A knight doesn't know if he has any grandchildren,
a rapper disowns his son, and an action star's forgotten daughter is sleeping on
the streets. These are the stories of celebs who have lost touch with their own children.
Tom Cruise was head over heels for Katie Holmes when they were together, but their divorce in
2012 proved to perhaps be even more newsworthy. That year, multiple outlets reported that Cruise
had abandoned their daughter Suri. That led the actor to file a $50 million defamation lawsuit
against Bauer Media Group, the publisher of Life & Style and InTouch. In court documents, he claimed,
"I have in no way cut Suri out of my life, whether physically,
emotionally, financially or otherwise."
However, in a 2013 deposition, Cruise admitted that he hadn't seen Suri for 100 days and had
missed her first day of school because he was filming in London. Then in 2016,
a source told InTouch that they hadn't spoken or seen each other in 1,000 days.
Another insider told Us Weekly in 2018 that Cruise's custody agreement with
Holmes allowed him to see Suri 10 days a month, but, as the source claimed,
"He chooses not to because she is not a Scientologist."
As recently as 2023, the Daily Mail reported
that Cruise was still not a part of his daughter's life.
Jackie Chan has been married to his wife Joan Lin since 1982, but their marriage
nearly fell apart in 1999 when he admitted to having an affair with former Miss Asia Elaine
Ng. He claimed that his wife and their son Jaycee forgave him. At the time, Ng was seven
months pregnant and Chan agreed to a paternity test. During a press conference, he claimed,
"If the child is mine, I'll surely take responsibility."
But then that daughter, Etta Ng, grew up with her mother in Hong
Kong not knowing Chan. In 2015, a 15-year-old Etta told Express,
"He is not my dad. I have no feelings for him. He is my biological father but he is not in my life."
In 2017, Etta came out as gay, and in 2018 she married her girlfriend Andi Autumn. That year,
the couple posted a video in which they made some startling claims.
"We've been homeless for a month due to homophobic
parents. We pretty much slept under a bridge and other things, you know."
In Chan's 2018 memoir Never Grow Up, he wrote about speaking with his wife and
son about the affair one time and then never mentioning it again. The next day,
he changed his will to leave everything to Joan.
Elon Musk has famously sung the praises of having a large family. Indeed,
he became a dad for the 10th time in 2021. His oldest children, twins Griffin and Vivian,
were born in 2004 when he was married to his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson.
While they've spent most of their lives out of the limelight, Vivian made headlines in 2022
when at the age of 18, she filed to be legally recognized as female and change her name to
Vivian Jenna Wilson. In court documents, she listed her reason for the change as:
"Gender Identity and the fact that I no longer live with or
wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form."
Rather than trying to mend their relationship, Musk told the Financial Times,
"I have very good relationships with all the others. Can't win them all."
He also shared a bizarre reason as to why
he thinks Vivian doesn't want him in her life, as he mused,
"It's full-on communism […] and a general sentiment that if you're rich, you're evil."
It's probably also worth noting the time in 2020 that Musk tweeted,
"Pronouns suck [...] I absolutely support trans,
but all these pronouns are an [aesthetic] nightmare."
Angelina Jolie has had a rocky relationship with her father Jon Voight. In 1971, Voight married
fellow actor Marcheline Bertrand and they had two kids, James Haven and Angelina, before eventually
divorcing in 1980. After that, his relationship with both children crumbled, as he admitted,
"I had an ­affair and there was a divorce. There was a lot of hurt and anger."
But he also seemed to lay some of the blame on his kids, as he claimed,
"It comes from their inability to let go of years of programmed anger from their mother."
Voight and Jolie's relationship really fell apart in 2002 when he told Access Hollywood
that she needed help for supposed "mental problems" after her split from Billy Bob
Thornton. Jolie responded by legally removing his last name and proclaiming in a statement,
"I have determined that it is not healthy for me to be around my father."
Then in 2004, Jolie told Premiere,
"My father and I don't speak [...] When I had the final argument/disappointment with
my father [...] I had thought we were breaking ground, and I realized we simply weren't."
However, the iciness appeared to thaw around 2017 when Jolie told The Hollywood Reporter,
"Through grandchildren now, we're finding a new relationship, and it's very, very nice."
"You get so happy when you know your parent loves you so much."
Rapper 50 Cent technically has two children, but he only considers himself a dad of one. In 1996,
he welcomed his first child, a son named Marquise [MAR-keez] Jackson, with his
girlfriend Shaniqua [shuh-NEE-kwuh] Tompkins. He was initially devoted to his little boy,
but alas, things deteriorated after he and Shaniqua split in 2008. In 2012,
Radar reported that the rapper had texted his then-16-year-old son,
"If I died today would it matter to you? I'm changing my will."
He then in fact did write him out of his will. Then in 2020, 50 told XXL,
"I didn't think success would cost me my firstborn but it's the situation it is."
The rapper blamed Shaniqua for being entitled and making Marquise feel the same way. He also
declared that he no longer loves his son. Meanwhile, Marquise wrote on Instagram
in 2022 that he doesn't want any clout but rather, just a relationship. As he put it,
"I have no phone number for you & you've had me blocked on social media for years
so I can't DM you personally [...] I'm ready when you ready to sit down & talk."
Goldie Hawn has been with Kurt Russell since 1983, and her kids Oliver and Kate Hudson consider
him their dad, though their biological father is actor Bill Hudson, who was married to Goldie from
1976 to 1982. Kate and Oliver understood that the divorce wasn't their fault, but that doesn't mean
that they weren't left scarred by the experience. Therapy helped, as did forgiving their dad. But
that doesn't mean everything's been perfect. As Kate explained during a 2022 appearance on Today,
"I have a great family, I have a beautiful mother, I have a stepfather who stepped in
and played a huge, huge part in sharing what it is to have a dependable father figure in our life."
"But it doesn't take away from the fact that we, we didn't know our dad."
Oliver clearly feels similarly. On Father's Day
2015, he posted a photo of himself with his sister and Bill and captioned it,
"Happy abandonment day."
Bill then told the Daily Mail that his kids stopped talking to him, as he claimed,
"Goldie wanted to create this myth of a perfect family with Kurt and she wanted me out."
He then essentially disowned his kids, as he declared,
"I had five birth children but I now consider myself
a father of three [...] [Oliver] is dead to me now. As is Kate."
1975 was the year that Cher's marriage to Sonny Bono came to an end, and it was also the
year that she said "I do" to husband number two, musician Gregg Allman. But just nine days later,
she wanted to call it quits because of Allman's addiction. They managed to stay together for at
least a little bit, as they had a son named Elijah Blue in 1976 before splitting in 1977.
Elijah would follow in his parents' footsteps in good ways and bad,
by becoming a musician and also by battling substance abuse. After getting sober in 2008,
he was dealt another blow when he was diagnosed with Lyme disease. While seeking treatment,
his mom supported him, but it wasn't quite enough. As he explained to the Daily Mail,
"You absolutely need unconditional parental love in those dark hours,
that was lacking from that direction."
He also admitted to Entertainment Tonight,
"When you go to boarding school at 7 years old,
it's kind of hard to feel like you're not being shunned."
According to Elijah, he and his mother had previously gone years without talking,
and he claimed that his marriage in 2013 threw a wrench in their already rocky relationship.
After his mom failed to even congratulate him, he eloped. As he explained to the Daily Mail,
"I've always been the black sheep of my family [...] We just have different value
systems and we just have a different mentality and that clashes a lot."
Anthony Hopkins married Petronella Barker in 1966,
and they had a daughter named Abigail in 1968. Alas, the first-time dad
struggled with drinking and self-destructive behavior. When Abigail was just 14 months old,
he left. As she revealed to The Telegraph in 2006, she would only see him about once a year. At 18,
Abigail began struggling with drug addition and suicidal thoughts. As she explained,
"The root cause was the fact that my father and I had an intermittent
relationship when I was young. I was angry and there was a lot of grieving going on."
The two briefly reconciled in 1990 but eventually cut all ties. In 2018,
Anthony told The Times that he doesn't know if he has grandkids, while admitting,
"I don't care one way or the other. It is cold, because life is cold."
And in 2021, he told The Sunday Times,
"You have to get on with life."
"Life is tough, but you just got to get out of bed, get on and do it."
Abigail has taken a similarly stoic approach, telling The Telegraph in 2006,
"There is a little bit of sadness but I have to get on with my life."
Rosie O'Donnell is a mom of five whose life has been transformed by adoption. But her oldest
daughter, Chelsea Belle, hasn't always felt the love. In 2015, a 17-year-old Chelsea ran away from
home. She was found just a few hours after being reported missing, and Rosie's rep told People,
"Chelsea, like millions of people, lives with mental illness."
Chelsea didn't exactly appreciate that, as she told the Daily Mail,
"Rosie knew I was planning to leave, that's why I think she kicked me out."
Chelsea accused her mom of being an angry person and an uninvolved
parent. As for those mental health claims, she explained that she began struggling
with depression and anxiety after her parents' divorce. But she also added,
"Putting out there that I am mentally ill was really hurtful."
"She got really upset with me because I wouldn't talk to her about what was going on
with, I guess, my life."
Fortunately, things seemed to be warming up between the two in 2018 when Chelsea
became pregnant and Rosie told People Magazine that they'd reconnected.
Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016, shortly after an alleged altercation that
reportedly got physical. In September of that year, the couple and their six kids were on a
private plane when Pitt and Jolie reportedly began fighting. Then, as a source told People Magazine,
"There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right
way and escalated more than it should have."
The source added,
"Brad made contact with Maddox in the shoulder area,
and there was absolutely no physical injury to him."
Pitt was investigated by the FBI on allegations of verbal and physical abuse, though no charges
were filed. In 2017, he admitted to GQ that he had an issue with alcohol, so he gave it
up. But the harm had already been done, as his marriage ended and it seems his relationship
with Maddox may be done for good as well. In 2019, a source told Us Weekly that Jolie tried
to help orchestrate a truce, but Maddox wasn't ready for it. That same year, when Maddox was
asked in an interview if his relationship with his father was over completely, he answered,
"Whatever happens, happens."
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).