5 celebrities who were raised by single parents or placed in foster care

How often are you impressed by sensual acting or emotional, honest singing? For the most part, these are not just talented people but those whose work has been influenced by life drama. For example, when their biological father or mother (or even both) abandoned them.

Find out which celebrities were raised by single parents and which were given to strict relatives in the OBOZ.UA article. Today, these people inspire others not to despair if they have to face something similar.

1. Kelly Clarkson

In 2015, American singer and actress Kelly Clarkson released the song Piece by Piece, in which she described how she felt when her father left her, a 6-year-old, with her mother. "I begged you to stay with me, but you didn't want to... At that time, I had nothing that you needed. You thought I was useless. I've achieved something, and now you want to come back..." the song says.

After the premiere of the song, Kelly said in an interview that she did not want sympathy from the public and added, "I think it's hard to grieve for someone you never had around... For my dad. I turned to my father so many times... It hurt me when he kept rejecting me."

2. Oprah Winfrey

The childhood of the famous American actress, TV presenter, and writer Oprah Winfrey is not to be envied. Her parents didn't want to have a child, so they gave her to her strict grandmother immediately after giving birth. She often scolded the girl and even beat her. But that was just the tip of the iceberg as the worst was yet to come.

As Winfrey grew older, her uncle, cousin, and several other relatives began to molest her. As a 9-year-old, she could not fight back, so she was repeatedly sexually abused. The situation became even more acute when Oprah found out that she was expecting a child at the age of 14. Her grandmother, who thought she was pregnant after an affair with a young man, kicked her out of the house. Only after this situation did the future star move in with her father and start a new life.

3. Jack Nicholson

The American film actor Jack Nicholson's own mother, June Frances Nicholson, dated musician Donald Rose, and became pregnant with him. Since she was very young, her parents decided to hide it. They became Jack's "mom" and "dad," and June became his "older sister," who only occasionally visited her "brother." The woman never dared to tell the boy the whole truth in her entire life even when he grew up.

The family secret was revealed by a Time magazine journalist. At that time, Jack was 36 years old, and his biological mother and "parents" were no longer alive.

4. Angelina Jolie

The parents of the American actress, model and director Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, separated when she was one year old. The reason was her father's infidelity. Thus, the future movie star was raised by her mother. By the way, the woman had to give up her dreams of conquering Hollywood, sacrificing her time to raise her children. Many years later, the daughter, on her mother's initiative, resumed communication with her father. But not for long.

In 2001, Jolie and Voight starred in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. And in 2002, the father told the press that his daughter had serious mental health problems. Obviously, the actress did not like this, so she stopped communicating with him. Rumor has it that the two finally got along in 2010.

5. John Lennon

The parents of the legendary musician John Lennon, founder and member of The Beatles, were not ready for a child, so they annulled their marriage contract shortly after his birth. A few years later, John's mother remarried and gave her son to her aunt and her husband to raise.

The new parents treated the boy harshly. They forbade Lennon to do his favorite thing, which is play the guitar: they believed that he was wasting his time on nonsense. But the musician became close to his uncle, who replaced his father.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about 5 stars who gave their children up for adoption or to a boarding school.

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