The Truth About Jessica Chastain's Tragic Childhood

When one thinks of Jessica Chastain, two things usually pop into mind — the strong, outspoken females she portrays on the big screen, and her real-life passion for sociopolitical activism. In the wake of disgraced Hollywood honcho Harvey Weinstein's 2017 sexual misconduct scandal, Chastain was one of the most vocal advocates of the #MeToo movement. "I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment for it to happen again," Chastain tweeted at the time.

Chastain has also campaigned for equitable pay amongst her industry's women and their male counterparts. Once sitting on the advisory board of the Time's Up advocacy group — which disbanded in September 2021 amidst in-organization problems, per Variety – the Hollywood powerhouse recently championed equal pay for her female co-stars in "The 355." "The actresses are all owners of the film," Chastain told ET. "We raised the money independently. We made it without a studio, without a studio system, and we made it for a fraction of what a film like this would normally cost, so it was really exciting to bring this into the world in that way." 

Chastain's empowerment of other women is even more commendable given her tumultuous early childhood.

Although she attended the Juilliard School for drama and is married to Italian nobleman Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, Jessica Chastain grew up in a much different, harsher reality. As she shared with The Times in January, Chastain was raised amidst abject poverty. "I don't talk about it much, but it was really ... not what you would expect," Chastain said. "When people see me, I think they expect a different background than I have." Chastain revealed that lacking material things "like even food," she "grew up with a lot of resentment."

The actor previously spoke in 2017 to the Evening Standard about how her mother sometimes resorted to feeding her family of five kids (via the Daily Mail). "We stole food at the store because we didn't have any money," Chastain confessed, adding, "and some people knew she was doing it but didn't stop her. So there is kindness everywhere." She added, "We're okay now because people were protecting her." 

It's a kindness Chastain fully intends on paying forward. "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," she told The Times. "So because I come from that place, I know what it's like. And it makes me angry," she continued. "And I don't [want] anyone else to be denied anything. In terms of a voice, being seen, being acknowledged and valued."