Things You Don't Know About Bella Thorne
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Despite her young age, Bella Thorne has already had quite a successful career. Not only is she a former Disney starlet, she's also recently landed a lead role in Freeform's show Famous In Love and a handful of feature films. Despite her career success, Thorne often finds herself as the center of attention for other, more unfavorable reasons, like her relationships and risqué social media posts. From her family background to where she sees her career going, here are the things you didn't know about Bella Thorne.
Her father passed away when she was young
It's easy to forget that even big Hollywood stars have their own lives and families off screen. Unfortunately, Thorne lost her father when she was young. She told Seventeen in 2015 that his cause of death was a motorcycle accident. Because of this, she revealed that out of fear, she waited a long time to get her own driver's license. "I'm not mature enough to accept the responsibility of perhaps taking someone else's life," she told Seventeen. Seems like she's overcome that fear, though — in December 2015 she posted a photo of herself in the DMV showing off her brand new driver's license.
Though she remains pretty private about her loss, she revealed to Us Weekly that her novel (yes, she wrote a novel — more on that later!) Autumn Falls closely mirrors her own experience of her father's death. "When my father first died, the day I heard it, I couldn't cry. It was very odd," she said, revealing there are "things in the book that happened to me and I wanted [the main character] to feel that pain."
She doesn't drink alcohol
If there's one thing Thorne is known for in Hollywood, it's her party girl ways. "I throw a lot of house parties," she told Complex. According to Complex, these parties are actually epic and draw tons of other celebrities. In fact, that's how she met Scott Disick, who tabloids rumored she was dating in 2016.
"Scott is really nice, sweet, charming," she said. But she revealed to Complex that she doesn't throw the parties to drink — she just likes to have fun, which is ultimately why the rumored couple didn't work out. "I don't drink, and he really drinks a lot. And it just ended up... I just wasn't down," she said. "I love to go out and have fun, I love to f****** dance, but I just don't party hardcore like that and it was way too much for me."
She's bisexual
In 2016, Thorne nonchalantly tweeted "Yes" to a fan who asked if she was bisexual. The comment was simple enough to Thorne, but of course the media picked it up and ran with it.
"I never realized that it was going to be a big deal to the public eye, or that it was going to be so crazy or blow up so big," she told Paper Magazine. However, she said that that overall, the response to her coming out has been positive. But her decision to come out doesn't mean she has everything figured out.
She revealed to Harper's Bazaar that she's never actually dated a girl, and isn't quite sure how to tell when a girl is interested in her. "I can't tell if a girl is hitting on me or she just wants to be friends," she said. "I'm confused on what they want from me." Relatable — we've all been there!
She struggles with acne
With all of the professional makeup artists, high-quality skincare, and of course the photoshopping celebrities have, it's easy to forget they endure some of the same problems as us regular folk. Take acne, for example, which Thorne has been open about struggling with.
In a 2016 interview with PopSugar, she revealed that she's had acne since her early acting days on Shake It Up that continued to get worse as she continued acting thanks to the makeup and dirty makeup brushes she came in contact with over the years. She said at one point it got so bad that she didn't even want to leave her house. "I have to worry about someone photographing my acne and how's it going to look," she said to Harper's Bazaar, "and if someone's going to write about me having bad skin because 'she was partying' or 'out too late the night before.'"
In 2017, she shared a photo on Instagram of her makeup-less face, which revealed some acne. "It's no secret I struggle w acne," the star wrote. "I'm very self conscious and constantly feeling bad about myself. BUT I shouldn't feel bad. It is normal to have acne. EVERY1 does!" She's been able to turn her struggle with acne into a profit, becoming a brand ambassador for both Neutrogena and Bioré skincare lines.
She has dyslexia
Think of all the scripts actors have to read throughout their careers. Now imagine having to read them with a learning disability — now you know what Thorne's dealt with throughout her life. She appeared in a video describing her struggle with dyslexia, saying her brain mixes up the letters in words.
She revealed to Harper's Bazaar that dyslexia made her feel stupid. "It was really hard for a long time because I was always told I was stupid girl," she said. But in true role model form, in the aforementioned video she says, "dyslexia makes things harder for me, but not impossible." She told AOL in 2015 that acting has really helped her cope with her dyslexia. "Every single day, all I do is read scripts, do cold reads, table reads." Practice makes perfect!
Her mother originally wanted her to be a singer
Though Thorne is probably most well known for her acting chops, she told Harper's Bazaar that her mom (who was also her manager) originally worked to turn Thorne into a singer. She released an album in 2014, but eventually steered herself more toward acting. Even so, she provided vocals for a song with Prince Fox in June 2017, and told Paper Magazine that she plans on "working on some music" in the near future. However, she wants everyone (especially her haters) to know that she doesn't intend on making music her full-time career.
"I'm not trying to make a career out of it, I'm only doing it for fun," she told Harper's Bazaar. "If somebody wants to say this isn't the most amazing song, this isn't worthy of a Grammy, well I'm not trying to be worthy of a Grammy right now. It's not the career that I want — I'm an actress, I'm a writer."
She's also a writer and director
Speaking of writing, aside from being an actor and singer, Thorne also likes working behind the scenes. She already has a few novels available, the first being Autumn Falls, which we already know mirrors her own life pretty closely.
She told SheKnows that she hopes when kids read it they laugh, cry, and also learn more about themselves. That first novel became a three-book series, which Thorne is very proud of especially considering her struggle with dyslexia. "Because I'm dyslexic, I didn't know a better way to show kids that if I'm dyslexic and I can write a three-book deal then you can do, I don't care what disability you can, or what you think you can't do," she told SheKnows. "But if I can do it, then you can do it."
Thorne told Paper Magazine that she also plans on working on a couple shows from the writers' room, and on top of all that is writing, directing, and starring in a short film. "I'm so excited, it's lots of writing," she told Harper's Bazaar.
Spanish is her first language
You'd probably never guess it because of her bright orange hair, but Thorne is actually part Cuban. "To me, being Latin is about more than your looks — it's how you're brought up," she told Glamour. She also revealed that Spanish is her first language, though she eventually had to "drop it" due to her dyslexia. "I still understand it, though, especially since my mom uses Spanish to tell me to take out the trash or do the dishes!" she said.
She wants to remain realistic for her fans
If there's anything these facts teach us about Thorne, it's that she's just like the rest of us. We can all identify with her struggles with acne, awkward crushes, and weird little quirks, which is what she likes her fans to see.
She told Paper Magazine that the reason she shares so much on social media is to remain "realistic." Her down-to-earth personality and openness on social media is refreshing in a world where many celebrities strive to show off a "perfect" world.
"Teens are all going through different s*** and nobody talks to each other about it," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "I want people to know that it's okay to talk about it. And the more I do it, the more my fans will do it with each other, and with other people in their life."