A Look at 15 Celebrities' Previous Jobs

Picture it: Glamorous Hannah Montana cleaning toilets. Or even more delicious: Smart-mouthed "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell sorting mail.

Before they made gazillions and became gossip-rag fodder, many celebrities had regular jobs. Take a look at some celebs' early work, and remember: Today's toilet scrubber could be tomorrow's star. And if you're wondering how to navigate your own career path, check out Monster's Career Mapping tool.

• Before he was Knocked Up and Superbad, director Judd Apatow washed dishes in a comedy club just to get close to the comedians. 
  
  
• "The Office" star Steve Carrell puts in crazy hours to film his sitcom, but he's used to it: He was a third-shift cashier at the Store 24 convenience store.
  
  
• Simon Cowell worked his music industry connections even way back when. His first job was as a mailroom clerk for EMI Music Publishing where his father worked. 
  
  
• Miley Cyrus scrubbed toilets at age 11 -- but did she wield the brush as Miley or Hannah Montana? 
  
  
• Johnny Depp sold pens over the phone before his acting debut in Nightmare on Elm Street. Yes, it's weird, but so is he -- in a good way. 
  
  
• Do you want funny with that? Tina Fey worked at a swimming pool snack bar at age 14 -- long before "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live." 
  
  
• Before taking orders from Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway had an even more demanding boss: The 3-year-old she babysat. 
  
  
• "American Idol" alum and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson started her working life at Burger King. After mentioning the company in an interview, BK made sure she never has to pay for another Whopper (or any other of the chain's food) for the rest of her life. 
  
  
• Long before she was one of the "Desperate Housewives," Eva Longoria apparently was desperate for work. She was hired as a cashier at Wendy's at age 13 after forging documents to appear older. 
  
  
• Not to be outdone by Longoria, Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock, washed dishes at a Hawaii pizza place when he was 13. 
  
• David Letterman made his mark in retail before taking over the land of late night talk shows. He was a stock boy at Atlas grocery store in Indianapolis. 
  
  
• Reality star and metal god Ozzy Osbourne worked in a slaughterhouse -- practice for biting the heads off doves? 
  
  
• The Wrestler star Mickey Rourke is well-known for getting into fights. You may already know he worked as a professional boxer, but even before that, he was fired from one of his first jobs as an usher for brawling with a coworker. 
  
  
• Call him the Good Humor man? Howard Stern worked as an ice cream truck driver. 
  
  
• Country sensation -- and yes, another "American Idol" alum -- Carrie Underwood first worked her pipes over the gas station intercom as a cashier.

Copyright 2009 - Monster Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy, reproduce or distribute this article without the prior written permission of Monster Worldwide. This article first appeared on Monster, the leading online global network for careers. To see other career-related articles, visit http://career-advice.monster.com.