Comedy legend Jerry Lewis was known for his talent, as well as his complicated life off-screen.
The late actor was no stranger to headlines, and judging by the way he handled things, he did not give a hoot about being a subject of speculation.
Lewis was very candid about his personal life, including his affairs with some of Hollywood's most popular leading women. In a 2011 interview with GQ, Lewis admitted to having an affair with Marilyn Monroe, despite being married at the time.
However, there is one thing the funnyman refused to discuss publicly, and it was his alleged love-child.
In 2008, a woman by the name of Suzan Minoret came forward claiming that the late comedy icon was her father. The resemblance is undeniable and she backed it up with DNA evidence.
Suzan, who grew up among the rich and famous, now lives on the streets of Philadelphia. So what went wrong?
Suzan is allegedly the product of Lewis's affair with fashion model Lynn Dixon. The actor met Lynn at the start of his career, and the pair remained together for three years. Lewis, who was married at the time, even gave Lynn an engagement ring, but he couldn't divorce his wife, Patti, because she was Catholic.
Lynn became pregnant as their relationship dwindled, so when she gave birth to Suzan on February, 3, 1952, Lewis was not present, instead he was on the road promoting a movie. He sent his friend Milton Berle to visit Lynn and the baby on his behalf. He did not stay in touch after that.
Lynn went on to marry New York entrepreneur Hy Uchitel. Suzan grew up living in a hotel located in upscale Midtown, and enjoyed play dates with the children of A-list stars like Judy Garland.
"Liza Minelli and her sister, Lorna Luft, came up to my room and we played with our dolls while their mother, Judy Garland, was having lunch with my mother in the restaurant," Suzan told Inside Edition. "Zsa Zsa Gabor's daughter, Francesca, came, too. Leslie Bogart [daughter of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall] was in my class in French school. I had them all to my birthday parties," she added.
Suzan grew up believing that she was an Ulchitel, so it wasn't until her mother was laying in her death bed that she learned the truth about who her real father is.
Once news about Lewis's alleged illegitimate child leaked, Inside Edition performed a DNA test with the help of Lewis' son Gary. Lewis had no desire to participate.
"Everybody deserves to know where they came from and who they are...and just looking at her, I believe what she's saying," said Gary.
The DNA test results showed that Suzan matched 17 of the 22 markers, meaning that there was about an 88.77% chance that Gary and Suzan share the same father.
"That's good enough for me," Gary said.
Unfortunately, proving that a celebrity of Lewis's caliber is your father does not grant you an access pass to Fifth Avenue or Hollywood. Lewis refused to claim her as his daughter, and Suzan's life took a turn for the worse. She ended up on the streets of Northeastern Philadelphia.
She stuffs her belongings in shopping bags and uses a cart to haul them around the city. Inside Edition caught up with her recently and she said that did not know Lewis died until a friend broke the news to her.
"We can't follow news," she said. "We don't have a television."
She spends her days scavenging for food and money at a local food court, but she's holding out hope that she might one day get her life back together.
"I always look at the bright side," she said. "No point being negative "” then you'd be miserable."
When asked how she ended up where she is, she simply replied: "It's just something that happened."
You can watch her interview with Inside Edition in the video below:
In another interview with Philadelphia Weekly, the homeless woman said that she would like to publish an autobiography, and hopes to one day be a motivational speaker and advocate for homelessness.
"I could be helping others fundraising for charity, like my mother and father did," she said. "I could do that if I could get a hand up. Not a handout, a hand up."
Do you think Suzan is telling the truth? Let us know in the comments!
