10 Epic Celebrity Backstories That Sound Just Like Movie Plots

Everybody has a story to tell and celebrities are no exception. In fact, these celebrity backstories are so wild they sound like they come straight out of movie scripts instead of biographies. Some of them are quite shocking while others can be devastating and heartbreaking. Whatever the case is, they will definitely make you raise your eyebrows.
So let’s uncover these crazy celebrity backstories and find out who these stars were before they became famous. They might sound unbelievable, but hey, sometimes the truth is just stranger than fiction.

1. Rihanna Found Out She Had A Secret Half-sister When She Was 15

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This story might sound like it comes straight out of a Holiday movie’s script, but it’s 100% true. Rihanna met her secret half-sister Kandy for the first time when she was 15. Kandy, who was 32 at that time, showed up at Rihanna’s door and told her that she had three older half-siblings.
Turned out that Kandy and the other half-siblings were the children of Rihanna’s dad before he married Rihanna's mother. The story was later sold to The Sun by none other than Riri’s father.

2. Jackie Chan Found Out His Parents Were a Legendary Shanghai Gambler and a Gang Boss

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The Chinese movie star had quite a rough childhood. He was abandoned by his birth parents at a very young age and later found out the truth about their identities through his research for the 2003 documentary Traces of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Family.
Turned out his mother was a legendary Shanghai gambler and his dad was a gang boss as well as a Nationalist spy. They met when his dad arrested his mom for smuggling drugs. That story sounds a lot like a background for the main character.

3. Charlize Theron Watched Her Mother Shoot Her Father

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Charlize Theron’s backstory is extremely devastating as well as heartbreaking to hear. The actress was only 15 when she had to witness her mother shoot and kill her alcoholic father to defend herself and her children. Can you imagine the traumas that come after?
However, Theron refused to let her tragic past drag her down. She chose to be inspired and empowered by her mother’s protective example instead.

4. Woody Harrelson's Father Was A Convicted Hitman

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Speaking of bad fathers, Woody Harrelson's father was barely there in the actor’s childhood. He was a convicted hitman with ties to organized crime, and due to his crimes, he was sentenced to life behind the bars.
Aside from his father, Woody also had to face poverty in his earlier days. However, the actor expressed his gratitude to his mother, who always took good care of her kids and made sure they all had food.

5. Kesha Once Broke Into Prince's House

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On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Kesha shared her wild story about breaking into Prince's house and the encounter with the legendary singer afterward. She bribed a gardener with $5, sneaked under the fence, and walked inside through an unlocked door. She then escaped from the crime scene and met Prince on her way out.
Needless to say, Kesha was scared to death. Prince, however, was quite chill about it. He was playing the guitar with a beanie on when he came face to face with her. Instead of making a big deal out of it, he just looked at her funny wondering who the hell she was. Kesha waved around her CD, put it on the table, and then ran away.

6. Leighton Meester Was Born in a Federal Prison in Texas

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Leighton Meester’s mother was serving a 16-month sentence for a drug conviction when she gave birth to Meester. The whole thing happened inside a federal prison in Texas. Afterward, Meester was taken to her grandmother and was raised there until her mother's release. It’s her upbringing that makes her very nonjudgmental and open-minded.

7. Julia Roberts’s Hospital Bill Was Paid by Martin Luther King Jr.

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Julia Roberts’s parents couldn't afford the hospital bill for their newly born daughter, so their friends Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King decided to step in and help the poor couple. Turned out that they became friends after Julia’s parents accepted Coretta’s children into their theater school in Atlanta. Coretta was having a hard time finding a place that would accept her kids, so she really appreciated Julia’s parents’ help.

8. Jack Nicholson Was Raised to Believe That His Grandmother Was His Birth Mother

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Jack Nicholson’s real mother was 18 when she gave birth to Jack in 1937. To protect her daughter from being shamed for having a child as an unmarried woman, Jack’s grandmother Ethel May decided to raise him as her own child. Jack was raised to believe his grandmother was his mother and his real mother was his sister.
Jack later found out the truth through a call from Time. He was unable to confront Ethel May or June about the information because they'd already died. However, the actor understood that they only did that to protect him and he was thankful for their sacrifices.

9. Rose Mcgowan Grew Up in a Polygamous Cult

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Rose McGowan was raised in a polygamous cult. One day her dad just had enough of the abuse and took their family to escape in the middle of the night. McGowan later recalled the faithful event, saying she and her father was running through a cornfield in thunder and lightning.
They had to hide in an old stone house and had to boil pots of hot water to take baths. The family was haunted by the cult and they were almost captured back when a man tried to break in with a hammer.

10. Colin Farrell Was a Suspect in an Attempted Murder When He Was a Teenager

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Colin Farrell was brought in for questioning as a suspect but he was quickly released after. The actor recalled his late teen experience and claimed that the guy who actually did the crime looked remarkably like him. He himself that night had a blackout and couldn’t remember what he was doing. What a spooky coincidence.
These celebrity backstories are wild, but there are other stories about famous people that sound very bizarre as well. Go check them out!