Jessica Chastain details how tough childhood living 'without enough food and facing eviction' left her 'feeling invisible' as she poses for ELLE Spain
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Jessica Chastain has detailed how her tough childhood living 'without enough food and facing eviction' left her 'feeling invisible' in a new interview.
The actress, 48, spoke in a candid profile piece with ELLE Spain on Tuesday where she discussed the poverty in her early life and how she 'lived in extreme situations'.
She was raised by her single mother Jerri in Sacramento who struggled to feed her five kids while having to move around different homes.
Despite her difficult circumstances growing up she has gone on to have an incredible career - sparked by a stint at the local arts school.
Speaking with ELLE about feminism she said: 'It's always been present in my life. And maybe it's due to my childhood: being raised by single mothers, living in extreme situations where we often didn't even have enough to eat or faced eviction.
'I remember the feeling of being invisible, of feeling like society didn't see us, as if our lives didn't matter. I couldn't accept how my grandmother was treated, the burdens and responsibilities placed on her without anyone acknowledging her.
Jessica Chastain has detailed how her tough childhood living 'without enough food and facing eviction' left her 'feeling invisible' in a new interview
The actress, 48, spoke in a candid profile piece with ELLE Spain on Tuesday where she discussed the poverty in her early life and how she 'lived in extreme situations' (seen as a child with her mother)
'Inequality was everywhere: in wages, in opportunities, in education, in access to work. From a very young age, I was taught that this wasn't fair, and that idea sank in so deeply that it became part of who I am.
'When I see a form of discrimination, I can't stay silent. My voice comes out; I can't help it. It's what drives me, and it will be an integral part of my work.'
She looked stunning for the ELLE shoot, which included one striking black and white shot and showed her posing up a storm in a flowery maxi dress.
In 2022 Jessica also opened up about her upbringing in a poverty-stricken home - admitting that she 'grew up with a lot of resentment' because of their difficult circumstances.
The star - who married into an Italian noble family in 2017 when she tied the knot with her husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo - shared details about her childhood as she admitted that many people 'expect' her to have been brought up in the same privileged position that she now holds.
She told The Sunday 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 added: 'I grew up with a lot of resentment, because we didn’t have things, like even food.'
But while Chastain - who earns multi-million dollar paychecks for her movie roles - now enjoys a life of wealth and fame, she said that she still gets 'angry' thinking about the fact that there are still people struggling to make ends meet, just as she did during her childhood.
'So because I come from that place, I know what it's like,' she explained.
Speaking with ELLE about feminism she said: 'It's always been present in my life. And maybe it's due to my childhood: being raised by single mothers, living in extreme situations'
She added: 'I remember the feeling of being invisible, of feeling like society didn't see us, as if our lives didn't matter'
She looked stunning for the ELLE shoot, which included one striking black and white shot and showed her posing up a storm in a flowery maxi dress
She was raised by her single mother Jerri in Sacramento who struggled to feed her five kids while having to move around different homes
'And it makes me angry. And I don't [want] anyone else to be denied anything. In terms of a voice, being seen, being acknowledged and valued.'
That year Chastain made headlines after it was revealed that she fought for her fellow female co-stars on movie The 355, which also features the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger and Fan Bingbing, to all earn equal pay.
Her determination to speak out on behalf of her fellow leading ladies was sparked by the support she received throughout her childhood, when she attended a local performing arts school in California - something she was only able to do with the help of people 'who saw she was struggling'.
According to the actress, who now has two children of her own with her husband, her family was unable to afford the tuition for the school, however staff allowed her to work there so that she could pay her way.
'There were people that saw I was struggling as a kid and they helped me,' she said. 'And that's why I ended up where I am now.'
Following her stint at the local arts school, Chastain - whose mother gave birth to her when she was just 16 - went on to land a spot at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, which she was able to pay for with the help of scholarship, which was funded by the late actor Robin Williams.
The Sacramento native went on to reveal that she is the first person in her family 'not be pregnant when she was 17', claiming it 'gave her a choice' that those before her didn't have.
In November 2017, she revealed to the Evening Standard that her mother used to 'steal food' at a local store because she didn't have enough money to feed her kids.
'We stole food at the store because we didn’t have any money,' the actress shared. 'And some people knew she was doing it but didn’t stop her.
'So there is kindness everywhere. We’re okay now because people were protecting her.'
She married into an Italian noble family through husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo (pictured together in 2019)
Despite her difficult circumstances growing up she has gone on to have an incredible career - sparked by a stint at the local arts school
