Actresses Charged with Thefth, Burglary or Robbery

Headlines about celebrity legal troubles always draw attention, but the details can easily get murky. Below is a straightforward look at actresses who, at one point, were charged in cases involving theft, burglary, or robbery. Each entry also recaps notable work from their careers—because context matters and their film and TV credits are what put them in the public eye in the first place.

You’ll find brief case facts followed by quick snapshots of key projects—plots, casts, and crews—so you can place each name alongside the roles and productions you might already know. Titles appear in single quotes throughout to keep things clear and consistent.

Winona Ryder

Ryder was convicted of felony grand theft and vandalism after authorities said she shoplifted more than $5,500 in merchandise from a Beverly Hills department store; a jury acquitted her of burglary, and she later received probation and community service. On the screen, she’s long been associated with offbeat and period dramas, including the dark high-school satire ‘Heathers’ with Christian Slater under director Michael Lehmann, and Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Scissorhands’ opposite Johnny Depp.

Her dramatic range shows in ‘Girl, Interrupted’, the psychiatric-ward drama directed by James Mangold and featuring Angelina Jolie, and in Gillian Armstrong’s adaptation of ‘Little Women’, where the ensemble includes Claire Danes and Kirsten Dunst. Ryder’s later TV resurgence connected a new generation to her work through ‘Stranger Things’, the supernatural ensemble series created by the Duffer Brothers, alongside David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown.

Lindsay Lohan

Lohan was charged after a Venice jewelry store reported a $2,500 necklace missing; the case was reduced to a misdemeanor, and she entered a no-contest plea that resulted in a 120-day sentence (served under monitoring) and community service while remaining on probation. On the film side, she headlined the high-school comedy ‘Mean Girls’, directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey, costarring Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacey Chabert.

Her earlier breakout came with the family comedy ‘The Parent Trap’, a Nancy Meyers film in which she played twins opposite Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson. She followed with ‘Freaky Friday’, reuniting with director Mark Waters and starring with Jamie Lee Curtis, and the ensemble comedy ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ under director Robert Altman, sharing scenes with Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin.

Bai Ling

Airport police cited Bai Ling for misdemeanor shoplifting after a gift-shop employee at LAX accused her of taking magazines and a pack of batteries; she later reached a plea deal in the case. In films, she’s known for stylish genre and action projects, including ‘The Crow’ from director Alex Proyas, where she shared the screen with Brandon Lee, and ‘Red Corner’ opposite Richard Gere in a legal-thriller setup directed by Jon Avnet.

She also appeared in ‘Anna and the King’, an historical drama directed by Andy Tennant and led by Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat, and in the retro-adventure ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ from director Kerry Conran, starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. Her supporting turns often place her in politically tense or visually stylized worlds, which has kept her working across Hollywood and international productions.

Hedy Lamarr

Lamarr faced a widely covered Los Angeles shoplifting trial in the May Company case and, decades later, was arrested in Florida in a separate incident that prosecutors agreed to dismiss if she stayed out of trouble for a year; coverage of the later case noted it involved low-value items from a drugstore. Beyond the headlines, Lamarr is remembered for roles like the biblical epic ‘Samson and Delilah’ under director Cecil B. DeMille, and the crime romance ‘Algiers’ with Charles Boyer directed by John Cromwell.

She first drew international notice with the Czech drama ‘Ecstasy’ from director Gustav Machatý, and later balanced Hollywood stardom with a career as an inventor—her frequency-hopping patent with composer George Antheil is often cited in discussions of early spread-spectrum concepts. On screen, her performances leaned into glamour and intrigue, while off screen her technical curiosity set her apart from many contemporaries.

Kim Richards

Richards was arrested after a Target store in the San Fernando Valley reported more than $600 in merchandise taken; she later pleaded no contest to one count of petty theft and was sentenced to probation, community service, and meetings as part of the disposition. As a performer, Richards is familiar to Disney fans from ‘Escape to Witch Mountain’, where she and Ike Eisenmann play siblings with extraordinary abilities, and from the family sitcom ‘Nanny and the Professor’ with Juliet Mills and Richard Long.

Beyond child-star roles, she appeared in John Carpenter’s original ‘Assault on Precinct 13’, known for its stripped-down siege plot and tense ensemble, and later reentered pop culture with ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’, a Bravo series that documents the personal and professional lives of its cast, including her sister Kyle Richards.

Share the cases or credits you remember most—and any titles we should add—in the comments.