John Travolta shot to international stardom with iconic roles in films like Saturday Night Fever (1977), which launched his career to new heights. His fame continued to rise with his unforgettable performance in Grease.
Born in 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey, Travolta seemed destined for a life in the spotlight. As the youngest in his family, he had big dreams and took the bold step of dropping out of high school to pursue his passion for acting—a risk that paid off tremendously.
Over the years, John has appeared in numerous acclaimed films, including Two of a Kind (1983), Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995)—which earned him a Golden Globe—Broken Arrow (1996), Wild Hogs (2007), and Gotti (2018), among many others.
In 1991, John married actress Kelly Preston, whom he met while she was still in another relationship. Kelly later revealed that she had been unhappy in her previous marriage and knew she wasn’t with the right person. The couple shared nearly 30 years of marriage before Kelly tragically passed away from breast cancer in July 2020.
Together, John and Kelly had three children: Jett, born in 1992; Ella Bleu, born in 2000; and Benjamin, born in 2010. Sadly, their eldest son, Jett, who had been diagnosed with autism, passed away in 2009 due to complications from seizures. The loss was devastating for John, but he remained a devoted father to his two other children.
Ella Bleu has followed in her parents’ footsteps, pursuing a career in acting. She has expressed deep gratitude for the support and guidance they provided throughout her journey.
After Kelly’s passing, Ella shared heartfelt tributes to her mother, describing her as the best person she had ever known and expressing immense love and gratitude. Her bond with her father is equally strong—she often refers to him as the most important person in her life.
John frequently expresses pride in Ella on social media. In one particularly touching post, he shared a video of the two of them dancing in memory of Kelly, a nod to Kelly’s love for dancing with her husband.
The close-knit relationship between John and Ella is a heartwarming reminder of the strength of family.
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She was frequently beaten by her husband, so she left the house with her kids.
Cara Brookins was left emotionally broken when her second abusive marriage ended. She got well by building her own house, which she did after seeing YouTube videos on how to do it.
The mother of four started looking for a new house in 2007 after being forced to sell the Bryant, Arkansas, home she and her soon-to-be ex shared. At the moment, though, anything the computer programmer analyst could afford was too tiny. Brookins too felt obliged to take action to bring her family back together. She admits, “But I had no idea what that should be.”
Brookins, therefore, came up with the idea to build her own house from the ground up. According to Brookins, 45, “If anyone was in our situation, they wouldn’t do this.” “No one else viewed it this way, and now that I think about it, I understand it sounds crazy.”
One acre of property cost Brookins $20,000, and she obtained a building credit for about $150,000. She then started watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do things like run a gas line, build a wall, lay a foundation, and install plumbing.
Her children, ages 2 to 17, helped her throughout the nine-month construction of the 3,500-square-foot home. At the time, Drew, who was 15 years old, helped Brookins make the preparations. Jada, who was 11 at the time, transported water from a neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She then combined the water with 80-pound sacks of concrete to create the mortar for the foundation.
It felt impossible the entire time, according to Brookins, who worked when the kids were in school. After school, Brookins drove her family to the five-mile-away construction site where she worked late into the night on the new house.
YouTube videos previously were vague and provided numerous solutions to a task. Brookins employed a part-time firefighter with building experience for $25 per hour to help with some of the more challenging tasks. She remembers, “He was a step ahead of us in knowledge.”
On March 31, 2009, Brookins and her kids moved into the five-bedroom home. She gave it the name Inkwell Manor in recognition of her desire to become a writer.
In the years afterwards, Brookins has written numerous middle grade and young adult books. She has also written a biography titled Rise: How a House Built a Family, which will be released on January 24.
Building the house helped Brookins emerge from her depression. We were ashamed that our best option was to construct our own shelter, Brookins adds. “We weren’t really proud of it,” In the end, it proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.
She says, “You can do anything you set your mind to if I, a 110 pound computer programmer, can build a complete house.” Choose one goal and stay with it. Find the big thing you want to do, move slowly in that direction, and take those who also need healing with you. That has a lot of influence.
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