Not Just Bette Davis: Celebrities Who Disinherited Their Own Children

As much as we want to believe, fame and money don't guarantee happiness or a pleasant family life. Want proof? Just look at all the celebrities whose relationship with their children is either distant or downright hostile. True, most parents in the entertainment biz do well — for instance, John Krasinski has an unbreakable bond with his daughters — but when the rich and famous feud with their kids, the consequences can be devastating financially as well as emotionally.

One of the more infamous examples of Hollywood parent-child rifts is Bette Davis and the oldest of her three children. In 1985, Barbara "B.D." Hyman came out with a scathing tell-all, "My Mother's Keeper," which accused Davis of being "an abusive, domineering, and hateful mother" (per Hello!), not to mention a "grotesque alcoholic." Never one to back down from a fight, Davis retaliated by cutting Hyman and her two sons from her will, along with her other daughter, Margot. The entire $1 million estate went to her son, Michael, and her longtime assistant.

Other celebs have opted to withhold money from their children as a result of disagreements, ill will, or other factors. While these snubs make for juicy tabloid fodder, they also create considerable pain and heartache for those involved. Here are a few other well-known parents whose last wills and testaments excluded the people closest to them.

Like her onscreen peer and fierce rival Bette Davis, Joan Crawford was a mom who largely raised her children on her own, even as she made her way through the latter of her four marriages. She adopted her oldest daughter, Christina, in 1939, followed by Christopher in 1943 and twins Cindy and Cathy in 1947. To the world, the household seemed like a Hollywood fairytale; Christina famously recalls it was more like a horror show. Her explosive 1978 memoir, "Mommie Dearest," later made into a movie starring Faye Dunaway, describes years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her alcoholic mother. (We'll never look at wire hangers the same way again.) 

Though Cindy and Cathy denied their sister's account, the fact remains that there was bad blood in the family long before the book was written. Crawford died in 1977, without having made peace with her older children. In her will, the "Mildred Pierce" star stated, "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina for reasons which are well known to them" (via InStyle). The two contested the will and were awarded all of $55,000, but the money couldn't make up for the damage done. 

In a 2008 interview with The Guardian, Christina — the only surviving sibling — explained that her childhood led to her decision not to have children of her own. "I'd never seen a working marriage or relationship, so I simply didn't know how to do it," she said. "I really didn't have the skills for parenthood."

Mickey Rooney's illustrious career began in toddlerhood and went nonstop until his death at 93 in 2014. The "Andy Hardy" star was almost as famous for his personal life as his acting roles; Rooney was married eight times — with one union lasting only 100 days — and had nine children. Yet despite being a beloved presence onscreen, Rooney wasn't so fortunate in real life. As he grew older and less able to care for himself, one of his stepsons allegedly subjected Rooney to verbal abuse, withheld food and medicine, and drained his accounts of millions. Rooney had only $18,000 left at the time of his death; sadly, his earlier movies were released before actors were eligible for royalty rights, so he had no income from much of his past work.

Rooney made the decision (a difficult one, no doubt) to make out his will a few weeks before he died. He left the entirety of his estate to another stepson, Mark Rooney, who had been caring for him over the last several years. The estate included not only the small sum of money, but also the intellectual property rights to his name, which were worth considerably more. His other children were intentionally left out, since the actor felt they were financially stable enough to get by without the extra money. The children and Rooney's estranged wife, Jan Rooney, contested the will, but lost in court.

As tough as he was suave, Tony Curtis became a screen icon playing both dramatic roles ("The Defiant Ones") and broad comic ones ("Some Like It Hot"). He was also known for his multiple marriages; his first was to actress Janet Leigh, and they had two daughters, Kelly Lee and Jamie Lee Curtis. Five more wives and three more children followed before his death in 2010 at age 85. Just five months before he passed, Curtis revised his will to exclude all five of his children. His widow, Jill Vandenberg Curtis, had all his belongings auctioned off.

Though the actor's longtime addiction issues affected his parenting abilities — Jamie Lee Curtis had an especially complicated relationship with her father — the news still left his children stunned and convinced he didn't make the decision on his own. Daughter Allegra Curtis told The Hollywood Reporter, "Jill Curtis is the only beneficiary of this auction. She did not consult us. This is not what my father would have wanted ... He deserves better." Kelly Lee even attempted to contest the will, claiming dad Tony must have been coerced or duped into snubbing his children, but eventually dropped the lawsuit. As for their famous sister, the "Halloween" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" star has stayed quiet on the issue.

Although he famously helped a host of his "Jerry's Kids" through his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jerry Lewis offered no such courtesy to his own children. The comedian, who died in 2017, wrote his will several years earlier and excluded nearly all seven of his children. Per The Blast (via People), Lewis wrote, "I have intentionally excluded Gary Lewis, Ronald Lewis, Anthony Joseph Lewis, Christopher Joseph Lewis, Scott Anthony Lewis, and Joseph Christopher Lewis and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate, it being my intention that they shall receive no benefits hereunder." Joseph had actually died some years past, but this stipulation guaranteed that no one connected with him could try to claim part of the estate.

The "Nutty Professor" funnyman had a difficult relationship with his sons, all from his first marriage to Patti Palmer. Anthony Lewis told Inside Edition that his dad was unpredictably volatile and "emotionally abusive every day," yet he still regretted not having closure. "I am really sorry I didn't have any one-on-one time to express that I loved him," Anthony said. "I knew that I wasn't going to get anything, but the real sticking point, the dagger in my heart, is for the grandchildren."

Having shunned his sons, Lewis left his fortune to his widow, SanDee Pitnick, with their daughter Danielle as next in line after Pitnick dies. Presumably, Danielle was closer to her dad than her half-brothers; she acted as his manager until his death.

One notable exception to the sad list of nepo babies scrubbed from their parents' inheritance is the tale of two Hollywood legends. Michael Douglas didn't see a penny of father Kirk Douglas's $61 million fortune when the "Spartacus" actor died in 2020 at age 103. Yet there were no hard feelings on Michael's part; on the contrary, the "Wall Street" star maintained a loving relationship with his dad throughout his long life. No doubt, knowing his family didn't need financial support, Kirk bequeathed the majority of his estate to the Douglas Foundation, an organization which supports various medical, educational, and other facilities serving people in need. 

Announcing his father's death, Michael praised him (via The Mirror) as "a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to" as well as "a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet."