17 CELEBRITIES WHO WERE RAISED BY SINGLE MOTHERS

If you ever hear someone say that children from single-parent homes are at a disadvantage, you can prove them wrong by pointing to these stars — 17 celebrities who were raised by single mothers.

1. Kanye West

News of Kanye West’s mother’s recent death might hit even harder when you learn that she was the only parent Kanye really had. According to DailyMail.co.uk, Kanye’s parents divorced when he was 3, and after that his mother, Donda West, moved him all over the country, and even to China. Donda was a big supporter of Kanye’s career and when her son was 13, she rented a recording studio so he could record his first rap song.

2. Eddie Murphy

Comedian and actor Murphy lost his father at a very young age: when he was 8 when his police officer father was shot by a girlfriend. According to TalkTalk.co.uk, Murphy’s widowed mother, Lillian Murphy, later remarried but spent several years raising Eddie Murphy and his brother by herself.

3. Angelina Jolie

Perhaps actress Jolie was so eager to be a mother herself because she had a great role model! “Mrs.” Brad Pitt chose a great guy so she doesn’t have daddy issues, however her parents split when Jolie was a baby, and for many years she didn’t talk to her dad. Jolie’s mother was model and actor Marcheline Bertrand and her father is actor Jon Voight. After they split, Jolie’s mom moved her and her siblings from California to New York. Marcheline went onto become Jolie’s manager, says Lifetimetv.co.uk.

4. Jon Stewart

The host of “The Daily Show” perhaps developed a great sense of humor out of necessity after a sad childhood. According to TheGuardian.com, Stewart’s father left his family when Stewart was just 9. His father spelled his last name Stuart, and some believe the “Daily Show” host changed his last name to estrange himself from his dad. Stewart and his brother were raised by their mother, school teacher Marian Stuart.

5. Sean Combs

The rapper once known as “Puff Daddy” was born in a public housing project to Janice Combs, a teacher, and Melvin Earl Combs, a drug dealer. Melvin was shot in his car when Sean was still an infant, an event the rapper recently opened up about in an interview, according to DailyMail.co.uk. Sean was raised solely by his mother.

6. Barbra Streisand

The phenomenal actress and singer was born to a teacher father, Emanuel Streisand, and mother Diana Rosen Streisand. Streisand’s father died from an epileptic seizure when she was only 6 months old and her mother moved Barbra and her brother into their grandparent’s home. Barbra’s grandfather was also a singer, according to Barbra-archives.com, which may be where she got her inspiration to sing.

7. Al Pacino

Actor and director Pacino was born to Salvatore and Rose Pacino, but his mother left his father when Pacino was 2 years old, sending her son to live with her parents until she could join them. According to Angelfire.com, beginning at a young age, Pacino’s mom took him to the movies, and he developed his love of acting.

8. Martin Lawrence

Funny actor Lawrence’s father was in the Air Force and moved his family around often. However, the father left the family when Lawrence was a young boy, and his mother raised the six children on her own. According to LifeTimetv.co.uk, Lawrence’s love of comedy bloomed when he would try to cheer up his mother by making her laugh.

9. Mary J. Blige

When music sensation Mary J. Blige was barely 4 years old, her father left her family. Blige’s mother moved her around the country, including to housing projects in New York, according to AceShowbiz.com. Blige reportedly began to love music when she listened to her mother’s collection of ’70s music.

10. Jodie Foster

The “Silence of the Lambs” actress was born to single mother. According to IMDB.com, her parents divorced before Foster was born, and Foster was conceived during one of her mother’s visits to her father for child support for her older sibling. Foster was raised by her mother, who had her in commercials by the age of 3.

11. Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale was raised by Judy Loe, who is also an actress and has been in several British sitcoms and dramas. Beckinsale’s father Richard Beckinsale was also an actor who passed away during his sleep from what doctors believed to be a heart attack. Beckinsale was only five years old at the time and her mother raised her as a single mother for several years before remarrying.

12. Barack Obama

Michelle Obama isn’t the only incredibly strong female in our president’s life. Obama’s mother Stanley Dunham married Obama’s father when she was already three months pregnant with their baby, but soon after giving birth Dunham returned to Seattle to go to college, and barely three years after her marriage she divorced Obama’s dad. Obama then lived with his father in Honolulu until he was six years old, when he returned to his mother and moved to Indonesia where she raised him.

13. Halle Berry

Halle Berry was born to interracial couple Jerome and Judith Berry and spent the first few years of her life in an inner-city neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. When she was four years old, Berry’s father left her mother and her mother moved Berry and her sister to a suburb in Ohio where she raised them for the rest of their childhood.

14. Christina Aguilera

The former host of “The Voice” was born to Fausto Xavier Aguilera and Shelly Loraine Fidler. Aguilera’s father was abusive to her mother and, according to the singer, to her and her sister. When Aguilera was six, her mother left her husband and took Aguilera and her sister with her.

15. Eva Mendes

The “Hitch” actress was born to Cuban parents in Miami, Florida but when she was 10 years old her parents divorced and her mother moved Mendes and her brothers and sisters to Los Angeles, California. Mendes’ mother worked for an aerospace company while raising her children.

16. Keanu Reeves

The “Matrix” star was born to a mother who was a showgirl and a father who was a geologist but his father left his family when Reeves was just three years old. Reeves’ mother raised Reeves and his sister mostly alone, but she had several more husbands.

17. Mariah Carey

The singer with a wildly popular Christmas album had parents with a tumultuous relationship. Carey’s parents had to elope because her mother’s family didn’t approve of her marrying a black man, and her family eventually disowned her. Carey’s parents divorced when she was three. Carey moved in with her mother and stopped speaking to her father.