18 outstanding people who grew up in foster care

Great people come from different parts of the world, different social and cultural contexts. But one thing that is often surprising and inspiring is how many of them were able to overcome difficulties at the beginning of their journey and reach heights thanks to their perseverance, talent and self-belief. Actress Marilyn Monroe is just one example of celebrities who grew up in foster care. We talk about outstanding personalities who, despite being raised outside their biological family, were able to leave an indelible mark on history and make a significant contribution to the development of world culture, science and public life.

She was abandoned by her widowed mother, who suffered from a mental disorder, and the future sex symbol spent most of her childhood with distant relatives and in orphanages.

In early childhood, the boy's parents divorced, and James began to be raised by his aunt in Atlanta, Georgia. James grew up in poverty and was forced to quit school to earn a living. At one time he wandered and was a street child, and at the age of 16 he ended up in a colony for juvenile delinquents.

John's parents divorced when the boy was very young. When Julia Lennon found another man, four-year-old John was taken in by his maternal aunt Mimi Smith and her husband George Smith, who had no children of their own.

When the future star of Casablanca was 3 years old, her mother died, and 10 years later her father Justus Samuel Bergman died. Then the aunt took over the upbringing of the 13-year-old girl, but six months later she died. Then Ingrid moved to her uncle Otto Bergman, who had five children.

At the age of nine, Mandela lost his father, who died of tuberculosis, and Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the regent of the Thembu people, became his official guardian.

Clapton's mother was a 16-year-old girl, and his father was a 24-year-old soldier from Montreal who had never even met his son Eric. Little Eric lived with his grandmother and her second husband. Clapton grew up thinking for years that his mother was his sister and his parents were his grandparents. Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, leaving young Eric with his grandparents in Surrey.

The Goodfellas star was adopted at 6 months old. More than 40 years later, Ray hired a private investigator to find his birth mother.

The famous boxer's childhood was very difficult. Fortunately, he was noticed by the famous trainer Cus D'Amato. D'Amato settled Tyson with him and even formalized guardianship over him - Mike did not remember his real father, and his mother was a drug addict and soon died. Almost no one from Mike's children's company survived - his friends went to prison or died, including before his eyes.

The author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood was sent to live with his mother's relatives when he was just 8 years old.

17-year-old Richard Jenkins was almost adopted by his teacher Philip Burton, but the law prohibited him from doing so because the boy was too young. As a result, Richard changed his last name and lived as if he were Philip’s own son.

Steve Jobs' biological father was Abdulfattah Jandali, a Syrian Muslim. At that time, he was dating Joan Schieble, but her parents were against their relationship, and as a result, Steve Jobs was raised by Paul and Clara Jobs.

The future cult French director was the illegitimate child of Jeanine de Montferrand; he did not know his real father, Roland Levy (a Jew), who was a dentist. Roland Truffaut, whom his mother married, recognized François as an adopted child and gave him his last name. From birth, Truffaut lived in the care of various nannies and his grandmother, who instilled in him her love of books and music. He lived with his grandmother until her death, when he was 10 years old, after which he was reunited with his mother and stepfather for the first time.

Poe was born in 1809, but his mother died a year after conception. His father also abandoned him. Edgar ended up living with a foster family in Virginia.

After the boy was born, he was taken care of by his grandparents, John Joseph Nicholson and Ethel May Nicholson. Jack grew up confident that his grandparents were his father and mother. Only in 1974, a Time magazine reporter, who found out the information hidden by everyone, revealed the truth to the actor: his older sister June was actually his mother. It was already too late: June died of cancer in 1963, and Ethel died seven years later in 1970.

Her mother died when Coco was barely twelve, and her father later left her with four siblings; Chanel's children were then in the care of relatives and spent some time in an orphanage.

Eddie's father died when he was still a child. After his death, Lillian became ill and the brothers had to live with a foster family for one year. Eddie and his brother later grew up together in Roosevelt, New York with their mother and stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at an ice cream factory.

His mother died with the birth of her last daughter, when the future classic of Russian literature was not yet 2 years old. A distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took up the task of raising orphaned children. In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, as Tolstoy’s older brother had to prepare to enter university. Soon, their father, Nikolai Ilyich, suddenly died, and the three younger children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of Ergolskaya and their paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken, who was appointed guardian of the children.

Ella's mother died of a heart attack when the girl was 14 years old. Due to disagreements with her stepfather, Ella moved to live with her aunt Virginia Henry and began working as a caretaker in a brothel, where she came into contact with the life of mafiosi and gamblers. After the police and child welfare services took care of the minor girl, she was placed in an orphanage in the Bronx, later transferred to a boarding school for girls in Hudson, but Ella soon ran away from there and remained homeless for some time.