10 Celebs Who Discovered Shocking Family Secrets

Every family has a secret or two that they hope no one discovers -- and sometimes these secrets are kept under wraps for so long that many family members don't even know! That's true for a few celebrities who went years without knowing about major family drama. For some of these stars, it wasn't until they were well into adulthood that they uncovered their shocking family secrets. From secret siblings to murder mysteries, these celebs were in for a surprise when they learned of their family's scandal. Read on to discover these shocking secrets… 1. Kerry Washington In 2018, Kerry Washington learned that the man who raised her was not her biological father. Ahead of an appearance on ancestry show Finding Your Roots, Kerry's parents told her that she had actually been conceived through an anonymous sperm donor after they struggled with fertility issues. Before the show, they had never planned to tell her. Looking back, Kerry says the news "turned my world upside down." "When I got this information, I was like, 'Oh. I now know my story,'" Kerry told People, adding that she had always felt that something was being kept from her. "I didn't know what my story was, but I was playing the supporting character in their story." "I think that dissonance of like, 'Somebody is not telling me something about my body' made me feel like there was something in my body I had to fix," she added, noting that she struggled with anxiety, self-esteem issues, and an eating disorder for years -- which she believes may have been rooted in her parents' secret. 2. Jack Nicholson It wasn't until Jack Nicholson was 37 that he learned that the woman who raised him, Ethel May, was actually his grandmother and not his biological mother. It turns out that the woman who Jack believed was his sister, June, was actually his mother. June had gotten pregnant as a teenager by a man named Don, who was married. In order to avoid bringing unwanted attention to the family, Jack's grandmother raised him as her own. Jack didn't find out until well into adulthood when the secret was uncovered by Time magazine. Unfortunately, both June and Ethel May had passed away by the time he learned the truth. "I was very impressed by their ability to keep the secret, if nothing else," he later told Rolling Stone. 3. Liv Tyler When Liv Tyler was a little girl, her mother Bebe Buell told her that her father was musician Todd Rundgren. It wasn't until she was 8-years-old that she met Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler -- and began to have suspicions that he was actually her father, especially after meeting his daughter Mia who looked just like her. "I didn't know who Aerosmith was. And my mom said, 'Come here I want to introduce you to someone,' and I was watching Todd play and I was like, 'Ugh, I don't wanna come!' And she pointed to this guy standing at the bar and I was like, 'Is that Mick Jagger's son?' And he bought me a Shirley Temple," Liv told Wonderland. She continued, "I fell madly in love with him. I had no idea who he was. After we met, he, Steven, started calling and we'd go see him. He was just out of rehab, so part of going through those steps is making amends by reaching out to my mom after years of being a drug addict and not ever being there." 4. Jennette McCurdy In her memoir, Jennette McCurdy revealed that after her mom's passing, she learned that the man who raised her, Mark, was not her biological father. Mark finally told Jennette the truth after being encouraged by his girlfriend. It turns out that her real father was a musician named Andrew, who had known about her existence for years but was prevented from seeing her due to a custody battle. "This was maybe a year and a half after my mom died. My, who I thought was my father, told me that he was not actually my biological father," Jennette said on The Drew Barrymore Show, adding, "I remember feeling like I got the wind knocked out of me. My mouth was really dry and I think I hugged him." Jennette noted that she had never truly had a relationship with the man who raised her and over time, she let their connection fade. She did end up meeting her biological father and after spending time with him over the course of several months, she said things "felt a little strange" and she seemingly stopped pursuing the relationship. 5. Dylan McDermott When Dylan McDermott was just 5-years-old, his mother Diane was shot and killed while he stood outside their apartment door. Although her death was originally ruled a suicide, the case was reopened over four decades later when Dylan came to the police looking for answers. Soon after, it was discovered that Diane had actually been murdered by her boyfriend John Sponza. As for why Dylan went to the police years later, police superintendent Michael Gugliotti told the Republican-American newspaper that Dyla