30+ Celebrities Who Were Raised by a Single Dad

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Children’s upbringing and development is greatly influenced by their parents. It’s why our parents play such important parts in our life. But, while the norm is having two loving parents, that’s not always the case. For these celebrities, it was their single fathers that stepped up and raised them to become the stars that they are today. Let’s look at the celebs who were raised by their dads.

Hugh Jackman

Hugh was born in 1968 in Sydney, Australia, to Christopher John Jackman and Grace McNeil. He’s best known for his role as Logan/Wolverine in the X-Men film series, a role he’s played for an impressive 17 years. He’s also become known for his love for musicals and the theater.

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When he was eight years old, his mother left the family to relocate to the United Kingdom. His father was a British accountant who had to juggle caring for Hugh and his two brothers with his career after his wife left.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans nearly five decades in the entertainment industry. He was born in 1956 in Concord, California, and was raised by his father, who divorced his mother when Tom was five years old.

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His father, Amos Mefford Hanks, was a traveling chef and restaurant owner. Following the divorce, Tom and two of his siblings lived and grew up with their father, who remarried several times.

Bono

Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin, Ireland, in 1960. The Irish singer-songwriter’s mother passed due to a cerebral aneurysm while attending her own father’s funeral. Bono was 14 at the time, leaving his father to raise him and his brother alone.

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Some of his hits were inspired by his mother’s absence. Bono’s father, Brendan Robert Hewson, was a postal worker who, despite raising him, is regarded as untrustworthy by the musician. They had a rocky relationship until his father passed away in 2001.

Courtney Love

The multi-talented singer was born in San Francisco, California, in 1964. Frank Rodriguez adopted Courtney after her mother married him. When Courtney was 12, the American singer’s mother divorced Courtney’s legally adopted stepfather.

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She later relocated the family to New Zealand with her new husband. Courtney was sent to live with her stepfather after being expelled from school, and she stayed with him until she was legally emancipated at 16.