From Tax Evasion To Murder – 22 Celebs Who, Like Teresa Giudice, Were Jailed AFTER They Became Famous

Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice should take heart. She’s not the only celeb to spend time behind bars after becoming famous…and she probably won’t be the last. Here’s a list of stars who swapped their designer gear for prison scrubs.

How far will Gwyneth Paltrow go to ape her rival Martha Stewart’s career? Hopefully it won’t include a stint behind bars. The DIY guru – who was sent to prison in 2004 after being found guilty of insider trading – said, “I overcame a very difficult, nasty situation.”

Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to mug shots, orange scrubs, rehab or jail. In 2010 the actress spent two weeks locked up for violating the terms of her parole in relation to a DUI charge. In a 2014 interview with British comedian Jonathan Ross, Lohan revealed she spent time in solitary confinement, saying, “You leave for one hour a day but you don’t go outside. Other girls in those cells were in there for murder.”

Who could forget the pictures of Paris Hilton, blubbering in the back seat of a cop car as she was hauled back to jail, shortly after being prematurely released to complete the remainder of a 45-day sentence at home? The hotel socialite was locked up in 2007 for a probation violation in a reckless driving case.

Chris Brown fought his way into prison in 2014. His troubles with the law stemmed from his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna, an alleged 2013 attack on a man in Washington, D.C. and violation of the terms of his probation by being kicked out of a rehab facility the following year. The result was 108 days in a Los Angeles county jail that ended in June 2014.

In 1995 Tupac Shakur was sent to prison after being found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse of a woman. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times shortly after his October 1995 release the rapper (who always professed his innocence) said he received letters from supporters, including actor Tony Danza. Shakur said, “I’ve never even met the guy, but he wrote me to say he liked my album and to keep my head up and to just come out stronger.”

Mike Tyson’s rape conviction dogs him to this day and has prevented him from getting a visa to visit the U.K. In March 1992 the former heavyweight champion of the world received a six-year sentence for raping an 18-year-old beauty pageant queen. Although he was released in 1995 he returned to prison in 1999 after assaulting two motorists the year before.

Having escaped a prison sentence for allegedly killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her companion Ron Goldman, O.J. Simpson may end his days behind bars. The football legend has called the Lovelock Correctional Center near Reno, Nev. home since he was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery in 2008.

Robert Downey Jr. was the male Lindsay Lohan in the 1990s, making headlines for being in and out of jail and rehab rather than for his work. Now a whole new generation of moviegoers knows the actor for movie hits such as the Iron Man series.

Despite spending time in prison T.I. has never broken his career stride. In between 2009 and 2011, the rapper spent nearly two years behind bars – first on a federal weapons charge and then for violating the terms of his probation. Since his release the rapper, father, actor, husband and music mogul has continued to thrive, releasing songs, starring in his own reality TV show and signing up and mentoring hip hop artists like Iggy Azalea.

Wall of Sound creator and legendary music producer Phil Spector may die in prison. In 2009, at the age of 69, he was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson. He received a 19-years to life prison sentence.

In 2010 Wesley Snipes proved that you can’t hide from Uncle Sam. The White Men Can’t Jump actor received a 36-month sentence for tax evasion. The actor has complained that he received a harsh sentence, telling U.K. newspaper The Telegraph in 2014, “I think there are people out there who feel it was overkill, overzealous, overreaching.”

How much prison time do you get for slapping a police officer in the face? Zsa Zsa Gabor should know as she was sentenced to three days in the slammer for doing just that to a Beverly Hills motorcycle cop back in 1989. Gabor said at the time, “I admit I have a Hungarian temper.”

An overwhelming addiction to drugs has been Tom Sizemore’s downfall. And succumbing to it has seen the actor serve jail time more than once. During an interview with Larry King, Sizemore said of prison, “I focused on not losing myself…I had to fight a few times and I can handle myself.”

Singer Lauryn Hill spent time at the correctional facility upon which the fictional prison in Orange Is The New Black is based. In 2013 the former Fugee spent three months at the same Danbury, Connecticut institution where Teresa Giudice is now serving her sentence. Tax evasion was the singer’s crime.

If you had to pick a rock star who has spent time behind bars chances are Paul McCartney wouldn’t be it. But the former Beatle spent nine days in a Japanese prison in 1980 after being caught with marijuana while on tour with his band Wings. He was eventually released and deported but in 2001, McCartney said, “I was scared because the actual penalty for what I did was seven years hard labor.”

Michelle Rodriguez has been in and out of jail over the years for a range of crimes including DUI, driving with a suspended license and probation violation. In 2006, after one incarceration stint, the actress said, “It was an amazing experience. I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”

Christian Slater spent three months in the slammer for assaulting an ex-girlfriend. In 2011, the actor said of the 1998 experience, “Honestly, it was not so bad. Jail was a result of me not taking time for myself.”

In 2005 Lil’ Kim was sentenced to a year in prison for perjury, for lying to a federal grand jury in an attempt to protect friends involved in a Manhattan shootout. At the time of her sentencing, the pint-sized rapper said, “Today was a very difficult day for me, but I am no stranger to adversity and will do whatever I need to do so that I can continue to work hard and give back to my family, amazing fans and community.”

Nicole Richie spent less than 90 minutes in jail in 2007 but it seems to have scared Paris Hilton’s former BFF straight. After serving just 82 minutes of a four-day sentence for DUI and being released because of jail overcrowding she went on to have two children, marry her boyfriend Joel Madden and make a name for herself as a fashionista.

Fat Joe is another star who went to prison for tax evasion. The heavyweight hip-hop artist spent four months in prison in 2013 for reportedly owing $718,038 in back taxes.

Like Nicole Richie, Khloe Kardashian didn’t spend long in jail – less than three hours of her 30-day sentence for a DUI conviction. In July 2008 the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star went into a California prison at 10:36 a.m. and emerged just in time for lunch at 1:29 p.m.

In 2008 Da Brat was sentenced to three years in prison for hitting a woman in the face with a bottle during a fight at an Atlanta nightclub. In a 2011 interview with Essence magazine shortly after her release, the rapper said that her incarceration taught her “not to take anything for granted because it’s the little things that mean the most.”