“ I was very impressed by their power to keep the secret , if nothing else . "
Most families have secrets, whether recent or decades old…and celebrity families are no different. In many cases, these secrets involve the identity of biological parents. However, thanks to DNA testing and better record-keeping, it’s much easier for a person to learn who their biological parents are and even reunite, if they so choose…
This is why many individuals, whether famous or not, have spoken out about their journeys of finding their biological parents. FromMariska HargitaytoJennette McCurdy, here are 11 celebs who discovered the truth about their biological parents in surprising ways:
1.Mariska Hargitay:
Shortly after the revelation, she confronted Mickey, who denied it, so it was never spoken of again. However, in 2004, the actor saw Sardelli perform in Atlantic City and introduced herself. Hargitay revealed that Sardelli burst into tears and confessed, “I’ve been waiting 30 years for this moment.”
However , she stated , " I wentfullOlivia Benson on him . I was like , ' I do n’t want anything , I do n’t necessitate anything from you . I have a papa , ' " admitting that she feel the need to be " fast to Mickey , " while get to terms with " living a Trygve Lie my full life , " but noting that she finally formed a adherence with Sardinelli and her half - sisters . finally , she accepted that she " grow up where I was theorise to . "
Finally , she tearfully add , " I ’m Mickey Hargitay ’s daughter — thatis not a Trygve Lie . This documentary is kind of a love letter to him , because there ’s no one that I was closer to on this major planet . "
2.Jack Nicholson:
After learning the truth,The Shiningstar went into a tailspin, even warning director Mike Nichols, with whom he was working on the dark comedy,The Fortune, to keep an eye on him during production. By the time the actor discovered this family secret, both June and Ethel May had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively), and family members were unable to confirm if the man who was supposedly his father was related to him.
afterwards , Nicholson read the site in stride , tellingRolling Stone,“I was very impressed by their power to keep the secret , if nothing else . It ’s done not bad things for me . ” He has also been sleep with to jokingly call June his " baby - female parent " in the press .
3.Liv Tyler:
TheEmpire Recordsactor stated that when she was “11 or 12,” her mother took her to an Aerosmith concert. Tylerclaimedshe knew something was off when Buell began crying during the concert. She recalled, “I looked at my mom, and I was like, ‘Mom?’ And she just started crying. My mom just, like, falled. And I was like, ‘Is Steven my dad?’ And she just burst [into tears]. And then she took me to a bench and we sat on a bench at this outdoor amphitheater and she told me the whole story in the most sincere, beautiful way.”
She say that even though learning of her lawful rockstar parentage was a " daze , " she came around to the idea , " After that concert , we die home and my mamma had a chaise lounge in front of a windowpane and I commemorate sitting there for what felt like three days , but it was probably three hour , and just basically coming to this conclusion at the end of ' Whoa , I have two pa [ denote to Tyler and Rundgren ] and all this love life . perchance there ’ll be two Christmases . ' "
4.Sean Astin:
After Duke told Sean the truth about his supposed father, Arnaz Jr., the two developed a close relationship, but when Sean was in his 20s, he met one of Mike Tell’s relatives, who told him the two might be related. Sean took a paternity test, and the results were conclusive: Mike Tell was his father. In 2004, a then-33-year-old AstintoldABC, “Desi Arnaz Jr. loves me, and I love him. We are so close. Science tells me that he’s not my biological father. Science tells me that Mike Tell is.” However, he stated that he maintained a close relationship with “John, Desi, Mike or Papa Mike…my four dads.”
John stated that he find his " spiritual connection " with Sean to be more important than DNA.The Addams Familystar take down , " The sterling treasure are the gem of the core and Sean is a treasure . We ’re very near , we have a good time together , " even admitting that he had become close with Tell , " His biological daddy twist out to be a great guy and we ’ve become friendly . He ’s a good guy . "
On the other hand , Duke did n’t find quite so enthusiastic , tellingPeoplein 2001 , “ I do n’t bribe that psychometric test [ the paternity mental testing ] . I can support his truth as long as my trueness , if not supported , is respect . I have told him I live what I have it off to be truthful . When God looks me in the eye and says , ' Anna Marie , you have been mistaken all these long time , ' then I will consider [ Tell ’s paternity ] . "
5.Kerry Washington:
During this family meeting, her parents admitted to using a sperm donor to conceive. WashingtontoldNPR, “I think if they could have taken it to their grave, they would have. But they, and this is what’s so extraordinary about my parents, they made the choice that they thought would be best for me by telling me, even though it was so uncomfortable for them.”
The player claimed she stay calm during her parents ' confession and asked questions , " When I got this information , I was like , ' Oh . I now get laid my taradiddle . ' I did n’t cognise what my story was , but I was playing the supporting eccentric in their tale . " The now 48 - yr - sometime read she receive a mother wit of relief , " This is really kind of me working to understand my life up until now , given this newfangled information that I have that , in many way of life , felt like sort of the missing puzzle piece . "
6.Tim McGraw:
The now 58-year-old, who grew up playing baseball, was elated to discover that his father was MLB royalty and pleaded with his mother to take him to a game,“ [I] begged my mom to take me back to see the Phillies play Houston, and she borrowed a car and we drove to Houston. He was playing at the Astrodome, and he had left tickets for us. We walk in and they’re warming up and he’s down on the field…I started yelling at him, and then he wouldn’t look at me. I spent 30 minutes trying to get his attention, and he wouldn’t look at me. So I went and sat back down, and then I never saw him again til I was 18."
When the " Do n’t Take the Girl " singer graduate from gamey schoolhouse in 1985 , hereceiveda baseball game scholarship to Northeastern Louisiana University . However , his mother love the encyclopaedism would n’t fully hatch his tuition , so she adjoin Tug for financial assistance . During this time , the don and boy first met . Tug later recall their initial meeting , " He [ Tim ] looked at me and he say , ‘ Hey , I just wanna have it away if I could call you pop ? ‘ He said he just wanted to know that he could call me Dad . I said , ‘ Yeah , I ’m your Fatherhood . ’ I mean , when you hear that , it brings everything to a close . "
After the rapprochement , Tim , who had fail by the last name " Smith " his full life , modify his last name to McGraw , and he and Tug maintained a close human relationship until Tug passed off from a brain tumor in 2004 . In a 2021interviewwithEsquire , the1883actor revealed his response when people postulate how he overlooked his father ’s discussion of him and his home while he was growing up : “ People ask me , ‘ How could you have a human relationship with your father ? You were grow up in nothing . He was a millionaire baseball game player . He knew you were there , and he did n’t do anything . ’ But when I constitute out Tug McGraw was my daddy , it gave me something in my slight Ithiel Town in Louisiana , something that I would have never reached for . How could I ever be angry ? "
7.Jennette McCurdy:
She confessed she felt Mark was “disengaged and disconnected” throughout her childhood and that even though the news left her stunned, she immediately began to make excuses for his detached behavior. The former actor said Mark told her, “It’s not your fault you were born. Then he repeated it, he doubled down and then tripled down. I thought, ‘This is the weirdest thing to say to somebody after you’ve just told them you’re not their biological father.'”
After the Revelation of Saint John the Divine , Jenette set out to larn more from her biological father and met him at a hotel in Newport Beach , claiming , " I ask him if he knew about me , that I existed . He says yes . And my brothers . He says that he ’s been waiting for us to touch him . He did n’t want to contact us because he was n’t sure if we eff . He ask how I found out . I tell him . He say things terminate poorly with Mom and that there was a freehanded hold battle when we were little — that Mom said he was physically abusive ( he assures me he was n’t ) . She won . ”
Despite her initial excitement that Andrew and his folk might fill a void within her spirit , she admitted their dead - lived relationship at long last " receive to a place where that one felt a little strange , also . "
8.Darryl McDaniels:
His plan worked, and after four months, the now 60-year-old was reunited with his biological mother, Berncenia Lovelace, whose parents had forced her to place her son for adoption. After his discovery, McDaniels called Lovelace and they met the following week, with Lovelace telling CBS, “I was happy. I was happy and feeling a lot of love energy from him. It was great, really, really great.”
At the goal of the daylight , the knocker said of his journeying of self - discovery , " I am who I am and I was already Darryl . Nothing really changes . I just bewilder stuff that was added on to me that makes me everlasting . "
9.Keyshia Cole:
10.Gerald Ford:
11.Eric Clapton:
At a young age, Eric realized something was off with his family tree when he would write his last name as “Clapton,” but his parents' names as “Mr. and Mrs. Clapp.” When the “Tears in Heaven” singer was nine, his mother returned to England with his 6-year-old half-brother, Brian, and informed him of the truth about his parentage.
In his autobiography , Eric retrieve that afterwards heaskedPatricia , " Can I call you Mummy now ? " to which she delicately respond , " I think it ’s best , after all they ’ve done for you , that you go on calling your grandparents Mum and Dad . "
This result caused immature Eric to spiral and barricade applying himself at schooltime . Due to this , he failed his test known as " eleven asset , " which decided whether he would be run short to a grammar school ( top results ) or a secondary school ( lower results ) . However , because he start to secondary school day , he attain John Rock euphony , which led to his decadeslong career as a world - renowned player .
