You know him as the furiously ripped mutant, Wolverine on X-Men. But make no mistake,
Hugh Jackman is nothing close to being a typecast actor. Not only can this man have his fans
swooning at his ripped and muscular body, he’ll dance and sing his way right into anybody’s heart.
So, knowing all of this, it’s heartbreaking to find out that Hugh has had to face several
tragedies throughout his life. One of them even left him abandoned and alone as a young child.
And if it wasn’t for finding the love of his life, the actor might not even be alive today.
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Hugh’s introduction into life was an unfair one.
One day, when Hugh was just eight years old, he came home from school to find his mother had
abandoned him and taken two of his older sisters with her. He was the youngest of five children,
growing up in Australia. Young Hugh was confused, and felt completely rejected.
He was left with his father and three older brothers, but being abandoned by his mother
left a hole in his heart that just couldn’t be filled. His dad had always been religious,
and together with Hugh, they would kneel down next to their beds and pray together,
hoping his mother would return … but she never did. His father later received a
telegram from his mother who had said she had left for England and wouldn’t be returning.
"From the moment Mum left, I was a fearful kid who felt powerless."
As young Hugh began to grow up, those feelings of rejection
started to turn into anger, and he began acting out as a teenager.
He started to rebel, behave badly at school and engage in reckless behaviour.
“Growing up I was scared of the dark. I was scared of heights. It limited me. I hated it,
and that contributed to my anger.”
His father tried his best to be as understanding as he could towards Hugh.
He would allow his son to take days off school when he was feeling too overwhelmed,
and encouraged him to use sports and athletics to blow off steam instead. It wasn’t until
college that Hugh decided to try another way to let loose, and as soon as he stepped onto a
theatre stage … he was hooked. Getting on stage saved Hugh, and he was able to finally take
all of the pain and anger that he felt for so many years… and let it all go on stage.
“Through acting, I’m able to find a level of bliss and peace and calm and joy. And it feels natural.”
Jackman knew he had found his calling, and decided that he was going to perform for the
rest of his life. He took classes in musical theatre, opera and dancing, and over the next
few years, he performed in several plays and focused on nothing but his studies.
After graduating, Hugh took the Australian screens by storm, starring in several TV Series,
theatre productions and also appeared in two films, Paperback Heroes and Erskineville Kings,
both released in. For his role as Wace in Erskineville, the actor received a Best
Actor nomination from the Australian Film Institute. He didn’t take home the award,
but he was given an even bigger honor when he was named the Australian Star of 1999.
And while all of THAT was going on, he also managed to find the love of his life and get
married. Hugh met Deborra-Lee Furness in 1995 on the set of the Australian TV series Correlli,
and for Hugh it was pretty much love at first sight.
For the first two weeks on set, Deborra made him so nervous that he couldn’t even speak
to her and hardly made any eye contact. Eventually, the actress asked Hugh if
she had done anything to upset him, and he finally admitted that he had a crush on her.
“When I met Deb, I knew immediately I was going to marry her. I forced
myself to wait six months because I thought, “Maybe it is infatuation. I’m
too young to know.” … I felt a complete trust with her to be exactly who I am.”
After just a couple of months of dating,
Hugh couldn’t wait any longer and he proposed to Deborra. They went on to get married less
than a year later. The couple were smitten and completely inseparable.
Furness is 13 years older than Jackman, and when they married she was 40.
The couple knew that they wanted to get an immediate start on making their own family.
“We always wanted kids. I was brought up in a family with five kids,
two were adopted, three biological. It was a natural mix to me. Deb felt that way too.”
Unfortunately, conceiving a child was a lot more difficult for the pair than they thought
it would be. Furness underwent several IVF treatments, but the struggle continued.
While trying to fall pregnant, the actress suffered two miscarriages
which left the couple completely distraught and heartbroken. They finally came to the decision
that they would adopt, bringing home a son, Oscar in 2000 and daughter Ava, just a few years later.
Becoming a parent inspired Hugh to reach out to his estranged mother
and try and reconnect with her. Hugh and his mother, Grace,
had a heart-to-heart, and she confessed to suffering with terrible postnatal depression.
Hugh was sympathetic to his mother, and the two went on to work on their relationship.
In 2013, Jackman received some shocking news.He was diagnosed with Basal-cell carcinoma,
a common form of cancer. He had an unusual spot on his nose, and it was only after Deborra convinced
him to get it checked out, that he decided to go to the doctor. If it hadn’t been for Deborra,
who knows if Hugh would have even gotten the spot looked at.
His wife quite literally saved his life! Over the next few years,
Hugh would have to have at least another five procedures done to remove new growths.
“I go every three months for check-ups,” he said. “It’s the new normal for me. My doctor
says I’ll likely have more, and if that’s your cross to bear in life, you should be so lucky.”
Hugh is now a strong advocate of sunscreen, always urging those around him to make sure
their skin is being protected. But despite his diagnosis, the actor didn’t slow down for one
second. He made his ninth film in the X-Men franchise, Logan, in 2017. It was his last
appearance as Wolverine and fans couldn't help but struggle to say goodbye to their favorite mutant.
Hugh credits his beautiful wife of over 25 years to being his rock and support through
everything that they’ve undergone. Jackman states that because they were married before he hit
A-lister status, it helped their relationship. They knew each other better than anyone else,
and they weren’t going to let the bright lights of fame deterre them from their relationship.
They were also able to ground each other, reminding one another where they came from
and that their celebrity status wasn’t something to interfere with their daily lives.
When they got married, they set out some very specific rules for their relationship,
and Jackman says that it’s one of the reasons that they’re able to make their marriage work.
Deborra and Hugh both knew that an acting career comes with a lot of travel,
so they knew that they would be facing some time apart in the near or distant future.
But they made it one of their rules: not to spend more than 2 weeks apart.
Another one of their rules is that they never go to sleep if they’re upset with one another. They
always make sure to sort out whatever it is they may have disagreed about before they go to bed.
“We never go to bed on a cross word.
Sometimes it’s 3 o’clock in the morning, but we kind of work it out before we go to sleep.”
The couple have also promised to one another that family always comes first.
Career is never to come before their personal relationships. They’re completely honest with
one another, and they’re a constant support to one another too. They make sure to spend as much
quality time together as they can, and make sure to never miss any birthdays or anniversaries.
The devoted husband has even created an Instagram hashtag for his darling wife “#mydebs”
which he uses very often to share all their special moments together. And that’s not the only
place he shares his love for Deborra. Even when he’s at red carpet events and she’s not by his
side, he’ll walk out and put his hand on his heart and he’ll always look at his wife in the audience.
“Straight afterwards, I will not see anybody in my dressing room until Deb’s been in. Because that
is my foundation, that is the rock, that is the foundation of our family, and therefore my life.”
A long and happy marriage is something that seems almost impossible in Hollywood, so everything that
they’re doing seems to be making it work. True love really does exist in the Celebrity world,
and it lies with Hugh and his Debs. Jackman and Furness haven’t had a smooth sailing relationship,
from their battle to conceive a child, to Hugh’s constant battle with cancer.
But it seems that their love can truly conquer all.