“Don’t let the fame change you” is one of those things people say in fiction all the time, but the fact is that most of us really don’t know enough famous people personally to test if it’s sage advice. However, through the magic of the internet, it’s entirely possible to source other people's experiences so that you don’t have to.

People who knew celebrities before they were famous share their best stories of what that was like. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and if you also knew a famous person in the past, feel free to detail your experience in the comments below.

#1

I went to high school with Seth Rogen. He was a very funny guy, and couldn't really keep quiet in class because he was always thinking up funny s**t.
Our math teacher came up with a solution to this: Seth would have the floor to himself for five minutes every Monday. In exchange, he'd keep quiet the rest of the week.
It was great. Seth would do a hilarious monologue every week, telling outrageous stories about what he'd been up to over the weekend, often integrating the teacher and members of the class in the story.

Image credits: icopyandpasteoldans

#2

I went to middle school with Ronda Rousey (Female UFC Undefeated Bantamwieght Champion), she was pretty quiet in school, super introverted. I have not seen her in over ten years, but it's amazing to see her now, she's a total outspoken bad**s who scares the s**t out of me.

Image credits: anon

#3

My Mom knew Eminem before he was famous. She has this story where he accidentally set her curtains on fire.

Edit: I will get the whole story tomorrow.

Edit 2: The full story: She said her and her friend where in a room of a house my mom was baby sitting in, when he came in the window and was being annoying and at some point the idea came up to play with a lighter and a can of aqua-net and *her and her friend* set fire to the curtains while he leaped out the window.

Image credits: NopeNotAnthony

#4

Whoopi Goldberg smoked me and a friend out in Berkley in the early eighties for his birthday. She was smart nice and hilarious. I think she has just gotten smarter nicer and funnier and maybe a little grayer.

Image credits: stylinghead

#5

Dad is good friends with all the guys from slipknot, they're still really nice, cool guys. Infact one of them even introduced my mom to my dad, still married.

Image credits: tupcake

#6

I'm from Auckland, NZ, where Lorde grew up.

She used to not be able to afford pies.

Now she can afford pies. Other than that, so far she seems cool.

Image credits: Cynical_tamarin

#7

I live in Stratford, Ontario, home of the Biebs. I didn't know him personally, but knew his friends. From what I can hear, he was an a****t before and after fame. He was suspended for pouring coffee on a teacher and then flipping her off. Recently, he was kicked out of the local theater for punching an old lady who reported him to the ushers for smoking pot in the theater.

So really nothing changed...

Image credits: anon

#8

I grew up with Ryan Dunn, and considered him a brother and was even his room mate for a spell. He would spend holidays with my family. We were friends since we were 14 and continued to stay friends until his death. He was always the best dude, and fame just made him closer with his real friends. There was never a time in his life either before or after his fame that he wasnt the nicest guy in the world.

Image credits: professorlowcash

#9

Dated the (now former) COO of Mozilla in grade 8.

Honestly, in hindsight, he was the only kid in our group of friends that was a truly outstanding human being. Even at age 13 he was insightful and bright. Kind and unique.

I'm not sure if that's the type of famous you're looking for, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on the same 'tech celeb' list as Jobs, Gates, etc.

edit to add: Seriously, grade 8. When I say dated, I mean grade 8 circa 1992 dating. Seven-ish weeks, lots of awkward hand holding and hugging, I think we kissed once? I remember standing a lot of teen angst staring. He wrote me a beautiful song for my birthday and gave me roses. I was smitten but still very 13, as was he. I feel like this is a Pepperage Farm meme. Remember when 13 year olds didn't give bj's and STDs? Heatherpi remembers!

Image credits: anon

#10

This will get buried, but I went to elementary and middle school with Miley Cyrus. We were sort of friends, mostly talked on AIM and stuff. She was super normal and I still believe she is and is just trying to f**k with everyone.

Edit: To be more specific, I knew her from when we were like six until she moved away when we were maybe twelve. She went by Destiny back then and everyone knew who her dad was. We talked off and on and mostly just had mutual friends, so it wasn't like we were super close, but I remember being bummed out when she moved because we were just starting to be friends. Haven't talked to her since, don't expect to.

Image credits: anon

#11

Danny Whitney -- aka "Larry the Cable Guy" graduated from our small Christian school. I always thought he was a goofball who wasn't that funny. I'm kind of the "serious type" and he was NEVER serious. It got old fast with me. I tried to avoid him.

He made a couple of cable specials and I still didn't think he was funny, but he was getting funny. They he invented "Larry the Cable Guy" and the rest is history. Since then, we've crossed paths occasionally and he's very centered and a really nice person. He has a child with issues and that has made him compassionate.

Just for the record -- the "country thing" his just his schtick. He grew up in South Florida and was not country at all. He's still a bit crude for my tastes, but I feel a lot better about him now. He's one of those who doesn't seem to have become a worse person the more fame he has acquired. I'm happy for his success.

Image credits: WPBDoc

#12

My friend's (second) cousin is Pitbull.
He said they never really talked much because, as a kid, Pitbull was pretty rude.
eh.

Edit: Obviously, this experience my friend had with Pitbull doesn't qualify him as a horrible person, and it's cool to hear that others have had good experiences. I think I'll ask for more details.

Image credits: anon

#13

I went to school with Carl Edwards. Super nice, intelligent, funny guy. Bumped into him a couple of times in college and he seemed a touch vain and aloof. Then he became a extremely successful NASCAR driver, and any time I run into him, he's back to being the jovial, genial dude I always knew. He maintains his hometown roots, and does what he can to help friends finance business ventures and artistic endeavors.

Image credits: BornScreaming

#14

My dad went to high school with George Lucas. According to him, Lucas was a quiet guy and was always writing or drawing in a notebook he carried around. He doesn't blame the fact that Lucas doesn't really like Modesto. It's an awful place.

My sister was in high school musicals with Jeremy Renner. She never thought he'd be as famous as he is now, but she said he was one of the hardest working individuals she'd ever seen. Once again, this was in Modesto, and she doesn't blame Jeremy for hating our horrible city.

Unfortunately, the only marginally famous person I went to high school with was the lead singer of Deafheaven, George Clarke. You may know them from the album Sunbather, and the incredibly polarizing view they have among metal fans. I think George would not like my saying this, but he was heavily involved in musical theater at the time. It's strange hearing his screaming vocals and reminiscing about the fact that he was the lead role in *Bye Bye Birdie*. To his credit though, he played the most amazing villain in *Arsenic and Old Lace*. And, of course, he also hates Modesto.

We all do.

Image credits: Mexagon

#15

Kendrick Lamar grew up in my neigborhood in west compton. He still brings all his day-1 friends to his shows and supports the up and coming local artist. He also comes through the hood with no security often giving out shoes and what-not to the kids. Real humble guy.

Image credits: kaliboi408

#16

Went to middle and high school with Natalie Portman. Nothing changed. If you didn't know she was famous, you wouldn't know it from how she acted. She kept the same friends, the same boyfriend, stayed the same tiny, reserved smart girl (or so it seemed). She was just in class less.

Image credits: divedeep112

#17

Demi Lovato. She was a b***h to everybody and everybody hated her. She actually was the bully. Then she started with Disney and she couldn't take the criticism he world gave her. I guess that's why people are bullies, right? They're insecure. I think she's nice now though, I dont judge people by how they were when they were young.

EDIT for sources:

I thought this was widely known already? Many redditors have also posted about it. There's even an article of a girl I knew she bullied:

> I’ll see a magazine article, a commercial, a youtube video, a tweet, a post, a picture. And it just infuriates me. My eyebrows furrow and my muscles tense up and I get this awful feeling in my stomach. Hatred. Shame. Jealousy. The injustice of it all just wells up inside of me and there’s just no way to release it. I don’t know why this has been the one thing I have never been able to let go. I don’t hold grudges. But this is just too much. It affected me too much. It changed my life. It ruined my childhood. She destroyed me. I never understood why she just flat out hated me. I was different, yeah, but what did I do to deserve what she did to me? What she said to me? How she acted towards me? So I was a tomboy. How was that her business? So I wasn’t the daughter of a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. Who cares? So I wasn’t on Barney and BFFs with Selena Gomez. I didn’t want any of that. So I wasn’t beautiful and popular. Why did she have to rub it in my face?

Image credits: GuruLand

#18

Chris Evans (Captain America in the Avengers movies and the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies from about 10 years ago) lived down the street from me and was my babysitter. His mom directs the plays at my town's high school. I haven't seen him since I was little, but when he was in high school he was just a normal dude. Nothing about him screamed "I'm gonna be famous one day." It was just sorta, "I'm good at this acting thing and it just so happens that people who are good at acting get famous." Also, my mom used to be a casting director for Tim Burton and lived next door to George Clooney back in like 1989. We went back to her old house when we were visiting LA and saw him with his entourage. My mom said that the only difference is the people who hang around him, and that other than the fact that he has an entourage now he's exactly the same.

Image credits: SodomySeymour

#19

Went to high school with Michael Phelps. He was working extremely hard to get where he's been, even through HS. He's been very very dedicated to his sport for a long time.

I'm one of like 5 girls in the school who he *didn't* have s*x with. No, I'm not upset about that. He's always been a manwh*re. But hey, he who wears the crown gets the spoils, right?

Edit: wow, top comment... As I've said to other posters, I stop short of saying he was an "a*****e" seeing as how I wasn't close to him. Sure, I got that impression, but also high schoolers can take anything as being an a*****e - being consumed with something other than "normal" HS activities, being able to get out of school all the time, being hailed as king of the school for his sport, knowing that he was going to be the rich and famous one out of our next few years of classes. Jealousy, basically.
So I definitely wasn't willing to go that far. But he was being groomed for the Olympics pretty much from puberty. He's been under crazy stress since then. Kind of like Amanda Bynes and Britney Spears, with way more training, talent and devotion, and without the lunatic tweets. Gotta cut him SOME slack. (Not that I advocate or condone drunk driving!!).

Image credits: 0505121156521117

#20

My dad was pretty good friends with Ben & Jerry (the icecream guys) in college, he even roomed with Jerry... As far as I know, they were hippies then and they're hippies now.

#21

I went to HS with Chris Mintz-Plasse. We weren't great friends, but friendly classmates. He was always pretty funny/goofy, always lighthearted joking. I've seen him once since he was in superbad, and it was pleasant. I only hear good things.

Image credits: ReallyCleverName69

#22

I knew magician Rich Ferguson (the one who sneezes his head off and the gif comes up every now and then) he and i are still very close and even after he went on ellen and on tour he has continued to be one of the nicest men i know

Image credits: _momspaghetti_

#23

I'm close friends with Jemaine Clement (Grammy award Winner, MIB III, Flight of the Conchords etc etc...) and close to his brother Te Maia also. Jemaine has remained a pretty solid normal person, I still talk to him on FB (Cause he's always out of town...) and the celebrity hasn't got to his head one bit... We still talk about our kids and talk s**t..

Image credits: hmistry

#24

My wife grew up with Eric Church and Madison Bumgarner. She says that Madison has not changed one bit but Eric was never the bad boy country type. He drove Camry and wore Polo shirts. Both are nice guys though when we have had conversations.

Image credits: Seriously_fun

#25

I'm friends with Kiriko Takemura AKA Kyaru Pamyu Pamyu

She hasn't changed much. She's happier because she gets to make a living doing what she likes, but show biz in Japan is different from what I hear. Her music videos (and music) are weird as f**k and really fun to watch.

EDIT: Some people seem curious. I studied abroad in Japan in high school and met her then. We kept in touch through mail over the years and i have family in Japan so I visited often. I don't see her that much but we still talk from time to time and I try to visit her when I get the time.

Image credits: anon

#26

My mom taught A.J. Green, an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. He grew up down South. She taught him 8th grade math, twice.

My brother graduated high school a few years before him but has said that he was a nice enough kid. Now he's just a popular icon for young aspiring african Americans wanting to play professional football. He is continually supportive of youth and high school football in our town, though, so I wouldn't say that he's strayed too far from his roots.

#27

I didn't know him really and he was already famous when this happened.

I'm from Shawnee, Oklahoma and my great aunt is good friends with Brad Pitt's grandma. We stop by her house for some reason, I can't remember what for but when we got there I really really had to p**s. So, when we get there I immediately go straight for the bathroom to my surprise I walk in on Brad Pitt dropping a deuce. I was mortified, mostly because I was only 9 and secondly I had no f*****g idea **Brad Pitt** was there. Like, I knew he was her grandson but I spent a lot of time there, saw all the pictures of him she had on her walls.

I was so embarrsed, I just walked to my ain't and was like "Brad Pitt is here..." and she looks at me confused and goes "I told you William came to visit". Yeah, I didn't know that was his real name.

Image credits: anon

#28

Brother went to school with Jennifer Lawrence. He didn't know her too well, but said one time in English class she knocked over a pencil sharpener onto his balls.

Image credits: n359825

#29

My dad used to teach actors as one of his first careers. He taught quite a few people, but the two that really stood out to him were Drake Bell and Josh Peck from the children's show Drake and Josh. He hasn't talked to them in about 20 yrs., but apparently at the time they were both a******s.

Image credits: katiewatt17

#30

I was friends with Katy Perry

Her name is Katy Hudson. Before she did pop music she was a Christian artist. My friends dad was her manager and she went to my church. She was an awesome person who truly had an amazing voice. Our youth group at the time would listen to her songs and we actually had a listening party to help decide what would go on her final album. Her Christian album tanked. Mostly because she was way ahead of her time as far as sound goes. She was writing a lot of her own stuff at the time and she was really talented. Really she was too talented to be pigeon-holed in such a strange genre. When her album kind of flopped she moved back to California and would return on occasion, but she changed a lot and you could see it in her. I think the last time I saw her personally was 2002-2003. Next time I heard from her was when I kissed a girl came out. I remember sitting at work and it came on the radio and instantly recognized the voice (seriously listen to her sing, she has a very unique voice) they said her name after the song was over and I looked her up and made the connection. It was probably one of the strangest moments of my life. To think at one point in time I ate pizza in a closet with her. She's good people and I tell everyone that.

Edit: I'm a Nashvillian.

Image credits: o0stryxs0o

#31

My aunt went to high school with Robert Downey Jr and said he was an a*****e in class to everyone especially the teacher because he knew he would become something whether he finished school or not because his family was wealthy and his dad had actor hookups.

#32

My mother went to high school with John Cougar Mellencamp. He was an a*****e before he became famous, he's still an a*****e now.

#33

I worked with and was friends with Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger.

After the movie hit pay dirt he had a whole lot more friends and I haven't heard from him in 24 years.
Edit: I haven't thought about him in many years. Sorry I went with my SwiftKey predicted spelling. Corrected.

#34

I know Brandon SooHoo, the Asian d**g lord kid from Tropic Thunder. He's a really cool, nice guy. Doesn't like it when people refer to him as famous. Pretty normal kid even after being in such a big movie at his age. He's also a really fun guy to party with.

#35

My aunt grew up in Philadelphia with Will Smith and apparently he'd constantly ask her out only to get sent home by my grandfather. My aunt says he was a big geek. I'm just glad I don't have to see Jayden at thanksgiving.

#36

I live in Louisville, and had a few friends who went to HS with Jennifer Lawrence and even met her back in grade school and saw her out in high school but never though anything of her. My buddy actually hooked up with her in HS and apparently she was weirdly overly dramatic in bed. Like any little thing and she was screaming loudly. She was a very odd girl back in the day and I always remember her being the girl with abnormally long arms.

Image credits: theville23

#37

My uncle dated Layla El when she used to be a Miami Heat dancer. But when she got the whole WWE gig, she became way too busy to be him. She was always nice though. She knew I was a big fan and offered to have dinner with us when she came back down.

#38

My ex-cousin-in-law is Aubrey O'Day. she was on an MTV reality show where Puff Daddy decided to manufacture a girl band. she was one of the winners and was in some all female singing group where they all basically wore short tight skirts and solo'ed together. Danity Kane.

then she got kicked out of the group by Puff Daddy, then she posed for Playboy, then she got a reality tv show filming a comeback that never came to fruition but she jerked off a Pomeranian on the show which was pretty funny.

Aubrey was at my wedding but she was just a little girl. her older sister was a last minute replacement in the wedding party when my ex-wife's maid of honor got into an argument with my ex-wife and decided to ditch the wedding.

a few months after the wedding, my ex-father-in-law got a tape from .. I think it was Ed McMahon's Search for the Stars .. one of those types of shows. Aubrey was on the show.

she was probably like 12 or 13. maybe younger. nobody had seen the performance yet, we only heard about it.

we put on the tape and she's wearing this skin tight black silk evening gown that's cut way deep down the front and almost completely backless and also a humongous slit all the way up the thigh. lawl. "sexiest 12 year old I ever seen, man"..

we were all kind of watching in shock while she's prancing around the stage singing "aaahhh... wanna SUN-day .. kinda looooovvvveeeee..."

during the s**y plinky piano solo in the middle of the song, Aubrey's just prancing and posing and she does this move where she snap and bends straight over, puts her hand on her ankle and slowly streeeetches herself back up to a standing pose while gliding her hand along her thigh in the slit in her dress.

I literally laughed out loud. probably inappropriate but I can be a d*******g sometimes. fortunately, my crude, inappropriate chuckle seemed to break the horrified trance we were all caught in.

ex-father-in-law stands up super grouchy, stomps to the VCR and ejects the tape.

I have another ex-brother-in-law, another black sheep of the family type who butts heads with the ex-father-in-law. we stay in touch. anyway, he bought a copy of the Playboy that she was in. he'll leave it laying around on the coffee table when his mom and stepdad come to visit, so his step dad can see naked pics of his d**g-addled niece. just for a bit of f**k f**k I suppose. kind of mean but kind of hilarious.

#39

Okay this is going to disappear into oblivion and no one will ever see it. Ariana Grande, this girl went to high school and middle school with me. She is was and will forever be a fake as f**k b***h. All my friends know to turn the radio off when her songs come on. I will be the first to admit she has an amazing voice but d**n girl learn to be humble! But hey its hard to be humble when you're the queen of the jungle! I'm not even sure she knows what a real conversation sounds like. Everything she ever did and ever will to is to get attention. Of course by the time freshman year rolled around she was hardly ever at school because she was acting full time in New York. Fun fact her parents payed off our school to basically give her a diploma. She was also told she could not attend our high school graduation after she tried to bring like 50 people from her entourage and cancel the live streaming of the even due to security risks. We went to international high school many of our classmates parents wouldn't see their child graduate without the live streaming. I have a million stories about her and I LOVE sharing them. But to sum up this rant, when I read she hoped all her fans would die... I wasn't even a little surprised. She would absolutely say something like that, and mean every word.

Image credits: rawrshelby

#40

The linebacker from the 49'ers Patrick Willis is one of my best friends step cousin. Patrick grew up in a town from TN called Bruceton. Growing up his father was a*****e and so one of my best friends family adopted him. He was always a great guy who respected everybody. To this day when he gets a chance he comes back to Bruceton for a mini football camp and hang out with his family. We get to play golf in the summers sometimes as well. 10/10 guy, fame never phased him really.

#41

My little sister is friends with Lorde. I've only had a few conversations with her before she got super famous and she was always kinda edgy and full of creativity. Nice to see her music reflects herself too.

#42

Pope Francis (a.k.a Jorge Bergoglio) was my neighbour. As an atheist with a not at all good opinion on the catholic church, I always wished to see him on a limo or covered in gold, just to ctiticise. But I must say that even during the months before his election, the guy took the subway along with me, wore the same old shoes and just looked pretty humble.

#43

I got a friend who's cousins with mark and Donnie walhburg. One story I took from him was that the family reunion episode of their show was staged and neither one went to the real family reunion. So it sounds like they're a*s holes.

#44

My sister is a fairly well known singer. She hasn't really changed all that much since she started gaining some fame. She's a lot more paranoid about people trying to be her friends now and she sometimes gets tired of being recognized when she's out in public, but she's wanted to be famous since she was little and is overall pretty happy with her success. She does try to be friendly when she's recognized and is usually willing to pose in pictures with fans and spend a few moments talking to them. She's still a sarcastic goofball though with her close friends and family, and I don't think she would have been any less so if she hadn't become a celebrity.

#45

I've known pole vaulter Jack Whitt for close to ten years. He's always been a really good dude. Fame hasn't changed him much if at all, although he isn't some A list celebrity.

#46

Lazy Bone from Bone Thugs n Harmony. Kept the same humble attitude.

But Cleveland is just like that. There's a culture here of leaving celebrities alone and letting them be regular people here, especially if they're from here.

#47

When the Trailer Park Boys first started filming, they were actually using people's homes for sets. Whenever they broke stuff, they would fix it themselves. I worked at a hardware store and sold them a lot of stuff. They were basically normal people that dressed like they still thought it was the late 90s.

#48

I went to middle and high school with Chris Pratt. Basically, he was the same kind of character he plays on Parks and Recreation. He was popular, but always nice to everyone, even the non- popular kids, and he was really funny too. I haven't seen him in years, but I assume he's still pretty cool. All in all, fame couldn't have happened to a cooler person.

#49

Kid in my Kindergarten class named Cooper went on to act in a few movies that I have personally never seen.

The one thing I remember about Cooper from kindergarten was one time I was playing with him at his house and his mom walked into the room with no shirt on.

As for how it changed him I couldn't say, I haven't seen him since I was 5.

#50

I went to primary school with a guy who went onto become a relatively famous sportsman. It was a small town, so it's fair to say we knew each other pretty well.

I saw him just before he became well known (he was in development squads but hadn't made the top team) while out one night. He was really nice and down to earth still, had a good catch up, introduced him to the people I was out with, and he was really nice to them. Asked him about his sport, and he filled me in on what was happening, wished him luck, and left shortly after.

The next time I saw him, was not even a year later. He'd made it into a national team, and was even playing some games for our international side. He almost walked straight past me, he definitely saw but kept walking. I called out "Hey, {Hisname}?!" He looked and said, my last name, first initial, "Smith, S" and did the same to my friend I was with, someone from the same town, someone he knew well, and kept walking.

Haven't seen him since, but hope he was just drunk, or that was a temporary stage. Be a shame if that was who he'd become.

#51

I went to high school with Mark Sanchez and he was a d****e back then, too.

#52

Not be but my gran was the babysitter of Simon Cowell and his brother when they were little. She told me he was a little s**t and his brother wasn't much better.

#53

I can't really tell you what she was like, but my dad dated Jodie Foster when they were in the second grade. I believe she is lesbian now... good goin dad.

#54

I grew up down the road from Betsy Brandt from Breaking Bad and she is the nicest person you could ever meet.

#55

My mom is a celebrity to me. I know her to this day

Edit: F**k you guys.