STARS RISE UP TO HIT THE BIG TIME

1. Abraham Lincoln:

- by JAMES MOORE

The future US President, famous for freeing the slaves, was born into poverty in a one room log cabin in Kentucky in 1809 to illiterate parents. He received little formal education but he went on to train as a lawyer.2. Charles Dickens: The writer became known for charting Victorian poverty in books like Oliver Twist. He was writing about what he knew - as Dickens himself had to leave school aged 12 to work in a boot blacking factory.

3. Charlie Chaplin: Growing up in London in the 1890s the future comedian ended up being brought up by a struggling single mum. She would later be committed to an asylum, while he ended up in a workhouse, aged seven. Chaplin's early struggles inspired his movie character The Tramp.

4. Thomas Wolsey: The son of an Ipswich butcher, Wolsey defied the social norms of his era to gain wealth and power. His uncle helped him get an education. Wolsey became Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII.

5. Sir Michael Caine: Star of movies like Zulu and the Italian Job, the actor was the son of a cleaner and a porter. He grew up in South London in a house with no indoor toilet.