Famous People Who Were Raised by Single Parents

The Top Ten
1 Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. She has also been cited as Hollywood's highest-paid actress. ...read more.
2 Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African-American president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.
3 Kanye West Ye (born Kanye Omari West; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. He is regarded as one of the most influential, as well as controversial, artists of the 21st century. ...read more.
4 Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romary "Kate" Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is a British actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing (1993) while still a student at the University of Oxford. She then appeared in British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996), and The Golden Bowl (2000), in addition to various stage and radio productions. She began to seek film work in the United States in the late 1990s and, after appearing in small-scale dramas The Last Days of Disco (1998) and Brokedown Palace (1999), she had a break-out year in 2001 with starring roles in the war drama Pearl Harbor and the romantic comedy Serendipity. ...read more.
5 Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry is an American actress. Berry won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama Monster's Ball. As of 2018, she is the only black woman to have won the award.
6 Jon Stewart
7 Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for songs such as "Beautiful", "Genie In A Bottle", "Fighter", "Hurt", "Dirrty", "Your Body", "Lady Marmalade", "Reflection", "I Turn To You", "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" "What A Girl Wants", and "Candyman".
8 Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name JAY-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and investor born on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his albums Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album. He is considered to be one of the best rappers of all time.
9 Demi Moore Demi Gene Guynes, professionally known as Demi Moore, is an American actress, filmmaker, former songwriter, and model.
10 Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor and film producer. He achieved prominence and critical acclaim in the early 1990s with films such as Jungle Fever, Patriot Games, Amos & Andrew, True Romance, Jurassic Park and his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino including Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Django Unchained & The Hateful Eight.
The Contenders
11 Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone, known professionally as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She influenced a lot of singers such as: Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. She is known as Queen of Pop and at modern pop culture specifically in 2012 "Madge" or MDNA. She has 14 studio albums (Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA, Rebel Heart, and Madame X), 3 soundtrack albums (Who's That Girl, I'm Breathless, and Evita), 4 compilation albums (The Immaculate Collection, Something to Remember, GHV2, and Celebration), ...read more.
12 Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson Baker; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, singer and model. Decades after her unexpected death, she has remained one of Hollywood's greatest sex symbols with her eye-catching style, champagne blond hair, and breathless manner of speaking. She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon. ...read more.
13 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
14 Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned and nominations by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Disney was the first person to be nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories, a record he shares with Alfonso Cuaron ...read more.
15 Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Lady Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 - 31 August 1997), was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II, and the mother of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. She married Prince Charles on 29 July 1981, and separated from him in 1992 before finally divorcing him in 1996. She was killed in a car crash on 31 August 1997.
16 J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling, CH, OBE, FRSL, FRCPE, writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist, philanthropist, film and television producer and screenwriter best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series.
17 Kim Larsen
18 Helle Thorning-Schmidt
19 Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer. He has received various accolades for his work, including three Golden Globe Awards and three nominations for Academy Awards. He is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
20 Usher Usher Terry Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee was where he lived until moving to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 12 where his mother put him in local singing competitions all over the city.
21 C.S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. He held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge University (Magdalene College, 1954–1963). He is best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.
22 Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen, often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875), was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children: his stories express themes that transcend age and nationality. ...read more.
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