Growing up isn’t easy – not even for some of our favorite celebrities. Some of them – who are huge superstars now – didn’t have the easiest of childhoods and claim they were bullied growing up. Kids can be pretty terrible and the abuse that these celebrities suffered is perfect evidence for that. In spite of the poor treatment they received from some of their peers, these celebrities have gone on to become incredibly successful. Check out our list of 9 celebrities who were bullied as kids. Some of the stars on the list may surprise you!
9. Chad Michael Murray
Chad Michael Murray may be a teen heartthrob now but, when he was growing up, he was a total outcast and subject to ridiculous amounts of bullying. “I had my two front teeth knocked out by a sixth grader in first grade. He picked me up and jacked me in the mouth. My house got egged, and all that stuff that happens to you when you’re growing up with people who don’t understand what’s going on,” the “One Tree Hill” star said.
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8. Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham may be on top of the world now, but it hasn’t always been this way. When she was in high school, the former Spice Girl was bullied regularly. “Secondary school was hell. Children picking things up out of the puddles and throwing them at me. I just stood there, on my own. I didn’t have any friends,” she told the British edition of OK! magazine. “People would push me around, say they were going to beat me up.”
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7. Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet may have it all – including an Oscar – but, when she was growing up, it was the complete opposite. She was bullied regularly and, even though she has experienced a great deal of success since, the horrible treatment she received still affects how she views herself. “I had, ‘No one will ever fancy me!’ well into my teens. Even now I do not consider myself to be some kind of great, sexy beauty. Absolutely not,” Winslet said.
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6. Christina Aguilera
She may be one of the most successful singers of her generation but Christina Aguilera’s rise to the to the top wasn’t especially easy. Back when she was in school, the “Beautiful” singer had to put up with abuse from jealous school bullies. “I would get a lot of cold shoulders because there was just no way [other kids] could relate to what I loved to do,” Aguilera told The Guardian. “You know, it’s not really normal for a child to just want to be in front of the camera and on stage. It’s not something that all kids want to do — they want to play in the playground. [Performing] was my form of release without my even knowing it at that young age.”
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5. Mischa Barton
According to Mischa Barton, she has always been a bit of an outsider, which we find really hard to believe. Even though she strived to become popular, she was terribly insecure and, once she began acting in more high profile films like “The Sixth Sense,” some of her classmates began picking on her. “I wasn’t popular so it was easy to integrate me in and out without kids asking too many questions, but then The Sixth Sense came out. I would have liked to have been popular. I would have liked to have not been on the periphery so much,” Barton said.
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4. Jessica Simpson
Despite being named homecoming queen, Jessica Simpson was bullied in high school by some of her peers. “I would walk down the school halls and hear people talking about me,” she said. “Some would throw toilet paper at my house or throw eggs at my door… They would also write things on the sidewalk in permanent marker. They really hated me.” Having such a talented and beautiful rising star in their midst must have really intimidated Simpson’s former classmates – at least she got the last laugh!
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3. Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel is another celebrity who faced a great deal of bullying in school. “Seventh grade was the ultimate low rock bottom – someone spitting in your face while you are on your way to your locker. Having to fight your way through those years makes you ready for the future. I can snap back, I can make fun of myself before they do – I can do all of it. There’s no way I can ever be as sensitive as I used to be, and it’s sad to lose any sensitivity because it generally makes people very good at art,” the “New Girl” star said.
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2. Demi Lovato
The “X-Factor” judge didn’t have it especially easy when she was in school. “I had a really tough time when I was in middle school,” Lovato told People magazine. “People would write ‘hate petitions’ [about me] and send them around to be signed. They’d have CD-bashing parties of my demos. They’d come to my house, stand across the street and yell things. It was a very emotional time for me, and all I wanted to do was get away.”
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1. Megan Fox
Megan Fox was bullied at school after her classmates discovered that she wanted to be an actress. “There were some evil girls in my school and I went to Christian high school. I was fifteen and everybody knew that my aspiration in life was to become an actress. One girl came to school on Halloween in a black leather cat suit and everyone thought she was cat woman. She answered, ‘No I am Megan Fox.’ She was making fun of me. I didn’t say anything to her. I was really shy,” Fox said.