Celebrities and Public Figures Who Were Unjustly Persecuted

by HBSmith_Critic | created - 11 months ago | updated - 2 months ago | Public

Internet

1. Rebecca Watson

References

1. The bubblegum misogyny of 2000s pop culture (Vox)

1. Monica Lewinsky

Actress | Elvis Found Alive

Monica Lewinsky was born on July 23, 1973 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Elvis Found Alive (2012), American Crime Story (2016) and Untitled 20th Television / Littlefield Company / Amanda Knox Project.

Documentaries and miniseries

2. Heather Mills

Actress | Comic Relief 2005: Is This the Way to Amarillo

Heather Mills was born on January 12, 1968 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Comic Relief 2005: Is This the Way to Amarillo (2005), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Streetlife (2000). She was previously married to Paul McCartney and Alfie Karmal.

4. Yoko Ono

Soundtrack | The Beatles: Get Back

Yoko Ono was born on Saturday, February 18th, 1933, in her ancestral estate in Tokyo, Japan. Her father, Eisuke Ono, was the descendant of a 9th Century Emperor of Japan. Her mother, Isoko Yasuda Ono, was the granddaughter of Zenijiro Yasuda, the founder of Yasuda Bank. Yoko was two years old when ...

5. Sinéad O'Connor

Soundtrack | In the Name of the Father

Sinéad O'Connor was born on December 8, 1966 in Glenageary, Ireland. She was a music artist and actress, known for In the Name of the Father (1993), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Sinéad O'Connor: Nothing Compares 2 U (1990). She was married to Barry Herridge, Steve Cooney, Nicholas Sommerlad and ...

6. The Chicks

Soundtrack | Runaway Bride

The Dixie Chicks are a popular trio of women country-and-western musicians who hail from Texas. Their public comments have increasingly made them controversial, even among their own fans.

The group began in 1989 singing on a Dallas street corner. Their music initially stayed largely within the ...

7. Janet Jackson

Soundtrack | Poetic Justice

Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana, to Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse) and Joe Jackson, a musician. She is the youngest of ten children. Before her birth, her brothers formed a band later called The Jackson 5. She lived at home with her sisters, while ...

Documentary

8. Britney Spears

Soundtrack | Crossroads

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi & raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. As a child, Britney attended dance classes, and she was great at gymnastics, winning many competitions and the like. But, most of all, Britney loved to sing. At age 8, Britney tried out for The ...

Documentary

9. Megan Thee Stallion

Soundtrack | Mean Girls

Megan Thee Stallion was born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete on February 15, 1995 in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Houston, Texas to Holly Aleece Thomas & Joseph Pete. The seductive femcee is a full-time college student, as well as a choreographed dancer and model. Under her mother's management company, ...

Documentary

10. Paris Hilton

Actress | The Hottie & the Nottie

One of today's most recognizable entrepreneurs and international influencers, Paris Hilton is a pioneer in reality television and an innovator in social media and celebrity branding.

Since starring in "The Simple Life," Hilton has built a global empire as an influencer, DJ, designer, recording ...

11. Amanda Bynes

Actress | Hairspray

Amanda Laura Bynes was born on April 3, 1986, in Thousand Oaks, California, the youngest of three children of Lynn (Organ), a dental assistant, and Richard Bynes, a dentist. Her father is of Lithuanian, Irish, and Polish descent, and her mother is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Toronto. ...

12. Dylan Mulvaney

Actress | Dylan Mulvaney - Blue Christmas

Dylan Mulvaney (she/they) is a trans actress, comic, and content creator. Her viral videos have received nearly 1 billion views across Tiktok and Instagram. In 2022, she was awarded the Tiktok Trailblazer award for her viral series "Days of Girlhood" documenting her transition journey. Pre-pandemic...

13. Olivia Wilde

Actress | Tron: Legacy

Actress and activist Olivia Wilde is a modern day renaissance woman, starring in many acclaimed film productions, while simultaneously giving back to the community.

She was born on March 10, 1984 in New York City. Her parents are Leslie Cockburn (née Leslie Corkill Redlich) and Andrew Cockburn. Her ...

14. Amber Heard

Actress | Aquaman

Amber Laura Heard was born in Austin, Texas, to Patricia Paige Heard (née Parsons), an internet researcher, and David C. Heard (David Clinton Heard), a contractor. She has English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Welsh ancestry.

Heard appeared in the Academy Award-nominated film, North Country (2005), ...

15. Anne Hathaway

Actress | Les Misérables

Anne Jacqueline Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate McCauley Hathaway, an actress, and Gerald T. Hathaway, a lawyer, both originally from Philadelphia. She is of mostly Irish descent, along with English, German, and French. Her first major role came in the short-lived television series ...

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

16. Brie Larson

Actress | Room

Brie Larson has built an impressive career as an acclaimed television actress, rising feature film star and emerging recording artist. A native of Sacramento, Brie started studying drama at the early age of 6, as the youngest student ever to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco...

Academy Award for Best Actress

17. Chloe Dykstra

Actress | Diminuendo

Chloe Dykstra was born on September 15, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Diminuendo (2018), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and There Will Be Brawl (2009).

18. Jada Pinkett Smith

Actress | The Matrix Revolutions

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Robsol Grant Pinkett, Jr., a contractor, and 'Gammy' Adrienne Banfield Norris, a nurse. They divorced after only a few months of marriage. Her father is of African-American descent and her mother is of Afro-Caribbean ancestry (from ...

19. Katherine Heigl

Actress | One for the Money

Katherine Marie Heigl was born on November 24, 1978 in Washington, D.C., to Nancy Heigl (née Engelhardt), a personnel manager, and Paul Heigl, an accountant and executive. Her father is of German/Swiss-German and Irish descent, and her mother is of German ancestry. A short time after her birth, the...

20. Lindsay Lohan

Actress | The Parent Trap

Lindsay Dee Lohan was born in New York City, on 2 July 1986, to Dina Lohan and Michael Lohan. She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby). Lohan ...

21. Macaulay Culkin

Actor | Home Alone

Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous American child stars, was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA, as the third of seven children of his father Kit Culkin (a former stage and child actor and also Macaulay's former manager) and mother Patricia Brentrup. He is the brother of ...

22. Megan Fox

Actress | Transformers

Megan Denise Fox was born on May 16, 1986 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and raised in Rockwood, Tennessee to Gloria Darlene Tonachio (née Cisson), a real estate manager & Franklin Thomas Fox, a parole officer. She began her drama and dance training at age 5 and at age 10, she moved to Port St. Lucie, ...

23. Mo'Nique

Actress | Precious

Mo'Nique received a standing ovation when she stepped on stage for the first time in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, giving her confidence to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. After numerous stand-up performances, she took a leap forward with one of the starring roles in The Parkers (...

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

24. Shelley Duvall

Actress | The Shining

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the first child to Bobbie Ruth (Massengale, 1929-2020), a real estate broker, and Robert Richardson Duvall (1919-1994), a lawyer. At the time of her birth, her mother was visiting her grandmother in Fort Worth, though Duvall was raised in Houston...

25. Sophie Turner

Actress | Game of Thrones

Sophie Belinda Jonas (née Turner; born February 21, 1996) is an English actress. Turner made her professional acting debut as Sansa Stark on the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011) (2011-2019), which brought her international recognition and critical praise. For her performance, ...

26. Winona Ryder

Actress | Little Women

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and was named after a nearby town, Winona, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Cynthia (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller. Her father's family is Ukrainian Jewish and ...

27. Ahmed Best

Actor | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Ahmed Best is an African-American actor, musician and dancer. He gained recognition for portraying Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He would later reprise the role in the rest of the prequel trilogy, video games and cartoons as well as Robot Chicken Star Wars ...

Star Wars prequel trilogy

28. Jake Lloyd

Actor | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Jake Matthew Lloyd Broadbent is an American former actor. He is most famous for playing Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)." Directed by George Lucas, the movie became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide at the box office, behind only "Titanic (1997)."

Lloyd...

Star Wars prequel trilogy

29. Kelly Marie Tran

Actress | Raya and the Last Dragon

Kelly Marie Tran is a American actress from San Diego who is known for voicing Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon and playing Rose Tico from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. She also voiced Dawn Betterman from The Croods: A New Age. She reprised her role of Rose in Lego Star Wars specials and Forces ...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

30. Melissa McCarthy

Actress | The Heat

Melissa McCarthy was born in Plainfield, Illinois, to Sandra and Michael McCarthy, and was raised on her family's corn and soybean farm. She began her performing career as a stand-up comedian in New York where she appeared at the famous clubs, Stand Up New York and The Improv. She worked on her ...

Ghostbusters (2016)

31. Kristen Wiig

Actress | Bridesmaids

Kristen Carroll Wiig was born on August 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, New York, to Laurie J. (Johnston), an artist, and Jon J. Wiig, a lake marina manager. She is of Norwegian (from her paternal grandfather), Irish, English, and Scottish descent. The family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before ...

Ghostbusters (2016)

32. Kate McKinnon

Actress | Ghostbusters

Kathryn McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984), known professionally as Kate McKinnon, is an American actress and comedienne, who is best known as a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live and The Big Gay Sketch Show, and for playing the role of Dr. Jillian Holtzmann in the 2016 Ghostbusters ...

Ghostbusters (2016)

33. Leslie Jones

Actress | Ghostbusters

Leslie Jones is an American actress and comedienne from Memphis, Tennessee who is known for playing in Saturday Night Live, Trainwreck, Sing, Top Five, Lottery Ticket, Coming 2 America, Masterminds and The Angry Birds Movie 2. She played Patty Tolan in the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, directed by ...

Ghostbusters (2016)

34. Anita Sarkeesian

Director | That Time When

Anita Sarkeesian is an award winning media critic and the creator of Feminist Frequency, an educational nonprofit that explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives. Her work focuses on deconstructing the stereotypes and tropes associated with women in popular culture as well as ...

35. Brianna Wu

Director | Revolution 60

Brianna Wu was born on July 6, 1977 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Revolution 60 (2014), Gamergate (2023) and The YouTube Effect (2022).

36. Zoë Quinn

Writer | Depression Quest

Zoë Quinn is known for Depression Quest (2013), Solar Ash (2021) and Project Tingler.



Recently Viewed