CELEBRITIES often have strained relationships with their children.
From Tom and Suri Cruise to Brad Pitt and Shiloh Jolie, a career in the spotlight routinely has negative effects on the parent-child connection.
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No one said being a parent is easy but it’s repeatedly proven doubly hard for several A-listers.
TOM & SURI CRUISE
Suri Cruise, 18, graduated high school earlier his month – and while her mother Katie Holmes celebrated beside her, Suri’s dad, Tom Cruise, 61, was filming the next installment of his Mission: Impossible franchise.
Insiders say the 61-year-old actor hasn’t seen Suri in over a decade.
The pair haven’t had the best relationship throughout the years.
READ MORE ON CELEBRITY KIDS
Katie gained sole custody after she and Tom split in 2012.
Fans have speculated that Tom’s relations with the Church of Scientology could have been the reason behind his divorce from Katie.
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It’s believed that Suri changed her last name after her 18th birthday.
In May, she was listed on the casting sheet as Suri Noelle while recently performing in Head Over Heels on Broadway.
Noelle is her mother’s middle name.
The young actor’s name is still listed as Suri Cruise on her birth certificate.
Suri seemingly has no relationship with her action-movie dad, as they’ve been estranged since she was a child.
Tom has denied cutting his daughter out of his life and in 2013, he sued the publisher of two magazines he felt had implied that he had “abandoned” her.
BRAD PITT’S BROOD
Brad Pitt, 60, has “virtually no contact” with his children who are legal adults, but he’s still able to visit their 15-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, per People.
The Babylon star and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 49, welcomed six children over their 12-year relationship – adopted children Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, and Zahara, 19, and their biological children Shiloh, 18, Knox, and Vivienne.
Brad Pitt’s Troubled History With his Children
Brad shares six children with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
2002
Angelina adopts her first child, Maddox, on March 10.
2005
Brad accompanies Angelina to Ethiopia to adopt her second child, Zahara, on July 5.
In December, Brad began the process of becoming the adoptive father of Angelina’s two kids.
In January, Angelina changed the kids’ names to Jolie-Pitt.
2006
After staying quiet about their relationship, Angelina gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh, shared with Brad, on May 27.
2007-8
Angelina and Brad adopt a son, Pax, and welcome twins Knox and Vivienne a year later.
2014
Brad and Angelina married at their château in France on August 23.
2016
Angelina filed for divorce from Brad on September 19.
The same month, Brad was accused of being physically and verbally abusive toward one of his children.
Brad also began attending Alcoholics Anonymous
2020
On Father’s Day, Pax wrote on Instagram: “You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person. You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence.”
2022
During a legal battle over their vineyard, Angelina claimed that Brad had grabbed and shaken her on a plane ride, and strangled one of their sons and struck another in the face.
2024
The couple’s oldest son and daughter, Maddox and Zahara, stop using Brad’s last name in their day-to-day lives.
Vivienne also chooses to go by Jolie for her first major Broadway credit.
The day she turns 18, Shiloh makes a legal filing to officially drop Pitt from her last name.
Angelina, the primary carer of their children, has custody rights over the twins but the exes’ custody agreement allows Brad to continue seeing them.
In May, Shiloh sought to distance herself from her movie star by petitioning a Los Angeles court to change her last name – removing Pitt from the hyphenated Jolie-Pitt.
The 18-year-old hired and paid for her own lawyer to handle the case, per Us Weekly.
The Babylon actor was said to be crushed by his daughter’s decision.
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“Brad was devastated by this choice,” a source told the outlet.
“To him, it was more than a change of name – it was a symbol of a deeper estrangement that has been brewing for years.”
This isn’t the first time one of Brad’s children has spoken out against him or denounced his last name.
Last year, Shiloh’s older sister, Zahara, introduced herself as Zahara Marley Jolie during a sorority event at Spelman College.
Then, in May, Brad’s youngest daughter, Vivienne, was listed as Vivienne Jolie in a Broadway playbill for The Outsiders.
Brad and Angelina called it quits in 2016 with Angelina citing “irreconcilable differences” in their divorce papers.
Sadly, Brad doesn’t have much of a relationship with his kids,” a second source told Us Weekly.
“He’s not ready to give up on them, but knowing they are dropping his name is upsetting.”
Yet another told the magazine, “Brad’s putting on a brave face, but behind closed doors, he’s finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with [what’s happening].”
That same source told the outlet that Brad and Angelina’s kids have decided to distance themselves from their father out of loyalty to Angelina.
“They’ve struggled to forgive and connect with Brad since the divorce,” the source added.
MILEY & BILLY RAY CYRUS
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Last month, in audio obtained by The U.S. Sun, Billy Ray Cyrus, 62 appeared to mention his feud with his daughter Miley Cyrus, 31.
“Everyone knows that devil’s a skank,” said the Achy Breaky Heart singer, who, according to a source, was referring to Miley, with whom he’s had a strained bond since his relationship with ex-wife Firerose began.
Billy Ray and Miley’s mom, Tish, were married for nearly 30 years.
The pair filed for divorce in 2010 and again in 2013, before reconciling both times.
When the two finally called it quits for good in April 2022, Miley was reportedly Team Tish.
By August 2023, Miley had unfollowed her dad on Instagram.
Tish and Billy Ray had reportedly been living separately for over two years before their divorce.
While it’s not been confirmed, Billy Ray’s relationship with Firerose, whose real name is Johanna Rosie Hodges, may be to blame for the father-daughter’s ongoing drama.
ROB SCHNIEDER & ELLE KING
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Last month, Rob Schneider, who has become a controversial figure in Hollywood due to his conservative views, slammed the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for featuring a tableau that he believed to be recreating “The Last Supper” with drag queens.
“I am sorry to say to all the world’s greatest athletes, I wish you all the best, but I cannot watch an Olympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan,” Rob wrote on X, formally Twitter.
He tweeted, “I sincerely hope these Olympics get the same amount of viewers as CSPAN.”
The actor’s daughter, singer Elle King, recently appeared on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast and dragged her father for his anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ comments.
She told Bunnie XO that she “disagrees” with a lot of what Rob says, adding, “You’re talking out of your ass and you’re talking s**t about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights. And it’s like, get f**ked.”
Elle, 35, revealed she wasn’t close to her father growing up and that the pair didn’t connect until she “was much, much older.”
Growing up, the Jersey Giant singer had tension with the Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo star due to her appearance.
“I was like a really, really heavy child. My dad sent me to fat camp… and then I got in trouble one year because I sprained my ankle and didn’t lose any weight,” Elle told Bunnie XO, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord
She explained, “I had already started getting tattooed and it was like 108 degrees. So I had to wear sweaters because my dad was very anti-tattoos or any form of self-expression.”
During the podcast appearance, Elle asserted that she is not interested in repairing her relationship with her dad, saying she “doesn’t want to be associated” with him because “he’s just not nice.”
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After hearing his daughter’s comments, Rob, 60, asked Elle for forgiveness during an interview with Tucker Carlson.
“It’s fun being a parent, isn’t it?” Rob told Tucker before stating, “Well I just want to tell my daughter, Elle, I love you and I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed.
“Clearly I wasn’t. I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings. I love you completely and I love you entirely,” he added.
The actor continued, “I just want you to be well and happy with you and your beautiful baby, Lucky. I wish you the best. I feel terrible.
“I just want you to know I don’t take anything you say personally.”
ARIEL WINTER & CRYSTAL WORKMAN
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In October 2012, Ariel Winter, then 14, filed a restraining order against mom Crystal Workman.
Crystal was accused of physically and verbally abusing the Modern Family star and Ariel’s older sister, Shanelle Gray, was granted temporary guardianship of her sister.
During the tense court battle, it was alleged by Gray’s lawyer that Ariel, now 26, was nearly fired from Modern Family multiple times due to her “mother’s harassment and interference,” per People.
There were also stories of instances when Ariel’s co-stars would sneak her food because her mother was withholding food from her child.
Ariel became legally emancipated from her mom before her 18th birthday.
In 2016, the actress admitted neither she nor her sister, Shanell, have a relationship with Crystal while appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Ellen mentioned during the interview how Crystal went on Dr. Phil to publicly discuss everything but Ariel claimed her mother’s actions were “just [trying] to make herself look better.”
In September 2017, Ariel revealed her mother wouldn’t let her befriend girls growing up “because females are competition” when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.
Ariel also claimed her mother sexualized her as a child, recalling that “People thought I was 24 when I was 12.”
KATE & BILL HUDSON
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During an April appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Kate Hudson, 45, opened up about her strained relationship with her biological father, Bill Hudson, 74.
“I don’t really have one,” Kate candidly told the hosts before adding, “but it’s warming up.”
In 2016, Kate told Howard Stern that The Hudson Brothers vocalist “was around when we were young, then it sort of teetered out.”
She and her older brother Oliver Hudson, 47, were raised by her mom Goldie Hawn, 78, and the Overboard actor’s longtime partner, Kurt Russell, 73.
Goldie and Kurt are also parents to MCU star Wyatt Russell, 37.
Both the Almost Famous actress and Oliver have been transparent about feeling abandoned by Bill when they were kids.
Bill was married to their mom, Goldie Hawn, from 1976 until 1982.
In 2015, Oliver posted a scornful Father’s Day message on Instagram, writing, “Happy abandonment day,” while sharing a throwback photo of Oliver and Kate with Bill.
Following Oliver’s post, Bill said on Inside Edition, “Change your name to Russell. I’ll throw a party for you.”
He later added that he didn’t want to see his eldest children “ever again” but reconnected with Oliver three years later.
Recently, Bill revealed that he and his children with Goldie are attempting a fresh start while speaking with Us Weekly.
“Kate put it perfectly. We are warming up [and] letting things take their course,”
Bill is also father to Emily, 42, and Zachary, 38, with his late ex-wife, Cindy Williams, and 18-year-old Lalania with ex Caroline Graham.
The singer had a son Paul as a teen, who was put up for adoption.
“All families have rifts. It’s nice that our rift is healing,” Bill told the outlet.
He continued, “There’s no pressure. We’re just letting it be what it will be. Because no one is pushing it, there’s no turmoil or issues.
“A lot went down, and we aren’t revisiting it. No one wants to rehash the past. You can’t move forward if all you’re doing is analyzing the past. We’re in the present,” he added.
DREW & JAID BARRYMORE
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Drew Barrymore, 49, was raised by her single mother Jaid after her father actor John Drew Barrymore left the family while she was still a child.
Despite his seeming abandonment, Drew reported “somehow” having “zero baggage or dad issues” in an Instagram post about her late father in June 2020.
“My mom chose a wild card for my dad,” she wrote in the post about her father.
“I think I would have liked to have a dad who didn’t look so out there. Or who stayed. Or was capable of anything really. But his wildness runs through me,” the Fever Pitch star added.
Drew’s relationship with her mother was another story altogether.
The talk show host has spoken publicly about partying with her mother from a young age and at the age of 14, Drew was granted emancipation from her parents.
Not long after, she cut her mother out of her life.
Severing ties with her mom was “the worst pain I’ve ever known,” Drew revealed on The Howard Stern Show in 2021.
Their relationship remained difficult well into Drew’s adulthood.
“It’s the hardest subject in my life,” Drew told Marie Claire about her mother in 2014 when the two were still estranged.
“I’ve never just been angry with her. I’ve always felt guilt and empathy and utter sensitivity. But we can’t really be in each other’s lives at this point,” she admitted.
Drew and Jaid eventually reconciled.
“I feel goodness toward my mom. I feel empathy and understanding,” she told Howard Stern in March 2021.
SIMONE & SHANON BILES
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Simone Biles‘s birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for the highly decorated gymnast and her three other siblings.
The multiple gold medalist’s maternal grandfather, Ronald Biles, and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles, would go on to adopt them after they were placed in foster care.
In 2016, Ronald said his daughter struggled with substance abuse and drug addiction, per the Houston Chronicle.
Nellie added at the time that she and her husband were open to Simone and her siblings having a “defined relationship” with her birth mother.
On Tuesday, Shanon spoke with The Daily Mail, opening up about how her struggles affected her relationship with her children.
She said it was hard to give up her children, but her father did not want her to come in and out of their lives while she was still addicted to drugs.
Shanon, who now works at a grocery store in Ohio, said she’s “clean and sober” now and would like Simone, 27, to reach out to her.
“I want her to reach out to me. She’s 27 now. She’s married. I would have liked to have been a part of that, but I just have to wait for her,” she told The Daily Mail.
She continued, “You can’t push anybody. It hasn’t happened yet, but I have patience. I’m waiting on her.”
“I would like to make amends with Simone personally,” she said, adding she would like to ask her daughter for forgiveness and “move forward.”
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