MARSHALL MATHER'S EARLY CHILDHOOD (SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFO)
Marshall was born in St. Joseph, Missouri (near Kansas City) to parents Deborah "Debbie" Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers II, and spent most of his childhood moving back and forth between Kansas City, and suburban Detroit, including Warren. His father had abandoned the family before Marshall turned two years old, and the two have not had contact since, save some rejected attempts by Marshall's father to contact Marshall after his rise to fame. Constantly moving from home to home, he frequently changed schools, often finding himself to be an outcast in the new communities, and frequently fell victim to bullying. An assault by schoolmate DeAngelo Bailey that left Marshall hospitalized was the most notable such incident, which Marshall would later recount in greatly exaggerated form on the track "Brain Damage" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999). The song prompted legal action by the assailant, with accusations of libel and privacy infringement, which were eventually dismissed in court.
His childhood was further marred by his family's meager financial status, which was the primary reason for the continuous moving, during which Marshall and his mother Debbie would often find themselves living in public housing, mobile homes, and under the care of relatives, such as Marshall's great-aunt Edna, whom he mentions in "Evil Deeds" (''Encore''). During this time, Debbie was legally taking the prescription drugs Vicodin and Valium, though Marshall later claimed in numerous interviews and songs that she was abusing the drugs, to which Debbie retaliated with a lawsuit pressing defamation charges (see below). In the song "Cleaning Out My Closet" (The Eminem Show, 2002), Mathers also accuses his mother of having Munchausen syndrome, adding that "my whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't... it makes you sick to your stomach, doesn't it?". This was not the first time someone had suggested Debbie had the disorder; a social worker had made similar comments following a 1996 investigation of her mistreatment of Nathan Samra-Mathers, her second child.
His childhood was further marred by his family's meager financial status, which was the primary reason for the continuous moving, during which Marshall and his mother Debbie would often find themselves living in public housing, mobile homes, and under the care of relatives, such as Marshall's great-aunt Edna, whom he mentions in "Evil Deeds" (''Encore''). During this time, Debbie was legally taking the prescription drugs Vicodin and Valium, though Marshall later claimed in numerous interviews and songs that she was abusing the drugs, to which Debbie retaliated with a lawsuit pressing defamation charges (see below). In the song "Cleaning Out My Closet" (The Eminem Show, 2002), Mathers also accuses his mother of having Munchausen syndrome, adding that "my whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't... it makes you sick to your stomach, doesn't it?". This was not the first time someone had suggested Debbie had the disorder; a social worker had made similar comments following a 1996 investigation of her mistreatment of Nathan Samra-Mathers, her second child.
EMINEM'S LIFE BEFORE FAME
Before dropping out of Lincoln High School Warren as a 9th grader at the age of 17 (after failing ninth grade three times), Marshall made a number of significant acquaintances at the school. This included fellow rapper Proof, who was to become one of his closest friends, the Runyon Avenue Soldiers, and future wife Kimberly Ann "Kim" Scott, with whom he soon developed a long-term relationship. When Kim became pregnant, this further increased Marshall's drive to succeed through concern over the welfare of his new family. He discusses this in "Never Far" (Infinite, 1996), saying "I got a baby on the way, I don't even got a car...I still stay with my moms...we gotta make some hit records or something because I'm tired of being broke..." When the Infinite album failed to generate the revenue and acclaim he had hoped for, and Kim ended their relationship, preventing him from seeing his newborn child, Marshall decided to take his own life. However, his suicide attempt using an overdose of Tylenol analgesics failed, and Marshall resumed his efforts to succeed in the music industry and reconcile with Kim. He ultimately succeeded in doing both, marrying Kim on June 14, 1999 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The couple's daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, born December 25, 1995 would grow to become an important part of Marshall's life, as he became dedicated to giving her everything he himself was deprived of in his childhood, including a father figure and financial security. He would go on to mention her extensively in some of his songs, including "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999), which takes the form of a one-sided dialogue with Hailie, as well as "Hailie's Song" (The Eminem Show, 2002), "Mockingbird" (''Encore'', 2004), and "When I'm Gone" (Curtain Call: The Hits, 2005), all of which are proclamations of his love and dedication to her. In addition, he samples her voice in the less serious upbeat track "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (The Eminem Show, 2002).
The couple's daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, born December 25, 1995 would grow to become an important part of Marshall's life, as he became dedicated to giving her everything he himself was deprived of in his childhood, including a father figure and financial security. He would go on to mention her extensively in some of his songs, including "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999), which takes the form of a one-sided dialogue with Hailie, as well as "Hailie's Song" (The Eminem Show, 2002), "Mockingbird" (''Encore'', 2004), and "When I'm Gone" (Curtain Call: The Hits, 2005), all of which are proclamations of his love and dedication to her. In addition, he samples her voice in the less serious upbeat track "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (The Eminem Show, 2002).
EMINEM'S LEGAL TROUBLES
The year 1999 was marked by a rise to celebrity status for Marshall, but it also ushered the beginning of his numerous legal troubles. The first of these was his mother Debbie's lawsuit against him in September of that year. The lawsuit was motivated by comments on Debbie's drug use made by Marshall on the song "My Name Is" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999), specifically the lyric "Ninety-nine percent of my life I was lied to/I just found out my mom does more dope than I do", and similar accusations in numerous interviews. Debbie refuted the statements and demanded more than $10 million in damages for defamation in two lawsuits. After rumors of Debbie dropping the suit, she and Marshall reached a settlement in 2001 for $25,000, with over $23,000 of it going to Debbie's former attorney Fred Gibson by a court order. A request for reconsideration of the settlement by Debbie was denied by a judge. Marshall's resentful reflections on the case can be heard on the songs "Marshall Mathers" (The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000) in the lyrics "My f*ckin' b*tch mom is suing for 10 million/She must want a dollar for every pill I've been stealin'" and the self-censored line "Your attorney Fred Gibson's a faggot" and Without Me ("The Eminem Show, 2002) in the lyrics, "I just settled all my lawsuits/F*ck you, Debbie!"