Gay Actresses Who Lost Fortunes

The entertainment industry is notorious for its volatile nature where immense wealth can evaporate due to legal battles or poor financial management. Many prominent actresses who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer have faced significant economic hardships despite their fame. These financial struggles often stem from predatory contracts, personal crises, or the systemic challenges faced by LGBTQ+ women in Hollywood. The following list highlights talented performers who navigated the difficult journey of losing their accumulated wealth.

Lindsay Lohan

Lohan was one of the highest-paid actresses in the early 2000s before legal troubles and personal struggles drained her finances. She was open about her bisexual relationships during the peak of her tabloid fame. A series of arrests and rehabilitation stints led to lost acting roles and mounting legal fees that depleted her savings. The IRS eventually seized control of her bank accounts to cover unpaid taxes during her most difficult years.

Josephine Baker

The bisexual performer became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture and was a celebrated figure in France. She amassed a significant fortune but spent much of it supporting her large adopted family known as the Rainbow Tribe. Baker eventually faced total bankruptcy and was evicted from her beloved Château des Milandes. Princess Grace of Monaco famously stepped in to offer her a villa and financial support when she was left homeless.

Alla Nazimova

Nazimova was a silent film superstar and a pioneer for lesbian and bisexual women in early Hollywood. She founded the Garden of Allah hotel and produced her own avant-garde film titled ‘Salome’. The movie was a commercial failure that cost her a tremendous amount of money and effectively ruined her standing as a producer. She spent her later years living in a small apartment within the very hotel she once owned.

Courtney Love

The Golden Globe-nominated actress and musician has been open about her bisexuality throughout her career. Love claimed to have lost hundreds of millions of dollars of Nirvana royalties due to theft and financial mismanagement by trustees. She faced numerous lawsuits and accumulated massive debt that forced her to sell rights to her music catalog. Her financial recovery has been a long process involving forensic accountants and legal battles.

Louise Brooks

This silent film icon known for her sharp bob hairstyle was openly bisexual and rejected the constraints of the studio system. Her refusal to conform to Hollywood demands led to her being blacklisted which destroyed her high-earning career. Brooks fell into obscurity and poverty while working as a sales clerk in New York City for many years. She only received financial stability and recognition again late in life when film historians rediscovered her work.

Amber Heard

Heard has been an outspoken advocate for bisexual visibility in Hollywood while building her acting career. She faced a widely publicized defamation trial that resulted in a judgment requiring her to pay millions in damages. The actress had to sell her California home and relied on insurance policies to help cover the staggering legal costs. Her financial standing took a massive hit due to the prolonged courtroom battles and subsequent settlements.

Da Brat

The rapper and actress became a visible figure in the LGBTQ+ community after coming out as a lesbian. She filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a court ordered her to pay a massive judgment to a former cheerleader following a nightclub altercation. Her liabilities significantly outweighed her assets at the time of the filing. The legal judgment drained her royalties and earnings from her work in music and television.

Mel B

Melanie Brown rose to global fame as a member of the Spice Girls and later had a successful television career. The openly bisexual star revealed that she lost nearly her entire fortune during a tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce battles. She claimed to have been left with only a few hundred dollars in her bank account after leaving her ex-husband. Brown had to rebuild her finances from scratch despite having been part of the best-selling girl group of all time.

Lady Gaga

This Academy Award-nominated actress and singer identifies as bisexual and is a fierce advocate for equality. She admitted to technically going bankrupt at the start of her ‘The Monster Ball Tour’ due to the exorbitant costs of the stage production. The star invested her own money into the show to ensure its quality which briefly left her millions of dollars in debt. She eventually recouped the losses and built a massive empire through successful tours and acting roles.

Hedy Lamarr

Lamarr was a Hollywood siren who had relationships with women and men while also inventing frequency-hopping technology. She made a fortune as a film star but lost much of it due to six failed marriages and a lack of compensation for her scientific patents. Her later years were marked by a secluded life and significant financial decline. She passed away with a modest estate compared to the millions she generated for MGM studios.

Bella Thorne

Thorne identifies as pansexual and has transitioned from a child star to a controversial adult figure. She revealed that she had only two hundred dollars to her name after breaking away from the Disney Channel machine. The actress turned to social media platforms to regain financial independence after facing the rigid restrictions of traditional Hollywood contracts. Her quick accumulation of wealth on subscription sites came after a period of frightening financial insecurity.

Anne Heche

Heche faced immediate professional backlash in the 1990s when she went public with her same-sex relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. She claimed that major studios stopped hiring her for leading roles which cost her millions in potential earnings. The actress struggled financially for years as she worked to rebuild her career in independent films and television. Her estate was left in a complicated financial situation following her tragic death.

Ethel Waters

Waters was a pioneering Black actress and singer who lived with her female partner for many years. She was once the highest-paid performer on Broadway but her religious fervor and health issues later affected her career. She donated much of her wealth to church organizations and eventually lived in near poverty. Waters toured with religious crusades in her final years rather than performing on the secular stage.

Tallulah Bankhead

Bankhead was a stage and screen legend known for her husky voice and open bisexuality. She came from a wealthy political family but burned through her earnings with a lavish lifestyle and excessive generosity. The actress often spent money as fast as she earned it and struggled with cash flow problems towards the end of her life. Her estate was surprisingly small considering her status as a theater icon.

Natasha Lyonne

Lyonne is a beloved queer icon who faced a dark period of addiction and legal trouble in the mid-2000s. The ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ actress lost her home and depleted her savings while battling health issues that nearly cost her life. She was unable to work for several years which created a significant financial gap. She successfully rebuilt her fortune and career with hit streaming series later in life.

Whitney Houston

Houston was one of the greatest vocalists in history and rumors of her relationship with Robyn Crawford were confirmed after her death. She earned a massive fortune during her peak but struggled with addiction that led to unchecked spending. The singer passed away with significant debts owed to her record label and creditors. Her estate only generated substantial wealth again through posthumous sales and licensing.

Anna Nicole Smith

The model and actress was openly bisexual and famously married an elderly billionaire. She faced a relentless legal battle over her late husband’s estate that dragged on for over a decade without her receiving the billions she sought. Smith filed for bankruptcy in California as the court cases drained her resources. She died with the legal resolution of her financial claims still in limbo.

Billie Holiday

Holiday was a jazz legend who had relationships with both men and women during her turbulent life. She was frequently targeted by law enforcement and lost her cabaret card which prevented her from working in New York clubs. The lack of steady income and the exploitation by managers left her destitute. She passed away in a hospital bed with less than a dollar attached to her leg.

Margaret Cho

The bisexual comedian and actress has been a trailblazer for Asian-American representation in entertainment. She experienced severe financial lows early in her career after her sitcom was cancelled and she battled substance abuse. Cho had to tour relentlessly to rebuild her finances after facing near ruin. She now uses those experiences to fuel her comedy and advocacy work.

Heather Matarazzo

Matarazzo is an openly lesbian actress known for her role in ‘The Princess Diaries’ and independent films. She has spoken publicly about the difficulties of maintaining a middle-class life as a working actor in Hollywood. The actress admitted to hitting rock bottom financially and struggling to pay basic bills despite her fame. She highlighted how the industry often fails to support character actors who are not A-list stars.

Kesha

The singer and actress identifies as pansexual and has fought a high-profile legal war against her former producer. The cost of her defamation and contract lawsuits amounted to millions of dollars and stalled her career for years. She was unable to release new music or tour freely which severely impacted her income. The financial strain of the litigation nearly caused her professional and personal bankruptcy.

Amanda Bynes

Bynes was a massive star on Nickelodeon and in teen comedies before suffering a very public breakdown. She once tweeted about her bisexuality during a period of erratic behavior that led to a conservatorship. The actress lost a significant portion of her earnings due to a lack of work and medical expenses. Her parents controlled her finances for years to prevent total insolvency.

Nina Simone

The High Priestess of Soul was a bisexual icon who used her platform to fight for civil rights. She faced serious tax troubles with the IRS which forced her to live in exile in Barbados and Europe. Simone claimed she was unaware of the unpaid taxes due to mismanagement by her husband and manager. She spent years working abroad to maintain her livelihood while avoiding US authorities.

Tatum O’Neal

O’Neal was the youngest person to win an Academy Award and had relationships with women later in life. Her early success was overshadowed by a severe addiction to heroin that decimated her finances. She lost custody of her children and faced arrest while her acting roles dried up. The actress had to work hard to regain sobriety and financial stability after losing her childhood earnings.

Bessie Smith

Smith was known as the Empress of the Blues and was openly bisexual during the 1920s and 1930s. She was the highest-paid Black entertainer of her day but the Great Depression and changing musical tastes eroded her wealth. Her husband also mismanaged her earnings which left her with little savings. She was performing in small shows to make ends meet before her tragic death in a car accident.

Marlene Dietrich

Dietrich was a screen legend who challenged gender norms and enjoyed bisexual affairs. She earned a massive salary during her Hollywood peak but spent lavishly and gave money freely to support the war effort. The actress was plagued by tax debts and cash flow issues in her later years. She spent the final decade of her life in seclusion in Paris while struggling to maintain her finances.

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