When Jack Nicholson found the sinister family secret, he was 37 years old.

Jack Nicholson has always been one of my favorite actors. I’ll never forget how deeply “The Shining” affected me on my first viewing, and I doubt I’ll ever get over the many restless nights that followed.

I was completely astounded by Nicholson’s performance; I had no idea how big of an influence an actor or actress could have on a movie.

Nicholson is 81 years old, which is hard to imagine, but he can look back on a wonderful career that brought him to the top of the film industry.

Image source: John Mathew Smith/Flickr

His distinctive eyebrows and deep growl allowed him to play a wide spectrum of troubled characters in movies like “The Shining” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” among many others.

Over the course of his more than half-century career, he has appeared on screen alongside some iconic actors.

Still, did you know that his family has been keeping a horrible secret from him for a very long time? One that could only be discovered by chance? Therefore, you should probably continue reading if you didn’t.

On April 22, 1937, John Joseph Nicholson was born in New York. The youngster would spend his early years in New Jersey, where his grandmother, Ethel Nicholson, owned a beauty salon.

Image source: Sharon Graphics/Flickr

Jack Nicholson’s mother

Since Jack Nicholson’s alcoholic father abandoned the family when he was a toddler, the young Nicholson taught himself to believe that his grandma was his biological mother.

June, his younger sister, left the dance world to pursue acting when she was 19 years old. At the tender age of 17, Jack moved to Los Angeles with the idea of doing the same thing.

June died of cancer in 1963, while Nicholson’s grandmother Ethel died seven years later.

Jack didn’t start out with a clean slate, but he worked hard to create the life he wanted. He was serious about pursuing an acting profession, and his hard work paid off.

When he was 37 years old, however, a reporter who had covered his story for the film Chinatown contacted him.

Everything changed after receiving that single phone call.

In 1974, the investigative journalist in question discovered a family secret, which he then revealed to Jack: the people Jack had always imagined were his parents were actually his grandparents.

June, his so-called sister, was also his biological mother.

Jack Nicholson, ”A Few Good Men” 1992 via John Irving/Flickr

At first, the claims infuriated the ambitious Hollywood actress, who refused to believe them. However, following a sad phone call, Jack’s second alleged sister, Lorraine, disclosed the truth about his family.

Dramatic event

“The event was dramatic, but not traumatizing. “I was pretty well psychologically formed,” Jack explained of the revelation.

June’s parents chose to raise Jack as their own because she was just 18 when she gave birth to him and was not married at the time. June’s idea was to appear to be his older sister.

Nicholson’s biological father has not been revealed.

Some believe June’s manager was the father, while others claim she had no idea who he was.

Consider the shock of reaching adulthood after being led to believe a massive untruth all your life. Ethel and June both died knowing the secret.

Jack, on the other hand, harbors no ill will toward them.

“I didn’t have to deal with it with them,” he is quoted as saying. “They had died. I am the type of person who wonders what I’m feeling and has the means to figure it out. Gratitude. I’ve often stated about them, “Show me any woman today who can keep a secret, have confidence, or be intimate to that extent, and you’ve got my kind of gal.”

Despite the fact that this has been a family secret for many years, Jack has become one of the most well-known and successful actors in history.

The fact that he does not hold his family accountable for what they concealed from him demonstrates a level of insight that is uncommon in the normal individual, and I believe this is a distinctive trait of his personality.

If you were surprised by the Nicholson family tree, please SHARE it with your family and friends!

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