Despite the obvious privilege that celebrities have, life can be pretty complicated for them, especially when it comes to relationships. From trying to find genuine friends to struggles with money-grabbing family members, knowing who to trust and who truly cares about you as a celebrity can be challenging. Sadly, it seems that a lot of stars face family drama once they become famous. Others had strained family relationships long before they made it big.
Family matters can be difficult for anyone, so it's really no surprise that celebrities have to deal with family drama too — only the stakes tend to be much higher because money is involved. One thing we've noticed is that a lot of celebrities who've gone through family drama started out as child stars. For celebs such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Lindsay Lohan, trying to take the reins once they're adults seems to have caused a lot of tension between them and their parents.
But those kinds of celebrity family squabbles tend to dissipate after a while. There are others, though, that end up causing a permanent rift between certain stars and their family members. Take Britney Spears for instance. She and her father have been at odds for years over her conservatorship, and now she's hinted at a feud between her and younger sister Jamie Lynn too.
In yet another example of how stars are just like us, here are 18 celebrities who have major family drama.
Nick Carter & Aaron Carter
Brothers and musicians Nick and Aaron Carter have had a rocky relationship for years, but it was in 2019 that everything really came to a head. Nick and his sister Angel both took out restraining orders against Aaron, who allegedly threatened to kill Nick's wife and unborn child.
Britney Spears & Jamie Spears
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about Britney's family drama at this point. Her father, Jamie Spears, has had a conservatorship in place for her for more than 13 years, which she claims has stripped her of much of her freedom as an adult, including making her own reproductive choices. Now the pop star is also hinting that her sister, fellow entertainer Jamie Lynn Spears, has done her wrong as well.
The Gosselins
The former reality TV stars that make up the Gosselin family have had major drama ever since Jon and Kate split in 2009. Kate has been accused of physically abusing Jon and the kids on multiple occasions, but it's Jon who still remains estranged from six of their eight children. Oddly enough, he has custody of the other two, Hannah and Collin, but that was also a battle.
Leighton Meester & Constance Meester
Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester and her mother, Constance Meester, have reportedly not spoken to each other in years. Leighton sued her mom — who actually has a criminal past — in 2011. Constance had apparently used money that Leighton was sending monthly for her brother's health care costs for other things (such as cosmetic procedures). Then, her mother countersued for more money, saying Leighton owed her pay for working as her manager and helping her jump-start her career. She also alleged that Leighton hit her with a bottle. Drama!
The Duggars
Another reality TV family has been plagued with drama recently. The Duggars of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting are evidently in the midst of a major feud. Josh Duggar has been charged with child pornography, which prompted TLC to cancel the family's spin-off series, Counting On. Most recently, it seems most of the Duggar kids snubbed patriarch Jim Bob on his birthday (perhaps because he continues to stand by his oldest son despite the serious and disturbing nature of his alleged crimes).
Meghan Markle & Thomas Markle
Meghan Markle and her dad, Thomas Markle, may never reconcile. At this point, it's clear that Meghan is not interested in relationships with people who mess with her mental health, and her dad has reportedly done that for years. He's constantly bad-mouthing his royal daughter for whatever payday he can nab from interested media outlets. Recently, he spoke out about how "disappointed" he is in her. Imagine!
Adele & Mark Evans
Although Adele's father, Mark Evans, died from cancer in May 2021, the British singer had an extremely strained relationship with him. He reportedly abandoned Adele and her mom when she was a toddler, then years later, after she became hugely famous, he did an interview with a tabloid for money.
Bethenny Frankel & Bernadette Birk
Real Housewives of New York City star and Skinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel and her mother, Bernadette Birk, have had an extremely strained relationship for decades. Bernadette even did an interview with Life & Style Weekly in which she called Bethenny a "moron," despite her massive success. "Bethenny is a liar and a shark. She ran through my guts. She will get along with the other sharks," she said. Well, OK then.
Madonna & Christopher Ciccone
Madonna and her brother Christopher have had a tumultuous relationship for years, starting in 2008 when his tell-all memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, was published. The book painted her in a pretty bad light, and resulted in them being estranged for more than a decade — although in 2019, Christopher claimed they were speaking again. Oh, and her other brother, Anthony, who was once homeless, said this of his famous sister: "She lives in her own world. I never loved her in the first place; she never loved me. We never loved each other." Not exactly sibling revelry.
Mariah Carey, Morgan Carey, & Allison Carey
Mariah Carey doesn't get along with her siblings, Morgan and Allison, and she actually revealed in 2020 that she has long been estranged from them. Their feud apparently goes back to childhood but got worse after Mariah became famous. Mariah claims she's helped them financially many times over the years, but they've portrayed her as greedy. "Here's the thing: They have been ruthlessly just heartless in terms of dealing with me as a human being for most of my life. I never would have spoken about my family at all had they not done it first," Mariah told Vulture.
Ryan Lochte & Ileana Lochte
Former Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte had a major falling out with his mother, Ileana Lochte. In 2020, he revealed that it stemmed from his parents' 2011 divorce, when he and his siblings initially supported his mother, but things changed once they found out some things his parents had been keeping quiet. Then his mother was unkind when Ryan's wife was pregnant with their first child. "When I told her that she was going to be a grandma and I'm having a kid, she said some very, very hurtful things that kind of ended our relationship," he said.
Ariel Winter & Chrisoula Workman
Actress Ariel Winter was emancipated at age 17, but she left her mother's home to live with her older sister when she was just 14, claiming that her mother was physically and emotionally abusive. She even said that her mother would withhold food from her, which was confirmed by the tutor she worked with while filming Modern Family. Her mom still denies it and continues to speak to the press about her famous daughter.
Macaulay Culkin & Kit Culkin
Macaulay Culkin is another child star who was emancipated from his parents as a teen. Things got so bad between him and his father, Kit, that he said it's the reason he stopped acting for a while. Kit was his manager when he was young and reportedly made many attempts to take creative control of his son's film projects, but it was worse than that. "My father was always, you know, abusive, but it didn't get really, really, really bad until later on," Macaulay told New York magazine.
Mischa Barton & Nuala Barton
Mischa Barton's mom, Nuala, was also once her manager, but that ended very badly. Although it took the O.C. star some time to realize what was going on, she later discovered that her mother stole money from her to buy a multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills mansion. Back in 2017, it was even reported that a fight with her mom is what landed her in the hospital for an apparent mental breakdown.
Kate Hudson & Bill Hudson
Actress and Fabletics founder Kate Hudson and her brother, Oliver Hudson, have been estranged from their father, Bill Hudson, for a very long time. She's actually never had a relationship with him, and her mom Goldie Hawn's partner, Kurt Russell, stepped in as her dad. These days, however, she has a really positive attitude about it.
"I have a great family. I have a beautiful mother. I have a stepfather who stepped in and played a huge, huge part in sharing what it is to have a dependable father figure in our life. But it doesn't take away from the fact that we didn't know our dad," she told Today in early 2021.
Nicole Kidman & Isabella & Connor Cruise
Some fans may have forgotten that Nicole Kidman actually has four children. In addition to the two daughters she shares with Keith Urban, she and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, adopted two children together, Isabella and Connor, who are now adults. When Nicole and Tom split, Isabella and Connor decided they wanted to live with Tom and continue practicing Scientology. Nicole is never seen with them.
Tom Cruise & Suri Cruise
After Tom and Nicole divorced, Tom went on to marry actress Katie Holmes in 2006 and they had a biological child together. However, Tom and Katie and their daughter, Suri, have reportedly been estranged for quite some time (reportedly due to his Scientology lifestyle). It was unclear what the status of Tom and Suri's relationship was until 2019, when a source told Hollywood Life, "Tom never intended to be estranged from his daughter when he decided to have a family with Katie and looks forward to repairing the relationship one day."
Emma Roberts & Eric Roberts
The Roberts family is complicated. Actor Eric Roberts is the brother of A-lister Julia Roberts and the father of another A-lister, Emma Roberts. However, he's had major drama with both of them, even going years without speaking. That said, Emma and Julia are quite close. Julia's relationship with her brother was such a mess, though, that when he and Emma's mom split, Julia actually helped fund Emma's mom's fight for custody. The siblings have reportedly been on speaking terms again since Julia had her twins Hazel and Phinneaus in 2004.
