Famous People Who Were Involved in Scandals a to z

Gelsey Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet at age 15, becoming its youngest member. In 1984, she left the spotlight for several years due to physical and emotional issues.

Extraordinarily beautiful, Hedy Lamarr was a Austrian-American actress during MGM's "Golden Age."

Wen Ho Lee is a nuclear engineer who was working at Los Alamos National Laboratory when he was accused of being a Chinese spy.

Conservative Rush Limbaugh hosts the syndicated and controversial radio talk show, The Rush Limbaugh Show. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Writer and aviation pioneer Anne Morrow Lindbergh was married to aviator Charles Lindbergh. The couple’s child was kidnapped for ransom and murdered in 1932.

Louis VII was king of France who pursued a long rivalry with Henry II of England.

Before she became the poster child for drugs and plastic surgery, Courtney Love was an alternative rock star married to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

William Lyon Mackenzie was a journalist and political agitator who led an unsuccessful revolt against the Canadian government in 1837.

Playwright, poet. Christopher Marlowe was a poet and playwright at the forefront of the 16th-century dramatic renaissance. His works influenced William Shakespeare and generations of writers to follow.

Willie Mays played professional baseball for the Giants and the Mets. He was one of the best batters and fielders at the time.

Thabo Mbeki is a South African politician best known as the two-term president of South Africa after Nelson Mandela.

Erik Menendez and brother Lyle were found guilty of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They were both sentenced to life in prison in 1996.

Lyle Menendez was convicted, along with his brother Erik, of killing his parents. They each unsuccessfully claimed self-defense, and were sentenced to life in prison in 1996.

Kate Middleton, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, married Prince William in 2011 at Westminster Abbey. She will not be a princess until Prince Charles inherits the throne.

Stage, television and screen actor Zero Mostel won a Tony Award playing Tevye in Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof, and starred in Mel Brooks' film The Producers.

Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson in November 2011.

As Roman emperor, Nero’s reign was lavish and tyrannical. He killed his mother, persecuted Christians and is said to have "fiddled while Rome burned."

Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president and the only commander-in-chief to resign from his position, after the 1970s Watergate scandal.

Manuel Noriega was the military ruler of Panama who ran a corrupt puppet government there until the United States drove him out in 1990.

Bob Novak was a conservative TV talk show personality, most famously appearing on CNN's often-explosive Crossfire.

With her signature shaved head, Sinead O'Connor emerged with a powerful and expressive voice, complex songs, and a fair share of controversy.

Yoko Ono is a multimedia artist who became known worldwide in the 1960s when she married Beatles front man John Lennon.

Paul I of Russia served as the nation's emperor for a brief, tyrannical five years before he was assassinated 1801.

Thomas Pendergast was a political boss of Kansas City in the early 20th century.

Joaquin Phoenix is an actor known for such films as Gladiator and Walk the Line, in which he played Johnny Cash.

Comedian Joe Piscopo joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980 where he was known for his impressions of celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

Prince Harry is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Princess Diana. He known for his teenage escapades and his charitable work.

Mary Queen of Scots is one of the most fascinating and controversial monarchs of the 16th century who claimed the crowns of four nations in her lifetime.

Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 1980s.

Tony Randall was an actor who played popular television character Felix Unger on the hit series The Odd Couple.

Called “the greatest actress of our time” by Tennessee Williams, Vanessa Redgrave is an acclaimed actress of stage and screen.

Wilhelm Reich was a psychiatrist who developed psychoanalysis that concentrated on overall character structure rather than on individual symptoms.

Harry Reid is a Democratic U.S. senator from Nevada. He was elected Senate majority leader in 2008. 

Richard III was king of England for two turbulent years. He is best known for being accused of murdering his nephews to protect his throne.

Louis Riel was the leader of the Métis in western Canada who led his people in revolt against Canadian sovereignty.

Pat Robertson is a television evangelist best known for founding the Christian Coalition, an influential conservative political organization.

Wayne Rooney is one of the world's best-known soccer players and a top scorer for the Manchester United club.

American baseball star Pete Rose established a career record for hits before earning a lifetime suspension for gambling on the sport.

Roberto Rossellini, father of actress Isabella Rossellini, was an Italian film director associated with the Neorealist movement. His most celebrated work is Rome, Open City.

Politician Karl Rove was linked to scandals while with the George W. Bush administration, including the email incident relating to U.S. attorneys’ dismissals.

Debbie Rowe is known as the surrogate mother for two of pop star Michael Jackson's children.

Winona Ryder is a film actress known for dark, quirky roles in such films as Heathers and Girl, Interrupted.

Madame de Récamier was a Parisian hostess who attracted her time's literary and political big wigs and inspired the wrath of Napoleon.

Nicolas Sarkozy served as France's 23rd president from 2007 to 2012. His term was marked by controversy, which included his marriage to Carla Bruni in 2008.

Mobutu Sésé Seko was president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was also known as Zaire for much of his reign, from 1965 to 1997.

In 1999, Criminal Defense Attorney Catherine Shelton was accused of shooting her rival, Marissa Hierro. Shelton’s husband was convicted, while she was absolved.

William Shockley was an engineer and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his development of the transistor.

O.J. Simpson is best known for his arrest and trial in the 1994 murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, of which he was found not guilty.

Frank Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, forging a career as an award-winning singer and film actor.

Peter Singer is an Australian philosopher whose work in applied ethics has led to controversial views on abortion, animal liberation and infanticide.

William Thomas Stead was a writer of journalistic pieces and ghost stories whose life came to an end on the Titanic.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the former IMF chief who faced sexual assault charges that were dismissed.

Sundance Kid was an American criminal best known for his train robberies and bank heists with the Wild Bunch gang in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

Manti Te'o is an American football player who became embroiled in controversy in early 2013, when the story of his girlfriend's tragic death was revealed to be a fabrication.

William Monroe Trotter was a Harvard-educated journalist and activist who championed equal rights for African Americans.

Mary Tudor was queen of England from 1553 to 1558. She became known as "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants.

Film Actor Christopher Walken often plays the bad guy, but he has also proved himself in comic roles and has been a repeat guest on Saturday Night Live.

Randy Weaver, former U.S. Army combat engineer, is best known for being at the center of a deadly confrontation with FBI agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992.

Jeffrey Wigand became famous in the 1990s when he took public his knowledge that cigarette companies had tried to conceal the dangers of smoking.

Wendy Williams is a radio DJ and TV talk show host known for her no-nonsense attitude and brash on-air personality.

Ann Woodward was an American socialite best known as a murder suspect for the death of her husband who had planned to divorce her. She was never convicted of the crime.

Bob Woodward is an American journalist and author who reported on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. His coverage greatly contributed to the Post's 1973 Pulitzer Prize.

Loretta young was a child actor who became one of Hollywood's leading ladies in the 1930s and 1940s.