Who doesn’t want some juicy gossip to hear about others? Be it someone in friends, family, class, or even someone as popular as a celebrity. People always look for some hidden things about their favorite celebrities to add to their personal biographies of these celebs. Sometimes these secrets are fun to hear, sometimes inspiring, but sometimes are really dark and touchy.
Even though people try to keep their dark secrets hidden and private, the celebrities’ lives are so social and public that it is very hard for them to keep it hidden for so long. Some of them still manage to keep their darker side away from the public, others become open and share around with more experience. If we look at the repercussions of revealing, it is highly understandable that they want certain things to be a secret. In this broad category, there is a subsection of family-related secrets, that involve the darker sides of celebrities’ past.
Here we come up with such ‘Dark Family Secrets’ of ‘Hollywood celebrities’, that they opened up about in front of the public:-
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Dark Family Secret of Arnold Schwarzenegger: A name not uncommon to anyone, this Austrian Mr. Universe gained popularity with his action roles in movies like The Terminator, The Predator, etc. It is said that the actor did not attend his father’s funeral. While there are many assumptions and stories to reason out this action, the most believed reason is that his father served in the Austrian army during World War II which came under Germany. Arnold also mentioned that he had no love for his father and that he was very abusive during his early age.
2. Rihanna
Family Secret of Rihanna: The “Diamond” girl Rihanna also had to face tremendous problems during her childhood. When she was young, her father struggled with drug addiction. This led to her parents getting separated when she was very young. Apart from this, her father’s infidelity also led to him having relationships with multiple partners which resulted in Rihanna having three half-siblings.
3. Leighton Meester
Dark Family Secret of Leighton Meester: Gossip Girl Leighton Meester also had serious issues during her upbringing. Many of her close relatives, including her mother, were caught trying to smuggle more than 1000 pounds of Marijuana into the States. During this time, her mother was pregnant with her and she gave birth to Leighton under the police custody.
4. Jay-Z
Dark Family Secret of Jay-Z: Jay-Z had almost committed a major crime during his pre-teen years. When he was just 12 years old, Jay-Z tried to kill his brother, who was a drug addict, and tried to steal Jay-Z’s ring. Out of anger, Jay-Z pulled the trigger and tried to shoot his brother, who fortunately survived. Since everyone was at fault, his brother refused to take legal action.
5. John Travolta
John Travolta, who has been married to his wife Kelly Preston for 25 years, has always had to fight away rumours he is secretly gay. His lawyer threatened to sue now-defunct website Gawker when they published the report: The Secret Sex Life of John Travolta. Their “source” reported: “His preference is Middle Eastern or guys with dark features. His taste has changed over the 15 years that I’ve seen him visiting (male hook-up) spas.”
6. Jack Nicholson
Family Secret of Jack Nicholson: Who doesn’t know this versatile actor and the kind of movies that he does. But his life all shattered at the age of 37 when he got to know that his elder sister, who had died when Jack was just 9 years old and she was 26, was in fact, his biological mother.
7. Jennifer Aniston
There are many who have speculated over why Jennifer Aniston and Justin called it quits and one source revealed it was due to her jealous side. Life & Style magazine revealed “her jealousy and his flirty relationships with other women” was the reason the couple is now heading to divorce court. The source added, “He’s a classic ladies’ man and flirt, and it has always driven her up the wall.”
8. Oprah Winfrey
Dark Family Secrets of Oprah Winfrey: Oprah doesn’t need any introduction. She has been one of the most beloved and respected celebrities of the industry. But even she has faced problems in her childhood. She was born to a single teenage mother and later went to live with her father as her mother couldn’t afford to pay for her living. During that she, her mother had two other children, one of whom was given up for adoption. And it is not until 2010 that she found out about her other half-sister, Patricia.
9. Robert Downey Jr.
Secrets of Robert Downey Jr.: The famous iron man also didn’t have a decent past. Robert Downey Sr. is also an actor and a filmmaker and was struggling with his drug addiction, even during Robert Downey Jr’s conception. His father was the main reason why even RDJ fell into this destructive spiral of addiction when he was just 8 years old. But thankfully, both started regretting their decision and now are fortunately clean and sober.
10. Charlize Theron
One of the prosperous actresses who has given notable performances in movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, was also a victim of an abusive father. She recalls that her father was an alcoholic who used to abuse her and her mother. In once such a tragic occasion, her mother was forced to take her father’s life, out of self-defense. The act was proved justifiable and there were no legal charges against her mother.
11. Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey isn’t a new name in any context. Be it movies, TV shows, and even tragedies. Kevin has entangled himself in a variety of problems that we don’t get to speak about his past. In one of the interviews with his brother, he revealed about their abusive father. The abuse even reached to the point where his brother almost took out his father with his pistol.
12. Woody Harrelson
This versatile actor has a different story altogether. His father, Charles Voyde Harrelson, is a convicted assassin. For most of Woody’s life, his father had been serving in the prison for killing federal Judge John H Wood Jr.
13. Jackie Chan
You could probably assume that Jackie has got his risk-taking behavior from his parents. Jackie’s father was a secret agent for nationalist guard whereas his mother in her young adulthood was a substance dealer to keep herself out of poverty. The two met when his father buster his mother-to-be for possessing substances.
14. Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man is still considered one of the classics. But unlike his movies, his family’s financial status was not stable back then. His parents adopted several of his cousins after his aunt passed away. Because of this, the household faced a huge financial strain. This led his father to try to rob a bank, which further led to him spending some time in prison.
15. Joaquin Phoenix
“The Joker”, now being acclaimed as one of the best Joker portrayals in the DC universe, has had his share of troubles in his childhood. He was born in a cult called The Children of God. He was born in the Puerto Rican community of the cult with the name Joaquin Rafael Bottom. The practices of the cult were unimaginable which led Joaquin and his family to flee and settle in the USA.
16. Rose McGowan
Kick starter of the #MeToo movement, Rose has always been a controversial figure in the industry. But even her past wasn’t so normal. She was born in the same cult Joaquin Phoenix was a part of but in the Italian community. This unconventional upbringing might be a reason for her openness.
17. Marlon Brando
Dark Family Secrets of Marlon Brando: Marlon Brando is one of the most iconic performers that the world has ever seen but outside the screen, he was a twisted guy. Due to multiple relationships, he ended up having 8 kids and adopted three more kids. The life of kids was very tragic, especially his daughters Cheyenne and Christian Brando’s. Christian shot her sister’s boyfriend and was charged with manslaughter and served six years in prison. Whereas, Cheyenne ended up taking her own life due to mental illness.
