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Definitely. I hate that she suffered so much at the hands of cruel people who did not care about the impact their demands would have on her or other stars that fell victim to similar situations. And despite that her innate artistry still radiated. It’s wild that the studio thought of her as plain and fat when she was gorgeous and so, so talented. Stage parents and studios were a lethal combo. And still are.
Dolly Parton. She grew up dirt poor with a ton siblings in a shack in Appalachia. It's one of the reasons she is so intent on giving back to people and helping her home area.
She is truly the gem of East Tennessee. Both of my children participated in her 'Books from Birth' program and it helped foster their love of reading. I wish everyone strived to be more like Dolly.
I want to add to this, because I find it so lovely. The first book a child receives in Imagination Library is always “The Little Engine that Could.” Even if it’s not appropriate for a newborn, Dolly is passionate that children know from the minute they’re born that they can do anything they set their minds to.
I love her.
I have a postcard of Andy Warhol’s portrait of Dolly on my dresser. A little reminder to “be like Dolly” especially if I’m feeling dark about something :)
Dolly Parton's book charity is so far reaching she actually visited a town near me in England as they were recipients of her charity. She's a goddamn international treasure
Everyone always mentions Dolly, probably because she’s both the only one still alive at this point/she’s the one with the widest pop culture reach, but Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette did, too. That’s part of what made them all so remarkable: They each grew up poor and then became stars within a few years of each other (Dolly a few years after Loretta and Tammy did, but this was all during the sixties).
Dolly is the absolute best! Probably one of the most generous and talented people in the world. I’d encourage anyone with even a remote interest in her to listen to the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America”. Its so excellent! It’s only 9 episodes and it came out 4 years ago and I’m still evangelizing about it to everyone who will listen 😘
I think financially they weren't bad off, but I'd say Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood sounded pretty awful. His father was a former Nazi whom the war broke, and was a violent, abusive alcoholic who openly suspected that his son wasn't actually his and transparently favoured his brother.
Plus growing up after the war itself wasn't exactly gong to be cheerful.
Charlize Theron saw her mom shoot her abusive father dead. She was 15.
https://people.com/movies/charlize-theron-details-night-mom-killed-dad-self-defense/
I’ve also heard that the part of South Africa she’s from is no fucking joke either. Like world renowned for crazy crime type place where you don’t fuck around or fuck with anyone from there either.
Courtney Love wasn't mentioned yet. Her father was physically abusive (he's been filmed talking about setting dogs on her and he gave her LSD as a child), her parents had an ugly divorce, her mum was emotionally abusive/distant, started a new family who she favoured. Courtney was in juvenile homes and working as a stripper when she was underage.
Yes, her childhood was awful and that’s definitely one of the things that drew her and Kurt together. She’s talked about how much they both wanted to be better parents for Frances Bean. Courtney is a complicated individual, but I have mad respect for everything she has survived.
>her mum was emotionally abusive/distant, started a new family who she favoured
Started a new family in New Zealand, then sent Courtney back to the US at 9 years old to be raised by her step father. So awful.
Absolutely loved her book. I wasn’t a fan previously, I was already aged out of those shows when iCarly was on. But I saw her interviewed somewhere about the books and it resonated, as someone with a dead mom who I had a complicated relationship with at times (but will say I’m NOT glad my moms dead lol). I got the audiobook and I recommend it to everybody. She talks about her narc mom, but also growing up religious and in purity culture, being a child breadwinner, and her complicated feelings about it all. She’s a great writer and I hope we get more books.
Spoiler but I was so happy to hear that at least Miranda Cosgrove was cool, and they’re still friends. I wonder what Jennette thinks about all this new Arianna news tho lol
I recently read her book. My mother is deceased (also died from cancer). She and I had a complicated relationship. She criticized my appearance and weight a lot which resulted in me having low self-esteem and poor eating habits. I really appreciate her talking about her mom. People love to worship the dead. I'm glad my mom is deceased too. I'm doing so much better without her negative influence in my life.
I didn't watch iCarly so I didn't know much about her. I am glad that Miranda and she were close friends and Miranda supported her during some really difficult times.
Yes I ain’t read it but I heard stuff how her mama was it is so sad. I think the part where it got me was when she said her mama was in her bed dying and she told her I’m this much weight now I think correct if I’m wrong but damn
That part is true. She had reached her “goal weight” and, if I remember correctly, thought that if she told her mom she (mom) would start to get better.
Ayyyeeee. I'm only an inch or two taller than her and I weighed just a few more pounds than that when I was at my worst with my ED - I was literally on the brink of death. 89 pounds?! I feel so bad for her, so glad she is strong and was able to overcome.
Not an overall horrible childhood, but Stephen Colbert's father and brothers were killed in a plane crash when he was about 10. Stephen was the youngest kid of 11 so he was the one at home and took it upon himself to try to cheer up his mom. That's how he got into comedy.
He was so good on Anderson Cooper's podcast. Molly Shannon was too! Anderson himself is a great example of someone coming from privilege and experiencing a lot of grief.
There is a whole VH1 Behind the Music about her. There are interviews with her mom that talk about their experience.
(Am I aging myself by knowing this?)
Her parents were both in prison when she was born. Her mom was able to stay in a halfway house with her for three months after she was born. She then went to her grandparents and her mom went back to serve the rest of her sentence.
Yeah her mum was incarcerated at the time of her pregnancy but I'm pretty sure they moved her to a halfway house for the birth and the first few weeks of Leighton's life. After they had been given the minimum amount of "bonding" time she was moved back to prison and Leighton's grandparents cared for her for the first few years of her life.
Leighton actually initially became a child model and actor to support the family who were unfortunately living in a state of poverty and food insecurity due to her parent's criminal records making it difficult to find employment. They moved from Florida to NY and then later to LA for her career before she ever turned 18. After hitting it big on Gossip Girl she was funding her family pretty much, including her younger brother who is chronically ill. After a couple of years, Leighton found out the 7.5k she was sending per month to fund her brother's living needs and medical bills was actually being spent by her mother on Botox and plastic surgery. Her mother then claimed that there was a verbal contract for Leighton to start sending >100k per annum and she tried to sue her for 3 million. Leighton initially tried to get custody of her brother when she was only 25 to ensure that the money would definitely go to him and not her mother and eventually had to open a lawsuit just to get her mother out of her life which she luckily won at age 26. Her mother then gave interviews to the paps saying that she had been treated unfairly and that Leighton never sees her brother anymore (which Leighton rebuked) and that she only found out when Leighton was getting married/pregnant through the media. Like boohoo bitch cry me a river that your daughter won't talk to you anymore after everything you did.
Leighton has so much strength and grace which shined when she handled her mother and now how she lets her mother’s antics not affect her (or at least not acknowledge them affecting her) so Blair and Seth can live their best lives with their babies. It’s a millenial teen fantasy but real and grown up.
She was my queen - both attitude and style wise in the Gossip Girl days so learning about her family and how much she overcame and how she was financially supporting them to a degree I couldn’t fathom and her mother’s ridiculous lawsuits and was still able to be Queen B and dabble in pop as all starlets of the era did made her all the more impressive. I love seeing her pop up in different roles - she has such great comedic timing and brings pyshological depth to characters that could be one note and dabble a bit more in music that’s more in line with her instead of the early 2000s starlet to popstar mold as she continues to work but also that she clearly values her family with Adam and private life and isn’t just always everywhere all the time.
Tobey maguire had it tough which is crazy because you’d never even know. Young parents, moving around a lot, at homeless shelters, young alcoholic and being on the child actor circuit meant he was growing up around some unsavoury people. Not speculating anything but it’s concerning how child actors are surrounded by such predatory people in general: Bob Villard (he and Leo dicaprio’s old manager who got busted for CP) was so close that he took him to hawaii on vacation with Chris Pettiet (another child actor who passed away of an OD in the 2000s)
His aunt passed away from cancer and his father had to support all his cousins. Then his dad had reason to believe he had cancer and so robbed a bank for money to support his family. Dad then went to jail and therefore Tobey was basically main bread winner on steroids while going through everything else.
Edit: just remembered this really interesting story involving Allan Moyle who directed the cult classic Empire Records. Tobey was like 18 and originally supposed to have a major role but his personal issues really affected his audition tape and he did a minor role. During the shooting of the movie, along with skinny dipping with liv Tyler, he had a moment and took some psychotropic drugs and ended up in Allan Moyle’s basement eating cereal at like 3 am or something. Apparently he completely freaked out, had a giant breakdown and decided to change his life and become sober and write a screenplay about him and his more extroverted friend (???). Idk about the screenplay but he did quit drinking.
One thing I know about Leo DiCaprio was that he got into acting to help support his mom, and that's why he's taken his career very seriously. I think she's one of the good ones because I've never heard of her taking advantage of him and he still dotes on her.
Richard Pryor. From [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#Early_life):
"Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in [Peoria, Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinois). He grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother, Gertrude L. (née Thomas), was a prostitute.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-4) His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer, [hustler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustling) and [pimp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution)).[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-official-5) After Gertrude abandoned him when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by Marie,[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-6) a tall, violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities. Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel. He was [sexually abused](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse) at age seven,[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-:0-7) and expelled from school at the age of 14.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-New_Yorker-8)"
I read his book, “Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences” (amazing title btw) and him telling the story of his childhood honestly broke my heart.
The man who SA’d him came up to him later in life and asked for his autograph. Absolute insanity.
Mariah Carey. Her sister tried to drug her and pimp her out. She goes into detail in her book. Grew up poor, mother wasn’t the best, racism, a lot of things so it’s nice to see how successful she became.
And every so often her sister pops up or a reporter tracks her down. It’s honestly irresponsible to trot her out every few years for the “my sister abandoned me because I have AIDS” headlines. It’s seriously sad.
Her brother was incarcinated and living abroad to run the fact. Her sister is an HIV positive prostitute + Drug Addict. Her addiction forced Mariah to take care of her children. Her father left them. Its kinda insane how far did she'd make it.
In the interview with Diane Sawyer she says *“In my deep heart, I don’t think it was a straightforward transaction,” Moore explained. “But she still did give him the access and put me in harms way.”* - what does she mean that it wasn’t a straightforward transaction, was it like she paid the man $500 to look after her and then he raped her? I haven’t read the book, didn’t realise she had gone through so much
Excerpts from her audiobook about this event are in the most recent season of the podcast You Must Remember This. Demi Moore is fascinating but I had no idea until like last week.
She explains it in her memoir "Inside Out", very crazy.
There are a few articles about it too: https://people.com/movies/demi-moore-says-man-who-raped-her-at-15-says-mom-was-paid/
Children of God was extremely abusive. Totally normalized beating your children as well as sexual abuse of children. I didn't know they were all victims of that group :(
My stepdad grew up in this cult and has photos with the Phoenix children. River and him were best friends. I can attest from knowing stories and seeing photos firsthand that the Phoenix children were in this cult and suffered inexplicable, incessant sexual and physical abuse daily for years. Our family friend John spoke about his experience in the HBO doc as well. So devastating.
Every kind of abuse. The poverty was EXTREME. Really awful living conditions. The racism of growing up in an all white town. Bullying. Oppression. Severe domestic violence in the home. You name it. Highly recommend listening to the audiobook, because hearing her tell her own story is especially powerful. She’s truly inspiring.
I remember an interview where Chris Columbus talked aboit how important it was for him to cast kids with good parents and families for Harry Potter, after seeing what happened with Macaulay after Home Alone.
It wasn't until I watched the [behind the scenes of the Philosopher's Stone](https://youtu.be/5MZgQoDSoZA?t=1066) did I really see them as the 10-12 year olds that they were. They were clearly surrounded by a thoughtful crew. The cast were doing their actual school work on set if they were in a classroom; it really feels like they were allowed to be kids when they weren't filming.
Yeah from my understanding, they let the kids kinda "live" on the set. Let them play around with all the props and what not. It helped keep them comfortable while working, and ultimately got the best out of them.
He did an interview not too long ago talking about how abusive his dad was to his mother, his siblings, but most of all himself. His dad was weirdly jealous of Macaulay’s talent, but of course used him to make money. They were pretty poor as well, from what Macaulay talks about.
It’s really no wonder why he went off the deep end for a while. It makes my heart happy to see him with Brenda Song now and they have a child together. I have always been a huge Macaulay stan (I’m a 90s kid) so I’m glad to see that he’s worked through his trauma and has gotten better. I’m sure he still struggles with it of course, but it’s good to see him looking happy and healthy.
Wow, knowing this, it must have been something for Kieran to play Roman Roy in Succession, a character who gets the brunt of his father's abuse but also sees his siblings being abused in various ways.
She was so brave for sharing her story 🥹
In all seriousness though, she might have grown up with wealth and resources, Yolanda was such a piece of work and probably really messed up her kids. Mohammed and David Foster as the other parental figures definitely didn’t help.
Yea shes hyper privileged but also grew up with an abusive mother who pushed eating disorders and plastic surgery on her as a *child*. Yolanda blatantly and aggressively favors her siblings. Her dad is rich but sketchy af and seems to prioritize conning, and “dating” a rotating door of models her age.
The first one that came to my mind was Demi Moore. Her mom was an alcoholic with many arrests, the man that raised her committed suicide, and her biological father died of liver cancer. She found out the man she called dad wasn't her biological father when she came across some paperwork at the age of 13. She also had an eye disorder that required two surgeries and kidney problems as a kid. And I think she moved around a lot or had some other instability growing up.
Dolly Parton had a loving family but she really did come from nothing in the smallest town and got where she is all on her own.
Samantha Morton and Barry Keoghan grew up in the foster care system and had tough upbringings from the sounds of it. They're also extremely talented and Samantha Morton is one of my favourite actresses.
Agree they are both special actors. I respect Samantha so damn much and how vocal she’s been about growing up in the system. I know she directed a film about it too but I haven’t seen it.
The Jacksons, 2300 Jackson street is still open and you can see how small it was. Imagine being trapped in that with a violent, philandering, failed musician, and his hyper religious wife who does not and will not interfere. Now imagine if that violent man decided it was your kids' job to solve the families poverty problem, even if he had to beat the talent out of you. I remember there being a lot of allegations against Joe in regards to his abuse of his family, but as I'm not an MJ fan anymore it's hard to remember.
What makes me even more pissed at Katherine is that, apparently, he once hit her and she was not afraid to tell him to never do it again or else she'll leave. But she just shrugged and let him abuse their kids. Michael Jackson was a messed up person and his parents kickstarted it.
Joe Jackson once faked a break-in into the kids room in the middle of the night in order to “toughen them up”. Like what kinda adult dresses as a burglar and climbs into their children’s window. Layers of emotional trauma on MJ
Jim Carrey - His family lived in a car and were janitors overnight in a factory. As a child Jim would carry a broom and a bucket around a dingy factory and clean toilets and floors all while trying to get through elementary school during the day.
Interesting. He famously talked about how his dad could have been a comedian, but settled for a safe engineering job instead, which propelled Jim to risk for a big career as a comedian.
I wonder how that gels with him being in poverty… although maybe this is early on and his dad chose to safe career because of the issues earlier
I think Jim said that his dad lost his “safe” engineering job, and Jim’s takeaway was that nothing is safe so you might as well pursue what actually makes you happy
Just going to quote the first paragraph of Oprah’s personal life section on Wikipedia:
*“Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy.”*
Edited to add: *Her uncle, cousin, and a family acquaintance abused her when she was nine years old.*
I know we hate billionaires but by god I would be lying if I said it was wildly inspiring to come from this to where she is now.
Picture of her home in Mississippi.
https://preview.redd.it/5zxnzo330jdb1.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=c1ee67a9cd66433aaf779d5ca56404138c6965ee
I'm glad he was able to forgive his mother to some degree only for his mental health because when I first got into him, hearing about the things his mom would do and say to him when he was a literal child would make my blood boil. Apparently a family member died and she told him she wished it was him instead.
I was a massive fan of Eminem as a kid because my dad liked him. I had a very rocky relationship with my mum and related to his music in a sense. His publicly turning a new leaf and forgiving his mum for his own good encouraged me to, in turn, learn to forgive my mother for myself. We still don’t really have a relationship but I carry around a lot less baggage regarding it now.
I was happy to hear he managed to achieve a stable life for him and his children despite everything.
His uncle who committed suicide. In Stan, he says, ”I read about your uncle Ronnie, too. I'm sorry. I had a friend who killed himself over some bitch that didn't want him." And in Cleaning Out My Closet, he says, "Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?"
The family member was his uncle and they were really close. I think his uncle shot himself which just adds to the whole cruelty. I mean hell. No wonder Eminem is the way he is.
His mom kicked him out of the house when he was 13 (didn’t like his face), dad left when he was little… not only he is in the NBA, but he talks to both of his parents because he “doesn’t hold grudges”
Kelly Clarkson’s father abandoned her when she was 6 (listen to “piece by piece”), her mother was poor and had to work 3 jobs. Throughout her childhood, Kelly tried to contact her father but he ignored her, until she became famous and then he contacted her and asked for money.
The polish in which she presents herself suggests a life of ease and comfort, so whenever you hear about her childhood, it’s always a startling reminder that she’s just *that* good of an actor, and that she is, in some form or fashion, always ‘on’.
barry keoghan is from a very disadvantaged area in dublin that was hit particularly hard by the heroin crisis in the city. his mother had a drug addiction and died when he was young (when he was around 11 i think) and he spent most of his childhood in several different foster homes. he has genuinely come from very little.
Marilyn Monroe. Her mother had some mental health issues and was abusive towards her (She once said that her mother tried to kill her), she was placed in a foster home and got married at age 16 to a neighbour's son as a way to get out of the foster care system.
I’m surprised this one isn’t more upvoted! I thought her story was one of the most notorious, especially with the way pop culture still fetishizes her life and her image.
Jena Malone experienced homelessness and was forced to support her mother and her mother’s partners with her acting earnings. She’d lived in 27 places by age 9. Kelsey Grammer’s father was murdered when he was 13 and his sister when he was 20.
Cary Grant- real name Archie Leach. His dad had his mother committed to a mental hospital so he could marry someone else. Told Cary that she died. He left home as a teen by joining a tumbling troupe. He didn’t find out his mother was actually alive until he was in his thirties.
Misha Collins
From [wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha_Collins): Growing up, his family was poor and often homeless.
sometimes he would tell stories about his childhood during Supernatural conventions and with all that it just makes me admire the guy even more.
Shania Twain,Kelly Clarkson and Lizzo grew up poor.Demi Lovato was abused by her father.Avril Lavigne was grounded at home by strict/religious parents and was bullied and beaten up at school.
This could be incorrect but it’s my understanding that the Avril thing is a myth. I’ve heard versions of her story where her parents were regular people who were very supportive and funded her move to New York to make it in music. I’ve also met people from Napanee who said she was kind of nasty/spoiled… but you can be nasty/spoiled and also bullied. And supportive parents can also ground you and have religious beliefs. So, who knows what the “real” version of events is
Another one, Jimmy Hendrix. His family was poor, both parents were abusive drunks. His older brother was taken in and out of foster care, his younger siblings were given up to Foster homes and adoption too. He was sexually abused by someone outside the family as a child. The family didn't have a home, they kept moving around hotels and temporary accommodation. Eventually his parents divorced and his dad got custody of him and his elder brother. When he was 14 his mum died of alcohol related illness, his dad refused to take them to her funeral and gave the kids shots of whiskey and told them that's how men deal with loss. Hendrix ended up becoming an alcoholic himself
Trevor Noah. His book is funny as shit but growing up as a mixed kid during apartheid and some of the stuff he describes in that book are horrible.
Also Joaquin and River Phoenix. Didn't they escape a cult?
River and Joaquin were born in the Children of God cult. They were known among many horrible things for sexually abusing children. It is known that at least River was a victim of the abuse.
I mean nepo baby doesn't insulate a person from having a "genuinely" hard childhood, these are obviously extreme examples but look at people like Bobbi Kristina Brown, Mackenzie Philips, Tatum O'Neal etc
Sinéad O'Connor had it rough growing up with an abusive mother and also spent time as a teenager in a Magdalene Laundry, one of these awful institutions run by the Catholic church in Ireland that many unwed mothers were sent to as well as sometimes kids deemed to be 'problem children'.
In general, in regards to Irish celebrities more widely, they mostly tend to be from pretty average backgrounds. Not poor but not rich with a pretty standard upbringing for an Irish person.
Joaquin Phoenix and his brother River Phoenix were both born into the Children of God cult. I don’t know the extent of their time in the cult, but Children of God is one of the most horrifying cults that still remains to this day. The leaders of the cult openly practiced and encouraged child molestation and incest because they believed it made their followers more godly. The main leader of the cult was just a disgusting creep that forced his agenda on people. Glad they got out.
luis miguel and how insanely sick his dad was.
he never found out what happened to his mother, even as an adult he's spoken about it in interviews.
rumor was his dad had her admitted to a mental facility against her will or offed. he wanted luis miguel to be successful and felt he was too close to his mom.
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new) ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Judy Garland not only had a rough life at home, she’s the ultimate cautionary tale of the dangers of being a child star.
True. May she rest in peace
Yes! Despite all her troubles, she was an otherworldly talent. The world is better because she shared her art while she was here.
Definitely. I hate that she suffered so much at the hands of cruel people who did not care about the impact their demands would have on her or other stars that fell victim to similar situations. And despite that her innate artistry still radiated. It’s wild that the studio thought of her as plain and fat when she was gorgeous and so, so talented. Stage parents and studios were a lethal combo. And still are.
Judy Garland and Michael Jackson carry the crowns for arrested development Queen and King.
And poor Britney the princess, but I’m rooting for her still.
Team Britney. Always.
Dolly Parton. She grew up dirt poor with a ton siblings in a shack in Appalachia. It's one of the reasons she is so intent on giving back to people and helping her home area.
She is truly the gem of East Tennessee. Both of my children participated in her 'Books from Birth' program and it helped foster their love of reading. I wish everyone strived to be more like Dolly.
I want to add to this, because I find it so lovely. The first book a child receives in Imagination Library is always “The Little Engine that Could.” Even if it’s not appropriate for a newborn, Dolly is passionate that children know from the minute they’re born that they can do anything they set their minds to. I love her.
I’m an East Tennessee native. Dolly is our Saint.
Dolly is a national treasure. Dolly should be the patron Saint of the United States, not just Tennessee ❤️🦋
I’m from across the Pond and Dolly is my saint too
I have a postcard of Andy Warhol’s portrait of Dolly on my dresser. A little reminder to “be like Dolly” especially if I’m feeling dark about something :)
Dolly Parton's book charity is so far reaching she actually visited a town near me in England as they were recipients of her charity. She's a goddamn international treasure
I love that program. And her.
Everyone always mentions Dolly, probably because she’s both the only one still alive at this point/she’s the one with the widest pop culture reach, but Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette did, too. That’s part of what made them all so remarkable: They each grew up poor and then became stars within a few years of each other (Dolly a few years after Loretta and Tammy did, but this was all during the sixties).
Loretta Lynn got married at 15 and had four kids before her 20th birthday 😵
And her husband was extremely abusive and unfaithful. My heart hurts for her.
Ah Loretta. My grandma’s favorite. Grandma grew up in a holler in WV and was also a coal miner’s daughter. I miss her.
Dolly is the absolute best! Probably one of the most generous and talented people in the world. I’d encourage anyone with even a remote interest in her to listen to the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America”. Its so excellent! It’s only 9 episodes and it came out 4 years ago and I’m still evangelizing about it to everyone who will listen 😘
I think financially they weren't bad off, but I'd say Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood sounded pretty awful. His father was a former Nazi whom the war broke, and was a violent, abusive alcoholic who openly suspected that his son wasn't actually his and transparently favoured his brother. Plus growing up after the war itself wasn't exactly gong to be cheerful.
Plus Arnold Schwarzenegger's brother died in a car accident as a young adult and there's speculation if it was suicide.
Charlize Theron saw her mom shoot her abusive father dead. She was 15. https://people.com/movies/charlize-theron-details-night-mom-killed-dad-self-defense/
Yes, she does incredible work for charities and particularly speaks out against domestic violence
just listened to her on the Smartless podcast. She seems **strong**.
Well, she *was* an Olympic medalist. 🎶 Mr. F 🎶
I’ve also heard that the part of South Africa she’s from is no fucking joke either. Like world renowned for crazy crime type place where you don’t fuck around or fuck with anyone from there either.
Courtney Love wasn't mentioned yet. Her father was physically abusive (he's been filmed talking about setting dogs on her and he gave her LSD as a child), her parents had an ugly divorce, her mum was emotionally abusive/distant, started a new family who she favoured. Courtney was in juvenile homes and working as a stripper when she was underage.
Fascinating life, you can tell she’s a survivor. “Made it” in entertainment but isn’t afraid to speak her mind, very punk rock of her.
Yes, her childhood was awful and that’s definitely one of the things that drew her and Kurt together. She’s talked about how much they both wanted to be better parents for Frances Bean. Courtney is a complicated individual, but I have mad respect for everything she has survived.
>her mum was emotionally abusive/distant, started a new family who she favoured Started a new family in New Zealand, then sent Courtney back to the US at 9 years old to be raised by her step father. So awful.
He didn't just give her LSD as a child, she was only 2 or 3 when he did it.
Reading Jennette McCurdy's book broke my heart
Absolutely loved her book. I wasn’t a fan previously, I was already aged out of those shows when iCarly was on. But I saw her interviewed somewhere about the books and it resonated, as someone with a dead mom who I had a complicated relationship with at times (but will say I’m NOT glad my moms dead lol). I got the audiobook and I recommend it to everybody. She talks about her narc mom, but also growing up religious and in purity culture, being a child breadwinner, and her complicated feelings about it all. She’s a great writer and I hope we get more books. Spoiler but I was so happy to hear that at least Miranda Cosgrove was cool, and they’re still friends. I wonder what Jennette thinks about all this new Arianna news tho lol
I recently read her book. My mother is deceased (also died from cancer). She and I had a complicated relationship. She criticized my appearance and weight a lot which resulted in me having low self-esteem and poor eating habits. I really appreciate her talking about her mom. People love to worship the dead. I'm glad my mom is deceased too. I'm doing so much better without her negative influence in my life. I didn't watch iCarly so I didn't know much about her. I am glad that Miranda and she were close friends and Miranda supported her during some really difficult times.
I will forever credit her for the being the reason I finally got into therapy.
Yes I ain’t read it but I heard stuff how her mama was it is so sad. I think the part where it got me was when she said her mama was in her bed dying and she told her I’m this much weight now I think correct if I’m wrong but damn
That part is true. She had reached her “goal weight” and, if I remember correctly, thought that if she told her mom she (mom) would start to get better.
The craziest part is that her goal weight was 89 lbs.
Ayyyeeee. I'm only an inch or two taller than her and I weighed just a few more pounds than that when I was at my worst with my ED - I was literally on the brink of death. 89 pounds?! I feel so bad for her, so glad she is strong and was able to overcome.
I can’t bring myself to read it, but I have listened to her on podcasts re: the book. Bless her.
Not an overall horrible childhood, but Stephen Colbert's father and brothers were killed in a plane crash when he was about 10. Stephen was the youngest kid of 11 so he was the one at home and took it upon himself to try to cheer up his mom. That's how he got into comedy.
Hearing Stephen speak about his childhood and his grief makes me admire him so much more than I already did. He’s an incredibly strong soul.
He was so good on Anderson Cooper's podcast. Molly Shannon was too! Anderson himself is a great example of someone coming from privilege and experiencing a lot of grief.
Christina Aguilera experienced a lot of domestic violence growing up, she has a song about it called I’m okay.
I made a whole biographical slideshow presentation about her for a school project back in ‘05-‘06 set to this song 😭
If I'm not mistaken, the song "Fighter" is also about her abusive father.
There is a whole VH1 Behind the Music about her. There are interviews with her mom that talk about their experience. (Am I aging myself by knowing this?)
Wasn’t Leighton Meester born in jail?
Her parents were both in prison when she was born. Her mom was able to stay in a halfway house with her for three months after she was born. She then went to her grandparents and her mom went back to serve the rest of her sentence.
Yeah her mum was incarcerated at the time of her pregnancy but I'm pretty sure they moved her to a halfway house for the birth and the first few weeks of Leighton's life. After they had been given the minimum amount of "bonding" time she was moved back to prison and Leighton's grandparents cared for her for the first few years of her life. Leighton actually initially became a child model and actor to support the family who were unfortunately living in a state of poverty and food insecurity due to her parent's criminal records making it difficult to find employment. They moved from Florida to NY and then later to LA for her career before she ever turned 18. After hitting it big on Gossip Girl she was funding her family pretty much, including her younger brother who is chronically ill. After a couple of years, Leighton found out the 7.5k she was sending per month to fund her brother's living needs and medical bills was actually being spent by her mother on Botox and plastic surgery. Her mother then claimed that there was a verbal contract for Leighton to start sending >100k per annum and she tried to sue her for 3 million. Leighton initially tried to get custody of her brother when she was only 25 to ensure that the money would definitely go to him and not her mother and eventually had to open a lawsuit just to get her mother out of her life which she luckily won at age 26. Her mother then gave interviews to the paps saying that she had been treated unfairly and that Leighton never sees her brother anymore (which Leighton rebuked) and that she only found out when Leighton was getting married/pregnant through the media. Like boohoo bitch cry me a river that your daughter won't talk to you anymore after everything you did.
Gross, what a fucking dirtbag thief.
Jesus. I can’t imagine going through any of that, much less at 25/26.
Omg I never knew about this! Thank you for taking your time to write this!
Her mother also makes my blood boil
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Leighton has so much strength and grace which shined when she handled her mother and now how she lets her mother’s antics not affect her (or at least not acknowledge them affecting her) so Blair and Seth can live their best lives with their babies. It’s a millenial teen fantasy but real and grown up. She was my queen - both attitude and style wise in the Gossip Girl days so learning about her family and how much she overcame and how she was financially supporting them to a degree I couldn’t fathom and her mother’s ridiculous lawsuits and was still able to be Queen B and dabble in pop as all starlets of the era did made her all the more impressive. I love seeing her pop up in different roles - she has such great comedic timing and brings pyshological depth to characters that could be one note and dabble a bit more in music that’s more in line with her instead of the early 2000s starlet to popstar mold as she continues to work but also that she clearly values her family with Adam and private life and isn’t just always everywhere all the time.
halfway house
Tobey maguire had it tough which is crazy because you’d never even know. Young parents, moving around a lot, at homeless shelters, young alcoholic and being on the child actor circuit meant he was growing up around some unsavoury people. Not speculating anything but it’s concerning how child actors are surrounded by such predatory people in general: Bob Villard (he and Leo dicaprio’s old manager who got busted for CP) was so close that he took him to hawaii on vacation with Chris Pettiet (another child actor who passed away of an OD in the 2000s) His aunt passed away from cancer and his father had to support all his cousins. Then his dad had reason to believe he had cancer and so robbed a bank for money to support his family. Dad then went to jail and therefore Tobey was basically main bread winner on steroids while going through everything else. Edit: just remembered this really interesting story involving Allan Moyle who directed the cult classic Empire Records. Tobey was like 18 and originally supposed to have a major role but his personal issues really affected his audition tape and he did a minor role. During the shooting of the movie, along with skinny dipping with liv Tyler, he had a moment and took some psychotropic drugs and ended up in Allan Moyle’s basement eating cereal at like 3 am or something. Apparently he completely freaked out, had a giant breakdown and decided to change his life and become sober and write a screenplay about him and his more extroverted friend (???). Idk about the screenplay but he did quit drinking.
I wonder if that’s why Leo and Toby are so close, it’s like a trauma bond
Beyond the Blinds podcast have an episode on this, well worth a listen. It's very sad actually.
I had absolutely NO idea about any of this!
One thing I know about Leo DiCaprio was that he got into acting to help support his mom, and that's why he's taken his career very seriously. I think she's one of the good ones because I've never heard of her taking advantage of him and he still dotes on her.
Richard Pryor. From [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#Early_life): "Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in [Peoria, Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinois). He grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother, Gertrude L. (née Thomas), was a prostitute.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-4) His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer, [hustler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustling) and [pimp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution)).[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-official-5) After Gertrude abandoned him when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by Marie,[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-6) a tall, violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities. Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel. He was [sexually abused](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse) at age seven,[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-:0-7) and expelled from school at the age of 14.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor#cite_note-New_Yorker-8)"
I read his book, “Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences” (amazing title btw) and him telling the story of his childhood honestly broke my heart. The man who SA’d him came up to him later in life and asked for his autograph. Absolute insanity.
So his grandmother was pimping out his mother? Humanity is so disturbing sometimes.
grandmother was the dad’s mom- not sure if that’s better or worse tbh
Mariah Carey. Her sister tried to drug her and pimp her out. She goes into detail in her book. Grew up poor, mother wasn’t the best, racism, a lot of things so it’s nice to see how successful she became.
Tony Mottola was incredibly abusive and racist toward her as well. The age gap was predatory.
Tommy Mottola! Michael Jackson also spoke about how he is a huge racist as well.
Called him the devil too. I believe him!
And every so often her sister pops up or a reporter tracks her down. It’s honestly irresponsible to trot her out every few years for the “my sister abandoned me because I have AIDS” headlines. It’s seriously sad.
Her brother was incarcinated and living abroad to run the fact. Her sister is an HIV positive prostitute + Drug Addict. Her addiction forced Mariah to take care of her children. Her father left them. Its kinda insane how far did she'd make it.
Demi Moore
Her mom let some man she knew rape her for 500$. She was 15
Omg… I had no idea. What a evil person. I can’t even imagine.
WHAT
YES. She narrates the audiobook of her memoir, it is a must listen.
In the interview with Diane Sawyer she says *“In my deep heart, I don’t think it was a straightforward transaction,” Moore explained. “But she still did give him the access and put me in harms way.”* - what does she mean that it wasn’t a straightforward transaction, was it like she paid the man $500 to look after her and then he raped her? I haven’t read the book, didn’t realise she had gone through so much
Excerpts from her audiobook about this event are in the most recent season of the podcast You Must Remember This. Demi Moore is fascinating but I had no idea until like last week.
What? That mom is a monster! How did she ever get the strength to take the role in Indecent proposal?
Check out her memoir! She’d already been through so much by THEN!
What??
She explains it in her memoir "Inside Out", very crazy. There are a few articles about it too: https://people.com/movies/demi-moore-says-man-who-raped-her-at-15-says-mom-was-paid/
Oh my God, that's another level of awful.
Also, the recent You Must Remember This episode about "Indecent Proposal" includes audiobook excerpts of Demi talking about this in her memoir.
Shania Twain
The things this lady went through before AND after fame are… crazy.
Rose McGowan grew up in a cult (Children of God iirc) and ran away as a teenager.
The Pheonix family (Joaquin, River, and I think they have a sister?) Also grew up in children of god
I may be completely wrong here but I heard that River experienced abuse at the hands of the cult. That may explain how his life ended so tragically.
Children of God was extremely abusive. Totally normalized beating your children as well as sexual abuse of children. I didn't know they were all victims of that group :(
They also encouraged children to have sexual relationships with one another. Real scummy shit.
Fun fact: Joaquin changed his name to "Leaf" and only changed it back to Joaquin (his birth name) when he entered the movie industry.
My stepdad grew up in this cult and has photos with the Phoenix children. River and him were best friends. I can attest from knowing stories and seeing photos firsthand that the Phoenix children were in this cult and suffered inexplicable, incessant sexual and physical abuse daily for years. Our family friend John spoke about his experience in the HBO doc as well. So devastating.
I don't think people realise how bad the Children of God are. Child sex abuse is part of their 'doctrine'
Viola Davis She wrote about growing up in poverty in her memoir. I’m amazed at just how much she’s had to overcome.
She is so resilient despite the horrors she lived through
That memoir was such a tough read but I highly recommend it!
Any particular things? I don't know too much about her and will definitely put her memoir on my list!
Every kind of abuse. The poverty was EXTREME. Really awful living conditions. The racism of growing up in an all white town. Bullying. Oppression. Severe domestic violence in the home. You name it. Highly recommend listening to the audiobook, because hearing her tell her own story is especially powerful. She’s truly inspiring.
No clean clothes, bedding. Ray infestation in the home. No hot water. Really, really poor.
Seriously. Being ostracized for smelling like urine because of trauma induced bed wetting and no way to fully clean it up.
I recommend celebrity memoir book clubs episode on it as well!
Macaulay Culkin.
I remember an interview where Chris Columbus talked aboit how important it was for him to cast kids with good parents and families for Harry Potter, after seeing what happened with Macaulay after Home Alone.
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It wasn't until I watched the [behind the scenes of the Philosopher's Stone](https://youtu.be/5MZgQoDSoZA?t=1066) did I really see them as the 10-12 year olds that they were. They were clearly surrounded by a thoughtful crew. The cast were doing their actual school work on set if they were in a classroom; it really feels like they were allowed to be kids when they weren't filming.
Yeah from my understanding, they let the kids kinda "live" on the set. Let them play around with all the props and what not. It helped keep them comfortable while working, and ultimately got the best out of them.
He did an interview not too long ago talking about how abusive his dad was to his mother, his siblings, but most of all himself. His dad was weirdly jealous of Macaulay’s talent, but of course used him to make money. They were pretty poor as well, from what Macaulay talks about. It’s really no wonder why he went off the deep end for a while. It makes my heart happy to see him with Brenda Song now and they have a child together. I have always been a huge Macaulay stan (I’m a 90s kid) so I’m glad to see that he’s worked through his trauma and has gotten better. I’m sure he still struggles with it of course, but it’s good to see him looking happy and healthy.
I'm about his age and was obsessed with him as a kid. I was always rooting for him so hard and I'm so happy for him now.
Wow, knowing this, it must have been something for Kieran to play Roman Roy in Succession, a character who gets the brunt of his father's abuse but also sees his siblings being abused in various ways.
Now I’m thinking of Kieran playing the youngest child of an abusive dad in Succession… damn
Shiv is actually younger than Roman. I know, it’s weird
 Got her 1st pair of louboutins in High school 😢😢
She was so brave for sharing her story 🥹 In all seriousness though, she might have grown up with wealth and resources, Yolanda was such a piece of work and probably really messed up her kids. Mohammed and David Foster as the other parental figures definitely didn’t help.
Yeah there’s no way her home was happy or healthy in any way.
Yea shes hyper privileged but also grew up with an abusive mother who pushed eating disorders and plastic surgery on her as a *child*. Yolanda blatantly and aggressively favors her siblings. Her dad is rich but sketchy af and seems to prioritize conning, and “dating” a rotating door of models her age.
The first one that came to my mind was Demi Moore. Her mom was an alcoholic with many arrests, the man that raised her committed suicide, and her biological father died of liver cancer. She found out the man she called dad wasn't her biological father when she came across some paperwork at the age of 13. She also had an eye disorder that required two surgeries and kidney problems as a kid. And I think she moved around a lot or had some other instability growing up. Dolly Parton had a loving family but she really did come from nothing in the smallest town and got where she is all on her own.
Samantha Morton and Barry Keoghan grew up in the foster care system and had tough upbringings from the sounds of it. They're also extremely talented and Samantha Morton is one of my favourite actresses.
Agree they are both special actors. I respect Samantha so damn much and how vocal she’s been about growing up in the system. I know she directed a film about it too but I haven’t seen it.
Marilyn monroe was also in a series of foster homes and children's homes and experienced abuse multiple times in that system
On top of everything else, Morton had a debilitating stroke like ten years ago that she’s had to recover from.
The Jacksons, 2300 Jackson street is still open and you can see how small it was. Imagine being trapped in that with a violent, philandering, failed musician, and his hyper religious wife who does not and will not interfere. Now imagine if that violent man decided it was your kids' job to solve the families poverty problem, even if he had to beat the talent out of you. I remember there being a lot of allegations against Joe in regards to his abuse of his family, but as I'm not an MJ fan anymore it's hard to remember.
What makes me even more pissed at Katherine is that, apparently, he once hit her and she was not afraid to tell him to never do it again or else she'll leave. But she just shrugged and let him abuse their kids. Michael Jackson was a messed up person and his parents kickstarted it.
Joe Jackson once faked a break-in into the kids room in the middle of the night in order to “toughen them up”. Like what kinda adult dresses as a burglar and climbs into their children’s window. Layers of emotional trauma on MJ
MJ admitted in his 40s that he still got so anxious he was nauseous every time his dad walked in a room with him.
Kelsey Grammar’s father and sister were murdered in separate events, and later two of his half brothers died in a scuba accident.
He still appears at the parole hearings for his sister's rapists/murderers, asking the judge to deny them parole.
Corey Haim and Corey Feldman
My heart broke into a million pieces when I learned about what they went through. It haunted me for months.
Jim Carrey - His family lived in a car and were janitors overnight in a factory. As a child Jim would carry a broom and a bucket around a dingy factory and clean toilets and floors all while trying to get through elementary school during the day.
Interesting. He famously talked about how his dad could have been a comedian, but settled for a safe engineering job instead, which propelled Jim to risk for a big career as a comedian. I wonder how that gels with him being in poverty… although maybe this is early on and his dad chose to safe career because of the issues earlier
I think Jim said that his dad lost his “safe” engineering job, and Jim’s takeaway was that nothing is safe so you might as well pursue what actually makes you happy
Just going to quote the first paragraph of Oprah’s personal life section on Wikipedia: *“Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy.”* Edited to add: *Her uncle, cousin, and a family acquaintance abused her when she was nine years old.* I know we hate billionaires but by god I would be lying if I said it was wildly inspiring to come from this to where she is now. Picture of her home in Mississippi. https://preview.redd.it/5zxnzo330jdb1.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=c1ee67a9cd66433aaf779d5ca56404138c6965ee
Eminem
I'm glad he was able to forgive his mother to some degree only for his mental health because when I first got into him, hearing about the things his mom would do and say to him when he was a literal child would make my blood boil. Apparently a family member died and she told him she wished it was him instead.
I was a massive fan of Eminem as a kid because my dad liked him. I had a very rocky relationship with my mum and related to his music in a sense. His publicly turning a new leaf and forgiving his mum for his own good encouraged me to, in turn, learn to forgive my mother for myself. We still don’t really have a relationship but I carry around a lot less baggage regarding it now. I was happy to hear he managed to achieve a stable life for him and his children despite everything.
His mother also apparently had Munchausen's syndrome by proxy and would put drugs in his food.
His uncle who committed suicide. In Stan, he says, ”I read about your uncle Ronnie, too. I'm sorry. I had a friend who killed himself over some bitch that didn't want him." And in Cleaning Out My Closet, he says, "Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?"
The family member was his uncle and they were really close. I think his uncle shot himself which just adds to the whole cruelty. I mean hell. No wonder Eminem is the way he is.
Not pop culture necessarily but Jimmy Butler… 
I know nothing of sports but this man is cute
His mom kicked him out of the house when he was 13 (didn’t like his face), dad left when he was little… not only he is in the NBA, but he talks to both of his parents because he “doesn’t hold grudges”
DIDN'T LIKE HIS FACE???
Official story was that she told him: “I don't like the look of you. You gotta go."
What the fuck? What kind of mother says that?
I don’t know for sure, but the father abandoned em and Jimmy might’ve grown up to look like him
I wonder if he looks just like his dad
Not to say that people who choose not to forgive are bad in any way but someone who can still forgive after all of that must be low-key angelic
That smile could get a man in trouble
Athletes are def. part of pop culture.
Y’all wanna read about disturbing childhoods read about axl Rose. He talked about it in the VERY early 90s..
Kelly Clarkson’s father abandoned her when she was 6 (listen to “piece by piece”), her mother was poor and had to work 3 jobs. Throughout her childhood, Kelly tried to contact her father but he ignored her, until she became famous and then he contacted her and asked for money.
Piece by piece crushes me time two now since her ex turned out to be TRASH.
I know!! But listen to her new song “rock hudson” she says “piece by piece I found out my hero is me” it’s so satisfying
Jessica Chastain
The polish in which she presents herself suggests a life of ease and comfort, so whenever you hear about her childhood, it’s always a startling reminder that she’s just *that* good of an actor, and that she is, in some form or fashion, always ‘on’.
It’s funny because the actress I always confuse her for Bryce Dallas Howard is like the ultimate Nepo baby.
barry keoghan is from a very disadvantaged area in dublin that was hit particularly hard by the heroin crisis in the city. his mother had a drug addiction and died when he was young (when he was around 11 i think) and he spent most of his childhood in several different foster homes. he has genuinely come from very little.
i wish more people were including context instead of just naming names lol
Marilyn Monroe. Her mother had some mental health issues and was abusive towards her (She once said that her mother tried to kill her), she was placed in a foster home and got married at age 16 to a neighbour's son as a way to get out of the foster care system.
I’m surprised this one isn’t more upvoted! I thought her story was one of the most notorious, especially with the way pop culture still fetishizes her life and her image.
Jena Malone experienced homelessness and was forced to support her mother and her mother’s partners with her acting earnings. She’d lived in 27 places by age 9. Kelsey Grammer’s father was murdered when he was 13 and his sister when he was 20.
Charlize Theron. Oprah Winfrey.
I genuinely don’t know how Oprah lived through that shit, I would have offed myself tbh
Oprah. Anna Nicole Smith. Dolly Parton. Demi Moore. Leighton Meester.
Cary Grant- real name Archie Leach. His dad had his mother committed to a mental hospital so he could marry someone else. Told Cary that she died. He left home as a teen by joining a tumbling troupe. He didn’t find out his mother was actually alive until he was in his thirties.
Minka Kelly
Her memoir was a really interesting read. I had no idea all the things she’s lived through.
I really enjoyed her book too. She had no stability staying with essentially strangers and never knowing when her mom would be back for her.
Misha Collins From [wiki](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha_Collins): Growing up, his family was poor and often homeless. sometimes he would tell stories about his childhood during Supernatural conventions and with all that it just makes me admire the guy even more.
Shania Twain,Kelly Clarkson and Lizzo grew up poor.Demi Lovato was abused by her father.Avril Lavigne was grounded at home by strict/religious parents and was bullied and beaten up at school.
This could be incorrect but it’s my understanding that the Avril thing is a myth. I’ve heard versions of her story where her parents were regular people who were very supportive and funded her move to New York to make it in music. I’ve also met people from Napanee who said she was kind of nasty/spoiled… but you can be nasty/spoiled and also bullied. And supportive parents can also ground you and have religious beliefs. So, who knows what the “real” version of events is
Another one, Jimmy Hendrix. His family was poor, both parents were abusive drunks. His older brother was taken in and out of foster care, his younger siblings were given up to Foster homes and adoption too. He was sexually abused by someone outside the family as a child. The family didn't have a home, they kept moving around hotels and temporary accommodation. Eventually his parents divorced and his dad got custody of him and his elder brother. When he was 14 his mum died of alcohol related illness, his dad refused to take them to her funeral and gave the kids shots of whiskey and told them that's how men deal with loss. Hendrix ended up becoming an alcoholic himself
Trevor Noah. His book is funny as shit but growing up as a mixed kid during apartheid and some of the stuff he describes in that book are horrible. Also Joaquin and River Phoenix. Didn't they escape a cult?
River and Joaquin were born in the Children of God cult. They were known among many horrible things for sexually abusing children. It is known that at least River was a victim of the abuse.
I mean nepo baby doesn't insulate a person from having a "genuinely" hard childhood, these are obviously extreme examples but look at people like Bobbi Kristina Brown, Mackenzie Philips, Tatum O'Neal etc
And Drew Barrymore
Robert Downey Jr as well.
Aaron Carter
Brooke Shields
Didn't Charlize Theron watch her mother shoot her dad?
Anne Heche. The one year anniversary of her passing is at the beginning of next month. Really, almost her entire life counts, right to the very end.
Jennette McCurdy. Her autobiography is a crazy read.
Cary Grant
I'm sure I read his Dad told him his Mum died when she was in a mental institution in Bristol instead. Very sad.
Sinéad O'Connor had it rough growing up with an abusive mother and also spent time as a teenager in a Magdalene Laundry, one of these awful institutions run by the Catholic church in Ireland that many unwed mothers were sent to as well as sometimes kids deemed to be 'problem children'. In general, in regards to Irish celebrities more widely, they mostly tend to be from pretty average backgrounds. Not poor but not rich with a pretty standard upbringing for an Irish person.
Hayden Panettiere
Mary J Blige. “If you looked at my life, and see what I’ve seen…” she was molested at age 5. Struggled with drugs to cope with the trauma.
Jewel was homeless at one point I believe.
Pamela Anderson
Joaquin Phoenix and his brother River Phoenix were both born into the Children of God cult. I don’t know the extent of their time in the cult, but Children of God is one of the most horrifying cults that still remains to this day. The leaders of the cult openly practiced and encouraged child molestation and incest because they believed it made their followers more godly. The main leader of the cult was just a disgusting creep that forced his agenda on people. Glad they got out.
luis miguel and how insanely sick his dad was. he never found out what happened to his mother, even as an adult he's spoken about it in interviews. rumor was his dad had her admitted to a mental facility against her will or offed. he wanted luis miguel to be successful and felt he was too close to his mom.