Hollywood stars' habits and manners are shared by sources close to them

We all know what young Hollywood is like. All you need to do is open Instagram and scroll through their feeds or watch a story and you can catch a snapshot into their personal lives within 30 seconds. The advent of reality television like Keeping Up With The Kardashians also gave audiences a real glimpse of what life is like for the rich and famous in Hollywood. But old Hollywood and the icons that came from that time such as Farrah Fawcett of the original Charlie’s Angels and Carrie Fisher of Princess Leia fame did not have their lives completely open to the public eye.
These classic stars helped to shape Hollywood and make it what it is today. So, we have compiled a list of cultural icons and some fun facts about what they were really like offstage and out of the limelight. Was that funny girl actually a bit of a diva? Or does that mustachioed gentleman actually love farming more than film? Keep reading to find out about all of your favorite icons of old.

Kim Basinger

Basinger was a huge star back in the 80s and 90s starring in the films The Natural and Batman. While she may have come off as a very confident young woman ready to take on the world, this was not, in fact, her personal reality.

She has been a long time sufferer of anxiety and has admitted having panic attacks that have left her housebound on more than one occasion. She suffers from extreme social anxiety which has made awards shows in the past difficult to attend.

Carrie Fisher

The former Princess Leia of the Star Wars franchise fame is the epitome of a Hollywood legend. She did not always have an easy go of it which is detailed in her book Wishful Drinking. This happy-go-lucky star was known for her cynical sense of humor which shines through in the dark, yet humorous portrayal of her life and her battle with addiction and depression detailed in her book.

On set, she was known for always trying to make people laugh by pulling all sorts of pranks and hijinks. If you were hungry, all you had to do was head to her trailer and she would give you a handful of junk food.

Cher

This easily recognizable diva has a secret that may come as quite a shock. When you think about her, it is always in full hair and make-up as well as some sort of accompanying sparkly tight onesie to pull the whole ensemble together. While she portrays the image of somebody incredibly put together, in reality, she is much more of a homebody.

Give her a good pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt and she is happy. This star prefers to live a much more low-key lifestyle rather than the glitz and glamor of Hollywood which is definitely a surprise.

Farrah Fawcett

When you think of Fawcett, you are probably imagining that classic picture of her in the red swimsuit, smiling that million dollar grin, and her beautiful blonde hair floating around her. Fawcett was not as carefree as that image may have portrayed her as, and actually had it written into her Charlie’s Angels contract that she finished filming for the day at 7:00 p.m. on the dot.

This was because she prioritized her family life alongside her professional life and wanted to eat dinner with her husband, Lee Majors each evening. Too bad that marriage did not last considering all the effort she put in.

Barbra Streisand

The pipes on this singer-actress are what made her famous with roles in Hello, Dolly and Funny Girl but now she is known for being quite the diva. You may be thinking she demands regular things like only red skittles in her candy bowl but no. Instead, she expects everything around her to be peach colored.

Imagine a trailer or hotel room completely decked out in peach colored items, such as towels, toilet paper, bedding, and flowers. If it is not peach, she doesn’t want it. As well, people who work for her are only allowed to respond when spoken to if she gives them leave to if not, mum’s the word.

Samuel L. Jackson

This funny guy who just seems to keep on acting has two very unique contractual obligations that he makes sure are always written in and they both have to do with his love of golf. The first is that he gets to have at least one line, where the character he is playing gets to say how much he adores golf.

The second is that no matter what the production schedule, he gets to leave the set and go play around bi-weekly wherever he is.

Liam Neeson

This Irish icon known for roles like the father in Taken may have a particular set of acting skills he utilizes, but also his very special Irish accent. Seth McFarlane of Family Guy fame decided to poke fun at it during one of the episodes and Neeson did not take that lying down.

When McFarlane cast him in his cowboy spoof A Million Ways To Die In The West he said he would only star if he got to use his real voice and not a fake American accent.

Tom Selleck

The original Magnum PI, Selleck is known for having a luscious mustache which he keeps in top form at all times. He also has an avocado farm, which is odd since he hates them and definitely does not enjoy an avocado toast in the morning.

But, during the drought, he would not let these fruit shrivel up so he procured some water by nefarious means and was fined substantially for it. Nothing is going to come between this man and his fruit.

Queen

The brainiacs that comprised Queen and the diva that was Freddie Mercury were known for having some interesting demands of the bands that toured with them. Queen itself was often focused on producing new music, and ensuring that all of their shows were amazing but that took a lot of focus.

In order to keep that focus, they would demand that their opening acts do their sound checks very quietly so as not to disturb them.

Sean Connery

This acting legend is a household name and has been for a very long time. During his James Bond days, he would often have to go on press tours where his name would be plastered across movie posters and other promotional materials.

For the film Goldfinger he decided that even though he was already the star, he needed to be sure everyone knew it by having his name a quarter bigger than every other stars’ name on the poster.

Olivia Newton-John

Famous both for her pop music and her role as Sandy in Grease the musical, Newton-John has long been in front of the flashing bulbs of Hollywood. But it is her hobby farm that she is most proud of rather than her acting career.

She has long been a bit of a green thumb, growing organic fruits and vegetables as well as raising poultry for egg production. She has become an environmental advocate in recent years and has never been known as a diva, she’s just like her character Sandy.

William Shatner

Known as the now infamous, Captain James T. Kirk from the long-running Star Trek franchise, William Shatner was not known for being easy to get along with on set.

He would often get in fights with the writers of the show over what he saw as his character’s stupidity compared to the intelligence of Spock and Scotty. He was constantly jealous of any other actor getting attention, even though he had the starring role.

Susan Dey

This lesser-known actress was very famous back in her day on the show The Partridge Family. She played Laurie but has since moved on to become an advocate for women’s issues that affect a large percentage of the American population.

She is particularly involved with making sure that resources are allocated to women’s organizations that offer safe places for those who have had to leave their homes such as the non-profit Women Helping Women.

Burt Reynolds

Everyone remembers the late Burt Reynolds sprawled out on that bearskin rug. He was the epitome of masculinity for the time and because of the clout he had in Hollywood, he was offered a lot of roles that he did not end up taking.

He was extremely selective. The part that Richard Gere plays in Pretty Woman was originally offered to him, as well as Bruce Willis’ role in Die Hard. Reynolds had to love the script and the director if he was going to do a role.

Dolly Parton

This Southern belle is known for songs like Jolene, her platinum blonde locks, curvy figure, and a voice that keeps on twanging. But one thing fans have deliberated on for a while is whether or not she is covered in tattoos.

She has gone on record to say she has tattoos, but nobody has seen them as she is covered from head to toe. The real question is, just how many tattoos is she hiding and what are they of?

Barbara Eden

This I Dream Of Jeannie star had a very unique talent that was not often seen on the sitcom. She was a bonafide lion whisperer. That’s right she met the lion that would feature on one of the episodes and decided to befriend it.

Surprisingly, it worked. The lion trusted her and any scenes they had to film together you could see that the two got along swimmingly. This was not the case for her co-star Larry Hagman. He was moved towards terror rather than fascination.

Hedy Lamarr

An Austrian film star who made it big in Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s, Hedy Lamarr did not have aspirations to become a Hollywood success but was, in fact, a part-time inventor.

With her inventor partner, George Antheil, they actually invented the idea behind Bluetooth technology and associated ones. Sadly, Antheil took all of the recognition for this invention leaving her to be remembered as an actress, which was not her true passion.

Jack Nicholson

Nicholson, who has long been a legend in Hollywood with movies like The Shining under his belt actually found out some very startling news while being interviewed by TIME.

His mother was his grandmother and his sister was his mother. A huge family secret was revealed to him by the reporter and it had been kept for 37 years by his family. It was a rather large revelation to have been made so publicly.

George Lucas

The Skywalker Ranch where famed creator and director of the Star Wars franchise resides is so big that it actually has its own fire department on the premises paid for by Lucas.

It was not public knowledge until the wildfires in California got so bad that reinforcements were being called in from everywhere, and he volunteered his team. Of course, it is called the Skywalker Fire Department, very in keeping with the name of the ranch.

Paul Newman and Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal actually grew up with Paul Newman and his family as both of their families were close friends. Newman had gotten involved with car racing, and invited young Jake to join him at the track one day.

After taking him for a whirlwind drive around the track designed to scare him, Newman looked at him and reportedly said, “This is what you won’t do.” From then on young Jake’s driving lessons were taught by Newman.

Marlon Brando

Traditionally, actors and actresses are expected to learn their lines so that they can recite them from memory. Not Marlon Brando. Instead, it was well-known that he did not memorize lines but other actors or staff would have to have his lines printed out on cue cards and leave them just visible enough for him to read them off.

Later on, as technology advanced, he would be given an earpiece to make the whole process smoother.

Aretha Franklin

This diva was all about RESPECT, and to her, nothing said respect like cash in hand. Aretha Franklin was famous for refusing to see her audience, much less go on stage until her appearance or performance fee had been handed to her in cash so she could deposit it into her handbag.

If you look at photos of her you can see the bag is usually on her arm, as she always wanted her money close to her.

Johnny Cash

Cash had some real trouble walking the line when it came to staying out of trouble with the law. He was put behind bars by the police seven times for various reasons, but this actually got the creative juices flowing for him.

He even managed to record while in prison which gave him a massive fan base, lots of material to write about, and two hit albums. This is not to say that his personal life was all sunshine and roses though, his songs dealt with some dark subjects.