Celebrities aren’t invincible, and many of them have had to deal with the pain of growing up without a father in their lives. Whether they were abandoned, a victim of a messy divorce or lost a parent when they were small, these 20 famous faces, for example, all coped without their dads during childhood – and yet managed to come out the other side.

Adele
British superstar Adele was abandoned by her dad Mark when she was two. The pair’s already strained relationship deteriorated yet further in 2011, though, when he sold his story to a British tabloid, admitting there that he was a “rotten,” alcoholic dad. Adele responded to the piece by saying that she would “spit in his face” if she ever saw him again; by 2015, however, Mark claimed that they had reconciled.

Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey was only three when her parents divorced; after her Afro-Venezuelan father left, her mother raised her single-handedly. The singer faced racist comments for her mixed heritage while growing up, and she continued to have a strained relationship with her father during that period. Sadly, Carey’s dad died from cancer in 2002 – but as she had reconciled with him a few years previously, she was fortunately able to spend time with him shortly before he passed away.

50 Cent
50 Cent’s childhood was plagued with tragedy: not only did he never meet his father, but his mother Selena died when he was eight, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother. And, as of 2013, the rapper had still not reconciled with his dad and has no intention to; as he explained in an interview with Larry King that year: “The mistakes I made early on… he could have been there to help me not make those mistakes.”

Sean Combs
Sean Combs spoke about his father’s murder for the first time in 2013 when he posted a video on his cable network, Revolt TV. Tragically, the future hip-hop mogul was just three years old when his father was shot dead at the age of 33. “There’s definitely been times as I’ve gotten older that I’ve missed my father,” he said in the candid clip. “There’s things that you would ask your father.”

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne’s father deserted the family when the future rapper was just two years old. The star has no relationship with his dad, and he never intends to have one: as he explained to GQ in 2011, “He don’t give a s**t about me. And I don’t give a s**t about him. I don’t want to look like his ass, but I do.”

Alicia Keys
Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys’ parents divorced when she was two, and she was estranged from her father until she became a mother herself. When speaking to Britain’s You magazine in 2012, though, Keys opened up about the reunion with her father, saying, “I would say in the process of growing up, you realize you’ve been holding on to anger. I feel both me and my father have grown up.”

Kanye West
Kanye West spent long periods of time apart from his father Ray after his parents divorced when he was three. The rap star still respects his papa, however, as evinced by comments he made to DJ Zane Lowe in a 2013 interview with the U.K.’s BBC Radio 1. In it, West said, “My father was a photo journalist. Seven years ago, he lived in a homeless shelter, not because he was homeless, because he wanted to help the ex-drug addicts, he wanted to get that close.”

Kelly Rowland
Former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland has had no contact with her father – who was an abusive alcoholic – since she was seven. In 2011, however, the singer said that she was open to the idea of reconciling with her dad, explaining: “I do have a desire to speak to him. But I have to be ready when I make that decision, and I don’t want to hurry myself.”

Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera has alleged on many occasions that her father Fausto was abusive towards her growing up – something he has always denied. Aguilera’s parents divorced when she was six, with her dad virtually absent from her life since then; nevertheless, she expressed an interest in reconciling with him in 2012. “Maybe one day we can do lunch,” she told Latina magazine. “I’m 31 years old now. Maybe it’s time.”

fatherlessboysfoundation.org/blog/f/20-celebrities-who-grew-up-without-their-fathers

sending out love today to them.must be sad

This is weird

This deserves a perma.

will check anyone who lies on my king. will bring receipts. he is the king of music. abolish drake haters. cry more | RETIRED | she/her | OVO Sweatshop's Office Administrator | P****-ass men hatin' on me from KTT2, ah | OFFICIALLY DONE WITH KTT2

how? a lot of kids look up to these artists and see them as inspo bc if these famous people can make it without a father, so can they

OFFICIALLY DONE WITH KTT2 ?

why today

why? i selected the right forum and channel

this is label under gossip

Adonis Graham

Lmao what are we doing here

think again

You are a woat poster

You brought the receipts

Papiless Angels man, I'm telling you

ktt crying about a thread showing how artists can achieve their dreams even with the absence of a father

I didn’t know who would strike the final blow to kill this site but congrats I guess.

will check anyone who lies on my king. will bring receipts.

Read how uninspirational these summaries are.

Eminem is one of the most prominent examples

Tyler the creator spent his first 2 albums crying about it