Posted 28 minutes agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret Down"If This Kid Survives, It Will Be A Miracle": The Devastating Backstories Behind These 11 Celebrities Will Completely Break YouFrom unfathomable loss to traumatic abuse, these famous faces have endured more than you might think.by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink This article mentions substance abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Celebrities are often associated with glitz, glamour, and seemingly perfect lives, but behind the red carpets, designer clothes, and flashing cameras, many have endured heartbreaking struggles that most of us couldn't even fathom.
From unimaginable loss to devastatingly traumatic childhoods, these 11 stars have seriously heartbreaking backstories: 1. At age 71, Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest and most famous people on the planet, with an estimated net worth of $4 billion. However, she has always been incredibly open about her difficult start in life, where she spent most of her childhood being raised in poverty by her grandmother, who was so poor that Oprah wore dresses made out of potato sacks. Theo Wargo / Getty Images Over the years, Oprah has also revealed that her grandmother was a believer in the adage "spare the rod, spoil the child," which meant that she was beaten almost daily. In her 2021 book What Happened To You?, the star recalled being "whipped" regularly, adding: "I was beaten for the slightest reasons. Spilled water, a broken glass, the inability to keep quiet or still. My grandmother's home was a place where children were seen and not heard." View this photo on Instagram Instagram @Oprah / Via Instagram: @oprah She also alleged that she was raped by her cousin and sexually abused by her mom's boyfirend when she was nine years old, and ran away from home when she was 13. At age 14, Oprah became pregnant, but her son was born prematurely and died shortly after birth. That same year, Oprah's mom sent her to live with her father in Nashville, and Oprah said that this was when her life started to turn around. Afro Newspaper / Getty Images "When my father took me, it changed the course of my life. He saved me. He simply knew what he wanted and expected. He would take nothing less," she said in a 1986 interview, with the star becoming an honors student and voted Most Popular Girl during high school. Oprah's broadcasting career began after she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant at age 17, where she attracted the attention of the local Black radio station, WVOL, which hired her to do the news segment part-time. She continued to work her way up the broadcasting ladder, and landed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, which remained on air until 2011 and made Oprah one of the most successful talk show hosts in the world. 2. Macaulay Culkin is basically the poster boy of child stars, and in adulthood, he has not held back on how difficult his upbringing was. Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images As one of seven children, Macaulay grew up with his nine-person family squeezed into a four-room apartment in New York City. His parents struggled to make ends meet, and he and his siblings have spoken openly about their parents not even having enough money to put food on the table before Macaulay got his big break at just six years old and became the family's breadwinner. Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images In fact, he quickly became one of the most renowned child actors of all time, and was soon rubbing shoulders in showbiz circles - with then-adult Michael Jackson among his closest friends when he was still a kid. Reed Saxon / Getty Images Macaulay's dad, Kit Culkin, quit his day job to manage his son's career when he first found success in the '80s, and Macaulay has spoken at length about the alleged abuse he faced at his father's hands during this time. Speaking to New York Magazine in 2001, Macaulay said that his dad even denied him a bed to sleep on in an apparent power trip. He recalled: "I was making God-knows-how-much money, and Kit was making me sleep on the couch, just because he could. Just to let you know who's in charge, and just to let you know if he doesn't want you to sleep in a bed, you're not going to sleep in a bed." Ron Galella / Getty Images In the same interview, Macaulay said that his dad would physically abuse him, his mom, and his six siblings, with Macaulay getting the brunt of it because of the amount of time they spent alone together while he was working on movies. He told the Sibling Revelry podcast: "A lot of the time, when I was on the road doing things, it was just me and him, so I was kind of locked in a room with a crazy person." Barry King / Getty Images In addition, Kit forced Macaulay to keep working despite him repeatedly begging to take a break, with the star only able to step away from the spotlight at 14 because his dad was tied up in a custody trial amid his split from his mom, Patricia Brentrup. Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images Earlier this year, Macaulay