Celebrity parents: Quirky things you didn't know

Hello! Canada Magazine just came out with Vol. 1 of their Little Book of Celebrity Trivia (on stands now!), and they’ve got tons of fun facts about pretty much every celebrity out there — including some of our favourite celeb parents.

From Angelina Jolie‘s odd pregnancy cravings to Matthew McConaughey‘s bizarre phobias, here are some fun and quirky celeb-parent facts straight from Hello! Canada‘s hot new special edition.

Note: You can purchase The Little Book of Celebrity Trivia online HERE!

“Mark Wahlberg regrets his multiple tattoos, from Bob Marley on his shoulder to Sylvester the Cat making succotash of Tweety Bird on his ankle. He has brought his children along to see the painful removal process. ‘I don’t want my kids getting tattoos,’ he explains” (p. 141).

Well, that’ll definitely teach ’em. And, Tweety? Really? Huh!

Read more: Mark Wahlberg at the beach with his family>

“Even before he accepted an Academy Award, it was clear that Matt Damon was a crowd-pleaser. In his teens the Boston native would perform breakdancing routines in Harvard Square for money” (p. 19).

Breakdancing? Matt Damon? Who’d have thought?! You love him even more now, don’t you?

Read more: Celebrities who have lots of kids>

“Someone asked me about tighty whities the other day, and I love them. They’re comfortable. I think they feel great, especially when you’re playing soccer.” (David Beckham, p. 128)

Briefs: David Beckham, Tom Cruise, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Bublé
Boxers: Brad Pitt, Mark Wahlberg
Boxer-briefs or both: Hugh Jackman, Matt Damon

Read more: Top 20 best-dressed celebrity dads>

Mariah Carey‘s “real and rumoured” dressing-room requests include: “20 white kittens and 100 doves; $200 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon; two dozen white roses and vanilla aromatherapy candles; no busy patterns in the living room space; room heated to 24° C” (p. 29).

Umm, that’s a lot of white kittens…and doves.

And the award for most expensive red-carpet dress ever goes to…Cate Blanchett! The actress donned a $200,000 Armani gown to the 2007 Oscars (p. 130).

Check out the gown HERE!

When she was pregnant, Angelina Jolie craved “onion rings with mustard, followed by chocolates” (p. 50).

Uhh, yum? (I shouldn’t talk — I craved olives and pineapple…together. What did/do you crave?)

“The True Blood star was just 11 when she won the Best Supporting Actress award for The Piano in 1993. The second-youngest winner ever, the Winnipeg resident stood for several seconds before uttering a shocked ‘Thank you’” (p. 59).

Did you know Paquin had Canadian roots? She was actually born in Canada but moved to New Zealand when she was a child. Of course, now her biggest role is mom to twins Charlie and Poppy!

Read more: Celebrity parents of multiples>

Matthew McConaughey is afraid of revolving doors and tunnels, and fellow dad, Orlando Bloom, is afraid of pigs (p. 158).

I Googled it: Fear of pigs is often called “swinophobia”; fear of revolving doors and tunnels are considered forms of claustrophobia or agoraphobia, or “orbitagoraphobia.”

Read more: Older dads: Celebrities we love>

Tom Cruise ranked No. 1. as the highest earning actor in 2012 (incl. salaries, back-end and related payments – via Forbes) with $75 million for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; Robert Downey Jr. came in second with $50 million for Iron Man 3 (p. 64).

Of the top-10 earning actresses, Sandra Bullock came in third with $25 million for The Blind Side and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; Angelina Jolie took fourth with $20 million for Kung Fu Panda 2; Charlize Theron fifth with $18 million for Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus; Julia Roberts sixth with $15 million for Mirror, Mirror and Larry Crowne; and Sarah Jessica Parker seventh with $15 million in royalties (p. 64).

“Before he rose to fame as a Hollywood bad boy, Colin Farrell taught line dancing in a night club in Limerick, Ireland. That’s where he caught the attention of a music manager who was assembling the boy band Boyzone. But when his audition failed to hit a high note he was axed from the lineup” (p. 19). 

Woah! Wonder what ever came of Boyzone, anyway. Actually, they’ve been a pretty big deal in the UK. 

“Natalie Portman has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard and is fluent in five languages” (p. 149).

Smart lady! Her son’s name, Aleph, is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. 

Read more: Celebrity baby names: Meanings and origins>

“Kiefer Sutherland named his daughter Sarah after good friend and former roommate Sarah Jessica Parker” (p. 50). 

Who knew they were such close buds?