12 Remarkable Young Actors Who Achieved Success Without Family Ties

      Here are 12 young actors who achieved success without relying on family ties — solely through their hard work and immense talent.

      Margot Robbie

      Warner Bros. – Credit: C/O

      Grown in Australia by a single mother alongside three siblings, Barbie star Margot Robbie held various ordinary jobs before emerging as one of Hollywood’s top young talents without family connections — she worked as a house cleaner, at a surf shop, and at Subway, as she shared in a 2020 interview with MovieMaker.

      As a teen, she secured a guest appearance on the Australian soap opera Neighbors, which led to a regular role due to her impressive performance. During her audition for The Wolf of Wall Street, she managed to grab the attention of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio by unexpectedly slapping DiCaprio. (Taking risks is essential when you lack connections.)

      Recently, the 34-year-old mentioned to Vanity Fair that her rise to fame occurred quicker than anticipated: “In those early stages, something unsettling was happening, and I remember telling my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ She looked at me, completely serious, and said, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That was when I realized there was no going back.”

      Her film Barbie, which she also produced, received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, winning for Best Original Song.

      Jenna Ortega

      Paramount – Credit: C/O

      22-year-old Jenna Ortega, the rising star of Scream and Wednesday, shared with MovieMaker that she entered the industry after persuading her mom, a nurse, to support her dreams starting at the age of six. She was the fourth of six children raised in the Coachella Valley.

      “I wanted to act when I was six, but my mom said no. So, I begged her for a while, and to quiet me, she got me a monologue book from Barnes and Noble,” Ortega recounted. “I performed a monologue about my mom dying of cancer for her, which she recorded and posted on her Facebook as a joke, captioning it something like, ‘Oh, my little drama queen.’

      “A casting director happened to see the video and reached out to my mom, suggesting that I meet with an agent. So, my mom kind of sealed the deal there.”

      She recently appeared in the successful sequel to Beetlejuice and in the film Finestkind.

      Zendaya

      Zendaya in Dune 2. Warner Bros. – Credit: C/O

      Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, a child of two educators, participated in a Black History Month play at her school in Oakland, California. She later joined the California Shakespeare Theater, where her mother worked during the summer as the house manager.

      She began to receive modeling opportunities and Disney roles soon after. She currently stars in Euphoria, Dune, and the Spider-Man franchise, placing her among the most esteemed A-list actors, surpassing many better-connected peers.

      Last year, the 28-year-old starred in the blockbuster Dune: Part 2 and the highly regarded Luca Guadagnino film Challengers.

      Barry Keoghan

      Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan (R) in The Banshees of Inisherin. Searchlight Pictures. – Credit: C/O

      Saltburn star Barry Keoghan, 32, endured a challenging childhood. His mother struggled with heroin addiction, and he transitioned through 13 foster homes from ages 5 to 12. His mother would visit him and his brother until her passing.

      “It was the worst day of my life,” Keoghan recalled during an interview with Ireland Unfiltered. “I was around 12, but I took it in stride, and it made me stronger.”

      He began acting in school plays and landed his first film role in 2011 by responding to a casting call for Between the Canals. His credits include Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin — for which he received an Oscar nomination — as well as a memorable portrayal of The Joker in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

      He recently starred in Apple’s Masters of the Air. In addition to being one of the young stars who made it without family connections, he is also an amateur boxer.

      Daniel Kaluuya

      Daniel Kaluuya in NOPE. Universal – Credit: C/O

      The 35-year-old Oscar winner for Judas and the Black Messiah grew up in London, raised by his Ugandan mother in public housing. At age 9, he received criticism in school for being “difficult,” which motivated him to prove himself, he shared in a New York Times interview in 2018.

      He wrote a play that won a local competition, leading to a performance at the respected Hampstead Theater, where he