11 Celebrities Whose Parental Support Was Key to Their Careers

“It was my eighth birthday, we were at Disneyland and I wanted to take pictures with the princesses, but everyone else wanted a picture with my mom!” “That’s how Kaia Gerber described the moment she realized how popular her mother, Cindy Crawford, was. Without a doubt, Kaia was lucky to have amazing parents — as were all the heroes in our post today.

O awesome.club decided to find out which celebrities were lucky enough to have their parents’ unconditional support in their careers. Check out!

Keira was born into a creative environment. Her father, Will Knightley, is a stage and film actor, and her mother, Sharman MacDonald, is an accomplished playwright, writer and director. As a young girl, Sharman was unable to overcome her shyness, and after seven years working in television, she decided to abandon her acting career. The playwright dreamed of having a daughter, but her husband did not support the idea at that time – they already had a child and did not have enough money to support the family. At that time, they used to eat only baguettes, lentils and tomatoes.

Sharman one day came up with the idea of ​​writing a drama for the Bush Theatre, which she had previously worked on. Will then suggested a bet: if she managed to sell the work, they would have another child. The play was staged in 1984 and was a tremendous success. Because of her, by the way, the former actress was awarded in the category “Best Beginner Playwright”. A year later, future Hollywood star Keira Knightley was born. The name of the actress was chosen as a tribute to the talented Soviet figure skater Kira Ivanova.

Thanks to her parents, Keira was introduced to theater and ballet as a child, and at the age of six, the young actress already had a personal agent.

Michael’s parents, Diana and Kirk Douglas, met in drama school, but didn’t get into a relationship at that time. However, later on, fate tried to bring them together once more: While serving in the Navy, Kirk accidentally saw a picture of Diana on the front cover from Life magazine, where she worked as a model. And upon seeing her, Kirk said, “I know this girl and I’m going to marry her!” He then wrote a letter to Diana and six months later they were married.

Although the marriage of the two actors was short-lived, they always maintained a warm relationship. And thanks to his father, Michael won his first Oscar. Kirk, who has also won an Academy Award, bought the rights to the novel from Ken Kesey. A stranger in the nest which in the end ended up passing on to his son. The younger Douglas then turned the novel into a film, which went on to win the prestigious award.

Michael Douglas with parents and son Cameron

Naomi’s parents divorced when she was just four years old and the girl stayed with her mother. Myfanwy Watts worked as a costume and set designer and also as an actress in amateur theater. Little Naomi saw her mother acting and decided she wanted to be an actress. When she was 14, the family moved from England to Sydney, where her mother enrolled Naomi in acting classes. She befriended Nicole Kidman, and after four years, she received her first movie role. For Love Alone.

Jackie Stallone is certainly a very dynamic person. She became the first woman in Washington to have a television program about exercise and weightlifting. She later opened a women-only gym. In addition, she was a dancer, circus artist on trapeze and was part of a group that performed in nightclubs. Even now, at age 98, Jackie continues to practice physical activity.

During Sylvester’s delivery, there were some complications with Jackie and the obstetricians ended up hurting some of the baby’s nerves, which caused a paralysis in the left part of the actor’s face. This explains the slightly confused quality of Stallone’s speech and the always serious expression on his face.

The career of the young actor began in the movie Carrie, in which he acted in one of the main roles. Ansel’s future had been premeditated since birth: his father, Arthur Elgort, was a photographer and fashion consultant for Vogue magazine for over 30 years. His mother is opera director Grethe Barrett Holby. And Ansel’s brothers also found their vocations in the field of art. At the age of nine, the young actor’s mother took him to a ballet school, where the boy studied for five years. Furthermore, since childhood his father taught him how to pose for camera flashes: he photographed every moment of his children’s lives — from how they ate cereal for breakfast to bath time.

Hilary Swank considers her mother “a real inspiration for her acting career and life”, although Judy Kay was not an actress, but worked as a secretary. When she was 15, her parents divorced. And the young girl could not find a vocation by talking to her peers and teachers, despite the fact that she already showed a desire to become an actress. Accustomed to thinking of herself as “a kind of character from a movie or a book”, she stopped feeling awkward. And the only one who supported her and believed in her talent was her mother. To fulfill Hilary’s dream, mother and daughter moved to Los Angeles. There they had to live in a car saving money to rent an apartment. The adventure was worth it and now Hilary owns two Oscars.

The star’s father, Nick Clooney, is a famous television presenter and has also been a judge in beauty pageants. The appearance of one of the participants, Nina Warren, strongly caught the attention of the then judge. The young woman received from him not only the crown of winner of the contest, but also a marriage proposal. Two years later, George was born.

Interestingly, George Clooney hated Christmas. Every year, his father, who was known for his solidarity, received thousands of letters from people who found themselves in difficult situations. Nick would then choose a card and buy gifts. On Christmas Day, they would drive about an hour and a half to meet the unknown family members who would benefit, clean their house, cook food and then give gifts. Only when they got home could little George open his own presents. Inspired by his father, George Clooney followed in his footsteps and always participates in charity campaigns.

Taylor Swift’s parents aren’t movie stars or entertainment industry moguls, but she was certainly lucky to have them in her life. To date, the singer has not been involved in any major scandals, despite the fact that she became famous very early.

Taylor spent her childhood on a Christmas tree farm. And there she had a very important function: knocking the praying mantis cocoons off the trees so the insects don’t infiltrate customers’ homes🇧🇷 Her parents worked in the Finance area on the side, and the daughter wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Only the passion for country music made her change her mind. When she was 10, her mother started taking her to karaoke contests. And at the age of 11, at the request of the singer herself, her mother took her to record a song in another city. When Taylor started to be successful, her family decided to move to another city so that the young singer could focus on career development.

Taylor as a baby with her parents at Christmas Pine Farm

Emma Thompson says she was destined to become an actress🇧🇷 She grew up surrounded by talented and creative people in her family. Her mother, Phyllida Law, was a well-known Scottish actress. Her father, Eric Thompson, was a television show host and narrator. Younger sister Sophie also chose a career in film and theatre.

However, Eric Thompson instilled in his daughter a love of literature, and initially she did not plan to pursue a career in theater or film. Emma entered Cambridge University to study English literature. But her friends convinced her to join the university’s theater group and that’s when it all started.

Ben Stiller with his parents and sister

The actor’s childhood literally took place on stage. He was born into a family of comedian actors and, since he was a little boy, his parents took him to the recordings. His father, Jerry Stiller, and his wife, Anne Meara, performed on television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show. The couple became the most popular comedy duo at the time. When career started to go downhill, they started doing movies and advertising.

Dwayne Johnson is not only one of the most successful and profitable actors of all time, but he is also a 10-time world champion in professional wrestling, in addition to being the holder of many other titles in this sport.🇧🇷 He got involved in the fight following the example of his father, the also champion rocky johnson🇧🇷

Though Rocky himself coached his son after he retired, he was initially opposed to Dwayne following in his footsteps. He knew that building a career in professional wrestling and daily training was not an easy task. But Dwayne is stubborn and has achieved unprecedented success. However, like everyone else, in the beginning he also had some failures and defeats. During one of them, the doting father’s heart couldn’t take it and the retired fighter invaded the ring to teach his son’s opponents a lesson.

Check out what the actor says about his father’s role in his life:

“By nature, boys tend to want to make an idol out of their dad. They want to be like him and always seek approval from him. It’s funny that I stopped looking for this approval only when I realized what it means to be a man and, more importantly, a father. It reinforced my gratitude for the ‘tough love’ he always gave me.

Years later, as a man and father of three girls, I realized that ‘tough love’ is much better than lack of love in general… it made me who I am today.”

Did your parents support your dreams when you were a kid? Tell us in the comments section.