You might know Madison Beer from her haunting vocals in Selfish, and her viral rise to fame at just the age of 13. People loved her edgy but polished aesthetics, but there’s far too much of her story that unraveled away from the spotlight, and it’s a lot more harrowing and human than what meets the eye.
Beer has been through more by her mid-twenties than most ever endure in a lifetime, and her memoir from 2023, titled The Half of It, is when she finally let the world see her true struggles. She went from making YouTube covers to million-dollar record deals, so it’s easy to believe that she has it all and is living the dream. But behind all the glitz and glam, there’s a world of trauma, heartbreak, and survival.
Madison Beer’s family and ethnicity: A household torn and rebuilt
Madison Beer was born into a creative and driven family, but it was ultimately a fractured household. Her parents, Robert and Tracie Beer, got married in the 1990s and raised the singer with her younger brother Ryder in Long Island, New York (via People). Her father is Moroccan Jewish and a successful real estate developer, while her mother, an Ashkenazi Jew, is a pioneer in the field of interior design, even making inventions like the contour hanger (via Bombshell).
But they split in 2006, and Beer was only seven during their separation. However, the two committed to being co-parents, and she was grateful about the fact that her parents were able to maintain a relationship even after their divorce. Her father went on to become the founder of a luxury home construction company, Built by Beer. Before that, he worked on his family business, but slowly made his way into a world of top custom home builders where his high-end designs gained recognition.
We have seen him be a steady presence in his daughter’s life, and he frequently appears on her social media. Plus, Beer has acknowledged that the parts of her outgoing and social nature are something she inherits from her father. On the other hand, her mother didn’t just build her own career but also her children’s, as she is credited as their primary manager.
Her sibling, Ryder Beer, was born in 2002 and shares a close bond with her. The two of them moved to Los Angeles with their mother when Madison Beer was just 13, and relocating allowed her to pursue her music career more fiercely. Even though her parents were split, they were successful at co-parenting, which gave their daughter both roots and wings.
The Half of It: Madison Beer’s memoir is a haunting revelation
From what we know so far, Madison Beer’s childhood had change, resilience, and love from both her parents. But her life wasn’t just defined by her family because the real weight, which she would reveal later, came from what she never told us, until her memoir, The Half of It, was published.
The book was written with such honesty, openness, and confessions where Beer revealed her darkest moments to us; she was raw and intimate, and described the experiences that even her first boyfriend didn’t know about (via E! News). The singer disclosed that she was s*xually assaulted as a child, and then again at the age of 14 during her first party in Los Angeles.
But through these experiences, Beer found her strength, and she holds pride in the fact that she can relate to those who have faced similar situations. These moments didn’t just shape her personal life, but they also became a fuel for her commitment to advocate for survivors who have endured s*xual violence.
People often go through their whole life with the desire to be recognized and cheered for, but fame came early for Beer, and so did its vicious downsides. After she dated someone more popular than her at 16, she was harassed online and given disgusting labels. Everything about her was dissected, from the way she dressed to the way she talked, and haters nitpicked on the most insignificant things.
This constant stream of negative attention shook her confidence, and it reached a point where she even had to cancel performances, but it was her mother who pulled her back from the edge. But one of the most chilling chapters in her memoir is when Beer recounts an instance when she was standing at the edge of her balcony, and thinking about su*cide after her intimate videos were leaked online.
Madison Beer moves from self-harm towards healing
All she had were thoughts about unaliving herself, and in that stage of her life, it didn’t even occur to her that it wasn’t something that people regularly think about. In that moment, it was her younger brother’s scream that brought their parents running, and possibly saved her life. After too much emotional turmoil, Beer started abusing Xanax, which would help numb her anxiety and depression.
What started as a prescribed way to deal with her negative feelings quickly became an addiction. Moreover, she had also started self-harming and admitted that she allowed others to mistreat her after she became abusive towards herself. In the memoir, she also wrote about one night in 2019, when she was dumped, which led to her taking a handful of pills, hoping she would never wake up again.
Beer mentioned another instance where she nearly overdosed once, but refused to go to the hospital because she feared being scrutinized by the public and media. But therapy became a turning point for her, and even though she was skeptical about it first, the singer began to understand the roots of her trauma.
Being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and OCD made her an advocate for mental health as she began talking about it publicly, to help reduce the stigma around these conditions. Beer also included a near-death experience in her memoir, which happened on the sets of a music video. There was a water tank that burst the moment before she was about to enter, and a crew member later told her that she could have been dragged under it.
But instead of fear, she felt an odd sense of gratitude for life, and the timing felt like now she had a second chance. So, it took a while, but the artist was slowly able to see the light again. Now, Madison Beer is no longer just the girl with the voice that caught Justin Bieber’s attention.
After years of hard work, ups and downs, she is a survivor, a storyteller, and a symbol of strength for those who have been enduring struggles under a polished public image. The Half of It was not just about her upbringing and family, because it brought to light the scars that fame forced her to hide.
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