We all view famous celebrities as individuals with perfect lives with lots of fame and money but sometimes the reality is far from our imagination. Every era of famous celebrities has certainly witnessed some shocking and unbelievably tragic past of some celebs who had still pull themselves together and achieved what they wanted to.
With this article we will be introducing you to some of the greatest celebrities of all time who have achieved name and fame in their respective careers with their sheer will and persistence however, there is also a tragic past attached to these success stories.
Check out the list below of 10 famous celebrities with tragic lives:
1. Joaquin Phoenix
Who doesn’t know Joaquin Phoenix? The actor who played the role of famous Joker in DC’s movie Joker. He is certainly an amazing actor who played epic roles over the years, from Gladiator to Her, he never failed to surprise us with her versatile acting and brilliant skills.
However, what you might not know is, his early years as a child were filled with tragedy. Joaquin Phoenix and his brother River who is also quite famous grew up in a religious cult with their parents called The Children of God. It was later revealed by River that in the cult they were sexually abused and the cult made them perform on the streets for change so that they can feed their family.
They eventually went on to gain name and fame in the Hollywood industry but River battled with drug addiction and ultimately the overdose took his life. Joaquin has also admitted to battle his own alcohol addiction.
“After River’s death, I felt like I was in an altered state. It took me over a year to get my life back,” Joaquin admitted. “Dealing with death is always difficult, but suffering in public adds a whole new dimension.”
2. Oprah Winfrey
In today’s time, we know Oprah Winfrey as one of the greatest influential personalities of our time and she is also one of the world’s richest women but if you didn’t already know, after acknowledging what kind of past she lived, you would be shocked to your very core.
Her mother was a teenage housemaid, and Oprah grew up being abused and mistreated by her family. She was born in rural Mississippi where she often got beaten up by a stick by her grandmother over little things. She grew up in poverty and many years later she found out that her mother gave up one of her daughters for adoption and she has a half-sister.
In another shocking revelation, Oprah said that as a child she was sexually abused by a family friend and their two older relatives. She ran away from her home when she was 13 and a year later she gave birth to a child. Unfortunately, her son didn’t survive as he was born prematurely.
3. Sofia Vergara
The stunningly gorgeous actress in the Hollywood industry who has become a household name in TV and web series is loved and appreciated by everyone today but her early years were filled with struggles that she had to overcome in order to become the successful star that she is today.
She was working as a dentist before she decided to become a model and actress. Because of the attention that she brought from her career, her family was put in danger and ultimately her brother died in a kidnapping attempt in 1998.
Her younger brother fought with addiction in America and was later deported to Columbia. Sofia is also a cancer survivor and had to have her thyroid removed.
“To see somebody dying over 10 years, little by little, that’s the worst punishment,” Vergara said. “Now he’s like another person.”
4. Shania Twain
Shania Twait the country music legend with a successful career in the music industry also had a tragic past attached to her. As she grew up in poverty, her family didn’t even have money to pay for basic necessities like shoes or lunches. She and her mother were also abused by her stepfather Jerry.
Shania also said that she used to get regularly dragged in their fight physically and when her mother and stepfather used to fight it was so intense that she thought that he would kill her and according to her he would have killed her if he was not stopped.
Unfortunately, both of her parents died in an accident when their car crashed when Shania Twain was only 22.
5. Demi Moore
Demi Moore, another entry on the list of famous celebrities with tragic pasts. Demi Moore was born when her mother Virginia was only 19 years old. Quickly after her birth, her father abandoned them both. But soon Virginia remarried and her new husband was a very violent person who had a drinking problem. He made their lives hell, and eventually, he committed suicide when Demi was only 17.
Soon Demi started acting in movies while trying to put her past behind her. Later the relationship of Demi with her mother also struggled and they stopped speaking. Many years later, they made up right before Virginia died from cancer in 1998.
6. Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves is one of the sweetest and most humble famous celebrities of Hollywood who is known for her kindness and down-to-earth behavior among his fans. He is also a victim of a tragic past as he had to suffer in many ways during his childhood.
When he was just a baby, his father abandoned him, then his mother remarried multiple times. When he was studying in a school in Toronto, he got expelled.
Later he got parts in movies and eventually became famous. He fell in love with Jennifer Syme, an actress and they were expecting a baby together. However, unfortunately, the baby was stillborn when was born at eight months. reeves were not even over this huge grief when Jennifer Syme died in a car crash.
His list of tragedies also includes her sister being diagnosed with leukemia who has been battling with it for more than a decade.
“Grief changes shape, but it never ends,” the actor said. “People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, ‘It’s gone, and I’m better.’ They’re wrong. When the people you love are gone, you’re alone.”
7. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron was born in South Africa and she suffered a family tragedy that shaped her life as an adult. She had an abusive alcoholic father who was threatening to kill Charlize and her mother with a shotgun. He was highly drunk and aggressive at the time and was going to kill both of them when her mother managed to occupy the gun and shot Charlize’s father.
“I said my dad died in a car accident,” she explained. “Who wants to tell that story? Nobody wants to tell that story. That was my entire childhood,” she told the New York Times. “My trauma was all of that. I survived that, and I’m proud of that.”
8. Joe Biden
The president of the United States, Joe Biden is also on the list because of his tragic past. He is among the most recognizable people on the planet.
When he was elected as a senator in the year 1972, his wife and their one-year-old daughter died in a car accident. His sons, Beau and Hunter who were very young at the time survived the accident. However, later, when Beau was 46, he died from brain cancer.
Biden revealed his final moments with his son in an emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“[Beau] looked at me and he said, “˜Dad, I’m not afraid. I’m okay,'” he said. “Dad, look at me,” Beau told his father. “Stop looking sad…no matter what happens, I’m gonna be alright, Dad. You’ve got to look happy. You’ve got to look strong for the family.”
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The Bottom Line
These famous celebrities certainly lead a very successful life today and have overcome their tragic past. They are the greatest examples of no matter how many difficulties you face in life, you can still put it all behind to achieve greatness and success. These famous celebrities are the inspiration for us today that teaches us that what happened to us in the past do not define who we are today rather how we decide to live the rest of the life does and that is the greatest lesson of all.
