Last October Kelly Rowland’s estranged father made a plea to reunite with his daughter. The 67-year-old admitted to grappling with alcoholism and abusing his wife in front of Rowland when she was a baby, which lead to a more than 20-year estrangement with his daughter. But Kelly is not the only celebrity with family issues. Here are some other stars who have estranged parents too.
The actress legally emancipated herself from her mother when she was 17-years-old and they continue to have a strained relationship. But Barrymore’s father is completely out of the picture and they have not spoken since she became an adult. “He was such a flighty bird — unattainable and off doing his own thing,” she said in 2009. I’m sure I’m sadder about it than I admit, but I accept that [it is] a lot easier than my mother’s and my relationship, which is more tumultuous.”
He is arguably the most famous Wahlberg, but that doesn’t mean he’s the favorite back home. Mark Wahlberg hinted during an appearance on Live! with Kelly and Michael that he doesn’t have the closest relationship with his mother, Alma Elaine. “My mom’s not speaking to me right now,” the 42-year-old star said to Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan during an interview. “It’s been like that since day one.”
Aniston is reportedly refusing to invite her mother, Nancy Down, to her future wedding to Justin Theroux and has barely spoken to her in nearly 20 years. She reportedly ended their relationship in 1996 after her mother gave a revealing interview about their relationship to the tabloids, and truly closed the door on their relationship in 1999 after Down wrote the tell-all From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir. Although Aniston reached out to Down after her divorce to Brad Pitt in 2005, the relationship is still strained at best. Theroux is reportedly encouraging Aniston to invite her mother to the wedding.
LiLo has found herself battling both of her parents at various points, but her relationship with her father, Michael, is particularly rocky. Her mother, Dina, confirmed last year that the actress was no longer speaking to Michael after he continually spoke about her to tabloids. “I am sorry that my father has continually chosen to speak publicly about our relationship, my mother, my siblings, and my professional team,” she said last year. “I am working through my recovery day by day and find his public media bouts unnecessary and damaging,” But since her most recent trip to rehab, Lindsay has been spotted spending time with him and appears willing to slowly work on their relationship.
As Macaulay Culkin’s manager, father Kit Culkin became one of the most notorious “stage dads” in the business. Kit hand-picked Macaulay’s movie roles and took care of his career. As Macaulay rose to stardom, Kit’s demands on the studios became more and more outrageous, endangering Macaulay’s career. Kit drank excessively, and his relationship with Macaulay’s mom crumbled. Macaulay, still a teenager, took both his parents to court to gain control of his earnings. In 1997 he legally emancipated himself. He paid off his mother’s debt, then cut off contact with his father.
Meg Ryan has been estranged from her mother, Susan Jordan, since the late 1980s. Meg and her mother’s relationship was already strained after Susan left Meg’s father in 1976, but when she became openly critical of Ryan’s first husband, Dennis Quaid, Susan was snubbed from their wedding and cut out of Meg’s life. In 1993, her mother told People magazine her daughter hadn’t spoken a word to her in three years: “I wish there would be forgiveness. To be frank, I pray for it. It’s a painful business to be estranged from your child.”
Lovato has expressed regret about her estranged relationship with her father, Patrick, who passed away last summer. She admitted not speaking to him since 2010, when he went to the press with gossip about her drug addiction and eating disorder. “Sometimes there are people in your life that you have to cut out. It sucks when it’s your own father,” she said to Latina magazine. “But I know what’s best for me … I have an old soul, because I had to grow up fast, because of the public eye and because of my life experiences.”
Celebrities are same people as we are, so they also have their troubles and problems to deal with. Estrangement with parents is always a tough and very sad topic, but it exists n any social status and can touch even your family at any time. This is sad to find out how many of my favorite actors are not keeping in touch with those, whom they will miss after those pass away. No matter what happened, the parents are always parents.