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By Chaleampon Oates Ritthichai

Who knew? Before they hit it big, the rich and famous paid their dues by working menial jobs just as most of us did back in high school.

CNN Journalist Anderson Cooper said his first real job as an adult was waiting tables in a restaurant in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

"People are so annoying. They want special things, special sauces," Cooper said. "I used to hate those people."

In the years since the silver fox turned in his apron, the self-proclaimed "worst waiter ever" said he has gained a new-found respect for the occupation. "I would never return food or complain in a restaurant," he said.

Like millions of teenage girls before her, former "Scary Spice" Mel B once landed a position in a fast food chain that would scar her for years to come. "I used to get everyone's orders wrong," she said of her stint as a Pizza Hut waitress. "And I got fired."

British heartthrob singer Jay Sean suffered a similar fate.

"I worked in a supermarket stacking cold meat," he said. "I should've worked harder. When I got my review, I didn"t get the job back."

Sean, whose credits include an album titled "Me Against Myself," is not the only one looking back with regrets about his first employment.

"The Office" star Angela Kinsley could hardly believe that her neighbors hired her as a babysitter.

"I'm a little terrified -- now that I am a mom -- that I was actually in charge of young children at the age of 12," she said.

To some, pre-teens might be too young to work, but not actress Alyssa Milano, who was starring in a national tour for the musical "Annie" when she was just 7 years old.

"I don't think I knew at the time that I was working," she said. "But I remember it being a lot of fun, being on stage, singing and dancing."

Actor Dean Cain also remembers his first job, testing educational software, with fondness. "It was like playing a video game," he said. "That [job] lasted for about six weeks."

Cain soon found another job, far less entertaining, scooping at McClusky Ice Cream in Malibu.

Years before Apolo Anton Ohno began bagging Olympic medals, the speed skating star was bagging discount clothes in a thrift store.

"People will bring in big garbage bags and you can throw in as many clothes as you want," he said, adding that the job paid very little. "It was almost volunteer."

While important, money was not the main goal for "Gossip Girl"'s Jessica Szhor when she decided to form a cleaning company with her friends in high school.

"We didn"t want to be like, ‘Oh my God! I've got to go to work,' " she said. "We wanted to have our own hours so that we could have fun in the summer."

What did all these big names learn from their earlier working experience?

"Twilight" actor Xavier Samuel, who used to work in a Kmart photo processing lab, summed up a sentiment shared by fellow celebs.

"The world doesn't owe me a living," he said. "You've got to go out there and work very hard."