Everyone Has A Past
Even the most glamorous or funny stars can have utterly devastating beginnings. These are the celebrities with the most tragic childhoods.
Charlize Theron
Born in Benoni South Africa, Charlize Theron spent her childhood on a farm with her parents, Gerda and Charles Theron. However, her family life was extremely turbulent.
Charlize Theron
Theron's father Charles was a heavy drinker—and in 1991, the unthinkable happened. After drinking too much, he went after her mother— getting physical with her, and even firing shots at both Gerda and Theron.
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Charlize Theron
In self-defense, Theron's mother shot back at her aggressive husband and ended his life. Though this marked the darkest chapter of her history, other aspects of Theron's youth were also troubled.
Charlize Theron
You see, Theron struggled to fit in at school. As a sickly child with jaundice, she had to take antibiotics. Unfortunately, the medicine caused her teeth to rot and she had to have an operation to remove them. It wasn't until she was about 10 years old that Theron's adult teeth grew in properly.
Charlize Theron
In speaking about her childhood, Charlize Theron has been quoted saying, “I grew up as an only child in South Africa, and there was turmoil in my family, but the surroundings were so great. I was usually barefoot in the dirt: no Game Boys, no computers, and we had sanctions, so there were no concerts.
This meant you had to entertain yourself”.
Leighton Meester
When Leighton Meester was born in 1986, both of her parents were behind bars. They'd been apprehended for their involvement in smuggling illicit substances into the country.
Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Leighton Meester
Though Meester's mother, Constance, gave birth to her in a hospital, she still had to finish her sentence. After spending three months at a halfway house with baby Leighton, she returned to the federal prison.
David Shankbone, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Leighton Meester
For the next 16 months, Leighton Meester lived with her paternal grandparents until her mother's release. Meester has been quoted saying, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone—especially your parents—for what they've done in their past, because people change".
However, following Meester's rise to fame, her relationship with her mother soured over finances, and a legal battle ensued.
Kelsey Grammer
In the entertainment industry, Kelsey Grammer may have one of the most surprisingly tragic pasts. Both of his parents had creative jobs:
His mother was a singer and actress, while his father was a musician and owned a restaurant. However, when they divorced, Grammer lived with his mother and grandparents.
Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images
Kelsey Grammer
After Grammer's father remarried, he found himself with five siblings—one younger sister and four half-siblings. But sadly, fate had a terrible series of events lined up for the family.
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Kelsey Grammer
When he was 12, Grammer lost his grandfather to cancer.
Then, in 1968, his father was murdered. Seven years later, his sister was also kidnapped and murdered.
Kelsey Grammer
Following the horrifying loss of his sister, Grammer stopped attending his classes at Juilliard, where he had won a scholarship. As a result, they expelled him.
Kelsey Grammer
Grammer has also experienced tragedy in adulthood, as a scuba diving accident claimed the lives of two of his half-brothers.
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Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon might be one of the most beloved comedians in Hollywood—but few know that she has a harrowing backstory.
Philip Romano, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Molly Shannon
In 1969, Shannon was only four years old when her family experienced a real-life nightmare.
She was in the car with her mother, father, three-year-old sister Katie, and her cousin Fran. But only three of them would live to see the next day.
48states, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Molly Shannon
On that fateful night in June, they were all on their way home from a party. Her father had been drinking—and while on the highway, the worst happened. Her father ended up driving into a steel light pole.
David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Molly Shannon
Shannon described the scene of the accident in her memoir Hello, Molly!
According to her, a man came across the wreck and heard her mother's last words:
"Where are my girls"?
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Molly Shannon
In her memoir, Shannon wrote, "My baby sister, Katie, and cousin Fran were killed instantly. Since Mary and I were in the very back of the station wagon, we just had a concussion and a broken arm, respectively. Katie was buried in the wreckage".
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Shania Twain
Shania Twain may be a country superstar but her rough childhood is still a huge part of who she is today. Growing up in Timmins, Ontario—a city in Canada—Twain's family struggled with having enough money.
Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Shania Twain
With five kids to take care of, Twain's parents sometimes weren't able to afford food or pay the rent.
Twain has admitted that she often went hungry and felt envious of the other children at school, whose parents packed them ample lunches. But that wasn't even the worst part.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain was four years old when her father, Jerry Twain, officially adopted her. However, as she grew up, she watched as he brutally mistreated her mother.
Shania Twain
One of Twain's most horrifying memories was when her father pushed her mother's head into a toilet: "She was unconscious, she was limp, hanging from his, you know, her, he had her hair in his hands".
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Shania Twain
It's no wonder that Twain's mother had periods of intense depression.
Things got so bad that Twain convinced her mother to take all the kids and seek refuge at a homeless shelter. But it didn't last forever—her mother eventually went back to her father in 1981.
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Shania Twain
To assist her family with their finances, eight-year-old Shania Twain pitched in.
She began singing in bars for money—but she didn't enjoy performing in such dismal environments.
Shania Twain
In 1987, her parents suddenly passed in a car accident, leaving Twain responsible for taking care of her younger siblings.
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Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore has been open about her very difficult childhood. Like many child stars, she grew up too fast and it took a toll on her mental health.
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Drew Barrymore
Barrymore began acting when she was just five years old. She played the adorable character of Gertie in Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Drew Barrymore
Barrymore's father John was a heavy drinker with vicious moods, while her mother Jaid wasn't the most responsible parent. When her parents divorced, nine-year-old Barrymore stayed with her mother.
Drew Barrymore
Jaid often brought Barrymore to the famous nightclub, Studio 54. Here, she became familiar with men, illicit substances, and drinking.
Multiple times a week, she'd hang out with adults in the least child-friendly setting imaginable. This was a recipe for disaster.
Drew Barrymore
By the time she was 13, Barrymore had not only been in rehab but also a psychiatric hospital, where she stayed for 18 months. But this dark period of her life still wasn't over. Sadly, at the age of 14, she attempted to take her own life and returned to rehab once again.
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Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore became independent at the age of 15, after applying for emancipation.
She cut ties with her parents and moved into her own apartment. Two years later, she returned to acting with the film Poison Ivy.
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Barry Keoghan
Barry Keoghan is one of the most popular new actors in Hollywood—but few know that he had a rather tumultuous upbringing.
Barry Keoghan
Keoghan grew up in Summerhill, Dublin.
His mother struggled with substance addiction, while his father was absent. As a result, when he was just five years old, Keoghan and his brother Eric ended up in foster care.
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Barry Keoghan
In foster care, Keoghan never had a permanent home. He got shuffled around, living with 12 different families over the course of his childhood.
Following his mother's fatal overdose, 12-year-old Keoghan began living with his grandmother.
Dublin International Film Festival, CC BY 3.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Barry Keoghan
Keoghan has told Esquire magazine that he doesn't have much recollection of his childhood spent in foster care. However, he does have some heartwarming memories of his mother, who he remembers as “always chirpy and always making sure we were good”.
Barry Keoghan
Even at a young age, Keoghan had a knack for performing and has recalled dancing to Elvis's "A Little Less Conversation," which was one of his mother's favorite songs.
Barry Keoghan
Speaking about his difficult youth, Keogan shared with Esquire, “You know what, I’m proud of it. I’m not going to say what happened was the right thing, but it’s certainly given me a lot of ammunition—ambition because of childhood”.
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Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson may have starred in the most hilarious roles, but he has admitted that he was a very angry child. His bad behavior got him expelled from both nursery school and first grade. However, his family life was also troubled.
Gabriel Cristóver Pérez, Wikimedia Commons
Woody Harrelson
When Harrelson was seven years old, his father took off—and the abandonment deeply affected him. He told GQ, "I think I was also just too soft. I was so sensitive, so vulnerable". He decided to become tougher and more resilient, but this often translated into rage.
He once told The Hollywood Reporter, "I used to go to bars and fight the guys I thought were bullies. I've got scars everywhere."
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Woody Harrelson
The truth about Woody Harrelson's father might also come as a shock to those unfamiliar with his story. Charles Harrelson was a contract killer, who ended up behind bars for taking the life of a federal judge.
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Woody Harrelson
Though his father walked out when he was seven, Harrelson remembers him as "...quite a charming fellow and a gambler.
He made a lot of money gambling. He cheated, but he was more of a con artist.".
SPC Andrew McGalliard, Wikimedia Commons
