Celebrity - News
Jim Carrey's Tragic Real-Life Story
By STASSI REID
The following story contains discussion of depression and drug and alcohol addiction.
Content Warning
The Grim Reaper
Jim Carrey's parents were heavy smokers, and he recalls "locking myself in the bathroom and crying because I thought they were going to die." His mother also said things like "I could go at any time," which shook Carrey "to the core" and inspired him to write a children's book that tackles topics such as life and death.
struggling socially
When asked if his childhood was unusual, Carrey said, "I spent most of my time in my room staring at a mirror. I never knew I was supposed to socialize". Though he admitted to struggling socially after dropping out of school, he described the memory in a nostalgic way, saying he was just "having a good time."
being homeless
Carrey revealed in an interview that he and his family had to live "in a van for a while." He told the story in one of his early comedy skits: "when I was about 14 or 15, my father lost his job and I actually became homeless for quite some time, but of course, I grew up in Canada and I thought we'd gone camping."
The Comedy Store
Carrey described a disastrous set of his at Los Angeles' famous Comedy Store as "an exercise in self-punishment and punishment for [the audience]". Carrey refused to leave the stage even though the crowd hated him so much that they threw chairs at him, and he "cried all the way home" afterward.
depression struggles
The serious side of Carrey's personality isn't one the public gets to see often, and that could be attributed to his struggle with depression. He revealed that after weaning himself off Prozac, alcohol, and drugs, plus delving into spiritualism, he was able to get to a point where he was "sometimes happy."