The world finds talent and beauty irresistible. Those who possess
these qualities are considered special. They seem to have everything
that one could ever want in life. There’s often one area where they fall
short, though in sanity and self-discipline. The stars on this list are
world famous. But for one reason or another, they let it all slip
through their fingers.
1. Whitney Houston
Beautiful actress and talented singer
Whitney Houston
married nearly retired R&B star Bobby Brown in 1992, at the height
of her career. With her drug dependency problems, it may not have been a
good move being together with someone with substance abuse issues of
his own. Through their tumultuous marriage, Whitney Houston’s drug abuse
only became worse. Brown and Huston divorced in 2007, Huston was about
to record a new album and her life seemed to be going well. Two years
later she appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show and gave an interview that
was recognized as one of the most expected and outspoken. Huston
admitted that her drug addiction became all-absorbing after the
thundering success of The Bodyguard in 1992.
Her world tour of 2010, entitled the Nothing but Love World Tour,
didn’t salvage her career, though. Her fans were disappointed at the
performance and the quality of her voice and she received numerous
negative responses from critics. While she did go through rehab, she
never overcame her habit entirely. In 2012, under the simultaneous
influence of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs, she drowned in her
bathtub. Anyway, Whitney Huston is one of the world’s best-selling
singers with more than 200 million records sold over the years.
2. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was the biggest name in popular
music worldwide for years. For whatever reason, though, the star adopted
a stranger and stranger lifestyle over time. With multiple cosmetic
surgeries, a love of spending time with children, prescription drug
abuse, and an out-of-control shopping habit, the star’s life gradually
came apart. He was married two times and both his marriages were unhappy
and short-lived.
In 2003 his reputation and name was tarnished, after the releasing of
a documentary film Living with Michael Jackson. The film revealed the
most scandalous details of his life including sleeping arrangements with
a young boy. After the criminal investigation Jackson was arrested.
During numerous court cases Jackson lost his fortune and was unable to
cover even the most basic charges. The star burned through most of his
money and his goodwill with his fans by the time he passed away in 2009.
3. Britney Spears
Britney Spears is one of those rare talented people
who are able to start out as a child star and then make the
transformation to stardom as an adult. Britney started her career at the
age of 11, when she was picked for The New Mickey Mouse Club with other
would be stars such as Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. After
the show she focused on her solo career and released the first single in
1998. After becoming a worldwide sensation in pop music, she somehow
let her life unwind.
In 2004 her reputation and name was ruined due to an odd 2-day
marriage with Jason Alexander and the following scandalous love affair
with backup dancer. Later that year she married him and gave birth to
their first son. But their marriage didn’t last long and after the birth
of their second son, they began divorce proceedings. Britney was
acknowledged to be mentally ill and her ex-husband received full custody
over their children. Over several instances, she was photographed by
paparazzi drunk in public. Britney didn’t let her career completely
crumble, though. She caught herself in time. Today, she has made an
excellent comeback.
4. Axl Rose
From the late 80s to the early 90s,
Axl Rose’s
searing vocals took the heavy metal group Guns ‘n’ Roses to
stratospheric heights. The group was so successful, it managed to turn
the tide in popular music away from pop and dance music at the time, and
towards rock. As rock musicians tend to do, Axl’s unstable behavior
over the years led the band to completely squander its popularity.
The band’s success was stunning and comparatively short-term. The
decline began in late 1990s, when the band actually broke up with the
leaving of the majority of musicians. Axl appeared in 2004 with a new
band and a tour but neither his tour nor a new album won the former
recognition of the public. His personal life was unsteady as well. Rose
was married to Erin Everly, and he was engaged to a supermodel, but
neither of these relationships lasted for more than a year.
5. Tiger Woods
Until November 2009, as far as the whole world was concerned,
Tiger Woods
was the perfect role model. He was the most talented golf player in the
world, was clean cut and a family man. The star’s life came apart in a
spectacular fashion, though, when tabloid newspapers in 2009 released
all kinds of evidence of his repeated extramarital affairs.
With his reputation destroyed, many of his biggest commercial
sponsors withdrew their support. His wife divorced him, too and achieved
full custody of their children. He decided to withdraw temporarily from
golf and enter therapy. He has since taken significant steps towards
making a comeback. In 2013 Woods made a statement that he’s dating
professional alpine ski racer Lindcey Vonn. They’ve been close friends
for a long time but over the last few months their relationship has
developed into something bigger.
6. Mel Gibson
Fans always found
Mel Gibson irresistible. His
insanely fun Mad Max movies made him one of the most loved stars of his
time. When he directed Braveheart and won an Oscar for it, he seemed to
make an indelible mark on the world of film. Behind his professional
front, though, Mel Gibson always had a huge drinking problem. Gibson
admitted that he started drinking when he was a teenager. Ever since
1996, he has been repeatedly involved in incidents of drunken driving,
domestic violence and hate speech. He divorced his first wife after 26
years of marriage. They welcomed one daughter and six sons. But after
splitting with Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, his life and career
really came apart.
Taking repeated hits to his reputation, Gibson has professionally
been on the wane. He has been sentences to 16 hours of community
service, probation period and received numerous fines. Consequently his
colleagues turned their back on him and he lost the contract with
William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
7. Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen was never serious about his acting. He
chose a life of alcoholism, partying and occasional acting, instead. He
got one thing out of his long-term lifestyle as a party animal — a
solid reputation as a selfish, air-headed person no deeper than a
puddle. He could parlay this persona into a great role in the hit sitcom
Two-and-a-Half Men, where he practically played himself. Unfortunately,
Charlie Sheen’s unpredictable behavior got him into trouble with the
creator of his show, and he found himself fired.
Following his dismissal, Sheen suffered a meltdown in which he went
on YouTube, posting messages about how he was a warlock with tiger blood
and a rock star from Mars. His career never recovered. He was married
three times, but the father of five children has never been a good
father and husband.
8. Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan started her professional life as a
gifted actress and then as a singer. Unfortunately, as it happens with
many young stars, Lohan wasn’t able to take the pressure of stardom.
Somewhere along the way, she began to go off the rails with terrible
drug and alcohol problems. She’s been under arrest many times and has
been fired from movies for being undependable. Her career has been a
promising career that’s been sadly wasted. All in all, she has undergone
250 days of rehab since 2007, she has faced 20 court cases before four
judges and she has performed about 70 days of community service.
9. Macaulay Culkin
Once
Macaulay Culkin left his Home Alone and The
Good Son years behind, his career fizzled out. He didn’t seem to try to
bring it back, either. He married at 17, took to drugs and only acted
occasionally. He was influenced a lot by the legal issues of his parents
who were never married. When their relationship collapsed, however,
they started fighting over the custody of their children and Culkin’s
fortune.
At the age of 16 a young star made a statement that he wouldn’t
accept any roles until his parents settle the conflict. That was a
crucial moment in his career as he hasn’t acted in any successful film
since that time. His personal life wasn’t successful either. His first
marriage collapsed in two years and his long-lasting relationship with
Mila Kunis came to nothing. While Culkin is incredibly talented, he
simply didn’t appear to have the self-control that one needs to make
something of oneself.
10. Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain wrote Smells like the Team Spirit for
Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind. The song was hailed as sheer genius and
he attained worldwide stardom. He wasn’t built to handle that kind of
success, though. His heroin use and his mental troubles got the better
of him one day, and he died from an overdose at age 27.
The lesson to learn from these stories is obvious: you may succeed in
life without talent, but not without discipline and sanity. Sometimes
fame and fortune are too hard to bear and that’s the reason why many
talented and prospective artists lose their way. Alcohol, drugs, parties
and out-of-control expenses are all the appanages of wealth and success
and many people just cannot refuse it. But self-discipline and
consciousness can really help to overcome all the temptations.
