Believe it or not, celebrities are just like us. (Well, richer more glamorous versions of us.) But, everyone’s got to get their start somewhere. Some of our favorite people in the public eye were once in nursing school learning how to wipe other people’s tooshies! …yeah, as I was saying they once were just like us; I told you! You’ll never guess which famous people graced our country’s hospital corridors before making it on the silver screen.
Bonnie Hunt
For me, Bonnie Hunt seems like one of those celebrities that seem like they really have a genuinely caring personality. So, its not hard to believe that she once was a caring RN. Before she was given the small part alongside Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rainman, she was reigning supreme as an oncology nurse at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Hunt may have been inspired to reach her dreams with the support of her patients. The actress said: “All the patients were telling me to go to California. My patients were dying, they were terminally ill. They said, ‘Go. Don’t fear failure. Go and fail, you’ll fail many times.’” And so she did.
Naomi Judd
Before the 5 time Grammy winner was a famous country musician in the Judds, she was working as a nurse in intensive care and also as a midwife. She was inspired to pursue a career in the medical profession after her brother passed away at the age of 17 and if she had not, she may not be the recognized woman she is today. While working at a nurse, it was actually a patient Judd was treating that landed her daughter an audition with the record label RCA. Together, they rose to stardom. (Nurses take note: you never know how helping others may ultimately shine some positive karma back. Pay it forward.)
Kate Gosselin
Famous for her reality show, Jon and Kate Plus 8, Kate let us get a peek into the life of a woman who was raising both twins and a set of sextuplets. But, before she had to put a normal career behind her, she was just like us. She worked at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Pennsylvania. These days she is both an author, TV star and devoted mother (which as we all know, is more than a full-time job.) Maybe her training as a caregiver helped her get trained for the task of raising a small army of children!
Tina Turner
Before Tina Turner was “Tina Turner,” she was Anna Mae Bullock, just a girl from Nutbush, Tennessee dreaming of being a nurse. Turner worked as a nurses aid before she became the leggy songstress we know her as today.
Kim Zolciak
For 5 seasons of Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kim Zolciak, dazzled the nation with jaw-dropping drama and some fierce blonde wigs. But before we could watch Zolciak’s crazy adventures in Georgia, she received her nursing degree from University of Connecticut. It’s probably best that she took the move to Atlanta for her shot at reality stardom…I don’t think cat fights are appropriate on the hospital floor.
Walt Witman
Perhaps, 100% opposite of the previous celebrity on this list, famous “Leaves of Grass” poet was a nurse to soldiers during the Civil War.
Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy, former Playmate, was once dreaming of being a nurse! Although she technically never became a nurse, she originally studied nursing at Southern Illinois University until she had to drop out because she couldn’t afford it. Who knows, if she had more funds, she may never have become the famous bombshell she is today. These days she’s traded in nursing scrubs and keds for designer digs and Louboutins.
These ladies all started out wanting to help people, but for different reasons were catapulted into new paths. Who knows, you just may find the next exciting chapter in your life as a nurse. Maybe you should try relocating with a travel nurse assignment near Hollywood next.
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