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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.


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