Filing for bankruptcy? You Are Not Alone!

Celebrities who have filed for bankruptcy.

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, please remember that you are not alone! Bankruptcy filing is on the rise, if you feel stressed and overwhelmed at the prospect of filing for bankruptcy, let us help you through the process. Contact one of the honest bankruptcy lawyers at the My AZ Lawyers, (a Phoenix, Arizona bankruptcy firm), and find out if filing for bankruptcy might be the right choice for you.

Throughout the history of the United States there have been several famous people (politicians, actors, Presidents, athletes) who have filed for Bankruptcy protection and utilized their right to a fresh financial start. It is their right to do so and they took advantage of their right.

Below is a list of famous people who have filed for bankruptcy. A majority of these listed individuals utilized the bankruptcy process out of necessity and to obtain a fresh start. Through bankruptcy they were given a new chance to rebuild their financial position.

Please take a look at the list below as you will recognize several names. There are famous actors, entertainers, athletes, and politicians. We did not post this list to embarrass anyone, we posted this list of famous people who have filed for bankruptcy to  show that you are not alone in filing for bankruptcy.  Hard financial times can happen to anyone and the experienced bankruptcy lawyers and attorneys at the My AZ Lawyers believe that everyone deserves a “Fresh Start”.

In 2009, there were well over 1 millions bankruptcies filed in the United States!

One of the many misconceptions people have regarding the October 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Laws is that it is now very difficult to qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Most individuals, however, still easily qualify under the new laws.

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, we encourage you to contact us for a free consultation to decide what might be the best course of action to help you with your current financial situation.

Throughout the State of Arizona thousands of people and numerous businesses file for bankruptcy every year. It is likely that you may know, friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors who have filed, but they just don’t advertise it. There are many famous people in the United States who have filed for bankruptcy protection over the past years. Because they are well know and due to their celebrity status their bankruptcy filings are reported by and fixated on through the media. Bankruptcy relief in the United States has been around since the 1800’s.  Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of The United States, filed for bankruptcy not just once but twice to start over with a “Fresh Start”. You, like Abraham Lincoln, have a constitutional right to a fresh financial just like the famous individuals below.

A List of Famous People who have Filed for Bankruptcy

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

Benedict Arnold

Betrayed colonists to British

John James Audubon

Illustrated Birds of America

P.T. Barnum

The Great American circus owner

John Barrymore

Actor; Romeo & Juliet

Lionel Bart

British composer – lyricist – playwright (1972)

Kim Basinger

Oscar – winning actress (1993)

Frank Baum

Wizard of Oz author

Barbara Bel Geddes

Actor; Miss Elle on Dallas

Melvin Belli

Famous Lawyer known as ‘The King of Torts’

Bunny Berigan

Jazz trumpeter great

George Best

Manchester United soccer

Jay Black

rock star, lead member of “Jay and the Americans” (1986)

John Wayne Bobbitt

Penectomy survivor

Peter Bogdanovich

American Filmographer

Bjorn Borg

Pro tennis player

Lorraine Bracco

Oscar – nominated actress (1999)

Matthew Brady

portrait / US Civil War photographer (1872)

Toni Braxton

rock star (1998)

Louise Brooks

Actor; Pandora’s Box

Sylvia Browne

Afraid to accept Randi’s $1million challenge

Lenny Bruce

Comic; Multiply obscene comic

Buffalo Bill

Wild West showman

Gary Burghoff

Radar O’Reilly in MASH

Anita Bryant

singer, 1958 Miss America 2nd runner up (1997)

Crazy Cabbie

Radio personality on the Howard Stern menagerie

Tia Carrere

Actor; Wayne’s World

Nell Carter

Actor; Housekeeper on Gimme a Break

Raymond Carver

Author; Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

Miguel de Cervantes

Novelist; Don Quixote

George Clinton

rock star (1984) (note: this is not the composer George S. Clinton)

Samuel L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”)

best – selling American author – humorist (1894)

Natalie Cole

singer

Gary Coleman

actor (1999)

Concrete Blonde

rock group

John Connally

Former Texas Governor, wounded in 1963 Kennedy assassination in Dallas (1987)

Francis Ford Coppola

Oscar – winning film writer – director – producer (1999)

Cathy Lee Crosby

Actress – American Author (1992)

David Crosby

singer / songwriter

Aleister Crowley

Wickedest man in the world

Vic Damone

singer (1971)

Dorothy Dandridge

Oscar- nominated actress singer (1963)

Darren Day

Music Theater Star

Daniel Defoe

Author; Robinson Crusoe

Lee De Forest

Oscar-winning film/sound synchronization pioneer, producer (1937)

Dino De Laurentis

Oscar – winning film producer (1988)

John DeLorean

Automobile designer and entrepreneur

Clarissa Dickson Wright

Star of “Two Fat Ladies” TV cooking show fame (2003)

Walt Disney

Oscar – winning film producer, animation & theme park pioneer (1923)

Henry Dunant

Red Cross founder

William C. Durant

Founder of General Motor

Eddy “the eagle” Edwards

Great Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper (1991)

Chris Eubank

Former World Champion Boxer (2005)

Keith Famie

Survivor II: The Australian Outback contestant, chef-restauranter, American Author (1996/97)

Freddy Fender

Musician; Before the Next Teardrop Falls

Stephin Fetchit

Actor; Professional black stereotype

Eddie Fisher

Singer; crooner dumped by Liz Taylor

Mick Fleetwood

rock star, lead member of “Fleetwood Mac” (1984)

Heidi Fleiss

Clothing line founder; American author

Henry Ford

Automobile manufacturer

William Fox

Co-Founder of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation (1936)

Red Foxx

actor – entertainer

R. Buckminster Fuller

Architect-futurist-invented the geodesic dome

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Cop-slapping Gabor sister

Marvin Gaye

singer (1970s)

Andy Gibb

rock star (1987)

Gary Glitter

Rock and Roll Part 2

Bernhard Goetz

Subway vigilante criminal

Charles Goodyear

19th century American inventor, who discovered how to vulcanize rubber

Ulysses S. Grant

18th US President; Civil War general, best-selling American Author, face is pictured on the US fifty dollar bill ( 1884 after leaving office)

Elizabeth Ward Gracen

actress; model; Miss America 1982 (1999)

Paulo Gucci

1993

Bob Guccione

publisher and founder of Penthouse magazine (2003)

Johannes Gutenberg

Inventor of movable type

Tony Gwynn

San Diego Padres baseball player

Merle Haggard

country music star (1993)

Corey Haim

actor (1997)

Frans Hals

Dutch portraitist

Dorothy Hamill

Olympic gold-medal ice-skater (1996)

M.C. Hammer

rock star (1996)

George Frideric Handel

Messiah composer

Richard Harris

Oscar-nominated actor-producer-director

Isaac Hayes

Oscar-winning songwriter – composer – musician -singer (1976)

H.J. Heinz

Founder of Heinz Ketchup

Margaux Hemingway

Troubled actress OD’d on klonopin

Sherman Hemsley

‘Jeffersons’ actor (2002)

Ty Herndon

Country music star caught in cruisy park

Milton Snavely Hershey

founder of Hershey’s chocolate

Kent Hovind

Creation Science huckster

Steve Howe

Pitcher, multiple teams, Major League Baseball

E. Howard Hunt

Coordinated Watergate break-in

Nelson Bunker Hunt

Tried to corner the silver market

Ron Isley

Rhythm-and blues singer (mid late 1990s)

La Toya Jackson

Michael Jackson’s sister, rock star (1995)

Don Johnson

“Miami Vice” Star, actor-producer

Eli Jacobs

Former Baltimore Orioles owner

Janice – Marie Johnson

rock star/disco diva (1980s)

Al Jolson

“Miami Vice“, “Nash Bridges”

George Jones

Country music singer

Grace Jones Singer

Model, Entertainer 1992

Kacey Jones

country music star, musical humorist

Clay Jordan

Survivor V: Thailand contestant; restauranter (2001)

Chaka Kahn

singer, rock star

Charles Keating

Morality crusader, white-collar swindler

Buster Keaton

Actor, The General

Bernard Kerik

NYC Police Commissioner, 2000-2001

Margot Kidder

Lois Lane in Superman movie

Larry King

talk-show host, best selling American author (1978)

Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad, Poor Dad author

Marion “Suge” Knight

Death Row Records Rap Producer 2006

Bowie Kuhn

former US baseball commissioner

Gary Kurtz

Oscar-nominated film producer

Veronica Lake

actress (1951)

Lorenzo Lamas

actor (2004)

Cyndi Lauper

rock star (1983)

Anton LaVey

Founder of the Church of Satan

Stan Lee

Comic book industry pioneer , co-creator “Spider Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The X-Men” etc (2001)

Jerry Lewis

comic

Jerry Lee Lewis

famous Rock n’ Roll star

Horace Liveright

Publisher of the Modern Library series

Meat Loaf

rock star (1983)

Joe Louis

Boxer 1956

Ashley MacIsaac

musician fiddler (2000)

Jackie Mason

comedian – entertainer

Henry Mayhew

Punch journalist

Mindy McCready

Country Music star , American author

George McGovern

South Dakota Governor, politician 1991

William McKinley

25th US President 1897-1901

Tom Metzger

white supremacist

Marvin Mitchelson

celebrity divorce lawyer

Melba Moore

Singer – Actress

Debelah Morgan

Singer -Songwriter – Producer (2000)

Lorrie Morgan

Country music star, American Author

Robert Morris

Politician who financed Revolutionary War

Levi P. Morton

Vice President under Benjamin Harrison

Motor City Five/MCS

rock group of the 1960s (1970)

John Nash

British Regency architect

Willie Nelson

singer-songwriter-actor, American Author (1990)

Wayne Newton

Las Vegas icon, singer-actor – entertainer (1992)

Harry Nilsson

singer/songwriter; Me and My Arrow

F. Donald Nixon

President Richard Nixon’s brother

Immanuel Nobel

father of manufacturers – philanthropist Alfred Nobel , who founded the Nobel Prize (twice – 1833/year Alfred was born, 1856/ when Alfred was 23)

Mary Nolan

actress (1931)

Emperor Norton

Emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico

Ted Nugent

Rock Star

Kate O’Brien

The Land of Spices novelist

Thomas Paine

Common Sense activist

Johnny Paycheck

country music star (1976)

Tom Petty

rock star (1979)

Gaylord Perry

major league baseball player

Philip II

King of Spain, 1556-1598

Buddy Post

Lottery millionaire

Susan Powter

exercise/fitness expert, talk show host, best selling American Author (1995)

Burt Prelutsky

American television writer; screenwriter (1997)

Randy Quaid

actor

Lynn Redgrave

actress

Rembrandt

painter

Tommy Rettig

actor; Jeff Miller in Lassie

Burt Reynolds

Oscar-nominated actor – director , American Author (1995)

Debbie Reynolds

Oscar nominated actress-singer, American Author (1997)

Mickey Rooney

Oscar nominated actor, American Author (1962)

Rick Ross

Activist; cult expert, deprogrammer

Run DMC

Rap Group in 1993

Harry Saltzman

film producer (James Bond movies) (1975)

Derek Sanderson

Hockey Player

Ray Sawyer

rock star, member of “Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show” (1973)

Oskar Schindler

activist who saved over 1000 Jews from the Nazis

Shenandoah

country music band (1991)

Billy Sims

NFL football player, Detroit Lions RB

Tom Sizemore

Heat, Robbery Homicide Division actor

Anna Nicole Smith

Model-Actress, 1993 Playboy magazine “Playmate of the Year”(1996)

Dee Snider

Twisted Sister lead and front man, musician

Phoebe Snow

Jazz vocalist

Lynne Spears

American author, mother of rock star Britney Spears (1998, filed with husband James prior to Britney’s stardom)

Leon Spinks

boxer

Sheryl Swoopes

Three-time WNBA MVP

J. Fife Symington

Governor of Arizona (1995, while still in office)

Lawrence Taylor

NFL hall of famer

Randall Terry

Operation Rescue founder

Nikola Tesla

Invented alternating current

Donald Trump

billionaire entrepreneur, TV personality

TLC

rock group (1995)

Mark Twain

Huckleberry Finn author

Mike Tyson

boxer (2003)

Johnny Unitas

legendary Hall of Fame football quarterback

John Whitehead

Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now, musician

Oscar Wilde

acclaimed poet and author

James Wilson

U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1789-1798

Tammy Wynette

country music star (1988)

Florenz Ziegfeld

actor, the Ziegfeld Follies