While celebrities, politicians, athletes, and tech leaders often dominate the spotlight, many everyday workers go unnoticed. Janitors, who perform critical tasks to keep spaces clean and functional, are often seen as holding entry-level or unremarkable jobs.

Yet, the individuals who work in these roles frequently have fascinating stories of their own. You might be surprised to discover that some janitors have gone on to become influential figures, proving that determination and grit can lead to greatness.

Here are three former janitors who rose to fame and made a lasting difference:

Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey, best known for his comedic roles in Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar, and The Truman Show, didn’t always live a life of fame and fortune. As a teenager in Canada, Carrey’s family struggled financially and spent time living in a van and camping in parks. When his father got a job at a factory, Jim and his brothers took on janitorial roles at the same factory to help support the family. By the age of fifteen, Carrey had left school and worked full-time as a night-shift custodian. This difficult time, filled with frustration, played a key role in shaping the person he would later become.

Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington, the first African American to dine at the White House with the president, was born into slavery in 1856. Following the Civil War, his family was freed, and they moved to West Virginia. By the age of nine, Booker worked long shifts in the salt mines with his father, waking up early to labor before attending school and returning to work in the afternoon. In his teenage years, Washington attended the Hampton Institute, where he worked as a janitor to afford his education. His days began in the early morning and stretched late into the night after his classes. Washington’s perseverance and dedication eventually led him to found the Tuskegee Institute, where he educated thousands of African Americans in the post-war period.

James Croll
James Croll, born in Scotland in 1821, became a respected scientist later in life. Described as “the self-educated son of a crofter-stonemason,” Croll’s early life was marked by various jobs, health challenges, and financial difficulties. Despite not having a formal education, he maintained a deep love for learning. He worked as a janitor at Anderson University Library, where he spent seven years reading scientific books in his spare time. This combination of janitorial work and self-directed study became the stepping stone to his career in science, where he made major contributions to our understanding of orbital dynamics and climate change during the ice ages.

So the next time you see a janitor working hard to keep your space clean, remember they are much more than just a janitor. Their stories, like those above, are often filled with determination, hidden potential, and the drive to achieve greatness.