Celebrities come from all kinds of backgrounds and families. Some are Hollywood born and raised, some are from teeny towns in the Midwest. Some have picture perfect families who they return to whenever they have a break in their busy filming schedule, and others never really had a strong family when they were growing up. While it may seem like they're an entirely different breed, at the end of the day, celebrities are human just like the rest of us — which means they can have drama in their personal lives as well.
While some celebrities have two parents that they love and cherish and even bring to red carpet events at times, other celebrities aren't as lucky. They have parents who may be divorced and on awful terms, or have a parental unit that fled when they were just a baby. All those things can have a huge impact on who you are as a person — but luckily, these celebs managed to take that drama in their early life and turn it into something that strengthened them.
The 15 celebs on this list were all raised by single mamas, essentially, either because their dads totally abandoned the entire family, or because their parents split and their dads didn't bother to foster a relationship with their own children. It just goes to show how strong single mamas can be!
15 Demi Lovato, who talked about the experience in "For The Love of a Daughter"
To say that Demi Lovato has experienced a fair bit of drama in her young life so far would be an understatement — she's battled with addiction and mental health issues and come out stronger on the other side, which is a reason her fans adore her so much. And, it turns out that when she was a baby, she was abandoned by her father. Her father apparently left when Demi was just a toddler, and though she reconciled with him to some degree when she got older, she never really had that strong bond. In fact, she even wrote about the issue in her song "For the Love of a Daughter" which has absolutely heartbreaking lyrics like "don't you remember I'm your baby girl? How could you push me out of your world?"
14 Angelina Jolie, who didn't speak with her father for years
Angelina Jolie has had a lot of unusual things in her past, and her often complex relationship with her family is one of them. I mean, who could forget the insane moment when she full on made out with her brother on the red carpet — on multiple occasions! Well, while everyone knows that Angie's dad is the actor Jon Voight, you may not know that he split from Angie's mom Marcheline Bertrand when Angie was just a baby. Jolie was raised basically entirely by her mom, and really didn't have any contact with her father until she was a bit older — given that they were in the same industry and would likely see each other at certain events, we imagine it would be even more awkward than the typical estranged father/daughter relationship. No wonder family is so important to Jolie now!
13 Halle Berry, who was raised by a strong single mama
Halle Berry has certainly had a tumultuous love life, but she's never been the type to stick with a partner when it isn't working just because they have a child together — and we have to guess that's because her mother showed that you could be a strong, single mom all on your own. Though her children's fathers are involved in their lives, she definitely rocks the single mama card day in and day out, and her mother likely had a huge impact on that strength. Her parents divorced when Berry was just a child — around four years old — and there was no big custody battle there. Berry has been outspoken about the fact that she really didn't have much contact with her father at all after her parents split, which is sad.
12 Christina Aguilera, who had a tough childhood
Aguilera may seem to have a glamorous, charmed life now that she's a celebrity, but it wasn't always that way. Many people know that she got her start in the industry at a very young age, as one of the children featured on The Mickey Mouse Club. She went on to become a teen pop star, tearing up the charts alongside fellow MMC alum Britney Spears. However, she didn't come from an idyllic family — her parents split when she was young, and she's spoken before about the fact that her father was abusive with the family, so it wasn't simply a split because the spark had fizzled between her parents. Her single mom raised her, encouraged her to develop those singing chops, and she's at the top of her game now.
11 Eva Mendes, who was raised by a single mama once her parents were divorced
Eva Mendes didn't get her start in the entertainment industry quite as young as her hubby Ryan Gosling, but the gorgeous actress has certainly had her fair share of success now. She's balanced typical 'gorgeous love interest' roles in films like Hitch with meatier roles that truly challenged her acting chops, and now she's a mom raising her baby girl with her loving partner by her side. Her mom didn't always have that luxury, unfortunately. Her parents got divorced when she was still a child, something that isn't too uncommon, but her father really didn't stay in their lives afterwards, so she was raised by her strong single mama. You can tell by the fact that Mendes brings her mom to events from time to time, and the way they interact, that they truly have a strong relationship.
10 Mariah Carey, who developed her legendary pipes with the help of her mom
Mariah Carey is another celebrity who shot to stardom at a relatively young age. She wasn't struggling in the music industry for a decade before she got noticed — those pipes caught people's attention when she was still a teen, and before she knew it she was tearing up the pop charts and showing off her incredible vocal range. However, life wasn't always so easy and glamorous for Mimi. Her parents got divorced when she was just three years old, and she didn't exactly bounce between two loving homes — she and her mother became a team of two, and she really didn't have much contact with her father whatsoever once he had left the family. Now, though she's separated from the father of her children, Nick Cannon, she doesn't want to repeat her own upbringing, so Cannon still seems to have an active role in the twins' lives.
9 Alicia Keys, who grew up in NYC by her mom's side
All these stories just prove that not every celebrity comes from a picture perfect family that has supported their dreams along the way — they face tough family situations, just like the rest of us. Alicia Keys is no different. Her parents split when she was just a toddler, and her mother buckled down and was determined to support and raise her adorable baby girl all by herself. So, they became a power team of two, trying to make it work in the big city. We can only imagine how much joy her mama felt when Keys started to really achieve success — after all those years of struggling together, it probably felt twice as sweet, and we can only imagine how grateful Keys was to her mother for all those years of support.
8 Mary J. Blige, who got inspiration for her music from her childhood troubles
While Mary J. Blige's father didn't leave quite as early as some of the other fathers on this list, it still had a huge impact on her life. Her father, Thomas, left the whole family when Mary was just eight years old, at which point her mother just pulled up her responsible parent pants and raised her children all by herself on her nurse's salary. Blige bounced from the south to the Big Apple, and even dropped out of high school at one point to pursue her dreams and help her family. However, in the end, she made it to the major league in the entertainment industry — and we can only imagine she credits a lot of that to her mother's strength and encouragement over the years, rather than to her father's musical genes (as he was a jazz musician).
7 Chloe Grace Moretz, whose parents divorce did a number on her
Chloe Grace Moretz is another one of those celebrities who got her start at a very, very young age — in fact, despite the fact that she's just 20 years old, she's already had a pretty impressive career with over a decade of experience under her belt. However, that doesn't mean her life has always been easy. She has four big brothers watching out for her and giving her that male influence in her life, but after her father left her mother and left the whole family, she definitely took it hard. As she told Marie Claire in an interview, "he just left, so it's like you have to fend for yourself... when you're betrayed by someone that is a bloodline, you start to beware trusting people and to protect yourself at all costs." Yikes!
6 Ellie Goulding, who developed a ton of inner strength as a result of her father's abandonment
Not only is Ellie Goulding totally unafraid to talk about the impact being abandoned by her father had on her — she actually embraces it, saying that she credits that situation in her life for her ability to become the strong women she is. However, her mother has been outspoken about the fact that it wasn't always easy, and that Ellie felt a degree of insecurity for years. To this day, Goulding really doesn't have a relationship with her father — she mentioned that "we used to see each other every other weekend and then once a month and then never. When I first stopped seeing him I can't remember why and it has been too long now. I don't know what he's like now." Well, at least her relationship with her mom still appears to be rock solid!
5 Kelly Rowland, who wanted to be a daddy's girl but was denied the chance
When you become a celebrity and start sharing your story, there's often situations where someone steps forward and tries to claim that you're not telling the truth — and that's exactly what happened in Kelly Rowland's case. Her father left the family when she was just a girl, and she's spoken about it in interviews before, telling Cosmopolitan that he "left me and my mom, and I was angry. I wanted to be a daddy's girl so bad. But this is not a perfect world." Her father has claimed that Rowland's mom actually took Kelly away from her, but somehow we're inclined to believe Kelly on this one. However, it definitely hasn't hurt her in the long run — she's a strong, independent woman with a career that is absolutely thriving and a personal life that seems amazing.
4 Selena Gomez, who was raised by a single teen mom
While their relationship didn't work out in the long run, Selena Gomez and her ex Justin Bieber have one big thing in common — both were raised by teenage single moms. Gomez's mother, Mandy, had her when she was just 16 years old, and she's been outspoken about the financial struggles that led to growing up. In fact, it was their financial struggles that inspired her mom to try to get Selena involved in acting as a child — and that was just the beginning of her incredible career. It just goes to show that sometimes things can have a silver lining that you don't expect — going through those struggles at such a young age was likely tough for Selena and her mom, but without that financial hardship, who knows if Selena would have even decided to go into the entertainment industry?
3 Adele, who may draw inspiration for her tearjerkers from childhood as well as past relationships
Adele and her husband Simon are the parents to a gorgeous baby boy now, but Adele didn't grow up with that kind of a strong family unit. Her father left the family when Adele was just a toddler, and her mother raised her all by herself. However, all those childhood struggles, as well as her relationship struggles before she met her eventual husband Simon, weren't totally useless — they inspired some of Adele's most heartwrenching songs, which just goes to show that there's often a silver lining in even the most difficult situations. Now, Adele has achieved insane success and is able to give her baby boy basically anything he wants — including a loving father who is there by their side all the time. We can't imagine how happy Adele's mum is to see the daughter she raised and all she's accomplished!
2 Julia Roberts, who was abandoned by two dads
When she was young, Julia Roberts lost not just one, but two father figures in her life. Her biological father split from her mother when Roberts was just a baby, leaving Roberts and her mom to face the world solo. However, that didn't last long — her mom found a new partner within about a year and remarried. It wasn't smooth sailing, though — the new guy in Roberts' life was apparently abusive, and so Roberts' mom left him as well. From then on, it was just Roberts and her mom against the world. We imagine that her mom Betty must have been just thrilled to see the heights her daughter's career reached — there aren't many celebrities who become such icons, and it isn't easy staying on top in the entertainment industry for decade after decade.
1 Demi Moore, who was abandoned before she was even born
Demi Moore's story of abandonment takes things to an entirely different level! She wasn't abandoned when she was a child, or even a baby, like the other celebrities on this list — she was abandoned before she was even born! Her mother and father produced baby Demi together, and apparently he decided that children just weren't in the cards for him, so he left Demi's mom while she was still pregnant. The two ended up forming a strong bond and Demi eventually made it big in the entertainment industry, at which point she was able to help her mom out and repay her for all those years they battled the world together. Now, Demi is a mom to a brood of children with her former husband, and while she's not with Willis anymore, they still seem to have a good relationship for the benefit of their children.
Sources: ranker.com, clevver.com, babygaga.cm
