Actresses Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter (or Serious DUI/DWI Incidents)

Stories about arrests and prosecutions can be hard to read, but they’re part of the fuller picture of Hollywood lives lived in public. Below is a fact-checked look at actresses who have faced either vehicular manslaughter (or homicide) charges or serious DUI/DWI cases, alongside quick snapshots of the projects many viewers know them from.

For each entry, you’ll find a brief, sourced recap of the legal case. You’ll also see helpful context about notable credits—the plots people remember, who else starred, and who was behind the camera—so you can place the headlines alongside the work.

Amy Locane

Locane, known to TV audiences for ‘Melrose Place’, was convicted in New Jersey of offenses including vehicular homicide after a 2010 crash; she later received an eight-year sentence on resentencing in 2020, with subsequent appeals addressing the term and credit for time served.

Before and beyond the case, Locane starred opposite Johnny Depp in John Waters’s ‘Cry-Baby’, a jukebox-styled teen musical about a greaser who falls for a “square,” and appeared in ‘School Ties’, the prep-school drama headlined by Brendan Fraser with early performances by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris O’Donnell.

Rebecca Gayheart

Gayheart pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after her car struck and killed a 9-year-old; she was sentenced to probation, fined, and ordered to make a safe-driving video, among other penalties.

Onscreen, she’s often remembered for horror and teen comedies like ‘Urban Legend’, about campus myths that turn deadly, and ‘Jawbreaker’, where a high-school birthday prank spirals into a cover-up; she also had arcs tied to ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’.

Lindsay Lohan

Lohan’s widely covered 2007 cases resulted in pleas to drunk-driving and other misdemeanor counts and a sentence including probation, rehab, and classes; she later served jail time in 2010 for violating probation from the drunk-driving and cocaine-possession case.

Viewers know her from ‘Mean Girls’, the Tina Fey-written high-school comedy directed by Mark Waters, ‘Freaky Friday’, a mother-daughter body-swap directed by Waters and co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and ‘The Parent Trap’, Nancy Meyers’s twin-switch family comedy that launched her film career.

Michelle Rodriguez

Rodriguez served jail time in 2007 after a judge found she violated probation terms stemming from an earlier drunk-driving case; the court cited missed community service and alcohol monitoring violations.

Her breakout, ‘Girlfight’, cast her as a Brooklyn teen boxer; she then joined ‘The Fast and the Furious’ ensemble as Letty alongside Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, and appeared in ‘Lost’, as well as action and sci-fi titles like ‘Resident Evil’, collaborating with directors including Rob Cohen, Paul W. S. Anderson, and James Cameron across her career.

Amanda Bynes

Bynes struck a plea deal in the case that followed her 2012 arrest, entering a no-contest plea to a reduced “wet reckless” charge; the court imposed probation and an alcohol-education program.

She’s best known for ‘She’s the Man’, a Shakespeare-inspired campus comedy co-starring Channing Tatum, ‘Hairspray’, a musical ensemble directed by Adam Shankman with John Travolta and Queen Latifah, ‘What a Girl Wants’, and Nickelodeon’s ‘The Amanda Show’, which showcased sketch characters that later turned up in her films.

Mischa Barton

Barton was arrested and later charged with misdemeanor drunk driving and other counts after a West Hollywood traffic stop; prosecutors filed charges for DUI, marijuana possession, and driving without a license.

On television she became synonymous with ‘The O.C.’, the Newport Beach teen soap from creator Josh Schwartz; earlier film work includes a pivotal scare in ‘The Sixth Sense’ for M. Night Shyamalan, a cameo in ‘Notting Hill’, and indie turns such as ‘Pups’.

Jaime Pressly

The ‘My Name Is Earl’ actress pleaded no contest in a DUI case and received three years’ probation, alcohol classes, and an ignition interlock requirement; police had alleged a high blood-alcohol level at arrest.

Pressly’s Emmy-winning comedic turn as Joy on ‘My Name Is Earl’ anchored a cast with Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee; film credits include spoof favorite ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, cult comedy ‘Joe Dirt’ opposite David Spade, and scene-stealing supporting roles in ensemble comedies.

Natasha Lyonne

Lyonne was arrested for DUI in Miami Beach and later pleaded guilty, receiving probation and community service.

Her career stretches from ‘American Pie’ (as Jessica) and ‘Slums of Beverly Hills’ to the Netflix mystery-loop series ‘Russian Doll’, which she co-created, writes, and stars in as Nadia; she’s also known for ‘Orange Is the New Black’, with long-running collaborations that spotlight her writer-director chops as well as her acting.

Estella Warren

Warren pleaded no contest to DUI after an arrest in which additional counts—including hit-and-run and resisting—were dropped; she received probation and a residential treatment requirement.

Audiences saw her in ‘Planet of the Apes’, Tim Burton’s reimagining of the sci-fi classic led by Mark Wahlberg with Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Roth, and in actioner ‘Driven’, centered on open-wheel racing with Sylvester Stallone; she’s also appeared on TV staples like ‘Law & Order’.

Tiffany Haddish

After her 2023 Beverly Hills arrest, Haddish reached a plea agreement in early 2024, with prosecutors dismissing DUI counts in favor of a no-contest plea to a reduced reckless-driving offense; she has a separate Georgia DUI case that has proceeded through pretrial motions and scheduling.

Her screen work spans ‘Girls Trip’, the buddy-madcap breakout with Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, and Jada Pinkett Smith, the mystery-comedy series ‘The Afterparty’, family adventure ‘Haunted Mansion’, and classroom comedy ‘Night School’, collaborating with directors like Malcolm D. Lee and ensemble casts across comedy and genre fare.

Share your thoughts below—what other cases or films tied to these performers should we discuss in the comments?