Celebrities Who Ended Up Homeless

Natasha Lyonne

Before she starred in Orange Is the New Black Natasha Lyonne was homeless. Despite starring in hit films like American Pie and Slums of Beverly Hills, addiction lead Natasha to a series of arrests and a period of hospitalization that left her without a place to live.

But now Natasha is clean and eagerly anticipating OITB Season 3.

Amanda Bynes

After months of reports of her erratic behavior, child star Amanda Bynes was found sleeping on a sofa in the middle of The Beverly Center in Los Angeles, apparently homeless.

Since her period of “wandering around the West Hollywood area with no place to go,” Amanda’s parents have stepped in again and Amanda is living with them and is hopefully doing much better!

George Zimmerman

It’s hard to be sad about some stories of homelessnes.

The man who killed Trayvon Martin in February 2012 says he’s now homeless and suffering from PTSD.

Danny Bonaduce

Despite being a child star on the hit series The Partridge Family, Danny Bonaduce spent his late teens and twenties living in his car behind Hollywood’s Chinese Theater and selling autographs for drug money.

But long after becoming one of Hollywood’s most infamous child-star cautionary tales, Danny is clean and working again.

Brett Butler

Shortly after comedian Brett Butler’s struggle with addiction ended her show Grace Under Fire, she found herself living in Georgia on a farm with 15 pets.

And in 2011, Butler reported that all of her money was gone and she is now living in a homeless shelter.

Leon Spinks

Boxer Leon Spinks once defeated Muhammad Ali to win the world heavyweight championship on Feb. 15, 1978.

But today, Leon Spinks has spent his winnings, developed dementia and was even homeless for a while. Now, reports are that 60-year-old Spinks is working at McDonald’s to make ends meet.

Paula Jai Parker

When actress Paula Jai Parker revealed that she was once homeless before starring inn Hollywood Divas, fans wondered how could an actress who was in classics like Friday and Hustle & Flow end up without a home and living out of extended stay hotel rooms.

Paula said that she was “blackballed” out of Hollywood from people that she thought were her friends. But now she’s using her bout with homelessness to represent others in the same situation:

“I am not the only person going through homelessness … As I stood in those food stamp lines and humbled myself and did what I had to do for my son … [she starts crying] I did it because I want other people to know that they are not alone. It’s a national issue. I genuinely believe that God wanted me to talk about it.”

We’re glad things are finally looking up for Paula.

Nicolas Cage

Not all celebrity homelessness is created equal. When Nicolas Cage had to sell of his real estate to pay back the millions he owed the IRS, we imagine he found more than one celebrity couch to crash on.

Mike Tyson

In 2004, after biting Holyfield’s ear and going from $300 million in the bank to $24 million in debt, Mike Tyson told the New York Sun,

“For the past two years, I been a bum, truly a bum in the streets. I got nowhere to live. I been crashing with friends, sleeping in shelters.

Unsavory characters are giving me money and I’m taking it. I need it. The drug dealers, they sympathize with me. They see me as some sort of pathetic character.”

Shortly after the interview, however, Mike got back in the ring and even in front of the camera.

Sylvester Stewart

Once upon a time, the genius behind Sly & The Family Stone was one of the biggest names in music. He once owned multiple homes and even a vineyard in Napa Valley.

But after years of drug use and overspending, Sly Stone found himself living out of a van on the streets of Los Angeles in 2009.

Randy Quaid

Randy Quaid was once the star of several 90’s films. But more recently, Randy Quaid’s homelessness has been making front page news. Desperate for a place to live, Randy and his wife used stolen credit cards to purchase hotel rooms, skipping out on bills as large as $10,000.

Now, TMZ now reports that both Randy and his wife are in Canada and seeking asylum from charges for credit card fraud.

Eric Williams

Last year, former Basketball Wives star Eric Williams recently told a Colorado court that he couldn’t show up to his child support hearing because he was homeless and couldn’t pay child support.

Eric says, the “court-ordered citation for me to appear was not delivered to my home address as I have no home.”

Williams owes $24K in child support but says that not only can’t he pay — he can’t afford airfare to court or the money to pay a lawyer.

Margot Kidder

Actress Margot Kidder was once famous for playing Superman’s love interest (and dating leading men like Richard Pryor). But bouts of mental illness and bouts of paranoia drove Margot to sleeping in cardboard boxes and backyards around Los Angeles in the 90s.

When one woman found a woman with her front teeth missing and her hair cut off, was shocked to hear, “I may not look like it, but I’m Margot Kidder.”

Thankfully, Margot has since recovered and is living in Montana where she works as a political activist.