The handsome Mekhi Phifer rose to fame in the mid-90s, playing a physician in the hit TV show ‘ER’. He then went on to act in several films, such as ‘8 Mile’, ‘O’, ‘Clockers’, ‘Honey’, and more. Obviously, he amassed quite the sum of money, but unfortunately for him, he had very weird and expensive tastes. Among them, a bed entirely made from leather and a huge amount of firearms.
He was spending more than he was making, and in 2014, Phifer had to file for bankruptcy. The actor owed more than $1 million and all he had to his name was a little over $60,000.
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye is a legend of soul music. His timeless songs became almost an anthem of the 70s, and people are still listening to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Let's Get It On", and countless more to this day. Gaye even won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 1996.
Sadly, Gaye had to file for bankruptcy in 1976 after failing to pay alimony to his ex-wife, Anna Gordy. After a judge declared he had to pay $600,000 from the royalties of his album "Here, My Dear", Gaye was left in a very bad economic situation. Tragically, Marvin Gaye died in 1984, after he was shot and killed by his own father when he tried to stop a fight between his parents. Gaye still owed almost $300,000 to his ex-wife in alimony.
Teresa Giudice
The loud-mouthed Teresa Giudice became famous after starring in the popular reality show, 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey'. Unfortunately, her and her husband Joe had big legal problems in 2013 after they were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud. Teresa got 15 months of jail time, and her husband was sentenced to 41 months.
Needless to say, the couple had to pay a lot of money, a huge part of which were in back taxes. Now, with Joe Giudice still serving jail time, Teresa is trying to get back on her feet.
Tionne 'T Boz' Watkins
American singer/songwriter Tionne Watkins was huge in the 90s. She was the "T" in the famous girl band, TLC, who were huge in the early 1990's, and were about to make a big comeback years later, until Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez sadly passed away.
This meant that Tionne was left jobless and without a steady income, which meant big trouble for the artist, since she was already in a bad economic situation. Unfortunately, Watkins has filed for bankruptcy three times, unable to pay taxes and mortgage. In 2013, she tried to apply for a debt pardon, but was denied after the judge considered the singer hadn't learned her lesson and was not reliable when it came to paying on time. We hope things have gotten better for 'T-Boz'!
Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds is another typical case of an actor that made millions and spent them unwisely. Very unwisely. During the 1980s, Reynolds made enough money to last him a lifetime, but then the insane spending spree happened. The actor bought a private jet, a 150-horse stable, invested in a restaurant chain that was bound to fail, and finally lost what he had left to alimony payments.
Reynolds filed for bankruptcy in 1996, as he was up to his neck in an $11 million debt. Recently, the actor admitted in a 'Vanity Fair' interview that all of his money problems were all his fault. At least he admits it!