His sister turned out to be his mother: Oscar-winner actor found family secret while doing movie about family deception

Hollywood icon and three time Oscar-winner actor Jack Nicholson spent nearly 40 years of his life unaware of a deeply personal family truth that mirrored the kind of dramatic plot twists found in his films. Born in 1937 in Neptune, New Jersey, Nicholson believed the woman who raised him, Ethel May, was his mother and that June, the woman he called his sister, was just that—an older sibling. But in reality, June was his biological mother, and Ethel May, his grandmother.

According to Unliad, the complex arrangement was the result of the social stigma around unwed pregnancies during that era. June was just 18 years old when she became pregnant with Nicholson. The father, identified only as Don, was a married man. In an effort to avoid public disgrace, Ethel May decided to raise the baby herself, while June was introduced to the world—and to Nicholson—as his older sister.

Early Life Shaped by a Lie
At age four, Nicholson’s ‘sister’ June left for Miami to pursue a career as a showgirl. Nicholson remained in New Jersey with Ethel May. When he turned 17, he moved to Los Angeles to reunite with June, who by then had moved west to explore opportunities in entertainment. “Since my only relative in the world was June, who was out here, I came out to look around,” Nicholson recalled in a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone.

He began his career at MGM Studios as an office assistant in the animation department, where his talent and charm quickly led to acting opportunities. But as his fame grew, so did interest in his personal life.

Revelation During Career Peak
In 1974, just as Chinatown was set to release, Time magazine prepared a profile on the actor. During the research process, the magazine’s team uncovered startling details about Nicholson’s parentage. They contacted him directly to verify findings that contradicted the actor’s understanding of his family: that June was in fact his mother and Ethel May his grandmother. They also believed his father might still be alive and residing in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

Shocked by the revelation, Nicholson reached out to a family member for clarification. According to biographer Patrick McGilligan in Jack’s Life, the actor phoned his aunt Lorraine’s husband, Shorty, saying it was the most disturbing information he had ever received. Initially, the family member denied the claim, but later admitted it was true. Sadly, by then, both June and Ethel May had died, robbing Nicholson of the chance to speak to them about the long-kept secret.

Despite the unexpected nature of the discovery, Nicholson later described the experience as “dramatic” rather than “traumatizing.” In his interview with Rolling Stone, he expressed a certain respect for the family’s ability to maintain the secret for so long. “I was very impressed by their ability to keep the secret, if nothing else,” he said, acknowledging that the situation, while unconventional, had not harmed him emotionally. “It’s done great things for me.”

Interestingly, the revelation coincided with Chinatown, a film in which Nicholson’s character unearths a disturbing family truth—adding a haunting parallel between his real and reel life. While Nicholson has rarely spoken about the matter publicly, he has jokingly referred to June as his “sister-mother” in past interviews.