Tragic Details About Mia Goth's Life

This article contains mentions of domestic abuse.

Scream queen Mia Goth may have overcome horrific feats on camera, but in reality, the Hollywood star has battled her own demons as well. After enduring a turbulent and nomadic childhood, Goth found solace in her acting abilities. She put them to the test in her big-screen debut, 2013's "Nymphomaniac: Vol II," at 20 years old. It was on that set where she met Shia LaBeouf, the "Frankenstein" star's partner with whom she went on to have an on-again, off-again relationship. Since then, Goth has become an A-lister in her own right.

Indeed, the actor is best known for helming the indie horror film "X" and its subsequent franchise, including films "Pearl" and "MaXXXine." Before shooting the latter of the three, Goth welcomed her daughter, Isabel, with LaBeouf. She has candidly discussed her efforts to break the childhood trauma cycle in her own journey through motherhood. Of course, celebrity parenting will always come with an added level of challenges, as her life is constantly scrutinized in the spotlight. Goth has had her fair share of controversy, one instance of which even came to a head in a lawsuit. Suffice it to say, the horror-flick legend has experienced tragedy, and worked hard to overcome her circumstances. 

Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth was born in Southwark, London, to parents Eric and Rachel Goth. A 20-year-old native Brazilian, Rachel moved herself and her daughter to Brazil when Mia was still a baby, marking the start of a roving childhood. Goth moved to London and Canada, jumping from school to school without the confidence that it would be a permanent situation. She revealed to Elle that she would often make up lies about herself to cope, telling classmates that her mother was a neurosurgeon and Vincent Van Gogh was a distant relative.

"I think they made me feel more in control, as though I wasn't just a passenger to the situation that was taking place," she said of the stories she told. "I can talk about it now because I'm so removed from it. But at the time, there was a lot of shame." Goth alluded to how her upbringing shaped her adult years to Another Magazine without going into too much detail, though she admitted, "It's given me a lot to pull from as a performer." 

Since becoming a mom herself, Mia Goth has reflected a bit more on how her difficult childhood impacted her own parenting style. In 2022, Goth and her husband, fellow actor Shia LaBeouf, whom she married in 2016, welcomed their daughter, Isabel. "It's a really psychedelic experience to have a child," the "Infinity Pool" star said in her chat with Elle. But one thing Goth may not have expected was that becoming a parent could dredge up trauma from her own childhood. "You're parenting her, but you're also parenting the version of you that existed when you were that age," she explained. Goth herself was raised by a single mother who worked as a waitress throughout the actor's childhood. 

For Goth, being a present mom meant gladly turning down a heap of career opportunities, telling Who What Wear that she is "quite picky" about what she will say yes to now that she has a child to think about. "Oftentimes, you are waking up before she wakes up, and you're coming home after her bedtime," she said of the work she does sign on to. "You have to justify it in your head to be away, for it to make sense, to be away from her, to be taken away from her." She added that she has been fortunate enough not to have yet regretted a career decision.

While parenting has seemingly been a joyful journey for Mia Goth, her relationship with her child's father, Shia LaBeouf, hasn't been as blissful. After meeting LaBeouf in 2013 while filming "Nymphomaniac: Vol II," Goth and the "Transformers" actor made their red carpet debut as a couple in 2014. The pair publicly boasted a loving relationship, but behind the scenes was a much different story. In 2015, a shocking video of Goth and LaBeouf fighting in Germany — originally published by Entertainment Tonight — went viral, with viewers left unsettled by what LaBeouf had to say. "I don't wanna touch you, I don't wanna be aggressive. This is the kind of s**t that makes a person abusive," LaBeouf could be heard saying to Goth. After bystanders offered to drive him to the airport, he added, "If I had stayed there, I would have killed her."

Their tumultuous relationship was characterized by many breakups and makeups, with the pair tying the knot in 2016 and filing for divorce in 2018. LaBeouf spoke openly about his struggles with alcohol abuse — one of the reasons you never hear from the actor anymore — and how he reunited with Goth while in rehab during a conversation with actor Jon Bernthal on his podcast, "Real Ones." He broke down in tears, recalling unexpectedly seeing Goth's face on a virtual call with all the families of the patients in the facility. "She saved my f***ing life," he said. "She was present for me at a time when I didn't deserve to have nobody in my life, especially her." As of December 2025, Goth and LaBeouf were still married. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Mia Goth generally likes to keep her personal life private – she doesn't have any public social media accounts and rarely talks about her family. Even still, the actor has been faced with unwanted attention, specifically after a highly publicized controversy. After filming 2024's "MaXXXine," a half-million dollar lawsuit came to light after background actor James Hunter filed a complaint that accused Goth of physically and verbally assaulting him. 

According to the filing, obtained by TMZ, Hunter was hired to play a dead body as Goth ran past him in one scene. At one point, he complained that she was getting too close to him and that the film's star was warned to keep a distance. That purportedly prompted Goth to purposely kick Hunter in the head, which he claimed gave him a concussion. The documents suggested that Goth then followed him to the bathroom and "taunted, mocked, and belittled" Hunter.

The lawsuit eclipsed "MaXXXine" in the media, with the press asking Goth for comment. In her Elle interview, Goth insisted that people could make their own conclusions about the lawsuit. According to Rolling Stone, both Hunter's casting agent and the film's production company, A24, alluded to his story being fabricated. The outlet even uncovered Hunter's shady legal past involving a housing swindle. While the accusations continue to taint Goth's reputation, there are seemingly no public details of a resolution as of this writing.