We are used to seeing these people rich, famous and prosperous. Millions love them, they quote them, they try to imitate them.
These stars have contracts for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some even became owners of their own stars on the Walk of Fame.
Looking at them today, it is hard to imagine that their childhood and youth cannot be called happy. We collected 10 stars who survived a terrible childhood.
10. Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is a very textured actor with a remarkable talent. His childhood cannot be fully called horrible, but it kept a great secret. And the salt is precisely how this mystery was revealed.
It turned out that Jack's sister was actually his mother. She was 17 years old when she became pregnant and could not exactly name the father of the child. Then her mother, in fact the grandmother of the boy, called him her son and raised him as a son.
It became clear after her death, and one of the reporters unearthed this fact, Nicholson did not know anything.
9. Woody Harrelson
Spectators love Woody Harrelson for his talent and consistently vibrant roles. He played in such films as “The Illusion of Deception”, “The Hunger Games”, “A Real Detective”, “Three Billboards on the Border of Ebbing, Missouri” and others.
Fortunately, he chose the career of an actor and did not follow in the footsteps of his father. After all, when Woody was only seven years old, his father was sent to prison - he was a hit man.
After 10 years, the father killed the district judge and received two life sentences for this. Woody is the middle son; he has two brothers.
8. Eminem
If we talk about a difficult childhood, Marshall Bruce Mathers, known as Eminem, immediately comes to mind. There are a lot of genuine pain and real stories in his texts.
He was only six months old when his father left his wife and child, so that he would never again appear in their lives. Mom, Deborah Mathers, raised her son, as it turned out. But it didn’t work out very well. She often broke down on little Marshall and raised her hand at him.
In addition, in search of work, she moved from state to state, dragging her son along. Marshall had to change school after school, where each time he endured all the charms of being a novice.
Eminem recalls how he was beaten regularly in the classroom, hallway, school toilet, and courtyard.
7. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron in childhood had to taste all the "charms" of life in the family of an alcoholic. Her father drank a lot and often behaved inappropriately. It got to the point that he and his mother could never fully feel safe.
Once, in a drunken stupor, Father Charlize grabbed a gun and started firing, aiming at his wife and daughter. Fortunately, not only the man had weapons, and mother was able to protect herself and her daughter.
As a result, he died. Later in an interview, Charlize Theron said she considered her mother a heroine and would have acted the same in her place.
6. Demi Moore
Demi's biological father left her mother still pregnant. Soon she found a new man, but became addicted to alcohol, and together they often got drunk to unconsciousness.
When intoxicated, the stepfather often scolded and beat children. It was difficult for him to find work, and therefore the Demi family often moved from place to place. Therefore, it was difficult for the girl to make friends and establish relationships at school.
At 16, Demi dropped out of school and went to a model school, and a little later, after the neighbor Nastasya Kinski, she decided to try herself in the movies.
Having started to earn money, Demi repeatedly offered parents treatment for addiction, but they refused. She reconciled with her mother only at the very end of her mother’s life.
5. Michael Jackson
One of the reasons for his success, Michael Jackson considered the tough discipline that his father established. And Michael suffered the most from her.
Joseph used cruel and sometimes strange methods of education: he beat children, punished them. At the rehearsal of the Jackson quintet, Joseph did not appear except with a belt. Michael said that it was worth doing something wrong, and his father immediately expertly brought the children to hysteria.
Once the boys forgot to close the window in the bedroom, and Joseph climbed into it in a terrible mask, screaming and growling. Since then, Michael dreamed of horrors that he was abducted by monsters.
Joseph's upbringing left an indelible mark on the personality of Michael Jackson.
4. Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey was born and raised in Canada. His mother was a singer, but after giving birth she left a career. In total, the family had four children. Jim's father, Percy, lost his job when the future actor just went to school.
Percy was forced to get a job at a factory where tires and metal rims were made. The salary was so low that after school, the wife and children went to help their father, washed the floors, and cleaned the toilet. Jim experienced this period very hard and became an introverted child.
When Percy lost this job, the whole family lived in a van. The life and neurosis of the mother did not facilitate. She was a hypochondriac and constantly came up with new diseases.
Hollywood became Jim's dream and his chance for a better life. Fortunately, his talent was recognized, otherwise he would have been forced to return to the factory.
3. Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg is a talented actor, known to the audience in the films Transformers, Cute Bones, Max Payne.
But in his youth, Mark was a very problematic child. According to him, he had about three dozen drives to the police. Mark could be called a racist, he was repeatedly arrested for attacks on the Vietnamese.
Once he walked with a club in his hands (it seems that this was the norm for Dorchester, in Massachusetts) and attacked a Vietnamese, crushing his skull. Mark did not even deny his guilt.
In addition, he had problems with cocaine and other types of drugs. Having become a famous hip-hop artist, Mark did not calm down and at one of the parties had a fight with Madonna and had a fight with her agent.
2. Drew Barrymore
The famous Drew Barrymore became very early. She played her first role at 11 months old, but real glory came to her at 7 years old when she took part in the filming of Steven Spielberg.
Little Drew could not cope with the unexpected success that fell on her. She started smoking at 9 years old, at 11 years old addicted to alcohol. Then it came to drugs. For the first time, Drew got into a rehabilitation center when she was 14 years old.
In 1990, her father and mother were deprived of their parental rights, and Barrymore herself took up her head and never returned to a rebellious lifestyle.
1. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is a popular American television presenter, producer and public figure. Forbes has repeatedly recognized her as one of the most influential women in the country. But to reach such heights for a woman, especially a black one, was not so simple.
Opprey spent her early childhood with her grandmother, who was engaged in a lot with the girl, took to church, but also punished for misconduct with all her heart.
Oprah later moved to her mother, who was even less supportive of her daughter. These were the most difficult years in her life. She was harassed by her brothers and uncles from the age of 9, and was later raped.
At the age of 14, Oprie fled home, became pregnant and gave birth to a baby who died soon after giving birth. Unhappy with the behavior of her daughter, the mother sent her to her father in another city.
The father was very strict, but with responsibility he approached the upbringing of his daughter, helped her to get a decent education and get out in people.