Celebs Who Don't Speak To Their Children
Families are complicated, and they get even more complicated when you factor in elements like fame, wealth, and media scrutiny.
Some celebrities have been estranged from their children but were able to eventually kiss and make up. Jon Voight and his uber-famous daughter Angelina Jolie had a tenuous, rollercoaster relationship for decades after he allegedly walked out on her mother but reconciled after her divorce from Brad Pitt. Frances Bean Cobain legally emancipated herself from mom Courtney Love, who wept about missing her little girl to Vanity Fair in 2011, but the pair are on great terms now.
Unfortunately, not every celebrity family is that lucky.
Parenthood is supposed to be one of the greatest joys in life for those lucky enough to have children, but that isn't always the case. Whether these celebs had problem children, nasty custody battles, or just fell out of touch, they don't currently speak to their kids — and even more shockingly, not all of them even mind that at all.
Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins has been estranged from his only daughter, Abigail, for years after allegedly abandoning her and her mother, his first wife Petronella Barker, when Abigail was still in diapers. They had a brief reconciliation in the 1990s, but it didn't last long.
Hopkins admitted to the Radio Times (via The Telegraph) in May 2018 — ironically when he was promoting his starring role in the BBC adaptation of King Lear — that he hasn't spoken to Abigail for years and didn't even know if she'd had children.
"I don't have any idea. People break up. Families split and, you know, 'Get on with your life.' People make choices. I don't care one way or the other," he said.
Hopkins and Abigail differ on whose choice it was to not have a relationship. She told The Telegraph in 2006 of her childhood, "I would see him, but maybe once a year. There is a little bit of sadness, but I have to get on with my life. It has always been like that. See him, and then not."
Hopkins, however, told The Sunday Times, "Her choice is her choice. I did the best I could, but ... if somebody doesn't want to be part of my life, fine. Go and do whatever you want. I wish her well and all that, but I don't want to talk about my daughter. Those things are over. I've got no blame."
Tom Cruise
After divorcing Katie Holmes in 2012, Tom Cruise reportedly has been largely out of contact with their daughter, Suri. The actor hasn't been seen with Suri publicly since September 2013, In Touch Weekly reports, and sources claim that Cruise's relationship with Scientology may be to blame: Holmes was rumored to be labeled as a "suppressive person" (commonly referred to as an "SP"), which means she's believed to have spoken out negatively about the controversial religion. In addition, Cruise has made a big career comeback since his split from Holmes, making scheduling any potential visits difficult — if he wanted any visits, that is.
In November 2015, a source told The National Enquirer (via The Sun), "He doesn't seem interested in being part of Suri's day-to-day life. Katie does her best to be a hands-on mom, but there's no replacing her father." Life & Style reported in May 2018 that Holmes and Suri have gotten accustomed to Cruise not being around. A source told the magazine, "At one time, Katie felt that Suri needed Tom's presence in her life, but not anymore. Katie tells Suri that she, her parents, relatives and friends are all the family she needs."
Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell has been estranged off and on from adopted daughter Chelsea for years.
The issues began, at least publicly, in August 2015, when Rosie tweeted that Chelsea, then 17, was missing. Chelsea was found at the home of an alleged heroin dealer that she met on Tinder, Page Six reported. Their relationship was fraught with drama, but they reportedly reconciled in summer 2016. By May 2017, however, the family feud was back in full force, with Chelsea, who at 19 had since married 31-year-old Nicki Alliegro, telling The Daily Mail that her famous mom was verbally abusive for her whole life.
Rosie vehemently denied the allegations and made it clear that she and Chelsea no longer communicate, telling The Daily Mail, "Chelsea is mentally ill. [She] has been in and out of hospitals most of her life. Born addicted to heroin. She has had a tough road. As for her comments, I assume you are paying her, which is why she is selling these tales to you ... She is very sick. She is not capable of truth or reason. She has not been in touch with anyone since her husband tried to extort $9,000 from this family." She added, "As a mother, my request is that you not pay her and leave her alone ... It is comforting to know she is still alive, so thank you for that part."
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is estranged from adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, who accused him of sexually abusing her as a child, and his son Ronan Farrow.
Dylan, whom Allen shared with ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow, first levied the sexual abuse allegations against Allen in 1993. At the time, law enforcement and sexual abuse experts investigated the claims, the Los Angeles Times reported, but a prosecutor opted to not pursue charges against Allen, allegedly to spare Dylan, who was 7 at the time, the potential trauma of a trial.
Woody has repeatedly denied the allegations and alleged that Mia encourage Dylan to lie.
Dylan reiterated the allegations in an open letter in The New York Times in 2014 and several times since the emergence of the #MetToo and Time's Up movements.
Ronan, another of Allen's sons with Mia, is also estranged from the director, in part because of his support of Dylan.
Ronan said in a statement on social media in May 2018, "My mother did an extraordinary job raising us ... After relentless legal scrutiny of my mother's parenting — and efforts to discredit her — she was granted sole custody to protect us from Woody Allen. We all grew up with offers from him to speak out against our mother in exchange for support. (He made helping to pay for my college education contingent on turning against her and lying. I declined.) ... I believe my sister."
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is estranged from two of her adopted children, son Moses and daughter Soon-Yi Previn, who alleged that Farrow abused them as children — and who have denounced Dylan Farrow's sexual abuse allegations against Woody Allen.
Moses keeps a blog that he updates somewhat regularly whenever Dylan reiterates her sexual assault allegations against Allen. Most recently, in May 2018, Moses wrote, "I'm a very private person and not at all interested in public attention, but given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit." He then accused Mia of physically and verbally abusing him and his siblings, saying that Previn — who later went on to marry Allen — got it the worst.
Moses also claimed in the blog that his sister Tam, who reportedly died of heart failure at age 21, actually overdosed on pills and committed suicide, as did Mia's son Thaddeus, who committed suicide in 2016.
Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal and daughter Tatum O'Neal have what may be the most complicated relationship in Hollywood history, rife with off-and-on estrangement and a lot of substance abuse issues. Their problems began when Tatum became the youngest person to ever win an Oscar for Paper Moon (1973), in which she co-starred with Ryan. In her own autobiography, A Paper Life (via Vanity Fair), Tatum claimed that Ryan physically and emotionally abused her when she was a child, that he seduced her childhood best friend, Melanie Griffith, and that a friend of Ryan's molested her as a child.
In 2009, Ryan told Vanity Fair that Tatum was a "b***h" for writing the book and airing the family's dirty laundry in public — yet he aired dirty laundry of his own, revealing that at the funeral for his longtime girlfriend, Farrah Fawcett, he flirted with Tatum, who he hadn't seen in years, because he didn't recognize her.
Tatum and Ryan reconciled briefly on their reality show Ryan And Tatum: The O'Neals, but Ryan later griped to TV Guide (via The Daily Mail) in September 2011 that he and Tatum were on worse terms after the show than they were before. In March 2018, Tatum told The Los Angeles Times that she and Ryan were still estranged. "I'm over it now," she said. "I wasn't for a while. He's never really forgiven me for talking about it. I hope one day he will be able to let us be close again. It breaks my heart."
Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner has a ton of kids ... and barely keeps up with any of them.
Caitlyn herself admitted to Broadly in May 2018, "I spend a lot of time by myself here in the house. I have a lot of children, but sometimes just because of circumstances, maintaining a close relationship with your kids is very tough. They all have lives. They've all moved on."
Of course, that's only half of the story: Caitlyn is estranged from the Kardashian sisters after her own falling out with matriarch Kris Jenner over Caitlyn's memoir, and she noticeably omitted Khloe Kardashian from a Mother's Day tribute post that featured Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Kris. People reported that Caitlyn also skipped son Brody's wedding to attend the Vienna Life Ball. (Brody is Caitlyn's son with Linda Thompson, and previously confronted Caitlyn about her general absence from his life in a 2013 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but Caitlyn refused to discuss it at the time.)
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's daughter, Etta Ng, claims she's been estranged from the action star for years. Ng is Chan's daughter from an affair with former beauty queen Elaine Ng while married to his current wife, Joan Lin, People reports; Chan has never publicly acknowledged Etta but did previously admit to having an affair while married to Lin.
The estrangement between Etta and Chan is so bad that Etta claimed in a YouTube video in April 2018 that she and her girlfriend Andi Autumn were homeless and had even slept under a bridge due to their parents' alleged homophobia.
"We've gone to the police, we've gone to the hospitals, the food banks, the LGBTQ community shelters," Etta said in the video. Autumn claimed that if they went to any kind of "government facility" that they'd be split up.
Etta previously told Express, "I would not say that [Chan] is my dad. I would say, 'Oh, Jackie Chan, an actor.' "
It's not just Chan from whom Etta is estranged and blaming for her issues, however. Her mother, Elaine, fumed to Coconuts, "I feel that if they have no money, they should go find work. They shouldn't film a clip telling others they are broke and who Etta's father is. People all over the world work hard and don't rely on someone else's fame to get money."
Bill Hudson
Bill Hudson has been estranged from Kate Hudson, his daughter with Goldie Hawn, for decades, and the actress claims that their strained relationship (or lack thereof) has affected her own romantic life.
She told Howard Stern (via People) in September 2016 that Bill was in her life when she was young but that his presence "teetered out" when she was a child, but she holds no ill will towards him.
"I really do recognize whatever those issues are, it's just something that he has to live with, and that must be painful for him, so I forgive him," she said.
Their relationship really soured when Oliver Hudson, Kate's brother and Bill and Goldie's son, posted an Instagram photo of Bill, himself and Kate with the caption "Happy Abandonment Day" on Father's Day in 2015.
"I say to them now, 'I set you free," Bill told The Daily Mail in June 2015. "I had five birth children but I now consider myself a father of three. I no longer recognize Oliver and Kate as my own ... [Oliver] is dead to me now, as is Kate. I am mourning their loss even though they are still walking this earth."
Bill and Oliver have since began texting, People reported in March 2018, but there's been no update or comment on Bill's relationship with Kate.