Hugh Jackman Forgave His Mother Despite Her 'Traumatic' Abandonment During His Childhood

Jun 09, 2022 by apost team

Hugh Jackman is an Australian actor who is best known for playing the role of Wolverine in the "X-Men" film franchise from 2000 to 2017. The star has gone on to have a successful career both commercially and critically. He has won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Jackman got his start working in theater and on television in Australia before he crossed over into the film industry in Hollywood.

The actor has played the lead role in such films as "Kate & Leopold," "Van Helsing," "The Prestige" and "Australia." Jackman also starred as Jean Valjean in the epic musical film "Les Misérables" for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Another popular musical film led by Jackman is "The Greatest Showman.”

In his personal life, Jackman has been married to Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996. The couple met on an Australian TV show called "Correlli." They are a happy family now with two adopted children named Oscar, 21, and Ava, 16. Prior to adopting, Furness experienced two miscarriages. Together, Jackman and his wife overcame that hardship and now reside in New York with their beloved children.

Jackman is a family man, and he has his own father to thank for that. When the actor was 8 years old his mother abandoned her five children due to postnatal depression. She sought out the help of her mother and sister in England and left her children with her husband in Australia. Later, Jackman's sisters moved in with their mother while he remained in the care of his father, along with his two brothers.

Read on to learn more about Jackman's life and why he has forgiven his mother after all these years.

We are often used to hearing about celebrity breakups and makeups, but it's the anniversaries that we really love to hear about. One celebrity marriage that has gone the distance is Jackman and Furness'. The Australian couple has been together for 26 years and Jackman has shared touching tributes to his wife on social media.

It is always beautiful to see a couple as much in love now, as they were when they first met. The actor met the love of his life, Furness, in 1995, when the pair were both working on the Australian drama "Correlli," reported the Daily Mail. They knew it was meant to be as they married a year later in 1996, and have been together ever since.

According to the Daily Mail, for his 24th anniversary, Jackman shared a photo that he and his wife took together in the '90s. They were both dressed glamorously and looked as radiant back then as they do now — they haven't aged a day! In the Instagram post, Jackman reflected on his relationship with Furness and praised her by saying their partnership only improves as the years go by. He wrote:

"These 24 years have been the best of my life! And, as far as I can see, we keep getting better. I love you Debs with every fiber of my soul. Happy anniversary. #24."

It looks like this couple will have many more happy years to come! The happy couple has two adopted children, Oscar Maximilian Jackman, and Ava Eliot Jackman. Even though Jackman has a busy career, he always makes time for his wife and children. 

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Family is a priority for the star, which is perhaps because he wants to be there for his kids after he struggled with feeling abandoned by his mom when he was a child. Jackman remembers how he felt after his mother left. As a young boy, it took him some time to understand that she wasn't coming home.

"It was traumatic," he said. "I thought she was probably going to come back. And then it sort of dragged on and on."

The star can recall the moment he knew his mother was gone.

"I remember her being in a towel around her head and saying goodbye. (It) must have been the way she said goodbye," Jackman said. "As I went off to school, when I came back, there was no one there in the house."

Jackman's mother didn't tell anyone she was leaving until after she was already gone.

"The next day there was a telegram from England. Mum was there. And then that was it. Dad used to pray every night that mum would come back," Jackman shared.

According to The Sun, Jackman was once furious with his mother for seemingly abandoning him and his siblings. After his parents divorced, Jackman’s sisters Zoe and Sonia went to live with Grace, his mother, in England. Meanwhile, Jackman and his brothers Ian and Ralph stayed in Sydney, Australia, with their father Chris.

While Jackman had once had a very difficult relationship with his mother, he now knows more about the pain she was feeling and the hardships she was going through during his childhood.

According to The Sun, Grace had suffered from undiagnosed postnatal depression. Fortunately, Jackman and his mother have since been able to build a beautiful bond.

This “estranged parent and child reunited” story, as described by The Sun, is somewhat replicated in one of Jackman’s movies called “Real Steel.” The film came out back in 2011 and starred Jackman as former boxer Charlie Kenton, who has to work to rebuild a relationship with his 11-year-old son Max, played by Dakota Goyo after a tragedy occurs.

While it’s evident that Jackman has been able to put some of his own personal stories and hardships into his creative works, he has also done his part to move on from the past in his real life. As an adult, Jackman was able to come to terms with why his mother left and decided to forgive her.

"As I grew older I gained an understanding of why Mum did leave. I am 43 now and we have definitely made our peace, which is important," he said. "I was always quite connected with my mum. I have a good relationship with her."

The actor also said to Perth Now:

"My mother was not well. I always hoped she would come back, but I never blamed her for anything that went wrong. At the time, I was miserable and angry, and my brothers and I used to fight all the time."

Even though his childhood was challenging, Jackman made it through and has since made a family of his own as well as an incredible career.

Are you a fan of Hugh Jackman? Did you know about his relationship with his mother and his family life nowadays? Let us know and feel free to send this along to your friends and family.