On this day 48 years ago one of the great rappers of our time was born, Eminem.

Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, was born to his mother Deborah Rae and father Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr and was their only child.

From the very beginning of the Mocking Bird rapper’s life things were more difficult than average.

His mother almost died during her 73-hour labour with him and his father walked out of his life very early on.

The star’s childhood was also sadly horrific as he was brutally bullied, abused by his mother and then led to a life filled with the wrong crowd and bad decisions before he became one one of the biggest selling artists of the 21st century.

As he turns 48 today Daily Star Online has taken a look back at his difficult past.

His father abandoned him

Eminem says his father abandoned him when he was just a baby

When Eminem was just a baby his father Marshall walked out of his life for good.

On many occasions the singer, also known as Slim Shady, has publicly spoken of his negative relationship with his father and spoke of how he abandoned him and his mum Deborah.

But, bizarrely after Eminem reached worldwide fame, Marshall began trying to reach out to his son – who has publicly said he refuses to meet up with his old man to this day.

In an interview with The Mirror in 2011, Marshall told the publication that he just wanted to reunite with his son and wasn’t interested in his millions.

He told the publication: “I’m not interested in his money. I just want to talk to him. I want him to know that I’m here for him if he lets me back into my life.”

In his song, My Name Is, Eminem doesn’t speak highly of his dad.

It features the lyrics: “When you see my dad, tell him that I slit his throat in this dream I had.”

Brutally bullied

Eminem says he was brutally bullied during his time at school
Eminem has also addressed throughout his raps that he writes himself that he was badly bullied as a child.In his song Brain Damage he claimed a “fat” kid called DeAngelo Bailey bullied him “into submission”.

The lyrics go: “I was harassed daily by this fat kid named D’Angelo Bailey. An eighth grader who acted obnoxious, ’cause his father boxes.

“So everyday he’d shove me in the lockers. One day he came in the bathroom while I was pissin’. And had me in the position to beat me into submission.”

Reportedly in 1999 during an interview with Rolling Stone, Bailey admitted to the bullying.

He later went on to sue Eminem for defamation of character but it was thrown out by the judge – ironically using a rap.

Abused by mentally-ill mum

Deborah denied the claims that she abused her son
Not only did his father walk out on him but Eminem was then abused by his mentally-ill mum Deborah.Eminem has made claims that he raised his younger half-brother, Nathan Mathers.

In his song Cleanin Out My Closet he hints that Deborah may have Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder that causes people to intentionally cause illness in others.

In 1996 Nathan was removed by a social worker from Deborah’s custody. Eminem later went on to become his legal guardian.

However, in Deborah’s memoir My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, she tells a very different story and denies the claims.

In a video taken in 2014, Eminem apologised to his mum during the touching Mother’s Day clip called Headlights.

With pain in his voice, Eminem raps about how he regrets having released so many tracks dissing the way his mum brought him up, thanking her for being “my mom and my dad”.

The video is told first-person through the eyes of Debbie and spans Marshall Mathers’ childhood, taking in disastrous Christmases, her turn to drugs and alcohol and security guards blocking her from contacting her son later in life at his home.

The pair now reportedly have a good mother and son relationship.

Arrested

Eminem was first arrested at the age of 20
Following his troubled childhood his first arrest came when he was 20 years old.He once recalled how he was arrested and picked up by police after shooting a squad car with a paintball gun during a drive-by.

In the movie 8 Mile, which follows Eminem’s life, it recalls how the trial was dropped because no accusers showed up.

In the film he was not arrested.

Slim Shady went on to avoid any trouble until April 2001 when he was sentenced to two years of probation in Mount Clemens, Michigan after pleading guilty to a charge of carrying a concealed weapon, according to The Associated Press.

The rapper could have been facing five years in prison, however prosecutor Carl Marlinga had said he was seeking six months of jail time, since the superstar had no previous criminal record.

In addition to the probation, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Antonio Viviano ordered him to undergo counselling and submit to drug testing, the AP reported.

Eminem was arrested and charged in June of 2000 following an incident outside a nightclub in Warren, Michigan.

Police say that Eminem saw John Guerra kissing his wife, Kim, and that the rapper struck Guerra with a pistol.

Eminem pleaded guilty to the weapon charge in February 2001 in an agreement with prosecutors, who dropped a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Public divorce from Kimberly Ann Scott

Eminem with Kim, Hailie’s mother, on their wedding day
When he was just 15 years old Eminem met and fell in love with his childhood sweetheart Kimberly Ann Scott.In 1995 the pair had their first daughter Hailie but sadly the pressures of his rising fame and raising a family caused a strain on their on/off relationship as they spent many years breaking up and getting back together.

It led Eminem to creating his rap alter-ego which changed the rap game only sadly at Kim’s expense.

In his first song where he shows his alter ego Slim Shady, in The Slim Shady LP, the lyrics talk of him speaking to his little girl as he throws Kim’s dead body in a lake after murdering her.

Since then the pair got married and divorced twice during and, following their second divorce, have reportedly stayed on good terms.