Stars spend their celebrity lives in the spotlight, or most of their lives as we know it. We seemingly know so much about them, as the personal details of some of their most intimate moments are caught on camera and displayed for public consumption. But there are some celebs who you may think you know pretty well, who actually have some of the most interesting backgrounds. There are certain facts about these stars’ childhoods or beginnings of fame that just may shock you. Read on to learn more about 7 celebs with the most insane backstories.
Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell once was brought in for questioning as a suspect for attempted murder. “I saw a photofit of the guy who actually did the crime, and it looked remarkably like me, and for a second, because I had had a blackout that night, I wondered, ‘Could I have done such a thing?” he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Kim Kardashian
At just 19 years old, Kim Kardashian eloped with Damon Thomas, who was around 30 years old at the time. Kardashian said that she was high on ecstasy at the time of their elopement, but they actually stayed married for four years. “I used to be so dependent on the guys I was in a relationship with. I don’t know why, because I wasn’t raised that way. If I looked at myself at 19, I would shake myself and be like, ‘Wake up; you are way too smart for this,’” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
Jackie Chan
As a child, Jackie Chan was abandoned by his birth parents. He did some research into his origins for his 2003 documentary, Traces of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Family. It was then that he found out that his mother was a well-known Shanghai gambler, and that his dad was a Nationalist spy and gang boss.
Woody Harrelson
Woody’s dad was a convicted hit man who was well known and involved with organized crime. Woody didn’t have much communication with his dad, as he was imprisoned for the majority of his childhood. “We were poor, but my mom always took care of us [and] we always had food. It was a lot to raise three kids on her own as a secretary but she did it and she sure did look after us,” Woody said.
Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicolson was raised under the notion that his grandmother was his mother, and that his actually mother was his sister. At age 37, Time magazine was doing research on Nicholson for a profile and discovered the truth. He was adamant that Time not publish the information. Unfortunately, after finding out the truth, Nicholson was not able to confront his grandmother or mother because they had already passed away. “I was very impressed by their ability to keep the secret, if nothing else. It’s done great things for me,” he told Rolling Stone.
Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler figured out at the age of eight that Steven Tyler was her dad. It occurred to her when she saw Mia Tyler near a stage at a concert, and felt like she was looking at her twin. Turns out Mia is actually her younger sister. “She looked exactly like me, and I looked at my mum and she had tears in her eyes and I kind of put it all together,” Tyler said.
Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan grew up in Italy, where she and her parents were apart of a polygamous cult. She actually escaped in the middle of the night with her dad, two sisters and his other wife to protect them from the abusive behavior of the cult. “I remember running through a cornfield in thunder and lightning, holding my dad’s hand and running as fast as I could to keep up with him. We hid in an old stone house and had to boil pots of hot water to take baths. [The cult] sent people to find us. I remember a man trying to break in with a hammer,” she said.
