Megan Fox is a rising star who appeared to come from nowhere on the road to Hollywood fame, but like many other actors and actresses in the movie business, she has been paying her dues for a very long time.

For some people the road to fame is short. For others, getting to big screen may take longer. For anyone who reaches their goal, the process is always a bit of a Cinderella story. It's no different for Megan Fox, who hit mainstream fame when she appeared in the Transformers movie with Shia LeBeouf.

As she rose to fame, she quickly amassed large numbers of fans and foes, but most people didn't realize that she had been working hard in the film industry for many years. Like many people who desired to work in films, she began as a child, taking dancing and acting lessons in her home state of Tennessee. A few years later, her family moved to Florida where Megan balanced the life of a typical elementary and high school student along with continuing to pursue theatrical training.

Adolescence, outside of acting class, was difficult terrain for Fox, due to stern parents at home and bullies at school. She told Maggie Bullock of Elle Magazine that," I was grounded for all of my childhood. Not most--all." And at school, she "ate lunch in the bathroom to avoid being pelted with ketchup packets." She had more male friends than female and seemed to get along better with guys, which didn't sit well with the girls at her school.

She even took time to enjoy traditional high school activities like cheering and swim team. For a while, she even thought she might become a professional swimmer. But she held to her hope of appearing on the big screen and moved to California while in her teens to have a better chance of breaking unto the industry.

Once in LA, things seemed to pick up quickly for Megan Fox. She was cast in a movie with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen that went straight to video, but it was still a solid piece of work to add to her resume.

Next came a regular part on the television shows Ocean Avenue and Hope & Faith. She also co-starred in the movie Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen with Lindsay Lohan. Yet, despite her marginal success, Megan Fox did not become the talk of Hollywood until she appeared in Transformers. Suddenly, she was the girl everyone wanted to know more about and she became a media favorite.

Now that she's famous, Megan Fox faces a new set of problems. From nosy reporters, to intrusive paparazzi and sharp critics, Megan Fox is now a topic of great discussion and she realizes that a life of fame will never be easy.

Even in adulthood, she notices that she still gets along with men easier than women, but notes that teenage women are no longer the enemy force they were in her teen years. She told The New York Times' Lynn Hirschberg that "I think women are harder on everything than men are...but I think grown women in particular can be, for, some reason, can be really hateful towards me....but teenage girls...they accept me much more."

Despite these troubles, good things seem to be in store for Megan Fox in the years to come as her fame continues to spread.

Quoted Sources: New York Times Screen Test Video Interview; November 2009 Elle Magazine, June 2009