What Celebrities Bought With Their First Big Paychecks

Barbecue was the only thing on Dave Grohl's mind

When the Nirvana drummer hit big success in 1992, he could only think of one thing to spend his newfound riches on. Dave explained that when they got their first big paycheck, he bought a beach house in North Carolina and spent years there eating pulled pork.

He meant it literally. Dave said he practically lived on pulled pork from the age of 22 to 25.

Selena Gomez used it Barney and his friends Paycheck to pay rent

When you start acting as young as Selena, you don't have much control over your money. She said Access Hollywood that she's pretty sure her first paychecks went to paying her family's rent in Los Angeles.

Her mother had left Texas so Selena could perform.

The aspiring athlete managed to spend $1 million within an hour of signing his first professional sports contract.

Tiffany Haddish splurged on candy like a little kid

Tiffany's first salary wasn't that big, only $120, but it was still overwhelming for the funny actress. She went straight to the bank to open a checking account.

After that, she headed to the corner store and bought “a big box of Snickers and lollipops, a Jolly Rancher stick and some Blow Pops. Oh, and Corn Nuts.”

Rosie Huntington bought a car…but doesn't know how to drive

Rosie's first big payday came when she was just 17 years old. She used this money to buy her first car, a Ford KA. The problem was that she didn't know how to drive yet and had never really learned.

Rosie said Elle UK that she thought she would eventually learn, but she was always too busy working.

Shaq spent $1 million in 60 minutes

It only took Shaquille O'Neal a few hours to spend most of his money. He signed his first professional contract in 1992.

Within an hour, he had bought a Mercedes Benz worth $150,000, matched his mother and father's cars, paid off all his family's debts, then did “what all stay-at-home boys do …buy rings and diamonds.”

At least Shaq didn't find himself in even deeper debt like the upcoming comedian.

Courteney Cox bought a car with her startup Friends Fortune

Courteney had already enjoyed relative success in acting before landing the role of Monica in Friends. Who could forget her appearance in Bruce Springsteen's “Dancing In The Dark” music video?

But none of her previous roles seemed that stable, so the first thing she did after the pilot aired was go out and buy a car.

Matt LeBlanc, for his part, bought a hot dinner

Matt had a completely different situation than Courteney. When he auditioned for Friendshe only had $11 to his name. When the actors received their paychecks, his first thought was to go out and buy a hot dinner.

Hopefully no one tried to steal a bite because we bet just like his character, Matt doesn't share food!

Chris Rock went into debt with his first big purchase

The comic grew up and bought a red Corvette after his first big payday. The problem was that the Corvette cost him $45,000 and he only made $99,000 that year. To make matters worse, he didn't realize how much he would end up paying in taxes.

Overall, buying the car put him further in the hole. Yeah.

The Harry Potter actor used his first salary to buy every kid's dream vehicle.

Kelly Rowland Bought All the Foods Too Expensive to Buy Growing Up

Destiny's Child burst onto the music scene in the early '90s and changed their members' lives. Rather than splurge on something outrageous, Kelly went to her grocery store and bought all the items that her mother always said were too expensive for them to buy in advance.

She threw a big party and asked everyone to come and eat the food. Sounds like my kind of Friday night.

A washing machine was all Nicole Kidman wanted

The fact that all Nicole could think of buying when she got her first big paycheck was a washing machine is a good reminder not to take anything for granted.

His second major purchase? A pair of boots that “were the coolest boots I've ever seen in my life.” This looks a lot more fun.

Rupert Grint bought an ice cream truck because, duh, why not?

In one of their first interviews after being cast as Harry, Ron and Hermione, the kids were asked what they would spend their money on. Rupert confidently said he would buy an ice cream truck, and when he was old enough to drive, he actually did.

Rupert even brought it to the set of Harry Potter on the last day of filming.

Keep reading to see which athlete refused to collect their millions.

Rami Malek used his money to fuel his coffee addiction

After his first substantial salary of Mister RobotRami went out and bought the nicest home espresso machine he could afford. At least he's well aware of how his coffee addiction runs his life.

Now that he's playing Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsodyhe could probably even indulge in several Starbucks drinks a day.

Kerry Washington bought her first laptop

Kerry's first big payday came from his role in Save the Last Dance. The film paid the actors in cold, hard cash, which was a little nerve-wracking for her.

She slept with his money under her mattress until filming ended and called it the “Bronx girl in me.” Once she knew she was safe, she went out and bought her first laptop.

Serena Williams refused to touch her money

After earning her first big payday as a professional tennis player, Serena Williams wanted nothing more to do with money. She admitted her guilty pleasure was buying property, so she didn't want to waste it.

Serena actually tried to deposit her seven-figure check via the drive-thru, but apparently depositing millions isn't that simple.

Ariel Winter was one of the few child stars who could access her money

Most child actors don't receive much of their income until they turn 18, but Ariel is a special case. She emancipated herself from her abusive mother at the age of 14, so her income is entirely under her control.

The first thing she bought with her Modern family paycheck? Lots of shoes.

Brad Pitt decided to improve his house

Most aspiring actors don't exactly have the best digs. You can either choose to buy a brand new house with your first paycheck or be like Brad and buy extra chic decor for your studio.

His first substantial salary was spent on a Craftsman chair and a “Frank Lloyd Write-wannabe lamp.”

Jesse Metcalfe tried to invest in baseball cards

Using your first large salary to invest in stable stocks is a pretty smart decision. Use that money to invest in baseball cards? Not as smart, but that's exactly what Jesse did.

He said he thinks their value will increase, but it seems he's still waiting for that to happen.

Johnny Depp bought his mother the horse farm of her dreams

After Johnny received his salary from his role in 21 rue du sauthe bought his mother a horse farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Thinking about his mother, Johnny says he “adored” her.

It seems like it's worth having a famous son when you dream of horse breeding.

Wallpaper was at the top of Cindy Crawford's wish list

If spending your first major salary as a model on wallpaper doesn't scream “I'm from the 80s”, then I don't know what does. That's exactly what Cindy Crawford did after landing her first big editorial photoshoots.

I guess if you want to be one of the most beautiful models on the planet, you should have a house to match.