Australian opera singer, Stephen Smith (b. 1977), was in foster care until he was ten. Stephen then when to live with his father. At 15 he left home and dropped out of school. He discovered he loved singing when he was living on the streets as a homeless teenager.

When he was 17, Stephen was working at David Jones when a colleague suggested he take music lessons. Continuing to support himself at the Footscray markets, Stephen went to the Victorian College of Arts and got himself a Bachelor of Music. Stephen toured the world as an opera singer for 20 years. He now works as a real estate agent.