Ron Howard’s daughter had ‘messed-up’ childhood fixation that worried her parents

For Bryce Dallas Howard, growing up in Hollywood had its pros and cons. 

During a recent interview, the “Jurassic World” star – whose parents are actor and filmmaker Ron Howard and Cheryl Howard – opened up about the “difficulties” she endured as a child and the steps taken to better her experience. 

“I was such a messed-up kid – I would walk around the Disney lot reading about euthanasia,” Bryce, who is currently promoting her new film “Deep Cover,” told The Independent. “But I also wasn’t dark. There was just a sort of intensity to my feelings and the stories I was curious about.”

RON HOWARD ON WHY HE DIDN’T ALLOW DAUGHTER BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD ACT AS A CHILD: ‘GOING TO BE UNFAIRLY COMPARED’

“When I was growing up, I had a lot of difficulties learning and communicating,” she continued. “I was always very happy and smiley, but not extremely verbal. It was unclear what intelligence was there, and how much I was really processing.”

Bryce, who is the eldest of four children, recalled her parents taking her to a child psychologist at the time. 

“‘Can we talk about the dead babies?’ the therapist would ask,” the actress said. “‘Because Bryce talks a lot about dead babies.'”

Nevertheless, Bryce said she is thankful her parents supported her as she sought out a career in acting. 

“I felt very lucky because I never had it in my head that if I wasn’t making a living from acting, I was then failing,” she said. “I’m a third-generation performer. The layers of privilege that I’ve experienced means that there’s a lot that I’m aware of [about the industry], and there’s a lot that I will never be able to understand because of that.”

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Bryce’s parents celebrated a major milestone over the weekend: their 50th wedding anniversary. 

“#GoldenAnniversary Grateful for 50 amazing years and the family and experiences it has yielded,” Ron, 71, wrote on Instagram. “What an adventure down river through calm soothing waters and some tricky rapids as well. Our key … love and respect each other enough to just keep paddling,” he continued, adding, “Thank God for you, Cheryl.”

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In March, Ron opened up about his marriage to Cheryl, saying he is “supremely fortunate.”

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“I think there’s just a lot of luck in a marriage lasting a long time. I don’t think it’s something you can will into existence,” he told People

“It’s a good idea to obviously put yourself out there and be caring and loving and be considerate and all of those things, but you really have to grow together. And we’ve had that good fortune of our chemistry staying strong, our interests having grown and evolved, but somehow remaining compatible. And so there’s an element of luck there. I count myself as supremely fortunate.”