Actresses Charged with Assault or Battery (On-Set and Off-Set)

Stories about performers sometimes spill over from sets and red carpets into police blotters. Below is a clear, sourced look at actresses who, at one point, faced assault- or battery-related charges—whether incidents happened during a production or far from work. Each entry also spotlights notable projects they’re known for, so you have context for the careers behind the headlines.

Whenever a film or series is mentioned, you’ll see basic, practical details—what it’s about, who made it, and who starred in it—so the legal notes sit alongside the work most people associate with these names. Charges and outcomes are cited directly from news reports and official statements.

Heather Locklear

Heather Locklear was charged in Ventura County after deputies responded to her home and accused her of battering first responders; the case ultimately led to a no-contest plea in which she admitted multiple misdemeanor counts, including battery on peace officers and on emergency personnel, and she was ordered to complete residential treatment. In television, she’s widely associated with the primetime soap ‘Melrose Place’, created by Darren Star, where she played advertising executive Amanda Woodward opposite an ensemble that included Thomas Calabro, Marcia Cross, Josie Bissett, and Andrew Shue; the series follows interlocking romances, betrayals, and workplace conflicts centered on an L.A. apartment courtyard set.

Earlier, Locklear had a breakout on ‘Dynasty’, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro, portraying Sammy Jo in the Carrington-Colby family saga alongside John Forsythe, Linda Evans, and Joan Collins; the show tracks corporate power plays, marriages, and custody battles around an oil empire and its rivals. She also headlined ‘T.J. Hooker’, a police procedural starring William Shatner and Adrian Zmed, which focuses on beat cops tackling street crime, stakeouts, and training new recruits.

Naya Rivera

Naya Rivera was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery in West Virginia following an incident involving her then-husband; prosecutors later dismissed the case after he declined to move forward, according to local authorities and court updates. Rivera is best known for ‘Glee’, the musical dramedy created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, where she played cheerleader-turned-singer Santana Lopez in a cast that included Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, and Amber Riley; the series blends pop covers and show tunes with storylines about friendship, rivalry, and identity inside and outside a high-school glee club.

Beyond ‘Glee’, Rivera appeared in ‘Step Up: High Water’, a dance-drama set around a performing-arts school that weaves audition pressures, choreography, and music-industry subplots into episodic arcs; the ensemble features dancers and actors navigating mentorships, rival crews, and family dynamics. She also released music connected to her screen career, intersecting performance and recording across projects that showcased singing as a central skill within narrative television.

Paz de la Huerta

Paz de la Huerta was charged in Manhattan after a confrontation at The Standard Hotel with reality-TV alum Samantha Swetra, with prosecutors filing multiple misdemeanor counts including attempted assault and third-degree assault; subsequent coverage noted the case’s movement toward a plea on a lesser violation. On television she’s closely tied to ‘Boardwalk Empire’, created by Terence Winter with the pilot directed by Martin Scorsese, where she portrayed Lucy Danziger opposite Steve Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson; set in Prohibition-era Atlantic City, the series follows bootlegging alliances, political graft, and organized-crime rivalries across storylines featuring Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

The show’s production emphasizes period detail—costume design, era-specific sets, and jazz-age clubs—while threading historical figures like Al Capone and Arnold Rothstein into its fictional arcs. De la Huerta’s character intersects with Nucky’s personal and political life, contributing to subplots about speakeasies, showgirls, and shifting loyalties among bootleggers and city officials, supported by a writers’ room that interweaves real events with serialized drama.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan was arrested in New York City and charged with third-degree assault following an altercation at a Manhattan nightclub; months later, Manhattan prosecutors declined to pursue the case further, according to contemporaneous reporting. Her best-known work includes ‘Mean Girls’, written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters, in which she plays Cady Heron alongside Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried; the film follows a homeschooled newcomer navigating cliques, burn books, and social politics in an American high school, with a supporting ensemble that includes Fey and Tim Meadows.

Lohan also anchored Disney’s ‘Freaky Friday’, directed by Mark Waters from Mary Rodgers’ body-swap premise, co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis in a mother-daughter story built around swapped identities, band tryouts, and family reconciliation; earlier, she debuted in ‘The Parent Trap’, directed by Nancy Meyers, playing twin sisters who scheme at summer camp to reunite their divorced parents, a plot built on mistaken identities, pranks, and cross-Atlantic family logistics with Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson.

Taryn Manning

Taryn Manning was arrested in New York after an altercation with her assistant, with police initially filing two misdemeanor charges—assault and strangulation—before the case was later dismissed when the complainant declined to proceed. On television, Manning is known for ‘Orange Is the New Black’, created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix, where she plays Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett among a large ensemble including Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, and Laura Prepon; the series blends comedy and drama to follow inmates and staff at a women’s federal prison, using flashbacks to unpack backstories tied to family, faith, addiction, and the justice system.

In film, she appeared in ‘Hustle & Flow’, written and directed by Craig Brewer, which centers on a Memphis hustler striving to record a rap demo with help from friends and partners, culminating in sessions, beat-making, and a brush with a successful hometown artist; the cast includes Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, and DJ Qualls, and the production’s music elements frame plot turns around studio time, mixtapes, and hard choices about loyalty and ambition.

Share your thoughts on these cases—and the projects these actresses are known for—in the comments.