Not all celebrities came from nice families, some of them came from troubled homes.
There are some well known and beloved famous people who overcame major personal obstacles, particularly those who grew up with parents involved in criminal activities.
Read more to learn of the most unsettling strories surrounding the crimes that these celebrities’ parents has committed.
Woody Harrelson
It’s hard to beleive that Harrelson’s father, Charles, was a convicted hitman who died while serving a life sentence in prison.
Actually, his father carried out the first assassination of a federal judge in the 20th century.
That’s not all, At one point, he also participated in an armed robbery. And was even rumored to be involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The actor confessed that he didn’t see or hear anything from his father since he left the family in 1968. And the first time he heard of him since he left them was when he was arrested for the the murder of judge John Wood.
Keanu Reeves
When Keanu was a boy, his father, Samuel Reeves, was arrested in Hawaii at the Hilo International Airport while trying to sell heroin.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but managed to got out on parole after only serving two years.
Reeves’ mom, who was a former Paris showgirl, raised Keanu and his siblings on her own for the most part, due to his father walking out on them multiple times through the years.
His father also admits that he spent 20 years battling a heroin addiction which made him estranged from his family, leaving them before even Keanu started school.
Keanu and his father have became estranged since then.
Diddy
When Diddy’s father died when he was just three years old, the musician was told for his entire life that he died in a car accident.
However, Diddy later learned the truth that his dad died during a botched drug deal, possibly while working for Frank Lucas, the notorious Harlem heroin trafficker dramatized in the 2007 film “American Gangster.”
Jamie Foreman
Jamie’s father, Freddie Foreman, was a legendary gangster known as the “Godfather of London,” who was also a member of the infamous gang The Firm, run by the notorious Kray Twins.
Freddie was accused of several murders, but was charged and sentenced to 10 years in prison for disposing the body of Jack “the Hat” McVitie.
Later, Freddie was imprisoned again for nine more years for being part of the Shoreditch Security Express robbery.
After that, Freddie confessed to the murders of Frank “Mad Axeman” Mitchell and Tommy “Ginger” Marks as well.
Kellie Pickler
Country music singer Kellie Pickler became famous by appearing in American Idol and Dancing with the stars.
The singer had a rocky upbringing, she was raised by her grandparents after both of her parents leaving her for the most part of her childhood.
Her father Clyde Pickler Jr. Spend three years in prison due to his long battle with alcoholisim which lead to multiple arrests like stabbing a neighbor and stealing vehicles.
In 2013, her father, Clyde “Bo” Pickler, Jr., missed a check-in with his probation officer which lead to him being declared a fugitive by the state of Florida.
Despite all this, Pickler has remained close and supportive of her father trying to repair their relationship, and they stayed in touch until his death in 2019.
Leighton Meester
The gossip gil star’s parents Douglas Jay and Constance Lynn were caught and send to prison for participating in an illegal international marijuana traficking operation. They were caught for smuggling 1,200 pounds of marijuana into the United States from Jamaica.
While her mother was in prison she found out that she was pregnant. Constance Lynn Meeseter was allowed to give birth outside of prison, in a Texas halfway house, But she went back to it shortly after.
While both of her parents were in prison, Leighton Meester was taken care of by her grandparents.
Meester’s family troubles didn’t end there. Her maternal aunt, who was also in prison fo being involved in the same drug-smuggling operation, broke out of jail and became the first woman ever to appear on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted List.
That’s not all, her brother, Douglas Meester, was charged with rape while attending the Air Force Academy, but the charges were dropped in a plea deal in 2004.
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire’s father, Vincent, was arrested back in 1993 for robbing a bank. He allegedly robbed a bank without a mask in broad daylight, leaving with a bag of money. For his crime, Vincent was jailed for two years.
Admittedly, the reports about the crime are pretty vague, and Maguire has never disputed it.
Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard didn’t have the best relationship with his father. His father Tyrone Howard tormented, abused, and mistreated him on multiple occasions.
At the age of two, while waiting in line in a shopping mall to seat on Santa’s knee, a fight broke out between Terrence’s father, Tyrone, and another man, who accused them of cutting in line.
The fight ended with Tyrone stabbing the man many times with an unknown sharp object. The man would later die from his injuries.
The case will be later known as the “Santa Line Slaying.” Tyrone was sentenced to 11 months in prison for manslaughter.
Tyga
the Rapper admitted that he never met his father Stevie Stevenson. And he is currently serving life in California’s Solano State Prison.
Shortly after Tyga was born in 1989, Stevenson left the family before being imprisoned in 1991 due to kidnapping charges and more.
Hope Solo
Solo’s father, Jeffrey, was in prison at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary for embezzlement, when she was conceived during a conjugal visit.
Years later, after her parents seperated, her and her brother were kidnapped by her father.
Jeffrey took her and her brother to a baseball game and ended up kidnapping them for several days.
Eventually, Jeffrey was arrested and charged for taking the children.
Kevin Spacey
The actor has distanced himself from his family specially his father, even changing his last name to his mother’s maiden name.
He actually never talked about these accusations, about his past, or about his father.
His brother, Randall, has spoken at length about how their father was a Nazi sympathizer that would dress up like Hitler.
Randall also claimed that their father had sexually abuse him and another family member when they were children.
Lily and Alfie Allen
Lily and Alfie’s father, Keith Allen, is a famous British actor himself. However, he had a history of troublemaking for his entire life.
As an adult, Keith has been arrested and sent to priso a few times for various charges, usually involving drugs and alcohol and different forms of vandalism and violence.
He even spent time in prison for damaging the Zanzibar club in the 80s.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj has openly discussed about her troubled childhood, and about her parents toxic relationship. Detailing how her parents would hit each other all the time, and how the police was always called to the house.
Her father, Robert was a crack-addict, who even attempted to murder her mother when she refused to give him money. He actually burned down their house while her mother was still inside.
In addition to this attempted murder, Nicki recalls another time when her father pulled her mother out of a car and dragged her on the ground for two blocks. But It’s unclear if he ever spent any time in prison for his actions.
Drew Barrymore
Since she was a child, the Hollywood star has experienced a very public tumultuous and unusual upbringing.
Her father, John Drew Barrymore, had a respected career as an actor. But it was all lost due to his drug and alcohol addiction. He faced several legal issues related to drug abuse, public drunkenness, and domestic violence from the 1950s through the 1960s.
Jackie Chan
The action star’s parents have a fascinating Hollywood story of how they met. Jackie Chan’s mother Lee-lee Chan was struggling with hard financial times and the recent loss of her husband, she abandoned her daughters in a Shanghai train station around 1945.
She then began to try to make money selling opium at the Shanghai ports. when she was caught by a police officer. Not only did he let her go, he also gave her the opium back. This officer was Charles, the man who would become her future husband and Jackie’s father.
He was also part of the street gang called the “Shandong Gang.”
His mother’s problems didn’t end there, she also got into gambling and used to pawn everything she owned. But charles, the officer would get back all her stuff and return them to her.
They later got married and had Jackie.
Charlize Theron
One night, when she was just 15, Theron’s alcoholic father allegedly started shooting his gun threatening to kill both Charlize and her mother.
It was then that Charlize’s mother, Gerda, grabbed another gun and shot and killed Charles. She was declared innocent due to self-defence.
After the incident, Theron and her mother moved from South Africa to the United States.
Lindsay Lohan
Like Lindsay Lohan, her father has also had numerous encounters with the law, ranging from drunk driving to drug possession.
It started in 1990, when he was convicted and sent to prison for three years for insider trading.
It wasn’t long before he went back to prison on numerous occasions, for charges ranging from a violation of probation to the aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
In addition to that, he also faced multiple arrests for domestic violence, and for trying to profit off of recovering patients.
Judith Barsi
Judith Barsi was a famous child actress. Her father, Jozsef, was a notorious alcoholic and had been arrested on drinking and driving charges multiple times. He constantly abused his wife and threatened to kill her and her daughter, There was even an investigation into child abuse. After several attempts to reach out for help from the police, no action was ever taken against Josef.
Sadly, Jozsef eventually shot and killed both Maria and Judith before burning their bodies. He then shot and killed himself before police found him.
