Right now people are becoming more and more open about gay relationships and same-sex families raising children. 10 years ago LGBT families were still a big issue that could cause a nation-wide scandal, and what about 20, 30 or even 40 years ago? We can talk about acceptance for hours, but when it comes to actually recognizing people’s rights to be who they want to be, all kinds of things emerge. And not all of those things are pretty. Was it any different for celebs who were raised by gay parents a few decades ago? They probably had to maintain some kind of secrecy back in the day, yet now most of them openly speak about their childhood. Here are 8 celebs who were raised by gay parents.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams is becoming more and more popular with movies like Man of Steel, American Hustle and Enchanted, so it’s only natural that people are curious about her background. It was Amy’s mother who filed for divorce and left the family when the girl was 11 years old. Rumor has it she moved in with a woman and became a bodybuilder. Being raised in a Mormon household, Amy Adams left home after her parents’ divorce. Back then she was just a teenager.
Robert de Niro
Robert de Niro has stayed silent about his dad for decades, but recently he opened up, revealing that Robert De Niro Sr. struggled with his homosexuality all his life. Right now the younger De Niro feels sorry they didn’t talk about it as much. His mother didn’t like to discuss things in general, and his father was probably too conflicted to speak about his homosexuality with his son. Now you can watch a documentary dedicated to the life and work of Robert De Niro Sr called Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr.
Jodie Foster
While most kids were still learning their ABC’s, Jodie Foster was busy as a bee managing her acting career. A role at the 1976 movie Taxi Driver earned her an Oscar nomination at the age of 14. As to her parents, Jodie and her three siblings were raised by her mom and her mom’s girlfriend. Jodie Foster never liked to talk about her own sexuality, until she came out in 2013 during her speech at the 70th Golden Globes Awards.
O. J. Simpson
Before becoming a murderer and one of the most hated men in the U.S. O.J. Simpson was a successful football player, in fact one of the best running backs in NFL history. The documentary OJ: Made In America explores the life, love and work of O.J. Simpson. According to his childhood friends, Jimmy Lee Simpson, O.J.’s father, was gay and left the family when O.J. was just four. Yet he stayed in his son’s life and witnessed some of his biggest football accomplishments.
50 Cent
Right now 50 Cent is a multimillionaire, but his life wasn’t always all peaches and cream. Raised without a father, he spent most of his childhood on the streets. His mom was bisexual, used drugs, and was found murdered under weird circumstances when 50 Cent was just a teen. The rapper managed to turn the page and move forward in life when he had a son of his own. He put his life into perspective and decided to become a professional musician.
Liza Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli, Liza Minnelli’s dad, was openly gay, which didn’t stop him from getting married four times. Liza was five when her parents divorced, but she maintained close relationships with both her mother (Judy Garland) and father Vincent. She said that her mother gave her the drive that’s helped her move through life, but it was her father who gave her all her big dreams.
Judy Garland
Judy Garland became an uber gay icon during the prime of her career, but she didn’t mind that at all and was always deferential towards her gay following. Judy and her parents moved from Minnesota to California when she was five. Rumor has it that the reason for it was her father and his meetings with male ushers. Her father died when Judy was 12 years old.
Natasha Richardson
Tony Richardson, Natasha’s father, was married to Vanessa Redgrave. He was bisexual, although he liked to keep those matters private. In 1991, Tony Richardson died of AIDS complications. This tragedy inspired Natasha to do a lot of charity work for the disease.
