But the road to success and living in the limelight has been a long one — Harald Glööckler’s journey has been shaped by hard work and a challenging childhood.
Traumatic upbringing
Every child deserves a safe and loving upbringing, but that was far from the reality for Harald Glööckler as he grew up in southern Germany. His father was both violent and an alcoholic — a devastating combination that left a deep mark on his childhood.
”A zombie movie is more beautiful than my childhood,” he told Bild in 2009.
As if having a cruel and abusive father wasn’t enough, young Harald also had to endure the heartbreak of losing his mother under tragic circumstances. When Glööckler was just 13 years old, his mother died after a mysterious fall down the stairs, which authorities ruled as an accident.
But according to Harald, there was more to the story. “When I was 13, I watched my father kill my mother,” he has revealed, claiming that his father pushed her down the stairs. “My childhood ended that day.”
From that moment on, Harald never spoke to his father again —not a single word— until his father passed away 13 years later, in 1992.
