Update on Emily Zamourka, The Subway Soprano (and Officer Frazier) - and Other Once-Homeless Celebrities :)

If you haven't seen/heard Emily sing in the subway yet, see the original video Officer Frazier took 2 posts below or HERE.

Officer Frazier at first declined to be publicly named or have his face on camera, both because he's a LAPD cop and because he says it wasn't about him, it was about her.  

However, after Emily has landed a record deal with Joel Diamond and over $100,000 in donations, Emily insisted she get to thank and hug him personally on video.

And here is that reunion moment  (to see the full video/hear what she's saying Officer Frazier, you can view the video via Twitter at the LAPD website :)

 



Here's a bit more about her backstory - including a video from 2 years ago, plus friends and fans - confirming that she was, in fact, homeless - but did not become homeless as of 2 years ago. 

Yes, homeless people can have normal friends, even family - in addition to the common misconception that all or even most homeless people are lazy, addicted and/or mentally ill, there is also the misconception that all homeless people have no one, that society has rejected them. 

Though those things can be true - many homeless people, especially in LA, do have family and friends.

They either don't tell friends, family, and work colleagues how much they're struggling so as not to worry them or they do not want to burden others financially by living with them for too long/be obligated to them, they want to do it themselves - especially someone like Emily, who has no idea when or if she'll ever get paid again.







She actually earned her living as a violinist.  

Then, two years ago, her prized possession that paid the bills, her violin, was grabbed by a thief (to sell), and when bystanders caught up with the thief, he smashed it into bits. 

She bought a small electric violin to still make performance gigs, but was shoved off a bus, breaking her wrist, and she could no longer play.  

(You break a wrist at 20 as a violinist, it's a long road back, but can recover and play again - but you break a wrist in your 50s, you're done.)

Already stringing together gigs to pay bills, she went under and became homeless in LA.

Her discovery is unusual, but the fact that she was a homeless singer (especially in LA) is not.  

Celebrities such as Chris Pratt, Halle Berry, Hillary Swank, Daniel Craig, Kelly Clarkson, Steve Harvey, Drew Carey, Jim Carrey, Tyler Perry, Tiffany Haddish, Sylvester Stallone, Sam Worthington, Idris Elba, and even Director James Cameron were once homeless.

But it's not just artistic people - also Steve Jobs, Dr. Phil, finance guru, Suzie Orman, and millionaire businessman, Chris Gardner and his son were homeless and hid it, while he dressed in suits to take part in a finance training program, inspiring the movie "The Pursuit of Happiness."