Terry Richardson + his Mom Annie.

Terry Richardson has had an interesting upbringing. His mother was a dancer, performing on stage in Bye Bye Birdie and at the Copacabana nightclub. The Richardsons divorced in 1970 and Norma Richardson moved him to Woodstock, taking a job as a waitress, changing her name to Annie. Annie met her 2nd husband, English musician Jackie Lomax. They stayed in Woodstock for 4 years, tried a year in London and then settled in Hollywood. 10-year-old Terry did not adjust well, which is why Annie was on her way to pick him up from a therapist's the day she was rear-ended by a Pacific Bell telephone truck. The coma lasted a month, and when she awoke doctors determined the brain damage was permanent. "She could never really walk properly and she was in diapers," Terry says. Clearly Annie could not return to work, so while the court case dragged on the family survived on welfare. "The government and my grandma raised me from 10 to 14. My life basically started off jet set and then we were nearly homeless, on welfare." To get them off welfare Terry's step-dad settled out of court with Pacific Bell. "All she got was 300,000. She should have got millions, but we were so poor and needed the money," said Terry.
-Welcome to Terryworld by Dian Hanson-Taschen.
It's inspiring how Annie continues to stay positive and self-sufficient in the face of such adversity... love that she bikes to the market and does her own thing... it's also amazing how Terry came out on top after such a difficult childhood... quite the resilient family.
video via - terrysdiary.com