With fame comes fortune and this is something most celebrities can attest to. Apart from making money from their line of work, celebrities can also land huge endorsement deals and garner even more projects due to their previous work.
When the big bucks check-in, most celebs quickly change their lifestyles and go on spending sprees. Some will invest their money in profitable projects while others will entrust financial institutions to safeguard and invest their money. However, most squander their wealth in the hope of making more money in the future.
Sadly, a huge number deplete their earnings as quickly as they get them, either willingly or through fraud. Whichever the case, these celebs had to adjust from riches to rags. A number also got into trouble with the IRS, lenders and other financial institutions.
Here are a few cases of celeb mamas who lost all their cash.
20 Courtney Love
Celebrity singer and mama Courtney Love rose to fame in the 1990s. After losing her money, she faded away from the public scene. According to bestlifeonline, she also got a lot of money following the demise of her husband, Kurt Cobain by inheriting his writing rights, which she squandered with her expensive lifestyle. Love currently owes the IRS a huge sum of money.
19 Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano is one of those celebrities who started as a child actress. She amassed a lot of wealth throughout her successful career. According to nickiswift, Milano’s former accountant got into some bad deals and lost all of her money. This left Milano and her husband in millions of debt and bad credit. Milano sued her accountant and his firm for $10 million, the trial began in May 2019.
18 Lena Headey
A few years ago, Game of Thrones star, Lena Headey's financial situation was so bad that she had less than $5 in her bank account. As stated by HuffPost, this was due to her bad divorce from her then-husband Peter Loughran. Headey is now clearly back on her feet thanks to a successful acting career.
17 Lil Kim
Rapper Lil Kim is another celeb mama who went broke despite having been a platinum-selling hip-hop artist. She filed for bankruptcy in 2017. As blackenterprise points out, she had late mortgage payments and accumulated back taxes and legal fees. However, according to theblast, she recently saved her New Jersey mansion from foreclosure but the rapper still has a long way to go before she is back on her feet.
16 Brett Butler
Actress and stand-up comedian Brett Butler also lost it all. At some point, she even moved to a homeless shelter for cover as revealed by bestlifeonline. Substance misuse and depression are what largely contributed to her financial losses. Nevertheless, the celeb mama has begun her sobriety journey and is now taking recurring roles in various TV shows.
15 Pamela Anderson
Actress Pamela Anderson gathered fame in the 1990s thanks to the Playboy magazine. She also took on various acting gigs, which earned her a luxurious lifestyle. The actress filed for bankruptcy in 2009 but despite owing back taxes, she was still living lavishly. She has since then settled down and is now dating French footballer Adil Rami.
14 Lauryn Hill
Famous rapper Lauryn Hill is another celeb mama who lost it all. The previous award winner and mother of six pleaded guilty to tax evasion and consequently served three months in prison and three months under house arrest. Hill was also evicted from her home. The rapper continues to maintain a low profile as bestlifeonline points out.
13 Teresa Giudice
Reality star Teresa Giudice projected a lavish lifestyle while on The Real Housewives Of New Jersey but behind closed doors, she was in a financial crisis. As stated by people, the judge sentenced her to 15 months in federal prison together with her husband. After her release, Giudice had to pay restitution and clear with the IRS.
12 Janice Dickinson
Former supermodel, Janice Dickinson filed for bankruptcy in 2013 after gaining about US$800,000 in debt due to unpaid taxes and other beauty industry related bills as disclosed by floor8. She also faced eviction after falling behind on 3 months' rent. Since then, Dickinson has kept her life on the down low. Unfortunately, doctors discovered that she had breast cancer back in 2016.
11 Jacqueline Laurita
Another celebrity who lost it all is Jacqueline Laurita. Laurita has been living the A-list life flaunting luxurious cars, mansions, and making big purchases on camera. However, the celeb mama and her husband owe so much to the government that they are practically broke. Laurita is no longer on reality TV; she is instead living a toned-down life and is focusing on raising her autistic son.
10 Fantasia Barrino
Even with a successful singing career Fantasia is also among the celeb moms who lost it all. In 2008, her home was facing foreclosure, but her lawyers reached an agreement with her lenders. She also went through a divorce at that time. Fantasia is now happily married again and is arguably doing well. However, moneymaven states that she still owes the IRS some money.
9 Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger has had a series of financial problems. Back in 1993, Basinger had to pay $8.1 million for backing out of the film Boxing Helena. This decision forced her to file for bankruptcy. According to financeblvd, she also bought an entire town for $20million but because of her financial difficulties, she ended up selling it at a loss. Her last acting gig was in 2017.
8 Kelis Rogers
Popularly known for the hit Milkshake, Kelis is a mother of two. Kelis financial problems began when she got a divorce from rapper Nas. She even took him to court claiming that he had left her penniless. Nas was obliged to pay child support but the money was not enough to sustain her lifestyle. She is currently looking to relocate to Columbia but Nas does not want her to go with their son as revealed on pagesix.
7 Sheryl Swoopes
Retired basketball player, Sheryl Swoopes was one of the most successful athletes in the world. People even started calling her the female Michael Jordan. Her success came with a lot of money but because she did not know how to manage her wealth, she lost it all. According to money, Swoopes ended up filing for bankruptcy. These days she does coaching jobs.
6 Dionne Warwick
Singer and actress Dionne Warwick has won five Grammys and sold over 100 million albums. However, due to mismanagement, the singer lost all her money and went into debt. She owes the IRS $7 million and more than $3 million in back taxes as stated by people. Warwick filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Since 2018, Dionne has been working on her new album, She’s Back.
5 Da Brat
Shawntae Harris popularly known as Da Brat was the first female rapper to receive platinum certification. She started losing her wealth when she got into trouble with the law and had to serve time. According to reports from theblast, she was over $7 million in debt by 2018 and had to file for bankruptcy.
4 Cyndi Lauper
Celeb mama, Cyndi Lauper had a rising career in the music industry before she lost it all. Lauper spent years singing and writing songs for a group called Blue Abel but the job never bore much fruit. This forced her to file for bankruptcy. Fortunately, she was able to pull herself from rock bottom. As stated by Forbes she now has a net worth of $30 million.
3 Karen Huger
Karen Huger is another reality star from the show The Real Housewives Of Potomac who used to live a lavish lifestyle in front of cameras. According to the WashingtonPost, her husband, Ray Huger and his company owed the IRS millions in back taxes. The duo had to downgrade their home and cut down on their spending. They still appear on the show but on a more toned down note.
2 Lisa Marie Presley
Singer and songwriter, Lisa Marie Presley had a successful career. On top of that, she was the sole heir to her father’s estate. However, as stated on cheatsheet, Lisa squandered all of her inheritance. As of 2016, she had credit card debt of $500,000. Lisa sued her business manager for mismanagement who also countersued. The legal battle is still ongoing.
1 Tori Spelling
Celeb mama, Tori Spelling has grown up in extreme wealth thanks to her belated-rich father, Aaron Spelling. However, as of 2016, Tori and her husband had unpaid taxes worth $707,000 and bank loans. American express also sued them for $88,000. The actress has really struggled with living a simple life as revealed on cheatsheet.
Sources: bestlifeonline.com, nickiswift.com, huffpost.com, blackenterprise.com, theblastcom, floor8.com, moneymaven.io, financeblvd.com, money.com, forbes.com, washingtonpost.com, cheatsheet.com, pagesix.com.
