List of Famous Orphans, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Some very famous people were left orphaned after their parents died or abandoned their families. Famous political leaders, actors, authors and musicians have all been orphans. Some celebrities lost their parents when they were very young, while others became orphans when they were teenagers. These famous people were either raised by family or placed in orphanages and foster homes.
Who is the most famous orphan? Marilyn Monroe tops our list. There is some discrepancies about the identity of Marilyn Monroe's father, but by all accounts he was not present during her childhood. Her mother was mentally unstable and placed Monroe, then known by the name Norma Jean Baker, with a foster family. When Monroe was seven she was declared a ward of the state. She was raised by her mother's friend for a few years, but she later spent time in an orphanage, more foster homes and with other family members.
Malcolm X's father died when Malcolm X was just six years old. He died under suspicious circumstances in a streetcar accident, but the family suspected that he was murdered by a white racist group. When Malcolm X was 12, his mother suffered a nervous breakdown and spent the next 24 years in a state hospital. Malcolm X lived in foster homes for a few years and eventually he stayed with his half-sister.
Do you think that being an orphan played into the success of these famous folks. Share your thoughts in the comments section.
http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-orphans/celebrity-lists,
Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth was sent to live at an orphanage when he was seven years old. There isn't much information regarding the reasons Ruth being sent to the orphanage, but Ruth later suggested that it was because he was running the streets and generally misbehaving. Out of eight children born to Katherine and George Ruth, Sr., only one other, Ruth's sister Marnie, survived infancy.
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe's father, actor David Poe, Jr., abandoned the family when Poe was an infant. His mother Elizabeth died from pulmonary tuberculosis when Poe was just two years old. He was raised by a foster family.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt's mother, Anna Rebecca Hall, died from diphtheria in 1892. The next year, when Roosevelt was 9 years old, her father Elliott died from the same disease. She was raised by her maternal grandmother.
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald's father William left her family when she was an infant. Her mother Tempie died from a heart attack in 1931, when Fitzgerald was 15. After she was abused by her step-father, Fitzgerald ran away to her aunt's house. She then spent time in an orphanage and a reformatory, and she was even homeless for a period of time.
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman's mother Friedel died when Bergman was just three years old. Her father Justus died when she was 13. Bergman then lived with an aunt who died of heart disease 6 months later. Another aunt and uncle subsequently raised Bergman.
J. R. R. Tolkien
When he was three years old, J.R.R. Tolkien's father, Arthur, died from a rheumatic fever. His mother Mabel died when he was 12 from diabetes mellitus type 1. Tolkien and his siblings were then raised by a friend of the family.
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy's parents, Mariya and Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died when he was very young. He and his siblings were raised by various family members.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X's father, Earl Little, died when Malcolm was just six years old. He died under suspicious circumstances in a streetcar accident, but the family suspected that he was murdered by a white racist group. When Malcolm was 12, his mother Louise suffered a nervous breakdown and spent the next 24 years in a state hospital. Malcolm X lived in foster homes for a few years, and eventually he stayed with his half-sister.
Marilyn Monroe
There is some discrepancies about the identity of Marilyn Monroe's father, but by all accounts, he was not present during her childhood. Her mother was mentally unstable and placed Monroe, then known by the name Norma Jean Baker, with a foster family. When Monroe was seven, she was declared a ward of the state. She was raised by her mother's friend for a few years, but she later spent time in an orphanage, more foster homes, and with other family members.
Ray Charles
When Ray Charles was 10 years old, his father, Bailey Robinson, abandoned the family. His mother Aretha died in 1947, when he was 15. Charles stayed with family friends for about a year after that before he went to Seattle to pursue his music.