While some celebrities nowadays are simply born into stardom - living off their parents' achievements and family names - there are a number of famous faces who worked incredibly hard to achieve their levels of stardom today.
And while it may feel like you'd never see the likes of George Clooney or Brad Pitt working a boring and mundane office job, pulling pints behind a bar, or stacking shelves at your local Tesco, the reality is that some of the biggest shining stars once had a steady day job.
Here at Chronicle Live, we've decided to run through an abundance of the North East-born celebrities, looking at their occupations prior to superstardom...and some of them will no doubt surprise you as much as they did us.
Read more: 10 stars you might not know are from the North East
Without further ado, here are the pre-fame occupations that celebs from Newcastle and its surrounding areas had before being cast into the limelight.
Sting -
Known as the Tyneside milkman’s son who became one of the world's most successful music stars, Gordon Sumner aka Sting had humble roots before he found worldwide success with The Police.
Before releasing rock and roll anthems like 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Message in a Bottle', Sumner earned his money by working as a qualified teacher - after graduating from Northumbria University (the Northern Counties College of Education at the time).
He initially had a two year tenure at St Paul's First School in Cramlington, teaching English - while performing while on mid-term breaks, evenings and weekends.
Cheryl -
While you may recognise Cheryl from her highly famous pop group Girls Aloud, or maybe her stint as a judge on the X-Factor - many Northerners may remember her as a Geordie cocktail waitress.
That's because Cheryl Ann Tweedy worked late night shifts serving drinks before auditioning for Popstars in 2002 - with fame changing her life forever soon after.
Sam Fender -
Hypersonic Missiles singer Sam Fender is very open with his troubled beginnings through the medium of his music, and never shies away from what hard life was like growing up.
While he often sings about poverty and making ends meet, as well as kicking about the local North Shields council estates as a youngster, his meteoric rise to fame in recent years will have given him a completely new life. But what did Fender do before finding success with his tunes?
He worked as a barman at his beloved local pub - the Low Lights Tavern of course. Never forgetting his roots, Sam is still a regular visitor of the boozer and has even donated awards to the establishment, which are shown with pride to all punters.
Charlotte Crosby -
Although they're massive stars within their own right now, it's easy to forget that every single Geordie Shore cast member entered that faithful house as a regular person from one corner of the North East or other.
Charlotte Crosby worked in Sunderland bar Ttonic before finding success with Geordie Shore, while Gary Beadle and Vicky Pattison both worked at Sky's Newcastle call centre before finding their footing in the house in 2011.
Scotty Timlin and Kyle Christie each worked as club promoters, while Aaron Chalmers reportedly worked on an oil rig.
Bryan Ferry -
Before a massive lift off with Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry actually worked as a paper delivery boy - delivering the Journal and the Chronicle around the North East wind, rain or shine.
Recouping with Chronicle Live in 2016, Bryan said: "I have vivid memories of delivering the Journal in the morning and the Chronicle in the evening...staggering around with a huge bag of newspapers, especially on a Saturday night selling the football papers in the working mens’ clubs.
"Yes, those were the days!"
Neil Tennant -
If you've ever listened to the Pet Shop Boys, then you would certainly be forgiven for not realising that Neil Tennant was born in North Shields - with his vocals far from a giveaway of his native dialect.
Before releasing bangers like 'You Were Always on my Mind' and 'Go West' though, Tennant actually worked as a journalist. He initially had a stint with Marvel Comics, before moving on with Smash Hits! where he became the deputy editor.
Quite the career.
Jimmy Nail -
Salt of the Earth Jimmy Nail is probably one of the first celebrities that pops into your head when you think of the North East, thanks to the Benton-born star's performances in Auf Wierdesehen, Pet. But before finding fame with the silver screen, Jimmy had a far more commonplace job.
Born as James Michael Aloysius Bradford, he worked briefly in a glass factory and it was there he is said to have received the name 'Nail'. While opening a crate of glass he reportedly stood on a six-inch spike, piercing his foot and and giving him the nickname 'Nail'.
He chose to then adopt that professionally.
Robson Green -
Grantchester star and extreme fishing star Robson Green - who was born in Hexham - had a far less glamorous job before he found fame as an actor and singer.
He used to work at Swan Hunter’s shipyard in Wallsend as a draughtsman.
Brian Johnson -
While he's best known for his iconic screeching vocals with AC/DC, flying around the world and playing sell-out shows - Dunston born Bryan Johnson's previous job was a polar opposite of his recent occupation.
While he was also associated with flying around the world in planes, his vocal job doesn't require him jumping out of them mid-flight as his old trade in the Territorial Army did.
Brian’s father is also said to have been a part of the Durham Light Infantry, fighting battles in North Africa and Italy.
Bob Mortimer -
While Boro born Bob Mortimer is now well known for his comedy, his previous job was far more serious.
That's because Bob initially studied law and worked as a solicitor before meeting fellow funny man Vic Reeves. Soon after coming together, the pair started writing material and bouncing off each other, and the rest is history.
Tim Healy and Denise Welch -
Born in Benwell, Tim is best-known as his Auf Wiedersehen, Pet character Dennis Patterson but he started out life as an apprentice welder at a company in Birtley. He once said he "hated every minute of it" and decided to give it all up.
He also put in a stint as a court jester at Langley Castle before moving into acting. Since then, he has starred in numerous theatre and TV shows, including ITV comedy-drama series Benidorm.
Denise Welch on the other hand worked as a dancing teacher. The more you know!
Alexander Armstrong -
Without a thick Geordie accent, you would be forgiven to not realise that Alexander Armstrong was actually born in Rothbury, Northumberland.
After graduating from the prestigious University of Cambridge in 1992, he moved to the capital with endeavours to become an actor and a comedian - working in several bars and restaurants while doing so.
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