16 Celebs With Shockingly Sad Childhood Stories
For anyone, a traumatic childhood is a heartbreaking thing. When innocence is stolen and a young child is tormented by the events happening around them, it's too hard to believe such evil can happen. Celebrities may appear like they have it all, but even huge stars have personal stories that will bring you to tears.
The terrible truth is those who have suffered traumatic events will be affected for the remainder of their lives. Charles Nelson, head researcher at Harvard's Center for the Developing Child, explained to Psychology Today, "By plasticity, we simply mean the brain's ability to be molded by experience. And we have an expression that plasticity cuts both ways, meaning that if it is a good experience, it is probably good for the brain. But if it's a bad experience, it may be bad for the brain."
Despite the odds being against them, some of the most important figures in Hollywood have shared their stories with the world, proving that no matter what they have been through, they were strong enough to overcome. They serve as an inspiration for other survivors who might not believe it's possible to thrive following such horrific events.
16 Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood but her life has been a struggle ever since a young age. Born in South Africa, her father Charles Theron was an abusive alcoholic who would terrorize both his daughter and her mother, Gerda Maritz.
In 1991, when Charlize was only 15-years-old, she hid with her mother in the kitchen as her drunk father and his brother were in the middle of another violent rage. Charlize's mother then pulled a shotgun and to help defend her daughter shot her husband dead and badly wounded his brother - but he survived. South African police ruled the killing was in self-defence and no further action was taken.
In 2015, Charlize starred in Dark Places, a film about a young woman who witnesses the brutal murders of her family as a child. She drew on her own life experience for the role.
15 Nicki Minaj
Born in Trinidad, Nicki Minaj lived with her grandmother as she was unsafe around her violent father who was also addicted to crack cocaine. On the show Nicki Minaj: Beneath The Bravado she revealed, "All of my young and teenage years we lived in fear that my mother would be killed by my father. It was ridiculous. My father was violent - physically and verbally."
To make a new life for the family she moved to Queens, New York as a teenager after he mother sent for her. She revealed, "A lot of times when you're from the Islands, your parents leave and then send for you because it's easier when they have established themselves; when they have a place to stay; when they have a job. I thought it was going to be for a few days, it turned into two years without my mother." In 2003, Minaj's mother sadly passed away.
14 Dylan McDermott
American Horror Story star Dylan McDermott was just 5-years-old when his mother was shot and killed in 1967. Dylan was stood only a few feet away when he heard the shots fired outside their apartment in Connecticut. His mother, Diana, had been dating gangster John Sponza and Dylan witnessed many violent arguments between them both as a child. When the police arrived at the scene of the crime, Sponza claimed Diana had entered the apartment, took the shotgun and killed herself. Her death was ruled as a suicide.
Then in 2011, Dylan asked the Connecticut police to reopen the case and they discovered the murder had been covered up although it was too late to make an arrest - Sponza had already been murdered himself in 1972 as it was believed he turned police informant.
13 Sean "P Diddy" Combs
Rapper and entertainment mogul Sean "P Diddy" Combs has gone on to become a "hip-hop billionaire" - but his childhood was a painful one. His father, Melvin Combs, was a notorious criminal and an associate of kingpin Frank Lucas. When P Diddy was just 3-years-old, his father was found shot dead in his car. In Lucas' biography, he claimed the murder was payback for Melvin turning police informant.
P Diddy said in an interview that his father's death inspired him to search for a better life himself. The father-of-six said, "For every young person who lost their father or grew up without parents know you can still conquer the world." In another video he posted via social media, he said, "I started out as a young boy from Harlem that couldn't even be a waiter. So you know what I did? I became a billionaire."
12 Tyler Perry
In 2011, Tyler Perry topped the Forbes magazine highest-earning entertainers list after he amassed a staggering $130 million in one year. However, the producer, screenwriter, actor and philanthropist did not have it easy growing up and his childhood was one surrounded by horrific abuse.
His father was physically abusive and Perry told Oprah Winfrey that to block out the abuse he would imagine a park in his mind. He recalled, "I could go to this park in my mind that my mother and my aunt had taken me to. I'm there in this park running and playing, and it was such a good day. So, every time somebody was doing something to me that was horrible, that was awful, I could go to this park in my mind until it was over." He also said that he struggled to look at any pictures of himself as a young boy because he felt that he "died as a child." Perry has since rebuilt his own life and is now happily married with one newborn son.
11 Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera had a tough childhood at the hands of her own violent father. During an interview with E!, she revealed, "I witnessed a lot of unpleasant things - a lot of pushing and shoving and fighting and quarreling. Growing up I did not feel safe. Feeling powerless is the worst feeling in the world. I turned to singing as an outlet. The pain at home is where my love for music came from."
Things became too much for her mother when she found a very young Christina covered in blood and she told her, "Daddy wanted to take a nap and I made too much noise." After this incident, her mother decided to flee with the children. Her father, Fausto Aguilera, was a retired Army sergeant and when Christina hit the big time following a stint on the Disney channel he tried to reconcile with his daughter. Christina said, "I let him back into my life briefly but I soon realized that he is not necessary in my life."
10 Kelsey Grammar
Kelsey Grammar, star of the much-loved US sitcom Frasier, has suffered many family tragedies. At a young age, his two half-brothers were killed in a scuba diving accident, their deaths came only a few years after two of his cousins were murdered in cold blood. When he was 13-years-old, his father was shot and killed by a man named Arthur Niles who was in need of psychological care. Niles was later found not guilty be reason of insanity.
Worst of all, Grammar's sister Karen was 18-years-old when she was murdered by four men. Karen had finished her shift at a restaurant when she abducted by the men who had planned to rob the store. She was left for dead in a nearby trailer park. During the height of his fame, Grammar turned to drink and drugs to help with the painful memories of his sister's death, he told Vanity Fair, "That was the time when I could not forgive myself for my sister's death."
9 Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard did not have the easiest upbringing. Born in Chicago, he told Rolling Stone, "My daddy taught me, 'Never take the vertebrae out of your back or the bass out of your throat. I ain't raisin' sheep. I raised men. Stay a man.'" His father could not control his own temper and this eventually led to murder.
Terrance recalled he was 2-years-old he was stood in line with his father, mother and two siblings. His mother was pregnant at the time and his father was angered by a man who cut in front of the family. His father took a nail file and stabbed the man repeatedly until he was on the ground. Terrence said, "I was standing next to my father, watching. Then stuff happened so quickly - blood was on the coats, on our jackets - and then my dad's on a table and then my dad is gone to prison." His father was charged with second-degree murder.
8 Jim Carrey
Before Jim Carrey became the comedy legend he is known as today, Jim Carrey grew up surrounded by poverty and his family struggled. During an appearance on Inside The Actor's Studio, he revealed, "We lived in a van for a while, and we worked all together as security guards and janitors. (Carrey) worked an eight hour day in a factory after school (and wanted to) bash somebody's head in."
The financial turmoil they went through inspired a speech made at Maharishi University Of Management. Carrey told the students, "My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn't believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an account." He explained, "I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you could fail at what you don't love, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love."
7 Oprah Winfrey
Billionaire Oprah Winfrey is often ranked as one of the most inspirational women in the world. Her climb to become the 'Queen of Media' is even more incredible knowing that her childhood was one of real heartbreak and trauma.
She told David Letterman, "I grew up in an environment where children were seen and not heard. I was beaten regularly." One beating in particular had stayed in her mind, she remembers, "I went to a well to get some water and carry it in a bucket. And I was playing in the water with my fingers, and my grandmother had seen me out the window and she didn't like it. She whipped me so badly that I had welts on my back and the welts would bleed. And then when I put on my Sunday dress, I was bleeding from the welts. And then she was very upset with me because I got blood on the dress. So then I got another whipping for getting blood on the dress."
After being sexually assaulted at 14-years-old, Oprah fell pregnant and her own mother kicked her out the family home. She had a termination and was able to start a new life for herself. She told Letterman, "I really felt like that baby's life - that baby coming into the world - really gave me new life. That's how I processed it for myself."
6 Leighton Meester
We came to love her as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl and could not picture anyone else in the role, Leighton Meester is also a succesful singer-songwriter and style icon. She has come a long way since starting her life behind bars when her mother gave birth during a prison sentence for drug smuggling. Leighton's father and aunty were also involved in the same smuggling ring - her aunt broke out of prison and became the first woman in the U.S to land her name on the Marshals 15 Most Wanted List.
Leighton was not reunited with her mother until she was 16-months-old. Growing up in poverty, she was robbed of a normal childhood and explained to Marie Claire, "I couldn't relate to kid stuff. 'Jimmy doesn't like me.' Who cares? I was worried we didn't have gas and food. Those were my concerns.
In 2012, Leighton ended her relationship with her mother following a bitter court battle. Her mother claimed she was promised "$10,000 a month for the rest of her life" from her daughter but the court found no such agreement took place. Leighton turned her back on her mother clearly heartbroken over the alleged extortion.
5 Corey Feldman
Former child star Corey Feldman won millions of fans worldwide following his performance in The Lost Boys and The Goonies - although his carefree life was not quite as it seemed. In his memoir Coreyography he detailed the abuse suffered by both himself and fellow child star Corey Haim.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he shockingly revealed, "Ask anybody in our group of kids at that time: (Grown men) were passing us back and forth to each other. Like it was something people joked about on studio lots. We're not talking about huge executives and directors that I am aware of that were involved in this. The people that I knew doing it were publicists, they were photographers for teen magazines, things like that." Haim sadly passed away in 2010 after suffering from pneumonia. Both he and Feldman had battled drug addictions all their lives.
4 Eminem
When rapper Eminem was just six-months-old his father, Marshall Mathers II, walked out on his mother who was just 15-years-old at the time. He moved to Detroit, he lived in a trailer with his mother who survived on welfare handouts.
Eminem never stayed in the same school for a few months before moving to a different one, as he was unable to make friends this led to him being badly bullied. Aged just 9-years-old, she was beaten so badly by classmates that he lost consciousness and was hospitalized for four days for a cerebral hemorrhage. The brain damage was so severe he had forgotten how to tie his own shoe laces and could not pour cereal in a bowl.
In his mother's memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, she revealed how his anxiety stayed with him all his life. She writes, "He's shy, suffers terrible stage fright, yet tours constantly and is among the most instantly recognizable people in the world. Sometimes I wish we hadn't moved back to Michigan in 1987, where he got involved with hard-core rap. If we'd stayed in Missouri, he'd have maybe worked on a farm or in a factory."
3 Ashley Judd
Actress Ashley Judd was at one time the highest paid actress in Hollywood. In her memoir All That Is Bitter & Sweet, she revealed her childhood was nothing but emotional and physical torture. Judd would constantly be on the road with her mother who was a singer and one night she was pulled into a cupboard by her man who forced her to kiss him in exchange for money - she managed to fight him off and get free but the incident left her depressed at just 7-years-old.
Judd also revealed her mother would engage in relationships with violent men and the abuse she witnessed left her so distraught she considered taking her own life. One man her mother brought home was an "abusive full-blown heroin addict with a criminal record" who would abuse Judd too. Now Judd has become a feminist activist who joined the women's march and gave her voice to other survivors of abuse.
2 Judith Barsi
Judith Barsi was a child actress who voiced Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven - earning her $100,000 a year by the time she was in fourth grade. Despite growth hormone injections, she remained very petite for her age and her agent said when she was 10-years-old "she was still playing 7, 8."
Sadly behind closed doors, Barsi's father was an angry drunk and would often threaten to kill himself and his family. The stress and trauma led Barsi to behave disturbingly - she would pluck her own eyelashes and pull out her own hair. She was taken to a child psychologist who informed child services of the abuse - but they did not act quick enough. In 1988, 10-year-old Barsi and her mother were both shot in the head while they were sleeping before her father turned the gun on himself. Buried in Hollywood Hills, her grave can be visited by those who were touched by her work.
1 Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop', is one of the most legendary icons of our time. He never had a childhood as he was constantly working for his father who demanded the best from his sons. Jackson recalled, "I used to always cry from loneliness. I would do my schooling which was three hours with a tutor and right after that I'd record for hours and hours until it's time to go to sleep."
He also recalled, "When I was a kid, I was denied not only a childhood, but I was denied love. When I reached out to hug my father, he didn't hug me back. When I was scared to go on stage, he said, 'Get your a** on that stage.'" His brothers also revealed they were beaten if they messed up a step wrong in rehearsal. Jackson added, "My childhood was completely taken away from me. There was no Christmas, there were no birthdays, it was not a normal childhood, nor the normal pleasures of childhood - those were exchanged for hard work, struggle and pain and eventually material and professional success. But as an awful price, I cannot re-create that part of my life."