Lethal Limelight: rehab synonymous with vacation

Being born into fame: not as great as you would think. (SOURCE: http://www.purseblog.com)
Being born into fame: not as great as you would think. (SOURCE: http://www.purseblog.com)

Two familiar figures are standing, holding a baby in their arms. It’s soft, helpless – perfectly amazing. Little does this baby know, however, that it’s been brought into a world of chaos. Being born into the limelight of entertainment, although exhilarating and rewarding, can sometimes become a curse that can ruin the lives of those cast under its shadow.

Actors and actresses who were brought up in the money-making business of film, music, and popularity almost always take a turn for the worse. Is it because they feel like they need to lash out, to show who they truly are, or to escape from the people they pretend to be on the big screen? Perhaps it is due to the fact that for most of their lives, the camera has always been on them. These are the top 10 actors and actresses in history who have ever Gone Bad.

First on our list is our most recent to the countdown, Lindsay Lohan, as our Number 10. She made her debut in the filming industry with the remake movie “The Parent Trap”. As Lohan scaled into adolescence however, the cute twins she portrayed in “the Parent Trap” were long gone. Taking their place was a party obsession, which almost got her kicked off of the film “Georgia Rule”. Car crashes, cocaine obsession, rehab failures, and a DUI ensued.

If you hadn’t guessed yet, Brittany Spears is our Number 9. Spears started out as a pre-teen star on “The New Mickey Mouse Club”, turning into a pop legend for the music industry. After having a breakdown in front of the unrelenting paparazzi, losing her children to her ex-husband, and being charged for a hit and run, Spears has slowly begun to come back out on top. With her newest hit single, “Hold it Against Me”, she seems to be one of the few actresses bent on fixing her mistakes.Danny Bronaduce, number 8, suffered from severe addictions, can’t match up to Brad Renfro (“The Client”), who attempted to steal a 45-ft yacht with his best friend, and died from a heroin overdose at age 25. After getting heavy acne at puberty, Bobby Driscoll, considered a Disney Golden Boy as a kid, was caught with marijuana at 18, writing a fake check, and robbing an animal clinic of $450.

Dana Plato, child actress from a popular television show “Different Strokes”, was found dead at 35 from a drug overdose. Todd Bridges, yet another “Different Stokes” star, was arrested for a concealed weapon, placing a bomb threat on a car dealership, pulling a gun on his mechanic, and being charged for attempted murder after shooting his drug dealer eight times in an argument. Our top three are Scotty Beckett, Michael Jackson, and Robert Blake.

If the pressures of fame can make someone drug themselves to death, or try to commit murder, whenever you look towards your favorite actor or musician again, I would think twice about how amazing it must feel to be them. Having to wake up each day knowing everyone is in your face, either expecting perfection or waiting for you to make even the smallest mistake so they may blow it out of proportion.

They may love the attention, but what they get in return certainly doesn’t sound worth it.