A Salvation Army bed before Hollywood

In her early twenties, the actress Selma Blair was living in New York and trying to build a career while studying acting. A Hello magazine feature on celebrities who experienced homelessness quotes her describing how she ended up without a place of her own. She said she was basically homeless, living in a Salvation Army residence in New York City.

By her account, it came down to a single purchase. She spent money she had saved for rent on a designer piece, a red velvet Versace minidress, and then had nowhere to stay. She has joked since that she should have saved up for rent at the Salvation Army instead. The article does not say how long she stayed there or exactly how she moved on.

She kept going to auditions during this time. Blair went on to play parts in films such as Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde, and she became an established film and television actress.