{"id":2348,"date":"2026-06-29T13:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/?p=2348"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:38:55","slug":"5-celebrities-who-survived-absolute-hell-and-came-out-stronger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/5-celebrities-who-survived-absolute-hell-and-came-out-stronger\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Celebrities Who Survived Absolute Hell And Came Out Stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"

You see them on red carpets, smiling for the cameras, living the dream. But behind the glamour, some of your favourite celebrities have survived things that would break most people. From childhood addiction to sexual assault and life-threatening illness, these five stars went through absolute hell \u2013 and somehow came out the other side stronger than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Drew Barrymore \u2013 The Child Star Who Hit Rock Bottom At 13<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Drew Barrymore was a Hollywood child star who had her first drink at just nine years old. By age 12, she was already using cocaine and marijuana. At 13, she was forced into rehab for 18 months \u2013 and nobody in Hollywood wanted to work with her anymore. Instead of letting it destroy her, she took responsibility, got clean, and completely rebuilt her career from scratch. Today, she’s one of the most beloved talk show hosts on television, proving that hitting rock bottom doesn’t have to be the end of the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lady Gaga \u2013 The Rape That Nearly Broke Her<\/span><\/h2>\n

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When Lady Gaga was just 19 years old, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a music producer. The trauma left her with severe PTSD, flashbacks, emotional numbness, and crippling anxiety. During her Joanne world tour, she suffered a full psychotic break and had to be hospitalized for psychiatric care. But Gaga refused to stay down. Through therapy, medication, and the support of her fianc\u00e9, she clawed her way back. Her latest album Mayhem is now nominated for seven Grammys \u2013 proof that you can turn even the deepest pain into art.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Karen Carney \u2013 The Football Star Who Almost Didn’t Survive<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Former England Lioness Karen Carney built a legendary football career despite suffering from Scheuermann’s disease, a spinal condition that causes curvature of the upper back. But her lowest point came during her time in the United States, when a knee injury spiralled into depression, self-harm, and addiction to sleeping pills. After retirement, she faced vicious online abuse that left her suicidal. Yet Carney refused to give up. She found healing through dance on Strictly Come Dancing, rediscovering joy and rebuilding her confidence. As she put it: \u201cI’ve never been so happy. I’ve never smiled so much\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pedro Pascal \u2013 The Actor Who Was Bullied, Abused, And Nearly Quit<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Before he became the internet’s favourite Zaddy in The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal endured years of brutal bullying for being “weird and sensitive”. It got so bad that his mother had to pull him out of school. He also fell into drug use as a teenager, and later lost his mother to suicide. By his 30s, he was broke and ready to quit acting entirely to become a nurse. But his family refused to let him give up. Today, he’s one of the biggest stars on the planet \u2013 proving that it’s never too late to turn your life around.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Selena Gomez \u2013 The Health Battle That Nearly Took Everything<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Selena Gomez was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus in 2013. The condition was so severe that it damaged her kidneys, and in 2017 she underwent a life-saving kidney transplant. On top of that, she’s battled anxiety, depression, and a bipolar diagnosis. Recovery was brutal \u2013 she didn’t want to eat or drink anything. But Selena kept fighting. She sought treatment, spoke openly about mental health, and today her lupus is in remission. She’s not just surviving \u2013 she’s thriving, and inspiring millions along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You see them on red carpets, smiling for the cameras, living the dream. But behind the glamour, some of your favourite celebrities have survived things that would break most people….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","category-exclusives","category-photo-vault"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2355,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions\/2355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}