Kelly Clarkson with one her talk show guests. | Source: Getty Images
Kelly Clarkson is a three-time Grammy award winner and a successful talk show host, but before she rose to fame, life was not particularly easy for her. She was homeless and slept in her car but never gave up. Now she uses her platform to help single mothers struggling to make ends meet.
Kelly Clarkson, a Texas-born singer and talk show host, broke into fame when she won in the first season of "American Idol" in 2002. After starting as a pop singer and releasing many hits, she eventually cemented herself as a pop-rock artist.
Since her debut song, "Since U Been Gone", Clarkson has won awards as a singer and talk show host. She divorced her husband, Brandon Blackstock, and is a single mother of two children, River and Remington Blackstock.
Kelly Clarkson with her children Remington and River Blackstock in Hollywood in 2022 | Source: Getty Images
Clarkson's road to success was long and filled with ups and downs. At 18, she was determined to do anything just to be paid for singing, and her rigor got her through the most challenging situations.
Kelly Clarkson's Life Before Fame
Before Clarkson sold over 25 million copies of her albums and became a three-time Grammy Award winner, life was bleak. But one thing she always did was sing; whether it was in the shower, choir competitions, or a local college opera production, she would find a way to hit a note.
Kelly Clarkson on "American Idol" in 2002 | Source: Getty images
As a teenager growing up in Texas, she worked any job that would pay her to use her voice. She said she worked at Six Flags as a singer and dancer, adding, "Any option that was available to make money singing, I was like, 'OK.'"
Clarkson was awarded a few college scholarships but decided not to study and moved to Los Angeles. College did not seem like the place to build a singing career, so she planned to go to L.A. and try to make it as a backup singer working her way up.
She was only 18 at the time, and even though moving to L. A. alone was a big step; her fallback plan was to move back home and attend college. In the meantime, she started to put a demo together and apply for backup gigs, but she also worked several jobs.
Kelly Clarkson in California in 2002 | Source: Getty Images
The singer revealed that she was a cocktail waitress at a comedy club. She also worked at Papa John's and Subway; Clarkson did everything that would pay the bills and help her put gas in her car.
However, Clarkson's apartment, which she shared with a roommate, burned down, and she lost everything, forcing her to live in her car. She continued to work until she made enough money to drive back home. This was in 2002, and "American Idol" was hosting auditions.
Kelly Clarkson photographed for "American Idol" in 2002 | Source: Getty Images
Clarkson was unsure if the show would succeed, but she was willing to try and get whatever money from it. At the time, she had lost everything due to her burned apartment, so she made her own top, paired it with an old pair of jeans, and went to audition.
The singer joked that had her singing career failed, she would have tried out fashion designing, but she nailed her audition and made it to the final stages, where she was sent to Hollywood.
Luckily for Clarkson, "American Idol" became a huge success, and she became the first winner of the competition, giving her the recognition she had worked so hard for.
Kelly Clarkson on season 17 of "The Voice" in 2019 | Source: Getty Images
Clarkson appreciates her humble beginnings because her willingness to do anything to make ends meet made her who she was, and she will always be proud of how much she hustled for the good life she has today.
Clarkson also grew up knowing what it was like to work for every penny. When she was six years old, her parents divorced, and she was separated from her sibling.
Kelly Clarkson in Las Vegas in 2019. | Source: Getty Images
The talk show host watched her mother live paycheck to paycheck, which was not easy to witness. Clarkson even confessed that she hated the saying "money doesn't buy everything" because, at the time, her family was poor, and any amount of money would have made a difference.
Kelly Clarkson Helped Single Mothers during the Pandemic
Thanks to her past, Clarkson, who became a single mother after the end of her eight-year marriage, understands what it feels like to worry about necessities like food and shelter.
Thus, when many people were worried about losing their jobs and homes during the pandemic's peak, Clarkson made it a point to offer help to single mothers whose lives were impacted.
Kelly Clarkson in California in 2019 | Source: Getty Images
One woman the singer reached out to was Rachel Handy, a mother of five who had just survived an abusive relationship and found love again with a new boyfriend.
When Handy lost her job, her partner was left to tend to all the bills, which led to the possibility of them losing the house they purchased. Handy expressed how rewarding it was to buy a home for her family, but she worried if she and her partner could sustain the mortgage payments.
Regardless of Handy's difficulties, she still managed to help others. She and her kids made food for the homeless and distributed blankets.
Clarkson was amazed at Handy's courage and generosity, and when she heard her children praise her for being a good mother, she started to tear up.
Handy also confessed how heartwarming it was for her to hear her children assure her because she constantly worried if she was a good enough mother.
But Clarkson assured her, "So, you know, you're nailing it. It doesn't matter what house you live in or what apartment you live in or where you live, every mama, I've heard my mama say the same thing, we are all trying."
The talk show host surprised Handy by paying her mortgage for the whole of 2020 because not only had she left an abusive relationship, but she was about to lose one of her proudest achievements, and the singer did not want that to happen.
Another woman that Clarkson helped was Ariel, a single mother of two who worked as a manager and bartender. She feared that she would soon be out of work and worried about how she would provide for her kids with mortgage to pay. Clarkson surprised her by paying for her mortgage.
Clarkson's talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show," also paid tribute to a mom, Sasha, who founded Project Intentional, which helps mothers, grandparents, and caretakers struggling to make a living. Through the show's sponsor, Netspend, Clarkson assured Sasha that she would get the support she needed to continue the good work she is doing.
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