HOLLYWOOD—One of the saddest endings to 2016 was the death of Miss Debbie Reynolds. I was in total disbelief and shock. I spoke to Miss Reynolds a few years ago on the phone, and she was one of the most heart-warming, humble, down to earth person I ever spoke to. Miss Reynolds grief for her daughter, Carrie Fisher leads many people to believe that, yes, you can die of a broken heart.
In fact, there is some truth to the saying. It’s been well documented in the scientific literature, according to David Friedman, MD, director of heart failure services at Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital in New York. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine that included more than 30,000 elderly people found that the risk of heart attack and stroke ( which reportedly Miss Reynolds may have suffered) more than doubled in the 30 days following a partner’s death, compared to people whose partner was still alive.
The truth of the matter is there is no stronger bond than mother and child. Granted, there may be occasional disagreements, misunderstanding, however, no love is ever stronger. According to published reports, they were estranged for a decade, however, the pair repaired their bond and became so close in later life that they moved next door to each other and even filmed an HBO documentary, scheduled to air in March, about their relationship.
Another famous mother and daughter is Melanie Griffith who shot to fame in the film “Working Girl,” while her daughter Dakota Johnson plays Anastasia Steele in the racy film of the book titled “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The pair made headlines back at the 2015 Academy Awards after an intensely awkward carpet moment where Griffith admitted she had not seen her daughter’s performance in the film, and Johnson snapped, “Alright! You dont have to see it. Jesus Christ.” Melanie Griffith, whose mother is Tippi Hedren, must be super proud. The three generations are simply beautiful.
Then you have the beautiful Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, who starred in the movie “First Wives Club.” The film is about divorced women and what they do after the divorce. There is even a cameo appearance by Ivana Trump, the President-Elect first wife. The mother-daughter duo are simply magnificent.
Another mother-daughter actress combo, best known for her role in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Psycho,” is the late Janet Leigh, who is the mother of actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Actress Natasha Richardson who died in a skiing accident back in 2009, at the age of 45 was the daughter of theatre legend Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, and she was the wife of actor Liam Neeson. After Richardson’s death her mother, a six-time Oscar nominee who had lost her brother and sister the same year, spoke of “both glorying and grieving.” You’re grieving because you haven’t got them any more, and you’re glorying because you’re taking in what a gift each of them was,” she said.
Who could forget about the great Judy Garland? Her daughter Liza Minelli, had a complex relationship. Minelli reportedly believed her mother was jealous of her professionally, and struggled through Garland’s drug and alcohol abuse and 23 suicide attempts. Garland yearned to be a good parent and sought therapy to avoid repeating what she saw as her mother’s mistakes.
Then you have the actress Blythe Danner, known for her co-starring role with Robert De Niro in the “Meet the Parents” franchise, and has an Oscar-winning daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow. Danner hopes that Paltrow returns to acting, as the children get older.
The most toxic mother-daughter relationship was the screen siren Joan Crawford and her adopted daughter, Christina, who would go on to become a TV actress. One of the five children adopted by Crawford, Christina wrote a 1978 memoir titled “Mommie Dearest,” in which she branded the actress a violent, drink-addled abuser who was more concerned with celebrity than her family. The book spent 42 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
Christina said in 2008: “It was hypocrisy of it that was so difficult. People fantasized about who or what I was; that I had this privileged, wealthy, film-star family life. I didn’t have any of that.” Two of her other adopted children, twin sisters Cathy and Cindy, have insisted that their mother was a firm but loving parent.
Just a few days into the New Year, and the fans can’t stop talking about Mariah Carey. Her disastrous performance on New Year’s Eve- with the pop diva’s camp blaming her performance on “sabotage” by the TV show’s producer. Her camp is saying that they let her on stage -with malfunctioning sound gear.
Rose’s Scoop: Singer Janet Jackson at the age 50 gave birth to her first child, a baby boy this week.
