Celebrities Who Began Their Career As Nurses

Every celebrity has gotten their start somewhere. And, believe it or not, a lot of celebrities were nurses before they went on the silver screen. While some started to go to school for nursing and left for a career in film and television, others actually have gotten their feet wet in the field before setting out to follow their dreams.

You'll never guess which celebrities were stars on the nursing floor before they became stars in Hollywood!

Bonnie Hunt was an oncology nurse before we saw her in Jumanji and Green Mile

Bonnie Hunt is one celebrity who we believe seems like a genuine and caring person off-screen. In 1995 she was in Jumanji with Robin Williams, and in 1999, we all remember her as Tom Hanks' wife in The Green Mile. But before she landed a small role in Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman's movie, Rainman, Hunt was a full-time oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And, she was actually "reigning supreme" in her career. However, her quick wit and friendly demeanor inspired her patients to urge her to go to Hollywood and act out her dreams. Hunt said in an interview, "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 went on to Hollywood and became the beloved Bonnie Hunt that we all know and love today. 

Want to know which other celebrities got their start in nursing? Read on to find out.

Photo source: Bonnie Hunt in Jerry Maguire (1996)/IMDb