when you land in a country is not its culture, not its cuisine, not its people. It is its airport. That threshold, the space between the jet bridge and the city beyond, tells you everything a nation believes about itself...

Dr. Lazarus Angbazo: Why a fractured world strengthens the case for African Infrastructure

How inflation, energy insecurity, power scarcity, and geopolitical fragmentation are reshaping the risk-return case for African infrastructure By Dr. Lazarus Angbazo At a recent global infrastructure summit, the prevailing mood among institutional investors was unmistakable. Faced with surging capital requirements for energy transition, grid expansion, and digital infrastructure in Europe and...

Aliko Dangote to launch what could become Africa’s largest initial public offering to raise $5 billion from investors

Nigeria’s biggest local investor, Aliko Dangote, is moving ahead with plans to launch what could become Africa’s largest initial public offering, as Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals prepares to raise up to $5 billion from investors. The share sale is expected to open as early as May, with...

Criminal networks have turned Nigeria’s telecom towers into open-air warehouses for theft, looting

Criminal networks have turned Nigeria’s telecom towers into open-air warehouses for theft, looting 656 critical power assets across 14 states in 2025 alone and keeping up the pace in early 2026. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showed the haul included 152 generators and 504 batteries stolen from...

Paul Yirenkyi: A call for Caution Needed, President Tinubu and the INEC-ADC Crisis

I have seen enough cycles of tension and resolution to recognise when restraint must prevail over confrontation. The current standoff between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is one such moment. In early April 2026, INEC withdrew recognition of the Senator...

Nigeria’s opposition landscape appears increasingly fractured, disorganised and strategically weakened

10 months until the 2027 general elections, Nigeria’s opposition landscape appears increasingly fractured, disorganised and strategically weakened. Although no fewer than 21 political parties have been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to participate in the polls, developments within the parties, including internal crises, litigations and other destabilising factors, may...

Power shortages weaken Nigeria’s business activity 

Nigeria’s business environment continued to expand in March 2026 but slowed as rising input costs and power supply deficits weighed on performance, according to the latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) report by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). The report indicates that the Current Business Performance Index declined...