7 Celebrities With A Criminal Record

Why do celebrities seem to attract criminal records? While some celebrities are all about the green juice and yoga, other movie and rock stars get swept away in the trappings of fame. Many drug addicts and alcoholics end up with criminal records because of their reckless behavior when they drink or get high. Celebrities are almost more at risk to become addicts or alcoholics because of a lavish lifestyle and an army of ‘yes men’ providing them with any substance they desire. Combine this lifestyle with a big ego, and many celebrities end up getting into legal troubles. However, no matter how famous you become, nobody is above the law.

Check out these 17 celebrities who have a rap sheet!

1. Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg is one of America’s most popular celebrities and has starred in a handful of runaway hits, like the Ted franchise and Transformers: Age Of The Fallen. He even created the autobiographical television show Entourage about his life. But you may not know that Wahlberg was once charged with attempted murder after attacking two men with a stick when he was 16, which left one of them blind. He was charged with attempted murder, but pled guilty to assault and was sentenced to two years in prison, of which he served 45 days.

2. Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan’s mugshots have become an iconic staple of the early 2000’s culture. Lohan has been arrested multiple times — mostly for drunk driving, but also for felony possession of cocaine, driving with a suspended license, theft, assault, and fleeing the scene of an accident. In November 2011, Lohan served 30 days in county jail.

3. Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra was back in the news recently after appearing on the Michael Jordan biographical documentary The Last Dance. In the documentary, Electra discussed her turbulent relationship with NBA star Dennis Rodman. “Dennis was considered the bad boy of basketball,” Carmen Electra said, “and I like bad boys.”

A penchant for this particular bad boy ended up with Carmen Electra getting arrested for assault back in 1999. The relationship was stormy from the get go. The couple got married in 1998, but the marriage was annulled nine days later. Rodman and Electra reconciled — but divorced in April 1999. The divorced couple were still hanging out in November, at a Miami Beach hotel, but things quickly turned violent and the police were called. Carmen Electra was arrested for assault and the couple was ordered to stay 500 feet away from each other.

4. Tim Allen

Tim Allen is known as a loveable goof, famous for starring in the cult holiday favorite The Santa Clause and also the long-running television show, Home Improvement. But many might not know that Tim Allen served two years in prison for trafficking cocaine in 1978!

Yep that’s right — the voice of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story series served hard time before he became a movie star.

On October 2, 1978, Allen was arrested in a Michigan International Airport. Police officers discovered that he was in possession of a pound of cocaine. Usually, this crime would be punished by a life sentence in prison, but Allen provided the names of the other drug dealers involved in the case and he received three to seven years in a Minnesota Correctional Institution instead of a life sentence. After serving two years, Allen was paroled and he began an unlikely career as one of America’s favorite TV dads! Talk about a U-turn.

5. Felicity Huffman

Felicity Huffman became a household name after starring on the hit soap opera Desperate Housewives. Huffman made a great career in Hollywood, and accumulated the sort of accolades every aspiring actress dreams of. By 2024, she has a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has been nominated for an Oscar.

But despite a glittering career in Hollywood, everything came tumbling down for Felicity Huffman in 2019, when she was implicated in the mammoth college admissions bribery scandal. Also known as “Operation Varsity Blues”,  the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office charged hundreds of people for bribing or cheating their way into a college for their child.

According to the prosecutors, Huffman made a $15,000 donation to a fake charity, when in fact it was a payment to someone who pretended to be Huffman’s daughter, Sophia, and sat the SAT for her.

Arrested at her home in March of 2019, Huffman was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. Eventually, she pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. She was sentenced to 14 days in jail as a result.

6. Robert Downey Jr.

Marvel superstar and Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. is basically Hollywood royalty, but life wasn’t always so ideal for this lovable misfit. In the early 90s, Robert Downey Jr. suffered from a long and severe addiction to drugs and alcohol. Despite enjoying a successful film career in the 80s, he was arrested in 1996 for possession of heroin, cocaine, and an illegal pistol. Two weeks after his arrest, he found himself in jail again after he walked into his neighbor’s house whilst high on drugs. Robert Downey Jr. was placed on probation and ordered to attend treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, but after violating his parole for the third time in 1999, a judge ordered him to go to prison. He served a year and three months.

7. Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby is one of the most infamous sexual predators of all-time, and it’s hard to believe that he was once considered a perfect role model for many Americans. Before dozens of women came forward with similar accusations of assault at the hands of Cosby, Bill Cosby played the lead role in “The Cosby Show.” Cosby’s character of Cliff Huxtable was even named as the “Greatest Television Dad.” Allegations against Cosby date back to 1965, but it wasn’t until 2018 that Bill Cosby finally went to jail.

Interested in criminal records? Look up your favorite celebrity (or anyone else) with Instant Checkmate to see if they have a criminal past!