Jack Nicholson and his estranged daughter Tessa Gourin may not have a close relationship. However, they have at least one thing in common – a shared love of acting.
The 28-year-old is an aspiring actress and one of the 85-year-old actor’s six children. He has never publicly spoken about their relationship.
She shared her experience growing up as Jack‘s daughter during a recent interview.
Read more about Tessa Gourin’s experience with Jack Nicholson…
“From a very young age, my mother told me not to tell anyone that I have this famous dad,” Tessa shared with The Daily Beast. “I knew he was powerful and Daddy Warbucks-level rich, so I kind of equated my life to being like Orphan Annie’s.”
She noted that her dad paid for her education but “wasn’t interested” in having a relationship despite her mother’s attempts.
“When you’re a child, you don’t have a choice where you’re going, so if your mom is pushing you on someone who’s technically your father and he agrees to see you for anywhere between one hour and a couple of days, that’s where you’re going to go. I don’t know this person very well, we’ll just say that,” she recalled of her childhood.
Tessa told the outlet that she had never received “a concrete answer” about why her father was so absent from her life.
“I formed my own opinion. He’s a complicated person, and I think my mom fights her own demons, and with the combination of the two, I was simply collateral damage,” she said.
Although they don’t have a relationship, Tessa did inherit her father’s love of acting, sharing memories of herself putting on shows as a child. Despite that, she was at one point hesitant to pursue a career in the industry.
“I was afraid people would think I was tacky or that I was riding off his coattails,” she said, at the height of the “Nepo Baby” debate. What changed? “But this person doesn’t want me in his life, so how would you use that to your benefit?”
See who else has commented on the “Nepo Baby” debate in Hollywood.
