Celebrities Who Were Abandoned by Their Parents: 6 Inspiring Stories

Mike Tyson

Today Mike is a successful and rich athlete, but back in the day he was a vulnerable child. Neighborhood kids and classmates constantly laughed at the boy, and there was no one to protect him. His father left the family before his son was even born and never showed interest in his life, and his mother abused drugs and soon died.

At the age of 10 Tyson was practically left alone, except for the street kids, who were constantly committing thefts and other small crimes and inciting Mike to follow them. The boy was taken to a correctional school in time, where he met coach Bobby Stewart. The athlete took it upon himself to raise Tyson and helped him become not only a good man, but also a popular boxer.

Mike has repeatedly admitted that he owes a lot to Bobby, who did not leave him, unlike his own father, and took him into his family.

Marilyn Monroe

The mother of the world's most popular sex symbol broke up with her husband just a few days before her daughter was born. Gladys Baker gave Norma Jeane (real name of Marilyn Monroe) a fake surname to protect herself and the baby girl from rumors. The daughter was the third child of a woman, she had a son and another daughter from a previous relationship.

Gladys was not at all ready for another baby, so almost immediately after the birth she gave her to the orphanage, and tried to earn money to feed herself and the children. Norma lived there until she was seven years old, and then her mother took her back home. But they soon had to part, and this time for good, as Gladys became very ill and ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

Her mother's best friend decided to help the poor girl, but it was not for long again. The woman got married and gave Norma back to the orphanage, as the young family did not have enough money even for themselves, and the little girl was an extra mouth to feed and a hindrance to their family happiness.

Steve Jobs

The American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple might have spent his entire childhood in an orphanage and not gotten a good education if he had not come into the family of Paul and Clara Jobs. Steve's mother was a University of Wisconsin student who had an affair with teaching assistant Abdulfattah Jandali from Syria.

Joanne Schieble's parents were adamantly against her relationship, and when they learned that their daughter was expecting a child, they insisted that she give him up. The girl was forced to go to another city, where she gave birth in a private clinic. It was there that little Steve was handed over to the childless Jobs family.

Jack Nicholson

The actor’s story is almost the same, though not that sad, since he was able to live with his family. His birth mother June Frances Nicholson was dating musician Donald Rose, who got her pregnant. The girl's parents also wished to hide the shame, but they did not abandon the child, the grandparents became a mother and father to Jack, and June — the older sister.

The woman did not dare to tell the boy the whole truth, even as he grew up. If not for a reporter from one of the magazines who revealed the family secret, Nicholson would never have known that his sister was his birth mother. By the time Jack knew, June was no longer alive.

John Lennon

The parents of the legendary musician were not ready for a child, so soon after his birth they decided to end their relationship. A few years later, John's young mother remarried, and the child from a previous marriage became an obstacle for her.

Julia gave her son to be raised by her relative, who was very strict with the boy. The woman even forbade Lennon to do what he loved — play the guitar. But despite a difficult childhood, which he did not like to remember, he managed to become a popular and talented musician.

Oprah Winfrey

The childhood of the famous talk show host is not to be envied. Parents did not want Oprah and soon after her birth gave her to a strict grandmother, who often scolded the girl and even beat her with a whip. But that was just the tip of the iceberg — the worst was yet to come.

As Winfrey grew older, she began to be molested by her uncle, cousin and several other relatives. The 9-year-old girl could not fight back and was sexually abused many times. The situation further escalated when Oprah learned at the age of 14 that she was expecting a child. Then her mother, who thought the girl was pregnant after having an affair with a young man, kicked her out of the house. Poor Oprah had no choice but to end her life. Fortunately, the suicide attempt was unsuccessful, but her baby was born prematurely and died immediately.

From then on, the girl moved in with her father and began a new life.