Escaping the convent, court battles, and hugging air. These celebs aren't on
speaking terms with their parents and here's why.
Macaulay Culkin was thrust into Hollywood at a young age by his parents,
Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup. In a 2001 interview with New York magazine,
Culkin shared that he never wanted to lead a life in the spotlight. His relationship with his
parents, who became his managers, was strained — especially his relationship with his father,
who was constantly pushing him to do more while leeching off his success.
According to the Los Angeles Times, in 1995, Culkin's parents split up and became involved
in a bitter custody battle over the "Home Alone" actor and their six other children.
Winning custody of the Culkin children meant the parents would continue profiting from
their success. However, at age 16, Culkin "divorced" himself from both of his parents
and emancipated himself. After learning that he was worth an estimated $50 million,
he decided it was time he took control over his own money, per New York magazine.
"I wanted to create my own world."
Culkin hasn't spoken to or seen his father since the trial. He mostly took a break from
acting in 1994 after starring in "Richie Rich" and returned in 2003 with the movie
"Party Monster." In January 2018, Culkin shared grimmer details of his childhood with Marc Maron
on the latter's "WTF" podcast. The actor described his father as allegedly jealous
of his son's career. Culkin expressed his love for his mother, but said of his father,
In 2016, the star's father told the Daily Mail,
Kate Hudson's biological father has not been a part of her life since she
was a toddler. According to Grazia, Hudson's mother, actor Goldie Hawn,
was married to Kate's father Bill Hudson of the band The Hudson Brothers from 1976
to 1982. While together, the former couple welcomed Kate and her brother Oliver. Although
Kate wasn't raised by her real father, Hawn eventually found love again in Kurt Russell,
who began seeing the "Private Benjamin" actor in 1983. Even though they have never married,
they are highly regarded as having one of the most celebrated Hollywood relationships.
In an interview with "Today" from January 2021,
Kate called not speaking to her biological father a, quote, "41-year-old issue." She stated,
"I think that estrangement is, unfortunately,
quite common. And I think it's important for people to talk about that."
She added how important it was to have Russel in her life, explaining that he showed her what it's
like to have a strong father figure. Regardless, it was still tough not knowing her biological dad.
Kate explained to Howard Stern in 2016 that she recognized how painful it must
have been for her father to live with his decisions and that she had forgiven him.
Christina Aguilera has had a turbulent relationship with her father Fausto Aguilera
since she was a child. The songstress has spoken openly about the physical and emotional abuse her
mother, Shelly Kearns, endured while married to Fausto. Christina told Us Weekly in 2011,
Us Weekly reported that in 2002, the pop star's father denied abusing his children. He did,
however, admit to physically abusing their mother, stating,
In the March 2012 issue of Latina magazine,
Christina shared that she was willing to put their differences aside and meet Fausto. However,
there's no word as to whether or not the two ever faced one another.
The singer's experiences with her father made her
the strong woman she is today. She told Cosmopolitan in 2018,
During an interview with Billboard in September 2022, Aguilera shared that
her song "No Es Que Te Extrañe" alludes to her estranged relationship with her father.
Demi Lovato is an open book. She has spoken candidly about her struggles with drug
and alcohol addiction and has also talked about her abusive father, Patrick Lovato,
who died in 2013 from cancer. In a video discussing her song "Father" from her 2015
album "Confident," Lovato admitted to having mixed feelings about her dad's death. She said,
Lovato's mother touched upon her ex-husband's abusive ways in her
2018 memoir "Falling With Wings: A Mother's Story." She shared,
According to the Daily Mail, Heather Graham was raised by a Catholic family with an FBI
father and a mother who was a school teacher. She told the outlet that her
parents threatened to send her off to become a nun. Instead, Graham appeared
in "Drugstore Cowboy," which had the actor playing the role of a drug-addicted runaway,
and "Boogie Nights," in which she portrayed an adult film star. She told The Guardian in 1999,
The actor left home after high school and eventually stopped speaking with her parents.
She didn't care to dwell on the estrangement too much. Speaking with Cinema.com in 2001,
Graham declined to talk about her folks, worried that her words would be misconstrued.
In 2013, the actor's mom and dad allegedly told The Sun that they
never pressured their daughter into becoming a nun and didn't understand
the reason behind their rift. Her father Jim believed that reports of Heather's strict
upbringing were a narrative perpetuated by her or her publicist. He explained,
Ever since Adele's father, Mark Evans, abandoned her and her mother when she was just a child,
the songstress has had a strained relationship with him. Hopes of reconnecting turned sour
when Evans spoke about Adele to the British press. The singer told Vogue in February 2012,
However, Adele had a change of heart, telling Vogue that
she visited her father before he died in May 2021 from bowel cancer. She shared,
The "Someone Like You" singer offered similar remarks to British Vogue,
adding that she played her album for him via Zoom the week prior to his death.
Although Evans would talk about his famous daughter, he did tell the Daily Mail in 2013,
According to Page Six, it's unknown whether Evans had a chance to meet Adele's son Angelo,
whom she shares with ex-husband Simon Konecki.
Vanessa Lachey has been estranged from her mother for quite some time, as the "NCIS:
Hawai'i" star's mom left her at a young age. That
played an integral part in how she has promised to raise her three children,
whom she shares with 98 Degrees boy band member Nick Lachey. She told People in 2021,
People reported that when Vanessa was three, her mother, Helen Bondoc, split from her father,
Vincent Minnillo. And then when she was nine, Bondoc left her daughter with Vincent and
never returned. The last time Vanessa saw her mother was when she was 18 years old.
The actor has thanked her husband for being her
rock when feelings of insecurity or self-doubt arise. Nick shared,
The Lacheys wed in July 2011. At the time, Star magazine was able to locate Vanessa's mother,
who said she had no clue her daughter had gotten married. Bondoc said,
In her People interview, Vanessa shared that she was open to speaking with her mother.
"Wish us luck."
Ariel Winter garnered fame after starring in "Modern Family," but her onscreen life was nothing
close to what was happening in her real life. In an interview for The Hollywood Reporter in 2017,
Winter shared details of being a young child actor thrust into the spotlight because of
her mother. But it was more than just pushing her to take on roles. Winter claimed she was
forced to dress in revealing clothing at a young age and had a diet that was really,
really restricted, among other disturbing allegations. She added,
When the actor was 14, she took her mother to court with allegations of physical and
emotional abuse. A years-long case for her guardianship was settled before it went to trial,
with Winter's sister Shanelle Gray becoming her guardian in 2014. In 2015, she was emancipated
before she turned 18, per People. The actor spoke with Ellen DeGeneres about the decision, saying,
Winter has not spoken to her mother, who has used outlets like "Dr.Phil"
and "Inside Edition" to talk publicly about their strained relationship.
"For me, I probably should take the high road
and do something that I would have wished she would've done for me."
Actor Anthony Hopkins welcomed his only child, Abigail Hopkins, with his first wife,
Petronella Barker, in 1968. According to The Telegraph, before Hopkins and Barker
ended their marriage in 1972, he also ended his connection to his young daughter. In a 2002 press
interview for "Red Dragon," Hopkins responded to an assumption that he was self-possessed. He said,
In her interview with The Telegraph in 2006, Abigail shared that she infrequently saw
her father when she was a child. She also made mention of an argument they had when she was 16,
downplaying mental health struggles from her younger years. Abigail had a brief reunion
with her father when he cast her in cameos for "Remains of the Day" and "Shadowlands."
She was still open to having a relationship with her famous dad,
but only if it was mutual. In a 2018 interview with the Radio Times,
the actor had no intention of reconciling with his only daughter. He said,
Further explaining their estrangement, he told The Times,
When Meghan Markle joined the British royal family after her November 2017 engagement to Prince
Harry, the tabloids attacked the "Suits" actor. Sadly, her own family took it upon themselves
to make regular public comments about her and sell stories to the press. Markle's father,
Thomas Markle, had been highly outspoken about the Duchess of Sussex. He's criticized Meghan
for stepping down from her royal duties, and he's also expressed a desire to take legal
action in order to see Meghan and Prince Harry's two children, Archie and Lilibet.
According to the Daily Mail, Meghan's relationship with her father became
strained when he was caught staging photos with the paparazzi before his
daughter wed Prince Harry in 2018. She urged her parents not to discuss
her and Harry's relationship with the press, telling Oprah in March 2021,
"I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can't—
I can't imagine it."
Meghan has found it difficult reconciling with her father. In October 2021, Thomas spoke with
"Good Morning Britain" about wanting to fix their relationship for the sake of his grandchildren.
"It's important for them to know that they have two families. And eventually,
they're going to grow up and they're going to want to know more about them."
Thomas also said that he would continue to speak to the press until Meghan reached out to him.
"Captain Marvel" actor Brie Larson cemented her name in Hollywood when
she won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture drama for her performance in
2015's "Room." Larson then won the best actress Oscar for the role. Her father,
Sylvain Desaulnier, told the Daily Mail how proud he was of his daughter.
Although he praised his daughter's career, Larson had been estranged from her father for years.
Opening up about her nonexistent relationship with her father, Larson told Elle magazine in 2016,
Larson added that her difficult situation with her father made her take on volatile
roles. She also revealed that she hadn't spoken to him in a long time. However,
Desaulnier seemed to tell a different story to the Daily Mail when he said,
Meg Ryan's feud with her mother, Susan Jordan, began after the "When Harry Met Sally" actor
became involved with Dennis Quaid in 1990. According to the New York Post,
Jordan became concerned about her daughter's relationship with Quaid
when she suspected him of misusing drugs, which Ryan had denied. Jordan explained,
Ryan did not invite her mother to her 1991 wedding to Quaid. However, as Jordan said,
Quaid entered rehab for his drug addiction before the two could wed. In July 2000,
the couple split, with Susan telling the New York Post she hoped that meant
she and her daughter could restore their relationship. Jordan said,
Jordan's 2001 autobiography, "The Immune Spirit: A Story of Love, Loss, and Healing," did not paint a
pretty picture of her famous daughter, especially after allegedly wanting to make amends. It read,
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Social media star Bryce Hall penned a letter apologizing for getting arrested and charged with
marijuana possession in Texas in May 2020. The essay, given to People, expressed Hall's desire
to become a better person for his family and his 23 million followers on TikTok. Hall admitted that
being in jail for a day was enough to convince him that it was time for a change, saying,
In June 2017, Hall shared a satirical Father's Day Instagram post that showed the influencer
hugging the air, which was meant to be his father. His caption partly read,
Hall was in more trouble in 2021. After a physical altercation at a restaurant, he stated to People: