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Before becoming an author, talk show host, rapper, and the fiercely outspoken social

media force known as "Muva," Amber Rose had to work and hustle her way to the top.

But she wasn't always there.

Here's what Amber Rose was like before all the fame.

An unusual start

Rose's father was Irish/Italian and her mom was of Cape Verdean descent, which led to

some confusing moments about her race while growing up.

She explained, "With me, I was never black enough, I was never white enough.

[...] It's crazy and I've seen it from both sides actually growing up although I always

felt like black people were more accepting to everyone even though America's history

probably taught them not to be."

It also didn't help that Rose's parents divorced when she was young, which left her family

struggling to make ends meet.

Despite all this, however, Rose still looks back fondly on her childhood.

Rose told Curve Magazine, "I've just always been unique and I had good times when I was

young but I got made fun of a lot because I couldn't really afford nice clothes.

I would wear my cousins' hand me downs.

But all in all I had a good childhood."

But while Rose has an appreciation for the life her mom struggled to provide, she doesn't

have the best memories of her teen years.

A formative moment

These days, Amber Rose is a vocal champion for women.

"When I say no it means no."

And during an emotional speech for her 2015 SlutWalk event, she revealed the traumatizing

event that inspired her perspective.

She explained, "I was in [the closet] with some boy.

We were kissing and he was like 'Hey, you know, you should get down on your knees.'

And I said, 'Why, why would I do that?'

I'm 14 I don't know what the hell get down on your knees means.

He asked me again, and I said 'OK,' and I got down on my knees.

And he opened the door."

According to Rose, she had no idea what the boy was trying to insinuate to the other partygoers

who, quote, "gasped" when they saw her in the compromising position.

But as a result, she was shamed by her peers throughout her school days.

A year later, Rose embarked on a career that caused her to be judged for the rest of her

adult life.

Hitting the dance floor

When Rose turned 15, she started secretly stripping under the name "Paris" to help support

her family.

Stripping provided Rose a chance to survive on her own, but she feels she's been unfairly

shamed for that decision.

She told Curve, "Because I was a stripper at 15 years old, I think a lot of people look

at that and they think I was a prostitute and I was a whore and I did dirty things for

money.

When really, I was very young and I did what I had to, to survive at that time."

The upshot was that it gave her the body confidence to try out a new look that would become her

celebrity calling card later in life.

About that headshave

While growing up, Rose fell in love with the Sinead O'Connor video for "Nothing Compares

To You" and often dreamed about shaving her head like the famous singer.

At 19, Rose finally pulled the trigger, and it's been her signature look ever since.

But it wasn't an easy transition.

She revealed, "When the time finally came and I was ready to do it, I asked all my friends

and they were like, you're going to look so stupid, Amber, don't you dare do that.

[...] So I did it.

I went to the barbershop…

I cut it off and I went home and I cried my eyes out for like a week.

My hair's naturally really dark, so I thought maybe if I dye it blonde it'll soften it up."

Eventually Rose found her strength.

She told the New York Post, "I realized it looked dope.

Sinead O'Connor was a bald-headed bad-ass, and I loved her."

Relationship fluidity

While Rose's claim to fame is dating Kanye West, she's since revealed that until she

met the rapper, she had been dating women for almost a decade.

She said, "I had two three-year relationships with women.

So, I was with women for six years before I met Kanye […] When I had my first girlfriend

— me and my mom are best friends — I just told her and my mom was like, 'Whatever makes

you happy girl.'"

Thanks to her mom helping Rose have the confidence to be comfortable with who she was, it wasn't

long before the curvaceous dancer started turning industry heads.

Breaking out

Before meeting Kanye, Rose had already caught her first big break when Def Jam asked her

to appear in music videos, which sounded way too good to be true after years on the pole.

And as Rose began to appear in more and more rap videos, she had no idea that she'd soon

catch the eye of one of the biggest rappers on the planet …

In 2008, Kanye reportedly became, quote, "obsessed" with Rose after spotting her in a Ludacris

video.

She remembered, "I was home in The Bronx, and he called me on my cell phone.

I'd never met him before.

He was like, 'Hey, it's Kanye.'"

Thinking it was a prank call, Rose hung up on him.

Yeezy called Rose back and somehow managed to convince her that it was really him.

Eventually, he flew her out to LA to star in a video for "Robocop" that never saw the

light of day.

But the two were getting close, and West took things to the next level by inviting Rose

to high profile events and sweeping her off her feet.

The two would end up dating for two years before their relationship soured, but Rose

has since managed to establish her own identity as an entrepreneur and voice of female empowerment.

"I got a sneaker deal coming out.

I wasn't supposed to have a sneaker deal.

I was a stripper."

With a book, talk show career, and a non-profit organization under her belt, she's doing a

pretty good job of escaping the title of "Kanye West's ex-girlfriend," that's for sure.

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