When we see a Hollywood celebrity, we likely think they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It seems as if everything goes their way, but that isn’t always the case.

He grew up in a home that didn’t have the typical kindnesses that we would expect from a family. His parents neglected him and he grew up without the care necessary to be well-balanced.

As he was growing up, he and his siblings saw his mother get married on a number of occasions. She went through different relationships, with more children being added to the mix.

Even though he grew up in a family that was broken, he knew that he needed to be tough. He even admitted: “I grew up in a really bad household, it was tough. […] Everyone was extremely unhappy with who they were. My mother and father, they certainly weren’t parents.”

He would sometimes spend days at a boardinghouse where his parents would drop him off. He said that it was a ‘transient’ home run by an older woman. He felt isolated as a result.

As he continued to get older, he would be shaped into somebody who kept to himself. He didn’t connect with others well, and his mother spoke about the lack of love. She said: “The only reason you’re here is because the hanger didn’t work.’ And sometimes: “bouncing down those steps didn’t cause you to get lost.”

Eventually, he learned more about his mother’s past. She had been placed into an orphanage where she was tied to the bed, molested, and whipped. This made it impossible for her to show affection to her children.

When he grew up, he moved to New York City and had very little money. He couldn’t afford a place to stay so he slept in the bus station. He knew he wanted to be an actor, but he was afraid that he would just be a ‘professional extra’ since he wasn’t a traditionally handsome man.

He had plastic surgery to change this, but it went wrong and left his face partially paralyzed on the left side. He then had to have his face surgically lifted, and people often mistook the scar for him getting plastic surgery.

In case you haven’t figured it out, we are speaking about Sylvester Stallone. He went from rock-bottom at that point in his life to a life of extraordinary success.

He also had problems as a result of his acting and the active lifestyle he lived. He had two shoulder surgeries, four back operations, and a spinal fusion. He avoided sports like basketball or golf in order to maintain his physique.

He spoke about his career, saying: “When you become synonymous with blunt-force trauma, you’re not really leaving anyone with thought-provoking aftershocks of your performance.”

He also had a very painful personal life. He was married three times and had two sons to his first wife. The oldest, Sage, died of a heart attack at the age of 36.

He was married again briefly in the 80s but was divorced after only two years.

His longest marriage was to his third wife, Jennifer Flavin. They had three daughters together after the wedding in 1997. They did file for divorce in 2022 but reconciled and remain married today.

Life hasn’t always been easy for Sylvester Stallone, but he remained strong throughout the journey.