# Celebrities who were major liars about their lives **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078 "2004-05-14T05:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/101 "2004-05-17T02:04:05Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > That Jackson’s youngest son has light skin and hair is no barrier to the child having a mother who self-identifies as “black.” By now I’d think that the most sheltered of people would realize that we do, indeed, range in shades from black as night to light, bright and darn near white, and, consequently, so do our children. That’s certainly true and I don’t think anybody here disputes it, but it’s neither racism nor ignorance to say that the odds are very much against a black man who was not particularly light-skinned ([MJ before surgery and whatever the hell is the true story of his skin color changed his appearance](http://jackson5ive.free.fr/)) and who had black and obviously negroid hair producing three children who are all light skinned and blonde. It defies Mendel. [Halle Berry](http://www.celebrity-exchange.com/celebs/photos23/halle-berry-1.jpg), [Jasmine Guy](http://www.smokingcelebs.com/g/jasmine.jpg), [Lenny Kravitz](http://www.lookalikes-susanscott.co.uk/New%20images/Popstars/Lenny%20Kravitz.jpg), [Eartha Kitt](http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/j/Eartha%20Kitt.jpg), [Maya Rudolph](http://www.papermag.com/stylin/fashion/shows/03spring/new_york/backstage/marc_jacobs/images/maya_rudolph.jpg),[Sydney Poitier](http://ak1.aka.eonline.com/7/1480/1218/0002/www.eonline.com/Features/Features/Springtv2001/Images/poitier.jpg) and [Lisa Bonet](http://www.lisa-bonet.konta.waw.pl/galerie/IMAGES/lisa-bonet-11.jpg) are just a few of many celebrities with one white and one black (or biracial) parent, and none of them are naturally blonde or fairskinned. (The only multiracial celebrity I can think of who was was [Peter Ustinov](http://www.zuhause3.de/_leben/2003-05/ustinov-02.jpg) , but then he was only 1/8 black). The odds of Jackson fathering three children who look uniracially white is astronomical. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/102 "2004-05-17T02:09:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > …[Sydney Poitier](http://ak1.aka.eonline.com/7/1480/1218/0002/www.eonline.com/Features/Features/Springtv2001/Images/poitier.jpg) … Sydney must have had surgery recently. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/103 "2004-05-17T02:25:54Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > Sydney must have had surgery recently. Sydney is the daughter. Sidney is the father. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/104 "2004-05-17T02:26:58Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Sydney is the daughter. Sidney is the father. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/105 "2004-05-17T02:41:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > IMDb has a LONG biography of him, maybe that’s a start… I have a friend from the Detroit area who’s said that 8 Mile really is a rough area. I take 8 Mile to work every day. The part that borders Detroit is quite seedy. Several strip clubs, and lots of run-down and closed businesses. I don’t know if Eminem really grew up in a trailer park, but there _is_ a large trailer park on the north side of 8 Mile at one point. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/106 "2004-05-17T04:45:32Z")
Long ago I read the liner notes on an \*original \* original cast recording of _I can Get it for You Wholesale_, the Broadway musical that cast an unknown Barbra Streisand in a minor part that eventually launched her to stardom. I remember reading that her bio claimed she was born in Madagascar! Of course it was total BS; she was born across the East River in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Before I posted I googled around to be sure I was not misremembering. Sure enough, I found this: …When she appeared on Broadway as Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Wholesale, her first major part, the Playbill bio stated that she had been born in Madagascar and raised in Rangoon. (Later she changed it to Zanzibar and Aruba.)… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Sparky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Saint\_Sparky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Sparky)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/107 "2004-05-17T05:41:55Z")
> [@imthjckaz](#): > > I recall hearing something similar. > > My bone of contention is that he said before he ran for Governor of California, that he was an actor. > > I’ve seen some of those movies. > He’s no actor. I remember a good quote Glenda Jackson (Double Academy Award winning actress and current MP in the British House of Commons) saying that Reagan was no actor and less of a politican (paraphrasing somewhat, but that was the gist). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/108 "2004-05-17T06:50:08Z")
I wonder if people like Glenda Jackson are letting their political opinions influence their judgement of Ronald Reagan as an actor. I hated Reagan’s presidency. On the other hand, I’ve seen many of Reagan’s movies, and if he was never a great actor, he was never a bad actor either. Occasionally he was above average in dramas like _King’s Row_ and _The Hasty Heart_, and in the romantic comedy _The Voice of the Turtle_. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/109 "2004-05-17T07:00:54Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > This isn’t really a big deal compared to everything else, but in 2002, James Marsters claimed he was 28. > > He was 40. You can kind of see it in his face, though. Not that he doesn’t look fabulous, because he does. And not that I was surprised when I read his birthdate on IMBb, because I was, a little. But he doesn’t look 28. He looks more “mature” (in an attractive and very fabulous way). I can definitely believe that he’s 40. One of those scary, well-preserved 40s, like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp and so forth. Frankly, I think if he had simply claimed he was 33 then perhaps no fans would have rooted out his birth certificate. Or not. I don’t know how far these fans will go. Re: Ronald Reagan. He wasn’t a _bad_ actor. He was certainly adequate. I thought he did perfectly fine in _King’s Row_ as well. To say he was “no actor” was reaching. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/110 "2004-05-17T07:09:39Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Hey, you can’t dismiss that part entirely. I’ve accidentally cursed dozens of people in my lifetime. Only a few have died, though. > > Your list of “Christian ex-occultist hoaxsters” reminded me of **Jeff Fenholt** , some mullethead who made the rounds on Christian talk shows in the early 90’s and claimed to be the lead singer for Black Sabbath. It turns out that he did audition for the band (and even recorded some demos, which proved at least that much of his story) but in no way was ever considered as a member. IIRC, Black Sabbath was going through their guest vocalist of the week phase (at one point, it seemed like Sabbath consisted of Tony Iommi and whatever bunch of randomly selected musicians he happened to be haning out with on any given evening), . Hell, I remember after Ian Gillan split for the Deep Purple reunion, there was a short article in _Hit Parader_ announcing their new front man, a gorgeous hunk of yum named David Donato. He never actually recorded or performed with the band, and was gone a few minutes after the publicity photo was taken. So it would have been an eays mistake for Jeff to make. OTOH, I actually saw him on one of those talk shows (I think it was the 700 Club), his account of his Salvation Experience went something like… He was touring with Black Sabbath, and felt the need to go to church, and, when the altar call was given, he went forward to Get Saved, the preacher recognized him and told him to get out of his church. I thought this was unlikely- any Fund’ist preacher worth his salt would consider getting Black Sabbath’s lead singer saved to be a prime catch and great publicity for his church. Anyhoo, he went back to his drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle for another year or so, then one day when he was having some remodelling done on his house (he had completed his stint with _Jesus Christ, Superstar_ at this point,) and the head of the construction crew, an Italian guy with many scars as he, and most of his crew, were former steet thugs who had Found God, cornered him in the kitchen and said, “You played the role of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to meet the real Jesus Christ?” So, apparently ol’ Jeff has given inconsistent accounts of how he Got Saved. Lauren Stratford, on the other hand, seems to be a real piece of work. The alleged Michelle was apparently a highly suggestible woman who fell into the hands of a what members of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation like to call a “therp” who had her remembering all kinds of weird shit that never happened. She eventually divorced her husband and married the therp. Stratford seems not to have benefit of this excuse. She basically saw the then current craze of people supposedly coming out of Satanic cults, finding God, and making it big on the Christian talk show/bookstore circuit and decided to cash in. I actually read her book _Satan’s Underground_, and the whole thing rang false from top to bottom. It’s a truly bizarre read. She describes sacrificing an infant (up, down, went the knife) but does not give any details about who the baby had originally belonged to. In the last chapter of the book, she states that the baby was in fact hers, and that she had given birth to and sacrificed two other children. Nowhere in the book does she mention having been pregnant. People who knew her during the alleged Satanic Captivity phase of her life say that she was attending college at the time, and that they had never seen her pregnant. I think some enterprising sociology, psychology, or religious studies student could have a potential thesis on the subject of these fake ex-Satanists. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/111 "2004-05-17T09:44:06Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > - In 1991, Madonna concieved a child with model/actor Tony Ward. She was in love with him and decided to have the child. A few weeks later, serious defects were detected in the fetus, coupled with complications in the pregnancy. Dr. Randy Harris, an OB at Cedars-Sinai who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, advised that she terminate the pregnancy. She thought about it for 3 days, then agreed. Her publicist denied that she was ever pregnant. A reporter impersonating a health care worker was able to get Madonna to discuss the pregnancy in question with him directly (Andersen, 1992. Victor, 2001. Morton, 2001). BUSTED! > > - In November of 1997, Madonna told boyfriend Andy Bird that she was pregnant. She later terminated the pregnancy. Her publicist denied the whole can of worms, although [Andy tells a different story](http://www.madonnalicious.com/features/andybird2.html). I’m unable to find it on Goolge now, but I once saw a list of pro-life celebrities and Madonna was on it. Wonder where they got that idea? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/112 "2004-05-17T10:28:09Z")
And Mata Hari had no more of an exotic background than I have. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/113 "2004-05-17T10:31:59Z")
I was also deeply bothered by a journalist impersonating a medical person in order to get dirt on Madonna. If that isn’t illegal, it oughta be. And I’ll bet you twenty bucks that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/114 "2004-05-17T12:20:43Z")
Jeff Fenholt wrote a book about his coversion “Out of Darkness into the Light.” It usually goes for huge bucks on ebay. I found a used copy for $3, and the thing is totally unreadable. Now I have to read the damn thing and find the inaccuracies. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/115 "2004-05-17T13:06:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I can’t believe no one has mentioned the times that, while president, Ronald Reagan told stories, supposedly about his own life, that were in fact scenes from movies he had appeared in. I can’t recall any specifics at the moment, but I’m pretty sure it happened more than once or twice. > > I could go into other non-autobiographical lies Reagan told, but this isn’t the Pit. My mom worked for Warner Bros. when Reagan was in Hollywood. She said he was thought to be handsome but insipid. They used to laugh about how he’d wear his military uniform (really a movie costume) all the time, trying to impress the girls. I found a book in the library once (I thought about stealing it, and I should have) by Liberace - a photo book of the rooms in his house. Oh man, great book. In it, he said that the only reason he never got married was because he had yet to meet a woman as wonderful as his mother. I don’t know, maybe it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/116 "2004-05-17T14:39:11Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > Ugh…why do people do this? I remember Douglas Adams telling the UL about the punk at the train station eating his cookies and then when he got up to catch his train he picked up his newspaper and there was HIS package of cookies. He was terribly bad at telling it and by the time he was finished Dave was like “yes, yes…that’s nice.” I would’ve expected Douglas Adams to have an actual interesting story about his real life to tell - or at the very least make up something original! I may be wrong, but I could swear it was Micheal Palin telling that story, not D.A. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/117 "2004-05-17T18:14:46Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > I’m unable to find it on Goolge now, but I once saw a list of pro-life celebrities and Madonna was on it. Wonder where they got that idea? They probably meant [this one](http://www.geocities.com/reginamundi77/image40.html). She’s pretty famous, too. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/118 "2004-05-17T18:20:35Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#): > > I was also deeply bothered by a journalist impersonating a medical person in order to get dirt on Madonna. If that isn’t illegal, it oughta be. And I’ll bet you twenty bucks that it is. Probably. Us fans don’t like it any more than you do. Most of our web communities have rules against posting personal information about her, even pictures of her children. Just because we’re “fanatics”, doesn’t mean that we condone invading her privacy. We don’t like being lied to, either, but that doesn’t necessarily interfere with her right to privacy. A simple “we don’t comment on wild speculation”, or “there is no proof of that”, would suffice. No lying necesary. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/119 "2004-05-17T20:20:16Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > That’s certainly true and I don’t think anybody here disputes it, but it’s neither racism nor ignorance to say that the odds are very much against a black man who was not particularly light-skinned ([MJ before surgery and whatever the hell is the true story of his skin color changed his appearance](http://jackson5ive.free.fr/)) and who had black and obviously negroid hair producing three children who are all light skinned and blonde. It defies Mendel. I’m confused here, **Sampiro**. MJ never claimed that his two older children had a black mother. Their mom is [Debbie Rowe](http://www.mjackson.de/galerie/michael/familie/images/debbie10.jpg). Who is blond and blue-eyed. As for the newest kid: > [@](#): > > “I used a surrogate mother and my own sperm cells. She doesn’t know me and I don’t know her,” Jacko told Martin Bashir. “I didn’t care what race she was as long as she was healthy and her vision was good. And her intellect - I wanted to know how intelligent she is.” He later added that he _thinks_ she is black. (Which is doubtful considering the alabast-pink little legs we all saw dangled over the balcony). But to make things interesting, back in January, Debbie Rowe made the news claiming that Jackson wasn’t the kids’ father at all and is seeking full custody… So, Og knows what’s really going on there! But her certaily never claimed that Debbie Rowe was a black woman. He just said he thinks the one’s mother may have been black. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078/120 "2004-05-17T20:38:58Z")
Walter Matthau made up his original last name, his ancestry, and most of his exploits before entering acting. In this case, however, he appears to have made it up as a joke, unlike most of the people already mentioned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-who-were-major-liars-about-their-lives/245078.md?page=7)