Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Friday, February 8, 2013

The Other Side of Hollywood

Everyone has a dark past. Even celebrities.

And because I know you're curious, here are a few things you might not have known about your favorite movie stars:


James Dean was sexually molested by his church's minister, after his mom passed away. He revealed the tragic memory to Elizabeth Taylor while they were filming Giant.



Rosie O'Donnell revealed in a best-selling memoir, Celebrity Detox, that when she was a kid, she used to break her fingers and hands with a baseball bat, in order to get her parents attention.



When Leighton Meester was born, her mom was in prison for drug smuggling. The Gossip girl star was raised by her grandmother, while her mom finished serving the rest of her sentence.



Poor Jack Nicholson was innocently enjoying being the hottest new movie star on the block, when a journalist turned his life upside down. In 1974, while researching a story about the actor, a Time magazine reporter accidentally discovered that Jack's parents were not his parents! They were his grandparents, and his real mother was his older sister, who had been a sassy showgirl during the 1930s.



When he was a teenager, Mark Wahlberg wasn't a fan of non-white people. At 15, he got in trouble for throwing rocks at a group of African-American children on a field trip and calling them racial slurs. At 16, he randomly attacked a middle-aged Vietnamese man on the street with a stick, shouting "fucking Vietnam shit" and then attacked another Vietnamese man, permanently blinding him. He was charged with attempted murder for the unprovoked attacks, but only served 45 days in jail.



In 2010, a photo of a sad Keanu eating a sandwich alone sparked a world-wide meme. Everyone thought it was hysterical. Unfortunately, not many people probably realized what was behind those unhappy eyes. In 1999, the love of his life, the gorgeous production assistant Jennifer Syme, gave birth to their stillborn daughter, Ava. In 2001, the 28-year-old was killed in a drunk driving accident after attending a party. She is buried next to their daughter. Friends have said in interviews that Keanu remains a changed man.


Did you know any of these facts? Does it change the way you feel about these celebrities?

24 comments:

Barbara von Enger said...

Hadn't known about these facts on the other hand that's another reason why I love visitng your blog;)

The Dainty Dolls House said...

Very interesting...I knew some of them. It's great to learn new things though :) Have a fun weekend x

Alex Byer said...

Oh man! I feel so bad for Keanu! I never knew that about him. And I never saw the Jack Nicholson story coming. Man. Crazy.

love jenny xoxo said...

the last two definitely changes my thoughts on them... wow! All these stories are crazy!

XOXO

French Girl in Seattle said...

I knew all of them except for the Mark W. story. What the heck??!!! Great marketing at work with this one: He is now the epitome of the family man! Great research, and great stories Jenny. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Swarnali said...

I had read about Jack Nicholson's mother somewhere I suppose. But Keanu Reeves' story does come as a complete shock to me. I feel so sorry for that man now.
I read your previous post about the spam comments and realized just now that I forgot to publish the comment I had written. *silly me*
Spam comments are truly annoying. I get hundreds of them asking me to buy all sorts of things (Viagra being one of them :P). I had resorted to captcha for a few days but it was even more annoying. Thankfully, Blogger spam filter works fine for me till now.
Have a good day :)

Priyanka Sacheti said...


I was especially moved upon reading about Keanu Reeves...for so long, I have just thought of him as The Matrix guy - and reading this story just makes me look at him much beyond that.

Also, first time commenting but have been enjoying reading your blog for quite a while!

Venus Loves Virgo said...

Wow, never knew these facts, thanks. XOXO

David Macaulay said...

never knew that re Jack Nicholson, somewhat less than cool - lol - OMG - word verification; mind you if you have been spammed a necessary evil I guess

A Very Sweet Blog said...

I didn't know any of those facts. There was always a sadness with Keanu. Loved him. WOW about Jack Nicholson! I didn't know Jenn. I wonder if Mark Wahlberg STILL feels that way. :(
http://www.averysweetblog.com/

beingFab said...

Except for Keanu Reeves, all the other stories are new to me. Mark W. blinded a man?? Horrible!!

Couture Carrie said...

Whoa. Some stories.
Ick about Mark Wahlberg.
And poor Keanu!

xoxox,
CC

Josie said...

I knew about Leighton -- but these are all such sad stories.
xo Josie

My Unfinished Life said...

I knew about keeanu for sure...but not about the others.....

http://www.myunfinishedlife.com/

Sherin said...

Oh wow! I had no idea about any of these! The Mark Wahlberg one is definitely the most shocking.

Unknown said...

such tragic lives for them :( but they still work past it! Kinda shocked by the whole Mark Wahlberg thing

Mili from call me, Maeby

yiqin; said...

great write up <3

Lima said...

I know about Keanu eating the sandwich looking sad and the whole MEME saga. It was HILARIOUS at the time.

Didn't have a clue about his girlfriend and still born daughter, how awful is that! Bless my Keanu! I wish I could give him a hug.

KEANU - If you are reading this, message me bebs ;) x

Tanvi said...

I didn't know about any of this ... makes me feel bad for them ... but Mark?!! That's a shocker. Horrible upbringing.

∞ © tanvii.com ∞

Audrey Allure said...

I only knew about the Leighton Meester one, but had no idea about the others!

Melanie said...

I didn't know any of those...My god...I can't believe the fact about Keanu Reeves!!!! He always looks so sad. Poor guy...

Tights Lover said...

Wow. Those are some crazy facts! I did not know the Mark Wahlberg one, but he did grow up about 5 miles away from where I did. Knowing what I know about that neighborhood back then, I'm not too surprised.

ps. ugh. what's with the the captcha here all of a sudden?

hahahaha. I joke I joke. I read that post...sorry to hear what happened. I had to do the same, a while back.

Arielle-HumblePieVintage said...

I knew that about Keanu and then read more about his life. Damn, that dude's been through a lot.
I kinda don't like Mark Wahlberg now.
But to be fair I never even really "knew" who he was. That's just insane.
I know someone who had a kid when she was a teen and her parents are raising it as their own. I think the kid is like 8 now and think that's his sister. One day he'll probably find out too.
I knew that about Leighton and thought that was really cool. I read all the drama involving her and her mom this year too though. Her mom is shady.

Aditi SoSaree said...

WOW..shocking facts.
Reading about Keanu really made me sad. I like him so much.

Aditi
So-Saree
www.sosaree.blogspot.in