8 Celebrities Reveal How They Spent Their First Paycheck

Getting your first job is an exciting time and can be a really big change. Suddenly having a paycheck, what do you spend it on? That is the question many celebrities have had to answer too when they got their first job. From cars to meals to gifts for the parents that raised them — many of our favorite celebrities have surprising and interesting first purchases.

We at Bright Side have compiled this list of what celebrities bought with their first paycheck to be an inspiration to first-time jobbers.

1. Rupert Grint

Harry Potter star Rupert Grint’s first big purchase was a strange one — an ice cream truck. He said that this was because his childhood dream was to be an ice cream man. He was the first of the series’ actors who learned to drive, and he used his Harry Potter paycheck to buy an old Bedford van.

Now he keeps the van well-stocked, buying wholesale ice lollies and using the Mr. Whippy machine when he drives around local villages. He even gives out the ice cream for free (as he would need a license to sell it).

2. Nicole Kidman

Superstar Nicole Kidman’s first purchase may seem trivial, but it was a big deal back then. She used her first paycheck to buy a washing machine for her mom and dad. The first thing she bought for herself, however, was a pair of boots. She says they were the coolest boots she had ever seen.

3. Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland shot to instant fame at age 17 as part of Destiny’s Child. And she used one of her first paychecks to buy groceries — specifically, everything her mom had always said was too expensive when she was a child. She used the food to have a big party at her house, and everyone ate up everything. She said she would never forget it because it was fun and felt good to be able to fund something like that herself.

4. Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp used his first paycheck as a breakout Hollywood star to buy a house for his mom. In fact, he bought her a 42-acre horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Depp remembers his mom coming home from double shifts as a server, and he would rub her feet as she counted her tips. After the house, his first purchase for himself was a 1940 Harley-Davidson, which he still owns to this day.

5. Rami Malek

Rami Malek is now a Hollywood star, but in the beginning, he struggled to make ends meet. He was living in New York when his finances ran out and he returned to Los Angeles. In fact, he was going to move to work in real estate when he got his first job on Gilmore Girls. He used his first paycheck to buy his own personal espresso machine.

6. Jennifer Lopez

The one thing you need to get around in L.A. is a car. And that’s exactly what J. Lo bought with her first regular paycheck. She was driving around to every audition in an old Honda, but with her first regular series paycheck, she bought a Mercedes. She remembers crying in the dealership when she was signing the lease, so it was clearly a big moment.

7. Cindy Crawford

Supermodel Cindy Crawford clearly likes her home looking good. After making it into the fashion world, she focused on exactly this. In fact, her first paycheck was spent on wallpaper for her home, which she admits says a lot about her.

8. Matt LeBlanc

Friends star Matt LeBlanc was truly a struggling actor before he got the job, like his character Joey was on the show. In fact, LeBlanc revealed that he only had $11 in his bank account before he got the role. The first thing he purchased with his Friends paycheck was a hot dinner, something he had missed out on when he didn’t have the money.

What did you buy with your first paycheck? Which of these celebrity purchases was the most surprising to you? What would your advice be to first-time workers who have some money to spend?