Jessica Chastain, glamorous Oscar winner with a shocking childhood story

Jessica Chastain pulled it off. She won the coveted Oscar for Best Lead Actress with her role in 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye.' Emotional and radiant she appeared in front of the photographers with her statuette.

Jessica Chastain currently lives her life surrounded by luxury and prestige. She is not only one of the most sought-after Hollywood actresses but also the wife of an Italian nobleman, Gian Luca Passi. However, Chastain's childhood was very difficult. Discover the secrets and painful confessions made by the famous actress.

The actress recently told The UK Times about the difficulties she faced during her childhood and the consequences of that rough beginning. She is the first of five children and was born in Northern California. Her mother, Jerri Chastain, was still a teenager when Jessica was born.

The actress said to The Times: "I don’t talk about it much, but it was really, um, it was not what you would expect. When people see me, I think they expect a different background than I have."
She continued: "We stole food at the store because we didn’t have any money. And some people knew she was doing it but didn’t stop her. So there is kindness everywhere."

It is a harsh confession made by the actress herself, recalling how difficult her childhood was. She surprised many saying: "Not having money is normal for me, and that's how I lived most of my life as an actress".

But her humble origins have not prevented her from becoming one of the most talented actresses of our time. After her success with 'Wilde Salomé' directed by Al Pacino, considered one of the most wonderful, complex documentary dramas of recent times, her fame hasn't stopped growing.

Many will ask: "But how did she achieve planetary success without resources?". According to the actress herself, she had to work hard to pay for her studies and she also received scholarship, funded by the great Robin Williams. But her willpower and resourcefulness was what saw her through.

Unable to receive financial support from her family, she started working in a performing arts school to receive lessons in return. Later, she managed to be admitted to the prestigious Julliard, one of the world's leading schools of art, music and performing arts. This was all thanks to a little help.

The actress herself said: "There were people that saw I was struggling as a kid and they helped me. And that’s why I ended up where I am now."

Jessica Chastain also acknowledged that her membership of Planned Parenthood, a collection of organisations in the US campaigning against abortion laws for birth control, enabled her to continue on the path to her dream.

The well-known Hollywood actress says of Planned Parenthood: "I’m the first person in my family to not be pregnant when I was 17. It had a great impact on my life because it gave me choice."

Back in 2017, she went into detail with The Irish Times about her "very difficult upbringing," saying: "I did grow up with a single mother who worked very hard to put food on our table. We did not have money... There were many nights when we had to go to sleep without eating."

During her childhood, her everyday difficulties were compounded by the absence of her biological father, Michael Monasterio, with whom she has had no relationship since birth. According to the Daily Mail, he was a 20-year-old aspiring rock musician when she was born.

According to Radar, Jessica Chastain has always publicly thanked her stepfather Michael Hastey. In 2013, her biological father died due to complications from bronchitis. According to a source who told Star Magazine (via the Daily Mail),"it broke his heart that she never mentioned his existence."

Sadly, Jessica Chastain's life was also affected by another major tragedy: her sister, Juliet, took her own life in 2003. She was only 24 years old and suffered from severe depression and drug abuse.

Fortunately, today the actress is living a dream compared to her childhood. Professionally, she's doing great, and personally she has the best husband: Count Gian Luca Passi. The two got married on 10 June 2017 in her husband's family chapel in Carbonera in the province of Treviso.

The wedding was a black-tie affair. Among the guests were Hollywood celebrities including Al Pacino, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and many others.

Today they are more in love than ever and have two daughters. Their eldest born, Juliet Passi Chastain, was born as a result of a surrogate pregnancy.

But she has not only achieved success in love. Jessica Chastain has also been appearing in some of the most relevant films in the last decade. The latest one, 'The Eyes of Tommy Faye', earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2022 Oscars.

Among the many films played by the beautiful actress are 'Interstellar' (2014), 'Molly's Game' (2017), 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' (2016), 'Ava' (2020) and 'Zero Dark Thirty' (2013) .

Her awards include the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Film for 'Zero Dark Thirty' in 2013. Most recently, she won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. We will have to wait for the Oscars to see if she manages to win the coveted golden statuette.