Celebrities who have served prison time
Bill Cosby
On Sept. 25, 2018, actor-comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to10 years in prison for sexual assault. He was found guilty in April of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his gated estate in 2004 after being barraged with similar accusations from more than 60 women over the past five decades.
Mark Wahlberg
In 1996, Mark Wahlberg was sentenced to 2 years in prison after he attacked a man with a metal stick. Wahlberg was released from prison after serving 45 days of his sentence.
Lil' Kim
In 2005, Kimberly Denise Jones, who performs as Lil' Kim, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison along with a $50,000 fine for lying to a federal grand jury to protect friends involved in a 2001 shooting that took place outside a Manhattan radio station. She was released after serving 10 months of her sentence.
Robert Downey Jr.
In 1999, Robert Downey Jr. was sentenced to 3 years in prison for violating probation from his 1996 drug and weapon conviction. He was released on bail after serving one year.
Tommy Lee
In 1998, Tommy Lee served 6 months in prison for battering his then-wife, actress Pamela Anderson.
OJ Simpson
Football star and actor O.J. Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison for an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. After 9 years in prison, Simpson was released on Oct. 1, 2017.
Tim Allen
In 1979, actor Tim Allen was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for drug trafficking. He left prison in 1981.
Phil Spector
In 2009, record producer Phil Spector was found guilty in the slaying of actress Lana Clarkson. He is now serving 19 years to life for the 2003 murder.
Lauryn Hill
In 2013, singer and former Fugee member Lauryn Hill was sentenced to 3 months in prison for failing to pay taxes on $1.8 million in earnings.
Martha Stewart
In 2004, television home advice host Martha Stewart was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for felony charges of conspiracy, plus 5 months of home confinement, for lying to federal investigators about stock sales. She was released in 2005 to home confinement.
Wesley Snipes
In 2008, actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to 3 years in prison for failure to file tax returns from 1994 to 2000. He began serving the sentence in 2010 and was released in 2013. The photo is from 2006.
James Brown
In 1988, the late James Brown, a singer and band leader, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for failing to stop for the police during an car chase. Brown was the subject of an emergency police chase due to a tip that he had been carrying a gun and was behaving dangerously. Brown died in 2006.