What does it take for somebody to raise a future star? Good looks, athletic ability, old family money, influential connections? What about birth place or choice of college? Being famous oneself would seem to guarantee that one's son or daughter would also become famous.
Well, there just isn't an obvious pattern. Fame of the parent can backlash on a child (for instance, Julian Lennon), and a modest, loving family background - more often than not - is the foundation of many celebrities' childhoods (Denzel Washington, Kevin Costner, David Letterman, Robin Williams).
On the other hand, some celebrities were deserted or abused by a parent or relative when they were young (Roseanne, Oprah Winfrey, Marilyn Monroe, Suzanne Somers), or had a parent die at an early age (Madonna, Tim Allen, Rosie O'Donnell, Ingrid Bergman). Nor is wealth critical, as some celebrities came from impoverished families (Michael Caine, Dolly Parton, Ashley Judd, Elvis Presley). Ethnic and religious backgrounds of parents have no influence on a child becoming famous.
Parents of celebrities have next-to-nothing in common with each other, as evidenced here in this list of their occupations:
|
Ben Affleck |
Father: drug rehabilitation counselor
Mother: teacher. |
|
Isaac Asimov |
Father: candy store owner. |
|
Steven Bochco |
Father: Rudolph Bochco, child prodigy violinist who later played with Broadway-show orchestras and with Carnegie Hall leading artists. |
|
Sandra Bullock |
Mother: Helga Bullock, opera singer. |
|
Tim Burton |
Father: minor-league baseball player, Burbank parks official
Mother: shop manager, once owned a cat-accessory store. |
|
Michael Caine |
Father: dock worker
Mother: cleaning woman. |
|
Drew Carey |
"Father: General Motors draftsman
Mother: secretary. |
|
Kurt Cobain |
Father: auto mechanic
Mother: cocktail waitress." |
|
Ted Danson |
Father: director of a local Native American Museum. |
|
Johnny Depp |
Father: city engineer
Mother: waitress. |
|
Charles Dickens |
Father: British Naval Pay Office clerk. |
|
Anthony Edwards |
Father: architect
Mother: artist. |
|
Federico Fellini |
Father: traveling salesman of confections, preserves, and coffee. |
|
Audrey Hepburn |
Father: English banker
Mother: Dutch baroness. |
|
Nicole Kidman |
Father: biochemist
Mother: nursing instructor. |
|
Jennifer Lopez |
Father: computer specialist
Mother: kindergarten teacher. |
|
Courtney Love |
Father: author/publisher
Mother: psychologist. |
|
Conan O’Brien |
Father: doctor
Mother: lawyer. |
|
Matthew Perry |
Father: actor John Bennett Perry (Old Spice commercials in 1970s)
Mother: press aide to Pierre Trudeau. |
|
Jada Pinkett-Smith |
Father: contractor
Mother: nurse. |
|
Brad Pitt |
Father: trucking firm manager. |
|
Julia Roberts |
Father: vacuum salesman
Mother: church secretary. |
|
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
Father: police chief in Graz, Austria. |
|
David Schwimmer |
Father: attorney
Mother: attorney who handled Roseanne’s first divorce. |
|
Alicia Silverstone |
Father: real estate investor
Mother: former airline stewardess. |
|
Will Smith |
Father: engineer
Mother: school board employee. |
|
John Travolta |
Father: tire salesman and former semiprofessional football player
Mother: high school teacher. |
|
Barbara Walters |
Father: owner of New York’s famed “Latin Quarter” nightclub before going bankrupt. |
|
Denzel Washington |
Father: Pentecostal minister
Mother: beautician. |
|
Catherine Zeta-Jones |
Father: Welsh candy factory manager
Mother: Irish seamstress. |
Author: Vicki McClure Davidson
