IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Hugh Jackman shares rare pic of him with his mom

The 52-year-old Hollywood star posed alongside his "mum" Grace in an Instagram photo.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman on Monday shared a photo of himself with his mother, simply captioning it, "Mum."David M. Benett / Getty Images

Hugh Jackman is all smiles in a rare pic with his mom, Grace.

The 52-year-old "X-Men" franchise star posed alongside Grace, who's seen grinning right back at him, in a photo he shared Monday on Instagram. In his caption, the actor simply wrote, "Mum."

Jackman has opened up in the past about his relationship with Grace, who abandoned him and his four older siblings when he was only 8.

During an interview with "60 Minutes Australia" while promoting his 2001 thriller “Swordfish,” Jackman recalled how he felt after Grace returned to her native England, leaving her children in the care of their father, Christopher, in the family home in Sydney, Australia.

"I thought she'd come back," said the actor, whose parents emigrated with their kids from England to Australia in 1967. (Jackman was born the following year.)

Jackman and his brothers and sisters leaned on each other to get through the ordeal. "There's five of us — at the time, there was five kids, and so we kind of pulled on that together," he said.

Although his mom's leaving caused him pain when he was younger, the actor said he eventually healed, and that he and Grace now have a relationship that's "very good."

"I'm not someone who's wallowed a lot in my family past. I don't feel like a victim. ... I feel very blessed actually in many ways," he said.

In a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jackman spoke again about his childhood, explaining the "difficulties" that Grace experienced.

"To be in Australia at that point, with my father working hard, I think Mom just felt incredibly isolated," he said, adding that the family's move from England to Australia took a toll on Grace.

"Fairly soon, she had difficulties. She was in the hospital a long time after I was born. She had very bad postpartum depression. I’m guessing it lasted years because I remember she used to go off for little periods. I think she was feeling trapped," said Jackman.

Grace returned to the U.K. after her own mother became sick, Jackman said, adding that he remembered his father praying for his wife to return.

The "Les Miserables" star also recalled being afraid to be home alone as a boy after Grace moved away.

"I was terrified because I was the first one home every day," he said. "I used to walk home from school and wait outside. I just wouldn’t go in."

At 13, Jackman finally realized his mother was never returning when his father traveled to England in an effort to win her back.

"Dad went off to England to bring her back, but by this point she was married to someone else, with a kid," he said. "It was really complicated. So when Dad arrived back — not three weeks later, as planned, but five days later — I just knew. I was old enough to go, 'This is not happening.'"