This article originally appeared on relationshipsurgery.com
Brie Larson
Actress Brie Larson is best known for her roles in the 2016 film Room and as Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It turns out that this A-lister doesn’t talk to her father any longer. Her parents are divorced, and once she turned 18, she made the choice to no longer be in touch with him. Larson says that she doesn’t think her father ever wanted to be a parent and that he is responsible for her not wanting him in her life anymore.
Eminem
If you have heard Eminem’s songs such as Without Me and Cleanin’ Out My Closet, you might be able to tell that Eminem had some negative feelings towards his mother, claiming that she was an addict and an abusive parent. His mother found the lyrics to be of such a defamatory nature that she actually filed a defamation lawsuit against her son. The case was settled in 2014, and Eminem apologised later in his song Headlights, but it may have been too little too late.
Leighton Meester
When rising to fame as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl, actress Leighton Meester was estranged from her parents. Both her mother and father were in prison for drug-related crimes. In 2011, Meester sued her mother Constance over money that was meant for her brother. The actress had given her mother money to help with her brother’s medical costs, but that money allegedly ended up going on Constance’s own cosmetic surgeries.
Christina Aguilera
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez dealt with some issues with her mother, in large part due to her relationship with Justin Bieber. Her mother Many Teefey took issue with the fact that the couple were attending couples therapy but were still pursuing a relationship. Gomez even ended up dropping her mum as her manager in 2014. However, due to some of Mandy’s comments about Gomez’s recent work, it seems they may have worked past their issues.
The Kardashian Sisters
The Kardashian sisters have had some major issues with Caitlyn Jenner. They were angered by her behaviour, and felt betrayed when they learned that people in the business found out about Caitlyn’s transition at the same time as them, despite them being family. They have claimed that Caitlyn is not a good person and that they will have nothing to do with her.
Oliver Hudson
On Father’s Day in 2015, Oliver Hudson went all out on his hate for his father Bill Hudson by posting “Happy Abandonment Day” on his Instagram. The picture was of himself with his father and sister Kate. He did, however, make a loving Instagram post about Kurt Russell who has been with his mother Goldie Hawn since the 80’s just a few days later. Hudson even referred to Russell as “pa.”
Adele
It was 2017 at the Grammys when Adele thanked her manager of 10 years, saying she loved him like her dad. She then went on to say “I don’t love my dad, that’s the thing. That doesn’t mean a lot. I love you like I would love my dad.” Adele later explained this public blast of her father was because they don’t have a relationship, due to his alcohol issues when she was growing up.
Angelina Jolie
After Angelina Jolie’s parents separated in the 1970s, her relationship with her father Jon Voight was strained for many years. The father and daughter tried to mend their relationship after a decade of estrangement. However, things got ugly when Jon insulted Angelina by saying that she had “mental problems” and Angelina retaliated by claiming that he was unfaithful to her mother. They did not speak for six years but after Angelina had kids, they tried to repair their relationship.
Demi Lovato
Singer Demi Lovato and her father, Patrick, were estranged for several years, though they reconciled before Patrick’s death in 2013. Demi expressed her frustration with her father through songs like “Daddy Issues,” “For the Love of a Daughter” and “Father.” According to several news sources, it was rumored that Patrick had mental health issues, was physically abusive and even abused drugs. In 2018, Demi’s mother Dianna De La Garza wrote a memoir titled Falling with Wings: A Mother’s Story. In the book, she describes the abuse she suffered from Patrick before Demi was born.
Ariana Grande
In a 2018 interview with Seventeen, singer Ariana Grande opened up about her rocky relationship with her father, which began to deteriorate in 2013. In her hit song, “Thank U, Next” she sung about the drama, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle, holding hands with my mama. I’ll be thanking my dad ’cause she grew from the drama.”
Meg Ryan
In 1991, Meg Ryan decided to break off contact with her mother Susan Jordan after Jordan publicly criticized her daughter’s marriage to Dennis Quaid. Jordan disapproved of their upcoming nuptials, so Ryan did not invite her mother to the ceremony. Susan then claimed her daughter had had an affair with actor Russell Crowe. She later told People, “It’s a painful business to be estranged from your child.”
Lindsay Lohan
LiLo’s relationship with her parents has been complicated, though Dina and Lindsay have made strides toward reconciliation of late. In 2012, Lindsay and her mother Dina got into a physical altercation that resulted in police being called. At the time, Lindsay’s father Michael Lohan said, “Both Lindsay and Dina need help.” Michael has battled alcoholism and trouble with the law himself, and in 2009, Lindsay expressed her disappointment in her father by tweeting: “It’s so sad that I even have to share this w/everyone, but I haven’t had a real relationship w/Michael Sr. in years. That is the truth.”
Macaulay Culkin
The youngest star of Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin, had one of the most famous emancipations in celebrity history. He was 16 when he gained control of his acting fortune after a nasty battle with his father Kit, who was accused of mismanaging his earnings. The two have not spoken since. In 2016, Kit told the Daily Mail, “I don’t consider him a son anymore.
Bryce Hall
While Bryce Hall’s relationship with his mother is strong, his connection with his father is strained. On Father’s Day in 2017, the TikTok star posted a photo of himself and his dad with a caption that read: ” Happy Father’s Day Dad, thanks for being an abusive piece of sh*t to my mother ☺️. #SingleMomsRule.” After he was arrested for marijuana possession in 2020, Bryce wrote an essay for People saying, “As I sat in that cell, it made me feel just like my father. It was a mortifying and shameful experience. I had promised myself for the past twenty years that I would never be like him … and there I was.”
Matthew McConaughey
In a recent episode of Red Table Talk, Matthew McConaughey revealed that he hasn’t always had the best relationship with his mom, Mary. When Matthew first started acting in films, he felt like his fame was controlling their relationship. “I was trying to find my own balance with fame and stuff.” He said. “And I would share things with her… some of those things I would share might show up in the six o’clock news three days later.” When Mary let reporters into his childhood home for a TV special, it was the final straw in a relationship that had been deteriorating for years.
Justin Bieber
Though Justin Bieber’s contention towards his mother has not lasted forever, there was a time where there was bad blood between them. In 2015, Bieber said that he did not have a relationship with his mother due to his own actions. Like any son, he did not want his mum to be ashamed of him but knew she was because of the way he had behaved. More recently though, they seem to have resolved the situation.
Jennifer Aniston
Actress Jennifer Aniston, known for her role in Friends among other things, had a very poor relationship with her mother which was well publicized. When Aniston’s mother Nancy published her book From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir, the two stopped speaking for many years. While Jennifer supported her mother financially, she was written out of the will and there was no proper relationship between them.
Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, and she were close when she was growing up. When she became engaged to Prince Harry, they spoke on the phone, and he planned to come to London for the wedding. However, before he left for the airport, Markle staged paparazzi photos of himself to sell to tabloids and shared personal information about Meghan, including her letter asking him to stop speaking to the press. Thomas has since been publicly critical of Meghan’s decision to make him a distant part of her life, and he has spoken out about everything from Megxit to the role Archie should play in the royal family.
Rihanna
In 2011, Rihanna told Vogue about her estrangement from dad Ronald Fenty. “Like, what do I mean to him? It’s really bizarre,” she said. Previously, Rihanna had spoken out about her father’s struggle with drug addiction and the abuse he inflicted on her mother. She also revealed that he betrayed her by lying to the press about talking to her following Chris Brown’s attack. “He never called to find out how I was doing, if I was alive, nothing. He went straight to the press and got a check.” As of 2019, Rihanna is suing her father for using his last name (Fenty) in branding to falsely claim affiliation with her.
Heather Graham
Actress Heather Graham has always been a high-profile person, and she is not shy about her life. She grew up in a strict household, but she persevered to make a name for herself in Hollywood. Graham was offered the role of an adult movie star in 1997’s Boogie Nights. Her parents were devout Catholics, so they refused to support her decision to take the part. Despite their disapproval, she went against their wishes, and she got the job. As a result of this film’s success, she became famous overnight. She has not spoken to either her mother or her father since. This rift is still ongoing today, twenty five years later.
Beyonce
Beyonce has been pretty vocal about her bad relationship with her father Mathew Knowles, who also served as her manager from the start of her career in the late 90s to 2011. The singer announced that she was dropping him as a manager because he was greedy with the money she earned through her music career. Meanwhile, Bey’s father has had well-publicized marital troubles. In 2011, he divorced Tina Knowles after leaving her for a younger woman and fathering a child with another woman. Neither Bey nor Solange attended the wedding of their father to Gena Avery in 2013. Beyonce’s Lemonade album included a song called “Daddy Lessons” in which she referenced a certain case of infidelity that many thought was about her husband Jay Z, but others speculated was actually about her father’s behaviour with her mother. Then, in 2018, Mathew threw some shade at his daughter when he said that she was only successful because she was light-skinned for a black performer.
Ariel Winter
Winter, who made her debut on the television show Modern Family in 2009, has had a difficult personal life. In 2012, she filed a restraining order against her mother, accusing her of being physically and verbally abusive. After the restraining order came into effect, Winter’s older sister was granted temporary guardianship. The fight resulted in a long and drawn-out court case in which Ariel’s lawyer claimed that she was almost fired from Modern Family several times because of her mother’s “harassment and interference” Unlike some other entries on the list, mother and daughter have not patched things up. Winter would become legally emancipated from her mother before she turned 18, and during subsequent interviews she revealed some pretty disturbing parenting on her mother’s part.
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson, along with her famous brother Michael Jackson, reportedly hated their father Joe Jackson. Janet explained that Joe would whip them for the most absurd reasons. Furthermore, Janet said she wasn’t allowed to call him “father” or “daddy,” and instead was forced to refer to him by his actual name. Joe was not even present at the singer’s wedding to Wissam Al Mana in 2012. His absence speaks volumes about the strained relationship between him and his daughter. Joe passed away in 2018.
Christian Bale
In 2008, Christian Bale was at a family gathering when his mother made unkind remarks about his wife, Sibi Blazic. The actor lost his temper and began to argue with his mother and siblings. The exact details of the incident are unknown, but it was severe enough to cause Bale to break all ties with his family since then. His mother apologized publicly in 2012, but it took a decade for Bale to accept the apology. Jenny spoke out in 2019 to confirm that they were mending their relationship.
Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland said in 2012 that she had not spoken to her father, Christopher Lovett, for 20 years. According to the former Destiny’s Child member, her father was an alcoholic who made life hard on Kelly and her mother, Doris. Doris eventually had enough and moved Kelly into a new home. During this time, Kelly developed a close friendship with Beyoncé while Doris worked hard to provide for her daughter. Kelly resented her father for what he did to her and her mother.
Kobe Bryant
Ex NBA champ Kobe Bryant and his parents, Pam and Joe Bryant, got into a huge legal dispute over some of Kobe’s basketball memorabilia. Reportedly, Pam and Joe sold some of the stuff without telling Kobe, leading the late basketball star to file a lawsuit against the couple. Kobe’s parents also objected to his relationship with Vanessa Bryant and insisted that Kobe marry a woman of the same race.
Tracy Morgan
Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan and his mother, Alicia Warden, were not on good terms for 11 years before tragedy struck in June 2014: Morgan was involved in a car crash. Per Morgan’s wishes, Warden was allegedly shut out of her son’s hospital room when she arrived to visit him. Morgan has declined to give details about the conflict, citing it as a personal matter between him and his family that he would prefer not to discuss publicly.
Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts and her estranged father, Eric Roberts, have a complicated relationship. Emma’s mother, Kelly Cunningham, and Eric separated when Emma was an infant. Julia Roberts—Eric’s sister—was estranged from him as well and even funded Kelly’s legal battle for custody of Emma. Although they still don’t have the best relationship, Eric did defend Emma after an altercation she had with a boyfriend in 2013.
Tatum O’Neal
Actor Tatum O’Neal has been estranged from her father Ryan O’Neal for most of her life. They attempt to reconcile on the TV show “Ryan & Tatum: The O’Neals” that aired on OWN. However, the show ended in 2011 and Ryan says that since the reunion he and his daughter have grown even further apart.
Mariah Carey
In her memoir, Mariah Carey details the complex relationship she has with her mother, telling readers that she has suffered trauma and deep sadness as a result of their strained bond. Carey and her mother had a difficult relationship for many years. After Carey wished for her mother’s genuine interest, Patricia started asking for money and favors without any real conversation between them. Carey then sought therapy to help her view their relationship in a different way.
Ryan Lochte
During an interview with In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte revealed that his parents’ 2011 divorce changed his family dynamic. “When it happened, it was — we were all on my mom’s side,” he said. “But then later on in life, when I told her that she was going to be a grandma … she said some very, very hurtful things that kind of ended our relationship, me and her.” Lochte said he’d welcome an apology from his estranged mother, but he’s come to terms with the estrangement.
Mischa Barton
In 2015, The O.C. actress Mischa Barton sued her mother Nuala, claiming she had stolen money from Mischa to buy a $7.8 million Beverly Hills home. At the time, Mischa’s lawyer called Nuala “a greedy stage mother.” The complaint alleged that neither Nuala nor Mischa’s father Paul Barton had not worked and been financially dependent on their daughter for over 10 years. Nuala attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed. Eventually, Mischa dismissed the case without prejudice, which means that she could refile in the future.
Paris Hilton
In a recent documentary, Paris Hilton remembers sneaking out of her parents’ home in New York City as a teen to go to clubs and parties. “It was so easy to sneak out and go to clubs and parties,” says Hilton. “My parents were so strict that it made me want to rebel.” Eventually, said Hilton, her parents sent her to Provo Canyon School—a boarding school for troubled youth that she described as a “dumping ground” for the LDS Church. Almost immediately after she arrived, Hilton said, she knew it would be worse than anywhere else. The abuse she faced took place on a daily basis. Before the making of the documentary, Paris had never told her family about what happened to her. “I was so angry and so upset. I hated them,” she said.
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore is one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood. But she has also suffered from a tragic childhood. Neither of her parents were fit for parenthood, and as a result, Drew suffered for many years. Barrymore’s parents were involved in the Hollywood party scene, introducing drugs and alcohol to their daughter as early as ten years old. By age 14, she was emancipated from them. Despite this contentious relationship, Barrymore continues to financially support her mother.
Janice Dickinson
The self-proclaimed “World’s First Supermodel,” Janice Dickinson, wrote a tell-all book titled No Lifeguard on Duty where she reveals why she hates her mother. She describes her mother as emotionally unavailable and a “psychological victim” of her abusive father, who she called a “monster.”
Bethenny Frankel
Latoya Jackson
You could argue that any Jackson who feels resentment toward their mother, Katherine, has a case for that opinion. But Latoya’s autobiography, Latoya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family , makes an especially convincing case against Katherine Jackson’s failure to protect her children from her husband’s physical and psychological abuse.
Tori Spelling
Actress Tori Spelling has spent years publicly feuding with her mother Candy Spelling, who didn’t tell her when her dad, Aaron died. In 2009, Candy told People that she didn’t have a relationship with Tori and her husband, noting she hadn’t even met her granddaughter. Tori fired back to the outlet that same year, blaming her mother for the lack of effort in maintaining their relationship. Almost 10 years later, An insider told Us that Tori and Candy’s relationship was still “really complicated,” claiming that Candy “couldn’t stand” Tori’s husband.
Anne Heche
Actress Anne Heche often spoke of her estrangement from her mother, Nancy Heche, who said that her daughter’s relationship with Ellen DeGeneres was a sin. In multiple interviews, Heche said she did not plan to reconcile with her religious mother after the two stopped speaking following her high-profile relationship with DeGeneres in 1997. Unfortunately, Heche’s death last year eliminated any chance of a reconciliation. The 53-year-old actress died after she drove her blue Mini Cooper at a high speed down a residential Los Angeles Street and crashed into a small house, setting it and the car on fire.
Aaron Carter
Nick and Aaron Carter are brothers and musicians who were known to be very up and down with one another for years. It wasn’t until 2019 though that this family drama really seemed serious to outsiders. According to Nick and Angel, their sister, Aaron threatened to kill Nick’s pregnant wife. This lead to both siblings filing a restraining order against Aaron, which seems understandable, given the circumstances.
Jamie Lynn Spears
This Zoey 101 star and sister of Britney Spears has had a rocky relationship with her sister for many years. The two hounded one another on social media with Jamie Lynn making many jokes about Britney’s dancing videos. Britney was placed under a conservatorship by her father Jamie and has gone on to imply that Jamie did her harm through this as well. Their relationship is still bumpy but seems to be on the mend.
Kate Gosselin
The Gosselin’s are known for being a reality TV family who also happen to have large amounts of drama, especially since parents Jon and Kate split up in 2009. Jon is estranged from six of the eight children the couple had together, but has custody of the other two which was in itself difficult to attain. Kate has been accused of abuse against Jon and her children on several occasions– a horrendous prospect.
Jim Bob Duggar
The Duggars are an American reality TV family famous from their show 19 Kids And Counting. As a family so large, they have still had more than a fair dose of horrible occurrences. The oldest Duggar son Josh was charged with possession of explicit media involving children. Jim Bob Duggar was later left nearly alone on his own birthday with hardly any of his children coming to visit. This was apparently due to him standing by Josh despite his son’s very serious alleged crimes.
Madonna
Global star Madonna and her brothers have had a rocky relationship at best over the years. Her brother Christopher Ciccone wrote a memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, which did not show Madonna in a favourable light. This lead to over a decade of the siblings not talking. Anthony, Madonna’s other brother, also has had very few positive things to say about his sister. The experienced homelessness despite his sister’s immense success and wealth, and claims “she lives in her own world”.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman actually has four children, which many people forget. This is because her children Isabella and Connor were had with Tom Cruise and are practically estranged from her. When the couple split, the children were given the choice of who they wanted to go with. The kids opted to stay with Tom Cruise and continue practicing Scientology. That definitely explains their absence in Kidman’s life.
Tom Cruise
Speaking of Tom Cruise, he has had other family issues of his own. After his split from Kidman, Tom Cruise went on the marry Katie Holmes and had their daughter Suri. The parents are actually estranged from their daughter and have been for years. While Tom wants to repair the relationship, Suri has not associated with him for a long time due to his involvement with the church of Scientology.
Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland
Though both these actresses and sisters are deceased, their feud was one of Hollywood’s most famous. Olivia was reportedly the favourite child and was first to be an actress. She became resentful when Joan later did the same. The most famous part of their sibling rivalry occurred at the Oscars in 1942 when both sisters were nominated for Best Actress. Everyone expected Olivia to win, but it was Joan that got the prize and ignored Olivia’s congratulations. Olivia won an Oscar in 1947 and ignored Joan right back. Their feud went on all their lives until Joan died in 2013 and Olivia in 2020.
Frances Bean Cobain
Frances Bean Cobain is the only child of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Her and her mother, also pictured above, have had an up and down relationship for her entire life. It’s been reported that when Frances got married to Isaiah Silva, she failed to invite her mother to the wedding. It probably wasn’t just because it slipped her mind.
Heidi Montag
Heidi Montag had a several year period of not speaking to her mother due to some unpleasant comments. Montag’s mother Darlene Egelhof went out of her way to express her disappointment and dislike for how far her daughter had gone with plastic surgery. Montag was both furious and upset, and went on to cut her mother off for two whole years following this incident.
