6 Celebrities With Shocking Family Histories

She might have lived a charmed life as Blair on Gossip Girl, but in real life Meester's upbringing was anything but. When Meester was born, her mother was in prison on drug-related charges for helping her then-boyfriend smuggle marijuana out of Jamaica. Meester's mom was allowed to give birth in a hospital, but still had 16 months left to serve of her sentence. Baby Meester lived in a halfway house before her grandmother was given custody of her. After gaining success in her acting career, Meester's relationship with her mother became strained after financially supporting her.

It's no wonder Phoenix acts out traumatized characters so well onscreen—he was actually brought up in a cult. Phoenix's parents raised Joaquin and his siblings, including River Phoenix, in the Children of God cult. Horrific acts, including child abuse, were carried out and encouraged by cult members. Thankfully, the family escaped the cult by sneaking onto an ocean freighter when Joaquin was three, but not without facing years of poverty and aftermath from trauma.

We know him as the lovable drunk from The Hunger Games and comedic relief in Cheers, but his real upbringing is no laughing matter. Harrelson's father, Charles, was a contract killer and organized crime figure who famously murdered Texan Judge John Wood. Harrelson's father was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences in prison. Charles died in Supermax federal prison in Colorado of a heart attack at age 69. 

The comedic actress and bombshell faced tragedy during her career when her brother was murdered in their home country of Colombia during the late '90s. He was shot and killed during a kidnapping gone wrong, and Vergara's second brother suffered from alcohol and drug addiction folliwing his sibling's death. He was deported to Colombia after being arrested over 30 times for substance possession. 

The talk show host's ability to empathize with her guests is unsurprising, given her tumultuous childhood. Oprah had her first experience with sexual abuse at nine when she was raped by her 19-year-old cousin, and then by her family friend and uncle. After years of sexual abuse, she became pregnant at 14. She hid the pregnancy as long as she could, but her mother kicked her out of the house when she found out. Oprah's baby tragically died in the hospital weeks after being born.  

Now a successful musician, the up-and-coming singer's (née Annie Clark) latest album Daddy's Home was partially inspired by her dad's time in prison. St. Vincent's father was sentenced to jail for 12 years for taking part in a $43 million stock manipulation ploy, and was released in 2019.