Jack Nicholson's daughter's sad admission about relationship with dad - 'like orphan Annie'

Tessa Gourin has opened up about feeling like 'Orphan Annie' due to the lack of a relationship with her father, Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson.

The 28-year-old, who is said to be the product of an affair between her mother Janine and Nicholson, expressed that Jack shows no interest in getting to know her, describing herself as "collateral damage"'.

Despite never forming a connection with the 85-year-old star, who hasn't publicly recognized her as his daughter, Tessa reportedly benefited from private schooling funded by Nicholson.

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In a candid interview, Tessa revealed: "From a very young age, my mother told me not to tell anyone that I have this famous dad," adding, "I knew he was powerful and Daddy Warbucks-level rich, so I kind of equated my life to being like Orphan Annie's."

She further disclosed her father's detachment, saying: "My mum wanted me to have a relationship with him, but he said he wasn't interested. I was dealt a really s****y random card, but I'm not gonna let that destroy me."

Tessa also shared her efforts to understand Jack on her own terms.

"He's a complicated person, and I think my mum fights her own demons, and with the combination of the two, I was simply collateral damage," she confided to The Daily Beast.

Jack Nicholson is a father to five other children, including Jennifer Nicholson, born to him and Sandra Knight in 1963, and Caleb Goddard, whom he had with Susan Anspach seven years later.

In 1981, Jack Nicholson fathered his third child, Honey Hollman, with model Winnie Hollman, who was brought up by her mother in Denmark.

Nicholson's youngest offspring Lorraine and Ray are from his relationship with actress Rebecca Broussard.

Tessa, in a candid Newsweek essay, expressed the challenges of observing her half-siblings' success and their entry into the acting world, following in their father's footsteps.

"Having grown up without my father, I've sat on the side-lines and watched in frustration as other celebrity children have seamlessly secured roles or been signed to huge agencies."

She also voiced her irritation at what she perceives as a missed chance for these 'nepo babies' to acknowledge and accept their advantage, rather than bemoaning it.

"More recently, I have grown even more frustrated at what I think is a missed opportunity for these so-called 'nepo babies' to own their position and embrace it instead of complaining about it," Tessa penned.