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Mike Tyson -

Michael Gerard Tyson, or Mike Tyson to most of us, was left in the care of his trainer, Cus D'Amato, after his mother died when he was just 16 years old.

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Mike Tyson -

Although not his biological father, D'Amato became Tyson's legal guardian and took responsibility for him. His father, Purcell Tyson, had never been in the picture.

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Courtney Love -

Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison) spent the first few years of her life in San Francisco with both her mother and father. Her parents divorced in 1970 and her mother remarried.

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Courtney Love -

When her mother divorced her second husband in 1972, the family moved to New Zealand. However, Love was soon expelled from school and sent back to Oregon to be raised by her former stepfather.

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Paul McCartney -

Beatles member Paul McCartney's mother passed away from an embolism as a complication of surgery for breast cancer when he was 14. Afterwards he was raised by his father.

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Paul McCartney -

The tragic loss of his mother was an experience that brought McCartney closer to John Lennon, whose own mother died in a car accident when he was just 17.

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Peaches Geldof -

Peaches Geldof, the second daughter of musician Bob Geldof and TV presenter Paula Yates, was raised by her father after her mother died of a drug overdose when she was 11.

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Peaches Geldof -

Tragically, Peaches suffered the same fate as her mother: she was found dead at her apartment in April 2014 and the cause of death was deemed to be an overdose.

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Madonna -

Madonna's mother sadly died of breast cancer in 1963, when the singer was just five years old. She was then raised by her father alone until he remarried in 1966.

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Madonna -

Apparently the young Madge was resentful of the fact that her father remarried and this put considerable pressure on their relationship for a number of years.

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Rosie O'Donnell -

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell also lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age. She was just four days from turning 11 when her mother passed away in 1973.

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Rosie O'Donnell -

Following her mother's death O'Donnell was raised solely by her father, Edward Joseph O'Donnell.

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Mariska Hargitay -

Actress Mariska Hargitay lost her mother, 1950s-era bombshell Jayne Mansfield, in a tragic car accident when she was just three years old.

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Mariska Hargitay -

Mariska and her two brothers were then raised by her father, Mickey Hargitay. He can't quite be called a single father, however, since he brought up the children with his third wife, Ellen Siano.

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Jane Fonda -

Former model and political activist Jane Fonda lost her mother to s u i c i d e when she was just 12 years old. Her mother was undergoing treatment at a psychiatric hospital at the time.

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Jane Fonda -

Following her mother's death, the teenage Jane Fonda was raised by her father, Henry Fonda. He did remarry, but not much is known about how involved his new wife was in raising Jane.

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Eddie Izzard -

British stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard lost her mother to cancer when she was just six years old. After that she and her older brother, Mark, were raised by their father.

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Eddie Izzard -

The death of her mother clearly had a profound effect on the comedian: in 2017 she told The Guardian, "Everything I do in life is trying to get her back."

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Aretha Franklin -

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, lived with her father after her parents separated when she was six. Her mother then passed away before she turned 10 years old.

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Bob Geldof -

Musician and political activist Bob Geldof was raised solely by his father, Robert Geldof, after his mother died of a cerebral haemorrhage when he was six years of age.

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Chaney Kley -

Actor Chaney Kley was brought up by his father after he lost his mother when he was just four years old. Kley himself was also taken too early; he died of a drug overdose at age 34.

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Princes William and Harry -

Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was 12 when their mother Diana, Princess of Wales died in a tragic car accident and they were left in the care of their father, Charles, Prince of Wales. 

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Maya Rudolph -

Actress and comedian Maya Rudolph and her brother Marc were raised by their father, Richard Rudolph, after their mother, Minnie Riperton, died of breast cancer when Maya was almost seven.

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Ian McKellen -

English actor Ian McKellen lost his mother to breast cancer when he was 12. As a teenager he was brought up by his father, who then passed away when he was just 24.

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James Ellroy -

Crime fiction author James Ellroy was left in the hands of his father when his mother was murdered in 1958. Ellroy was just 10 years old at the time of her death.

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Michelle Phillips -

Singer Michelle Phillips and her sister, Russell Ann, were brought up solely by their father. Their mother, Joyce Leone, passed away when Phillips was five years old.

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Patricia Heaton -

Actress Patricia Heaton was just 12 years old when her mother died of a brain aneurysm. From that point on the young Heaton was raised by her father, Chuck Heaton.

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Sarah Polley -

Actress and director Sarah Polley was raised by Michael Polley after her mom died when she was 11. She later found out that her birth father was not Polley but Harry Gulkin, with whom her mother had had an affair.

Sources: (Ranker) (The Guardian)

See also: Famous fathers of girls

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