12 Celebrities Who Worked As Babysitters Or Nannies Before Fame
Before red carpets and acceptance speeches, some future stars were wiping noses, negotiating bedtime, and reheating mac and cheese like it was fine dining.
Babysitting gigs quietly funded auditions, dreams, and the occasional “I swear I’m responsible” moment. Turns out Hollywood’s elite once answered to toddlers with very strong opinions.
Bet you won’t guess which superstar used to get paid in cash and bedtime stories.
Important: Information in this article is based on publicly available interviews and reputable entertainment reporting about early jobs held before fame. Details can vary by retelling, timing, and source, so minor differences in dates, titles, or circumstances may exist.
12. Jennifer Garner
Your phone buzzes with a babysitting request from a guy who works on your sitcom set.
That’s exactly what happened when Jennifer Garner met Stephen Colbert on the set of Spin City in 1996. She looked after his daughter Madeleine while building her acting resume one audition at a time.
Colbert later joked that she survived Hollywood by babysitting for him. Garner turned diaper duty into discipline, proving every A-lister needs a side hustle before the big break.
11. Bethenny Frankel
Ice skating alongside two blonde kids who would later become tabloid royalty sounds unreal, yet that scene played out when Bethenny Frankel worked for Kathy Hilton and helped with childcare for Paris and Nicky, including taking them to school in the early 1990s.
Daily responsibilities included running errands, managing schedules, and keeping a busy household humming along.
Connection to the job came through Kathy’s sister, Kyle Richards, long before reality television turned Frankel into a recognizable name. Few career paths feature celebrity childcare as a footnote, making that chapter feel like an unexpected crossover episode written years before fame arrived.
10. D’Arcy Carden
Imagine nannying for two little girls, then years later acting opposite their dad on a hit show.
D’Arcy Carden cared for Bill Hader’s two oldest daughters, Hannah and Harper, while she was still grinding through auditions and improv classes. She built genuine bonds with the kids that lasted well beyond her childcare days.
When they reunited on screen, the connection felt like a full-circle moment. Sometimes your babysitting gig writes the perfect career plot twist.
9. Chloë Sevigny
Your teenage babysitter might end up cooler than you ever imagined. Reality hit early for Topher Grace when Chloë Sevigny watched him as a kid.
Downtown New York edge followed her into suburban childcare, leaving a lasting impression on the future That ’70s Show star.
Years later, Grace admitted to having a massive crush during those babysitting days. Proof lands quietly that nannies sometimes double as style icons in the making.
8. Greta Gerwig
Between auditions and indie film sets, Greta Gerwig kept the rent paid by working as a nanny.
She also tutored kids on the side, balancing childcare with her early acting career in New York. Those quiet afternoons with homework and snack time funded her creative ambitions, one hour at a time.
Now she’s directing Oscar-nominated films. Every great director needs a day job origin story, and hers involved juice boxes and multiplication tables.
7. Nikki Glaser
Stand-up comedy rarely pays the bills at the beginning. Early career hustle for Nikki Glaser included babysitting for Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann in 2007 to stay afloat.
Days involved watching their daughters while nights went to open mics and small clubs scattered across Los Angeles. Safety net came from Apatow’s household as punchlines slowly sharpened through trial and error.
Few comedians get early rehearsal stories that involve Hollywood royalty’s kids.
6. Zac Posen
Before dressing celebrities on red carpets, Zac Posen babysat for Lena Dunham when they were both kids in New York City.
He looked after her while honing his eye for design and dreaming of fashion week runways. Their families stayed connected through the years, watching each other’s careers skyrocket.
Posen went from managing bedtime routines to managing couture collections. That’s one stylish career glow-up, no question.
5. Katie Lowes
Katie Lowes helped Connie Britton with childcare for her baby before Scandal made her a household name.
She juggled nanny duties with auditions, using every free moment to chase her acting dreams across Los Angeles. Britton’s support and flexibility gave Lowes the breathing room she needed to land her breakthrough role.
Sometimes the best career boost comes from a boss who believes in your bigger plan.
4. Michael Bolton
Long before crooning ballads, Michael Bolton babysat as a teenager to earn extra cash.
One of his charges was a young Paula Abdul, who would later become a pop icon and choreographer in her own right.
Bolton watched her while figuring out his own musical path, trading babysitting money for studio time and guitar strings. It’s wild to think two future superstars crossed paths over snack time and cartoons.
3. Gina Rodriguez
Before stardom arrived, Gina Rodriguez worked as a nanny for a set of twins.
Days involved juggling double diapers, double tantrums, and double bedtime stories while auditions filled the gaps around town. Lessons in patience and multitasking came from those twins in ways no acting class could replicate.
Childcare chaos eventually turned into career fuel once Jane the Virgin launched her into the spotlight, proving every job shapes what comes next.
2. Kiefer Sutherland
Early career hustle included a babysitting gig for Kiefer Sutherland, who once watched a young Gwyneth Paltrow.
Snacks and supervision filled the hours while his own acting ambitions slowly took shape, years before 24 turned him into a household name. Future success eventually saw Paltrow grow into an Oscar-winning actress and lifestyle mogul.
Hollywood later brought their paths back together, far removed from that first meeting built around childcare duties.
Celebrity babysitting lore gained another entry that feels almost too perfect to be real.
1. Tia And Tamera Mowry
Before Sister, Sister turned them into household names, Tia and Tamera Mowry said they babysat Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen while visiting the Full House set through their brother’s role.
The twins described watching the Olsen twins on set and later landing a guest spot themselves, which helped nudge their own early path forward.
That shared behind-the-scenes moment quietly highlights how small, early connections in television can ripple outward and shape careers long before fame ever knocks.
