Famous Under The Influence: 19 Celebrities Who Got DUIs
These stars spent time in jail after drinking and driving!
March 25 2020, Updated 2:33 p.m. ET
Sometimes celebrities find themselves far from their PR person's dream and wind up jailed for driving under the influence. From Justin Bieber to Kiefer Sutherland, many celebs have been pulled over for getting behind the wheel when they just shouldn’t have.
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Every star treats the situation differently. Some celebs pay hefty fines, and others trade community service for jail time (here’s looking at you, Michelle Rodriguez). Some decided to insult groups of people (Mel Gibson, anyone?) and some got into naked screaming matches (cough, Randy Travis).
MORE: John Stamos' Probation Officially Ends After Past DUI Arrest
In their wake, these celebs left mug shots — the only kind of headshot that actors hate. Settle back and see which celebs landed DUIs, fines and prison.
1. Justin Bieber.
Justin Bieber was only 19 when he got his first DUI and, according to The Guardian, also got popped for resisting arrest and driving without a valid license in Miami Beach. The Miami Beach police chief said that Bieber was "a little belligerent, using some choice words" upon arrest. He pled guilty to the charges.
2. Lindsay Lohan.
Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to arrest — in fact, her various mugshots can be arranged into a montage. According to the Crime Museum, Lohan was arrested for a DUI in May 2007. Two months later and she was arrested again for another DUI as well as cocaine possession and driving with a suspended license. She pled guilty to misdemeanor cocaine use and driving under the influence.
3. Paris Hilton.
According to E! News, Paris Hilton was arrested on suspicion of a DUI in September 2006. She apparently told police that she’d had a single margarita on an empty stomach before heading out to find food at an In-N-Out burger. Hilton finally pleaded down to reckless driving and was fined $1,500, ordered to attend alcohol-education classes and put on a three-year probation.
4. Mischa Barton.
On December 27, 2007 at 2:26 p.m., when most of the world was in bed asleep, Mischa Barton was pulled over after police noticed her straddling two lanes of traffic and failing to signal on a turn. According to People, Barton later told Ryan Seacrest that “I’m really disappointed in myself. I don’t know what to say about it, except that I’m not perfect, and I just don’t ever intend to do something this stupid again.”
5. Michelle Rodriguez.
According to People, after Michelle Rodriguez was pulled over in December 2005 for a DUI, she told a cop, “I don’t (expletive) belong here! Why don’t you just put a gun to my head and shoot me!” Turns out that this wasn’t her first dance with cars and police. According to Reuters, Rodriguez earned herself a previous DUI in 2003 as well as a hit-and-run that, after violating probation, ultimately resulted in a 180-day sentence in 2007.
6. Nicole Richie.
Nicole Richie received her DUI in 2006 when driving through Burbank. She wasn't just driving through it but driving the wrong way down a major freeway. According to E!, a CHP officer said "She's very lucky. And we're very lucky nobody was killed today." Her father Lionel Richie must have been dancing on the ceiling with relief. Richie pled guilty to the charges.
7. Amanda Bynes.
In 2014, Amanda Bynes was arrested for driving under the influence. According to CNN, she had stopped for a red light — the correct thing for any driver to do — but Bynes decided to stop in the middle of the intersection which sort of missed the point. The CHP arrest report noted that Bynes had a "disheveled appearance," but also notes that she was cooperative. The Los Angeles city attorney decided not to pursue the DUI charge and Bynes wasn’t prosecuted.
8. Tiger Woods.
According to Golf Digest, Tiger Woods was arrested in 2017 for a DUI. Woods maintained alcohol was not involved and that the DUI charge stemmed from "an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications." The police report confirmed Woods' blood-alcohol level was .000 in both tests taken. Police found him asleep at the wheel of his running car but stopped in the right lane at 2:03 a.m. Woods pled guilty to reckless driving.
9. Nick Carter.
Nick Carter, who was one of the Backstreet Boys, was booked on a DUI charge in 2005 according to People. Carter was 25 at the time of his arrest and blamed prescription medication as the culprit. According to Billboard, after pleading guilty Carter was ordered into a three-month alcohol treatment program.
10. Aaron Carter.
Just over a decade later and Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick, was booked for suspicion of a DUI and marijuana possession. According to USA Today, police saw Carter behind the wheel driving “all over the road,” but according to Aaron Carter, the cops arrested him for becoming belligerent in an AutoZone store. Brother Nick tweeted out a message of support but Carter didn’t care for it, responding through a rep that “if my own blood (Nick) truly cared about my well-being, why wouldn’t he call me directly and have a conversation instead of making this about him through a very public forum?"
11. Mel Gibson.
In 2006, Mel Gibson was charged with misdemeanor drunk driving in Malibu. According to CNN, Gibson enquired as to whether the arresting officer was Jewish, adding, "F---ing Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Spoiler: Jewish people are not responsible for all the wars in the world — but words like that are. He plead no contest and was sentenced to three years probation.
12. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. is no stranger to law enforcement. Just one of his colorful meetings with police included a DUI in 1996 that, according to CNN, included possession of a controlled substance, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle with a prior conviction and use of a controlled substance. In 2015 he received a full and unconditional pardon from then California Governor Jerry Brown.
13. Natasha Lyonne.
The star of Netflix’s Russian Doll, Natasha Lyonne, got a DUI in 2001 when, according to Entertainment Weekly, she hit a sign and a bush outside the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, causing $2,500 in damages. She then fled the scene. When eventually arrested, Lyonne allegedly told police, “I’m a movie star. Can I talk to my entertainment lawyer?” She pled guilty to the charge.
14. Samantha Ronson.
Celebrity DJ, Lindsay Lohan’s ex and Mark Ronson’s younger sister, Samantha Ronson was booked for a DUI when, according to People, police pulled her over for driving 89 mph. According to The Hollywood Reporter, police said that “speed was why she was stopped, but she was arrested on two misdemeanors of driving under the influence."
15. Heather Locklear.
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According to People, it was just 4:30 p.m. when Heather Locklear was spotted driving erratically. By the time police found her, Locklear was stopped on the freeway partially blocking traffic and found to be “disoriented and impaired.” A CHP spokesman said, “Alcohol was ruled out as a factor, but based on the officer’s observations, we believe Locklear was under the influence of prescription medication.”
16. Rick Springfield.
In 2011, '80s pop star Rick Springfield was arrested for speeding down Malibu’s famous Pacific Coast Highway when, according to HuffPo, he ultimately pleaded no contest to a reckless driving with “DUI conditions” charge. He was ordered to attend a three-month alcohol education program. According to TMZ, Springfield threatened to kill both the deputy and his family if they dared tow his 1963 Corvette Stingray that he was driving at the time.
17. Randy Travis.
It was the sort of DUI arrest no one wants to get out — but according to WGN9, footage of musician Randy Travis naked and ranting during a 2012 booking was ultimately released five years later. So what was on the video? According to Entertainment Weekly, Travis had been found naked and verbally combative after crashing his car just west of Tioga, Texas. The video shows Travis threatening the officers and refusing sobriety tests. Travis pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation.
18. Richie Sambora.
The Bon Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora, was arrested for a DUI in 2008. Police found his girlfriend, his 10 year-old-daughter and her friend in the car with him. According to People, Sambora later entered a treatment facility saying, “I was just drinking too much and I needed to get my life together.” He pled guilty.
19. Kiefer Sutherland.
Kiefer Sutherland has quite a history with drinking and driving. According to People, between 1989 and 2007, Sutherland was arrested for DUIs four separate times. In 2007, when on probation for a 2004 DUI conviction, Sutherland failed a sobriety test and was sent to jail for 48 days. His other two DUI arrests came in 1989 and 1993.
