8 Celebrities Who Were Teachers Before They Got Famous

01of 08Gene SimmonsGene Simmons.Harry How/GettyBefore performing in front of thousands in full makeup and tight leather pants, the Kiss bassist and co-lead singer spent several months teaching sixth grade at a public school in New York City’s Upper West Side neighborhood.“The reason I quit after six months is that I discovered the real reason I became a teacher,” Simmons explained during a June 1978 interview with theLakeland Ledger. “It was because I wanted to get up on stage and have people notice me. I had to quit because the stage was too small. Forty people wasn’t enough, I wanted 400,000.”

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Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons.Harry How/Getty

Before performing in front of thousands in full makeup and tight leather pants, the Kiss bassist and co-lead singer spent several months teaching sixth grade at a public school in New York City’s Upper West Side neighborhood.

“The reason I quit after six months is that I discovered the real reason I became a teacher,” Simmons explained during a June 1978 interview with theLakeland Ledger. “It was because I wanted to get up on stage and have people notice me. I had to quit because the stage was too small. Forty people wasn’t enough, I wanted 400,000.”

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Sylvester Stallone

03of 08Sheryl CrowMonica Schipper/Getty ImagesThe “Soak Up the Sun” singer got her start teaching music during the week and playing gigs on the weekends back in the ’80s, according toThe Telegraph.

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Sheryl Crow

Monica Schipper/Getty Images

The “Soak Up the Sun” singer got her start teaching music during the week and playing gigs on the weekends back in the ’80s, according toThe Telegraph.

04of 08Billy CrystalCorey Nickols/Contour/GettyAmong the many interesting tidbits that make up the notable actor’s fascinating life - such as hosting the Academy Awards nine times and being Jay Leno’s very first guest onThe Tonight Show -fans may be surprised to know that Crystal worked as a substitute teacher at Long Beach Junior High School in New York, according toCNN.

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Billy Crystal

Corey Nickols/Contour/Getty

Among the many interesting tidbits that make up the notable actor’s fascinating life - such as hosting the Academy Awards nine times and being Jay Leno’s very first guest onThe Tonight Show -fans may be surprised to know that Crystal worked as a substitute teacher at Long Beach Junior High School in New York, according toCNN.

05of 08Stephen KingFrancois Mori/APKnown for his supernatural horror novels, King chipped away at building his career as a writer while teaching high school English at Hampden Academy in Maine in the fall of 1971, according to hiswebsite. King kept teaching until the spring of 1973, when a major sale of his novelCarriewould allow him to quit his job and write full-time.

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Stephen King

Francois Mori/AP

Known for his supernatural horror novels, King chipped away at building his career as a writer while teaching high school English at Hampden Academy in Maine in the fall of 1971, according to hiswebsite. King kept teaching until the spring of 1973, when a major sale of his novelCarriewould allow him to quit his job and write full-time.

06of 08Hugh JackmanAndreas Rentz/GettyBefore Broadway and Hollywood got a hold on him, Jackman spent one year working as a teaching assistant at a top British boarding school called Uppingham School in 1987. He was “an 18-year-old Aussie teaching English to a bunch of English kids,” he recalled, according toBBC. “I thought, if that was my school fees, I’d be pretty annoyed.”

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Hugh Jackman

Andreas Rentz/Getty

Before Broadway and Hollywood got a hold on him, Jackman spent one year working as a teaching assistant at a top British boarding school called Uppingham School in 1987. He was “an 18-year-old Aussie teaching English to a bunch of English kids,” he recalled, according toBBC. “I thought, if that was my school fees, I’d be pretty annoyed.”

07of 08Liam NeesonLev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via GettyBeing an action star in Hollywood for decades is nothing compared to the two years Neeson took to train to become a teacher. Neeson called it the “most difficult job” he’s ever had to master, before opening up about the time he had to punch a 15-year-old kid for pulling a knife on him during a 2012 interview withESPN.

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Liam Neeson

Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty

Being an action star in Hollywood for decades is nothing compared to the two years Neeson took to train to become a teacher. Neeson called it the “most difficult job” he’s ever had to master, before opening up about the time he had to punch a 15-year-old kid for pulling a knife on him during a 2012 interview withESPN.

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J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling.Dan Hallman/Invision/AP

After conceiving the idea ofHarry Potterwhile sitting on a train from Manchester to London King’s Cross in 1990, Rowling spent the next five years mapping out her highly successful series. During that time, she gathered up her notes and moved to northern Portugal to teach English, according to herwebsite.

source: people.com