Childhood is generally regarded as a period of bright sunshine, happy discoveries about the world and carefree living. When we see a celebrity we can jump to the conclusion that theirs was the brightest of childhoods. But it is not always the case – with some of them it was the time of squalor and misery. Somehow they managed to rise from their past untrodden and convert their dark memories into wonderful art. Today we are going to talk about celebs’ sad childhood moments.
Shania Twain
One of six children, Shania Twain entered this world in an indigent family in a Canadian village. She had a stepfather who would be abusive to her mom before children. There were days when the family had nothing to buy food with, and in winter warm clothing and footwear were often scanty.
When the girl turned 22, her mother and stepfather died in a road accident, and it was up to Twain to support the kids. Luckily, she decided to earn money by singing at gigs. That gave her a springboard she needed to achieve unbelievable success in her field.
Jim Carrey
Another Canadian, Jim Carrey was the youngest of four children in the family of a small-time accountant in an unremarkable town. His career started in a Catholic school – but he didn’t attend it for a long time.
The circumstances were so strained that Carrey felt it incumbent upon him to earn money, and he decided to quit school and hone his abilities to make people laugh. His act caught on, he started to build on it, and his diligence brought him to where we all know him well.
Charlize Theron
As for Charlize Theron, she had a totally unbearable father who drank and became violent both towards his wife and his daughter. His brother used to come over to join him in his brawls. It lasted until one day in 1991. That day the row was so frenzied that 15-year-old Theron and her mother had to retreat to the kitchen to hide, but the abuse went on. Finally, the woman was driven to snatch at the shotgun and fire. Her husband was shot dead; his brother got his share of bullets, but survived the repulse. The police found she was acting in self-defence, so no charges were brought against her.
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey was born under a Nazi shadow: his father was an ardent admirer of Hitler, and even used to wear Hitler-style mustache.
Besides emulating the Führer outwardly, he liked to rule his household with an iron hand, which was very hard on his children; his wife didn’t seem to do anything to resist him. The children went in fear of him so much that Spacey’s brother Randy didn’t want to have children lest he would pass down the bad genes.
So, home wasn’t a cozy place for them, and childhood was devoid of many things good. Afterwards the kids‘ mother wrote to them saying that both she and her husband had suffered abuse in their childhood which was meant to explain away their attitudes. Not so great an excuse, coming rather late in life.
Leighton Meester
The circumstances of Leighton Meester’s birth are far from enviable: she spent her first months in prison where her mom had been sent for trafficking drugs. As for her father, he had also been a jailbird.
Whatever childhood she had, it was over soon, for when she turned ten, she started off performing and modeling; having grown up a bit, she went in for auditioning. Her family had always been in dire circumstances, Meester never had more than her dreams, but she succeeded in bringing in money.
Sadly, it didn’t solve the family problems. For years Meester had been supplying her mother and her brother who needed special care with money – before she learned that, instead of providing care for her brother, her mother was pleasing herself. That was a horrendous discovery.
Christina Aguilera
Hailing from New York‘s Staten Island, Christina Aguilera was born to a family of an Ecuador immigrant who was an Army sergeant. Her home life was far from being happy. Her father was prone to be violent and had his wife on the receiving end of his outbursts. In six years after Christina’s birth she came to the end of her patience and filed for divorce; on its finalization she, Christine and her other daughter Rachel left for Pennsylvania.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj originated from Trinidad, but at five she found herself in New York. Her addict father was often unrestrainedly abusive and violent. In one of his wilder conditions he set fire to their home merely in order to spite his wife. Watching family brawls from her green years, Minaj felt an acute need to break out of the danger zone and achieve security and fame.
But it was not only for her own sake. Minaj had wanted to see her mother possess more strength and assurance, and when she realized that it was not to be, she resolved to be strong and successful to show her mother how different life can be. This is one of her greatest achieveents.
Oprah Winfrey
None of Oprah Winfrey’s fabulous fortune and attainments can eliminate her sufferings at the beginning of her life. She came from very humble origins. Having gone away with her mother after she broke up with her father, she landed in an unutterably sordid Milwaukee ghetto. Since she was nine she was subjected to all kinds of abuse.
Then, three years later, Winfrey knew safe and comfortable life at her father’s home, but not for long: after a while she had to return to her mom. The woman was often absent from home working long hours to earn their keep, and some people she trusted took advantage of her being busy to have their way with her daughter. Happily Winfrey proved strong enough to get over it – and succeed!
