Some stars use their fame in ways that never make it to the red carpet. Here are 15 celebrities who gave back in surprising ways.
TV Shows & Movies
15 Feel-Good Movies to Watch When the Days Get Shorter
15. Shakira
Shakira's foundation Pies Descalzos has built schools across Colombia since 1997, starting in her hometown of Barranquilla. The program now reaches tens of thousands of children with education, nutrition, and family support. She's said the work traces back to seeing poverty up close as a kid. More than two decades later, the schools are still running. | © Shakira / YouTube
14. George Clooney
Satellites don't usually get credited with saving lives, but George Clooney's Satellite Sentinel Project tried to make that the point. Launched in 2010 with activist John Prendergast, it used commercial satellite imagery to track potential atrocities in Sudan and South Sudan. The idea was simple: document mass violence in near real time so nobody could claim ignorance later. The project ran for five years before shutting down in 2015. | © Paramount Pictures
13. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg in 2007. She reportedly put around $40 million of her own money into it. The school targets girls from disadvantaged backgrounds across South Africa, giving them a shot at university they wouldn't otherwise get. Winfrey has called it the most important thing she's ever done. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
12. Jaden Smith
Flint, Michigan was still dealing with lead-contaminated water in 2016 when Jaden Smith stepped in. He partnered with a water filtration company to install systems in the city, aiming to provide clean water directly to residents. The effort tied into his broader project, 501CTHREE, which he'd started to tackle water access issues. He was 18 years old at the time. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
11. Chance the Rapper
Three million dollars is what Chance the Rapper handed Chicago Public Schools in 2017, announced onstage at a press conference with then-governor Bruce Rauner in the room. The money went toward arts programs the district had been cutting for years. Chance had just come off releasing Coloring Book without a label, proving independence could still pay out loud. He's kept funding CPS initiatives in the years since. | © Apple Music / YouTube
10. Rihanna
The Clara Lionel Foundation carries Rihanna's grandparents' names, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. It has pushed money into education programs and disaster preparedness efforts across the Caribbean and beyond. After Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in 2019, the foundation sent direct aid rather than routing it through larger agencies. Rihanna has said she wants the fund to act fast, not wait on paperwork. | © NFL / YouTube
9. John Cena
Ask the Make-A-Wish Foundation who's granted the most wishes and the answer is John Cena, with over 650 as of recent counts. That's more than any other single person in the organization's history. Cena has said he keeps showing up because the kids remember meeting him long after he's forgotten the day. No camera crew follows him for most of these visits. | © Warner Bros. Discovery
8. Taylor Swift
Stories surfaced throughout the 2010s of Taylor Swift quietly covering fans' medical bills, student loans, and rent. One widely reported case involved her paying off a fan's $90,000 student debt around the Reputation era. None of it came with a press release or a photo op. The fans usually found out through a handwritten note tucked inside a gift. | © The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTube
7. LeBron James
Akron, Ohio is where LeBron James grew up, and it's also where he opened the I Promise School in 2018. The public school targets kids identified as at risk of falling behind, not just talented students. Families get support too, including job assistance and, for a stretch, free tuition at the University of Akron. James has called it personal, not charity. | © Complex / YouTube
6. Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise lost the use of his character's legs in Forrest Gump, and that role apparently stuck with him more than most actors let on. Through the Gary Sinise Foundation, he's helped build specially adapted smart homes for severely wounded veterans. These homes include wider doorways, lowered counters, and voice-controlled systems built for wheelchair use. Sinise has delivered keys to these houses in person, more than once. | ©
5. Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen sold his house in 2017 to help fund a campaign against predatory lenders in Wales. He bought up roughly a million pounds worth of debt and wiped it out for strangers. The move came after he spent two years researching high interest loan companies operating near his hometown of Port Talbot. He's since said he has no plans to buy another home. | © Summit Entertainment
4. Jon Bon Jovi
Restaurants that let customers pay whatever they can afford are rare, which is exactly what Jon Bon Jovi built. His JBJ Soul Kitchen opened in Red Bank, New Jersey in 2011 with no set prices on the menu. Diners who can't pay are asked to volunteer instead, washing dishes or bussing tables. There are now multiple locations still serving meals this way. | © Wikipedia
3. Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi spent a decade as a New York City firefighter before acting took over his life. When the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, he returned to his old firehouse, Engine 55, and worked twelve hour shifts searching the rubble. He didn't tell reporters and avoided press about it for years. Former colleagues eventually confirmed the story themselves. | © NBC
2. Keanu Reeves
Quiet is the word people keep using about Keanu Reeves, and his giving matches it. He's donated large portions of his earnings from films like The Matrix to cancer research, reportedly giving millions to hospitals treating leukemia patients. He rarely attaches his name to these donations or discusses them publicly. Most of what's known has come from hospital staff speaking years after the fact. | © Paramount Pictures
1. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has mailed free books to children since 1995, starting in her home county in Tennessee. The program now sends over two million books a month to kids across several countries. In 2020 she also donated one million dollars to Vanderbilt University, which went toward early funding for Moderna's COVID vaccine research. She's said she just wanted to help "get a little bit of the cure." | © Dolly Parton / Instagram
Some stars use their fame in ways that never make it to the red carpet. Here are 15 celebrities who gave back in surprising ways.
