Award show stars who were once homeless

In 1989, Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter after she moved to New York City to pursue acting. In a Reader's Digest interview, she said, "I was probably about 21. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. You can do that when you're 21 and ambitious, and your eyes are this big and you don't want to go home." She went on to win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
In 1989, Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter after she moved to New York City to pursue acting. In a Reader's Digest interview, she said, "I was probably about 21. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. You can do that when you're 21 and ambitious, and your eyes are this big and you don't want to go home." She went on to win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

In 1989, Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter after she moved to New York City to pursue acting. In a Reader's Digest interview, she said, "I was probably about 21. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. You can do that when you're 21 and ambitious, and your eyes are this big and you don't want to go home." She went on to win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)... more
In 1989, Halle Berry lived in a homeless shelter after she moved to New York City to pursue acting. In a Reader's Digest interview, she said, "I was probably about 21. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. You can do that when you're 21 and ambitious, and your eyes are this big and you don't want to go home." She went on to win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic) less

When Hilary Swank was 15, her parents separated, and she and her mom moved from Washington to Los Angeles in an Oldsmobile Delta 88 with just $75. They lived out of their car until they could afford an apartment. Swank later won the Academy Award for her role in "Boys Don't Cry." Surprisingly, she was paid only $75 a day for her work on that movie (for a grand total of $3,000), not even enough to qualify for health insurance