The Worst Mother/daughter Relationships In Hollywood
Hollywood is rife with memorable feuds, some of which have unfortunately occurred incredibly close to home. In the cases of the following mother/daughter pairs, years of interpersonal difficulties have led to a great deal of conflict, and often times have resulted in irreparable fissures in the relationships. In 2016, the Huffington Post published an article that explained that, "Mothers and daughters of all ages are struggling to listen to each other, respect each other's differences, honor each other's boundaries, and emotionally support each other... their relationship is being defined by incessant arguing, unwarranted criticism, and a general lack of mutual support... Mothers and daughters are being set up to to fight."
Examining the following conflict-filled mother/daughter relationships, these kinds of difficult dynamic definitely seem to be at play. One thing is for sure: Celebrity status certainly doesn't inure anyone from experiencing intense levels of difficulty with their own mothers or daughters.
Jaid Barrymore and Drew Barrymore
The tense relationship between actress Drew Barrymore and her mother Jaid Barrymore has been well documented over the years, and in 2015 Drew chimed in with her most personal reflections in her memoir Wildflower. In the book, Drew narrated her many intense childhood experiences, paying particular attention to her fraught relationship with her mom.
As The Guardian detailed in 2015, Jaid would take young Drew out to places like Studio 54 when the younger Barrymore was just 9 years old, and later had her committed to a mental institution at the age of 13. Drew emancipated herself from her parents at age 14, telling The Guardian, "I think with my mother it was definitely too out there." When asked about her relationship with her mom by Marie Claire in 2014, Drew said, "It's the hardest subject in my life. I've never just been angry with her. I've always felt guilt and empathy and utter sensitivity. But we can't really be in each other's lives at this point."
However, she did post a picture of the two together on Instagram for Mother's Day in 2017, so it's possible things are moving forward on a more even keel these days for this mother/daughter duo.
Nancy Dow and Jennifer Aniston
Like Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston's difficult relationship with her mother Nancy Dow has long been well-documented. Like her daughter, Dow was an actress, but the two definitely didn't see eye to eye. According to Us Weekly, they stopped speaking after Dow wrote the 1999 tell-all From Mother and Daughter to Friends; Aniston didn't invite her mother to her 2000 wedding to Brad Pitt. In 2015, Aniston revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the two had semi-repaired their long rift, but also noted that when she was growing up, "[Dow] had a temper. I can't tolerate that... She was very critical of me... She was also very unforgiving. She would hold grudges that I just found so petty."
In Touch Weekly reported that Dow had a series of strokes after 2011 that left her unable to walk or speak; Aniston last saw her mother in May 2015, just before Dow passed away at the age of 79. In Touch Weekly also revealed that Aniston had been completely cut out of Dow's will, receiving neither money nor any of her mother's material possessions.
Frances Bean Cobain and Courtney Love
The relationship between Courtney Love and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain (whose father was Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain) has been rocky, to say the least. As CNN detailed, Love first lost custody of her daughter in 2003 for two years after threatening suicide; in 2009, she temporarily lost custody of then-17 year-old Cobain again, who wanted to live with her grandmother instead.
In 2012, Cobain filed a restraining order against Love after the two got into a physical fight. According to the Daily Mail, in her testimony Cobain claimed that Love had caused the death of family pets, and that Love survived on "Xanax, Adderall, Sonata and Abilify, sugar and cigarettes." Cobain also described being dragged along when Love confronted a former boyfriend and multiple instances of violent behavior.
However, by 2015 the two had reconciled to work together on a documentary about Kurt Cobain, Montage of Heck. Most recently, in March 2018 they spent a night together at a concept store opening in Los Angeles, so it seems things have calmed down between the two for now.
Lindsay Lohan and Dina Lohan
Between arrests, rehab, and a number of feuds, Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan has certainly seen her fair share of drama over the years, and her relationship with her mom Dina is no exception. In 2012, Lohan's father Michael called the cops when Lindsay and Dina were involved in a blowout fight at Dina's home in Long Island, NY. According to The New York Daily News, the fight erupted in the early morning hours after a night of partying, with Lindsay alleging that she'd lent Dina $40,000 which hadn't been paid back. "Dad, she's on cocaine!" Lindsay yelled to her father on the phone. However, the two were photographed hugging not long after the altercation.
In 2016, their relationship made headlines again when Lindsay posted, and then quickly deleted, a drawing of a woman dropping a cell phone with the words "we're done," written across it to her Instagram account. According to People, she captioned the photo "@dinalohan ... Sometimes it sucks when your mom isn't there for you." However, the two were photographed together on the red carpet in Dec. 2017 (via People), so it appears that they've squashed their beef for now.
Ariel Winter and Chrystal Workman
As Us Weekly reported, Modern Family actress Ariel Winter legally emancipated herself from her mother, Chrystal Workman, at age 17 in 2015, after an arduous three-year custody battle. During proceedings, according to People magazine, Winter claimed that her mother had emotionally and physically abused her, while Workman alleged that Winter had made up abuse allegations because she was upset that her mother had forbidden her relationship with an older boyfriend.
In a Sept. 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Winter suggested that her mother had objectified her and dressed her provocatively as a child, saying, "People thought I was 24 when I was 12. If there was going to be a nude scene when I was that age, my mother would have a thousand percent said yes." Workman responded in an interview with Inside Edition, claiming that Winter was making up stories for attention and saying, "Not in a million years." Workman also responded to recent Instagram posts that showed Winter wearing what the show described as "revealing" outfits, saying that "I feel that Ariel is starving for attention... I feel this is a cry help from my child."
In a message to her daughter on Inside Edition, Workman said, "It's time to fix your relationship with your mom... Every girl needs her mom and every mom needs her daughter." Judging by the way things have been going, we'd guess a reconciliation isn't on the books any time soon.
Chelsea Alliegro and Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell adopted her daughter Chelsea when Chelsea was just a baby, and in recent years their relationship has seen seriously tough times. As People describes, in August 2015, then-17-year old Chelsea went missing for a week, when she was finally found at the home of her 25-year-old boyfriend. At the time, O'Donnell's rep claimed that Chelsea was suffering from mental illness and had neglected to take her medication, adding, "It has been a difficult road for Chelsea and her family... Rosie loves Chelsea very much."
In October 2015, Chelsea gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which she explained that she hadn't in fact gone missing, but rather that O'Donnell had kicked her out of the house, and that she wasn't mentally ill as had been portrayed. She explained that she'd been primarily raised by nannies, noting a split between O'Donnell's friendly public persona and her private personality. However, as E! News reported, Chelsea was reportedly hospitalized in 2016 to undergo psychiatric evaluation, and then subsequently suddenly married a plumber who was 12 years older than her, much to O'Donnell's reported shock.
Chelsea broke the news that she was pregnant to the Daily Mail in Sept. 2017, a week after O'Donnell's ex-wife committed suicide. In a series of tweets, O'Donnell accused Chelsea of profiting off of the tragedy, writing, "I let go I walked away and she still does interviews 'do u see me mommy' I see u Chelsea hurting people in ur family over and over."
Tori Spelling and Candy Spelling
With Tori Spelling and her mother Candy Spelling, it's a whole lot of drama over a whole lot of money.
In 2014, Candy Spelling was promoting her memoir Candy At Last when she explained in an interview with The New York Times the reasoning behind her late husband's (mega-producer Aaron Spelling) decision to only cut his daughter, actress Tori Spelling, in on $800K of his estimated $600 million fortune. Candy told the paper, "[Tori] would close a store and drop $50,000 to $60,000... I never did anything like that. She just went crazy." The same year, Tori appeared on Access Hollywood Live, where she described her lack of communication with her mom, saying (via Us Weekly), "There's not currently much of a relationship... I think the biggest thing in a mother-daughter relationship is accepting the relationship for what it is, not what you want it to be. And I haven't gotten there yet."
Tori's financial issues made headlines in Feb. 2016, when she was sued for not paying a $38,000 American Express bill. Candy explained to TMZ in no uncertain terms that she had no interest in stepping in to help, saying, "I've been helping out and I'm paying all her bills now... I'm not paying extras like that. I'm not paying any back payments..." The two seemed to be on better terms in September 2017 when Candy threw Tori a baby shower for her fifth kid, although she did snidely remark, via Us Weekly, "I hope she's finished, but you never know."
Bernadette Birk and Bethenny Frankel
Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel was deep into a custody battle with her ex, Jason Hoppy, over their 7-year-old daughter Bryn when Frankel's estranged mother Bernadette Birk came out of the woodwork. Instead of supporting her daughter, Birk went on the record with Radar Online to call her "not a very good mother. In my experience, she's not a very giving person."
Birk also blabbed to Life & Style that even though she hadn't yet met Hoppy (wonder why), she was planning to reach out to him and see whether she could help him with the custody case. "I feel very sorry for Jason... He seems like a good man," Birk added. OMG. Earlier in the year, Birk had also called her daughter "a moron" to Life & Style when asked to comment on Frankel appearing on Shark Tank. She also said, "Bethenny is a liar and a shark. She ran through my guts. She will get along with the other sharks."
Frankel had previously discussed her difficult relationship with her mom in her 2011 book A Place of Yes, writing that Bernadette was a "wild card" and that "she became a mother before she became an adult." For her part, Birk has been vocal about her negative feelings about her daughter for years.
Joan Crawford and Christina Crawford
Let's take a trip back in time to one of old Hollywood's most infamous mother/daughter feuds, shall we?
The 1981 movie Mommie Dearest is a campy classic, based on Christina Crawford's memoir of the same title that revealed the real-life nightmare that was her relationship with her mother, mega-famous actress Joan Crawford. As Christina's book describes, her adoptive mother Crawford (who died in May of 1977) was incredibly manipulative and abusive for all of Christina's young life. The Hollywood Reporter laid out some of Christina's most shocking claims, including that Joan beat her with a wire hanger, starved her, and would wake up Christina and her siblings for middle-of-the-night cleaning raids.
According to Vice, Joan knew about Christina's book before she died, saying, "I think this book will be full of lies and twisted truths," and cutting Christina and her brother out of her will.
Bette Davis and B.D. Hyman
Like Christina Crawford, actress Bette Davis' daughter B.D. Hyman took to the page to narrate her life and describe her difficult relationship with her mother. As Vice details, in B.D.'s book My Mother's Keeper (published in 1985 while Davis was still alive), she described "Davis battling alcoholism and pretending to commit suicide to teach a young Hyman a lesson." As the Washington Post put it, the book painted a portrait of Davis as "a salty-tongued, egomaniacal, heavy-drinking performer who steamrollered over anyone in her career path."
Davis subsequently published a rebuttal in 1987 called This N' That, in which she wrote to her daughter (via the Washington Post), "[your] book is a glaring lack of loyalty and thanks for the privileged life I feel you have been given."
Davis died in 1989, and like Crawford, she left nothing to her daughter; According to Inside Edition, she declared in her will, "I have intentionally and with full knowledge omitted to provide herein for my daughter." In recent years, Hyman, who became an evangelical minister, has continued to make claims about tehir complicated mother/daughter relationship. As Inside Edition reported in May 2017, in a YouTube video she asserted that Davis had used witchcraft against her, saying, "She practiced the occult witchcraft and when I would not do what she wanted me to do, she vowed to get even with me."