Hollywood made her a star. But her childhood was a nightmare.
She was abused as a child and placed into Boston’s foster care system — a heartbreaking beginning for a woman who would eventually become one of Hollywood’s most beloved faces.
And somehow, she went from that painful childhood to a life no one could have predicted…
”I went from one hell to another”
No child should ever have to know what it feels like to be abused, taken from their home, and passed from foster family to foster family.
But that was the childhood this future Hollywood star was given.
The actress never knew where she would end up next, who would be waiting behind the door, or whether she would even be safe.
And somehow, against all odds, she went from that terrifying childhood to a life most people could only dream of.
The star we’re getting to know today was born in 1989 and grew up in East Boston.
But much of what happened during her earliest years remains unknown, with only glimpses of her childhood emerging over the years. She has described her father as “a source of love,” even though his own life was far from stable.
”He was there as much as he could,” she told Fox News.
At just 13, she was abused and removed from her home and placed into Boston’s foster care system, where she was bounced from family to family and never knew what kind of home she would end up in.
“I went from one hell to another,” she later recalled and added:
“Many nights, they’ll place you with whoever has a house open. I’ve been in crazy houses, housing projects.”
Had to sleep in a baby bunk
Some nights, the actress was terrified of the people she might be placed with.
Other times, the East Boston native was simply trying to survive.
“I was with a woman who wanted babies. So I had to sleep in a baby bunk one night.”
She was eventually sent to a girls’ home in Chelsea, Massachusetts, surrounded by girls who had their own scars and struggles.
”One girl had a knife slice from the corner of her lip up to her ear,” she remembered.
”I remember just sitting in a room with all of these girls and thinking, ‘I hope I don’t have to fight for my life every day because this is going to get exhausting.”
She later recalled the painful reality of living in a group home, surrounded by other teenagers who were all waiting for someone to give them a permanent home.
The woman who became her mentor
At just 14, she already understood the harsh truth: “Everyone would want babies, but not a 14-year-old teenager.”
Yet somehow, something began to change.
Despite everything she had been through, the star refused to let her childhood determine the rest of her life. She turned to fitness as an outlet, using it to work through her frustration while building both physical and mental strength.
At the gym, she met Kathy DeMarco, a woman who became a mentor and wanted to adopt her. DeMarco introduced the teenager to a small church, something the young girl initially thought was strange.
But after DeMarco suddenly died, the girl kept going back.
”I knew in my heart she loved it and she was such a good person.”
That relationship and the faith she discovered during those difficult years became an important part of her life.
Still, she had no easy road ahead.
At 16, she started pursuing modeling. Agencies rejected her, but she refused to give up. She began booking work on her own and eventually landed campaigns connected to major names in fashion and business.
”I just felt this is what I was supposed to be doing in my life. I felt so much passion for it,” she told Fox News.
She kept believing in herself, kept showing up, and little by little, she began to make a name for herself in the modeling world.
”My personality is naturally that of a fighter. If someone tells me no, I keep getting back up and fighting. I think that makes me more driven and gives me more fuel,” she once told upfrontNY.
A few small opportunities
Eventually, she signed with a modeling agency, appeared on the cover of Boston magazine and began building the career she had once only dreamed about.
Then, at 21, she packed up and moved to Los Angeles.
”I moved from Boston to Los Angeles, and took every opportunity that came along my way, trusting that God had a great plan for my life,” she shared.
Around the same time, acting was beginning to take hold of her. Encouraged by people she worked with in modeling, she started taking on small roles and quickly realized she had found something she truly loved.
She knew that if she wanted to take acting further, Los Angeles was where she needed to be. So she packed up and moved, determined to see where this new path could take her.
What started with a few small opportunities soon grew into a promising Hollywood career. She went on to land roles in major productions including Star Trek Into Darkness, I Can Only Imagine, Garry Marshall’s Mother’s Day, and Unbroken: Path to Redemption.
The girl who once bounced between foster homes was suddenly a star Hollywood.
But when she auditioned for what would become one of the biggest films of her career, she had no idea she was even auditioning for Star Trek.
She was simply told to show up at an office in Burbank dressed in all-black, form-fitting clothes. At the time, the project was being kept completely under wraps and was listed only as an untitled feature.
After a private photo session, she was invited to Sony Studios a few days later for a wardrobe fitting. That was when she finally realized what she had landed.
“Holy cow, this is Star Trek,” she recalled thinking when she saw the costumes.
It was a pretty surreal moment for someone who had only recently been finding her feet in Hollywood — and suddenly she was part of one of the biggest franchises in the world.
”I called my dad [Anthony Baxter] and I told him, ‘You’ll never believe what this film is.’ He was super excited and I knew nothing about Star Trek which is kind of funny”
The name behind the remarkable story
Beyond her acting career, she also began making waves on the red carpet. Her appearances at the Cannes Film Festival caught the attention of major fashion publications, with Vogue Germany even naming her among its Best Dressed stars.
And only then does the name behind this remarkable story come into focus:
Gianna Simone.
Today, the actress and model is far removed from the frightened teenager who once wondered where she would sleep and whether she would be safe.
But she hasn’t forgotten where she came from.
Simone founded the Gianna Simone Foundation, which supports abused and neglected people and animals — turning some of the darkest experiences of her childhood into a reason to help others. Simone has never publicly revealed who abused her, only describing the physical and emotional abuse she endured as a child
And despite everything she went through, she says she still believes there is a purpose behind her journey.
“I know… God has a plan and purpose for all of our lives.”
Her story isn’t simply about making it to Hollywood.
It’s about a girl who was passed from home to home, rejected and frightened — and somehow found the strength to build the life she once couldn’t imagine.
From foster care to the Hollywood red carpet, Gianna Simone’s journey is about as far from an ordinary Hollywood fairytale as you can get.
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