Image: YouTube
About This Quiz
Royalty, celebrities, debutantes -- no matter how you define "star," you can't deny they have a knack for getting in the newspapers, and not always in a good way! Test your knowledge of the peccadilloes of the rich and famous with our quiz!
Kristen Stewart made headlines for an affair with director Rupert Sanders. What film were they making together?
Camp X-Ray
Personal Shopper
Snow White and the Huntsman
At the time, Stewart was famously dating her "Twilight" co-star Robert Pattinson, who had played dreamy vampire Edward Cullen to her Bella Swan. They've since broken up, but probably not because of the Sanders's affair. Since then, Stewart has quietly come out and dated women.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
Which actress turned up at a stranger's home in rural California and made herself comfortable?
Amber Benson
Anne Heche
Heche appeared at a home outside Fresno, asked to take a shower, and then settled in to watch television. Her confused impromptu host finally called sheriff's deputies, whom Heche told that she was God. It should be said, though, that Heche has been frank about struggling with mental illness, and she's assembled a solid acting resume in spite of personal difficulties.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jessica Simpson
Angelina Jolie, who took Brad Pitt away from Jennifer Aniston, met Pitt on the set of which movie?
Burn After Reading
Inglourious Basterds
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Pitt and Jolie were making a film about husband-and-wife assassins. The two went on to adopt children together, have biological children, marry, and finally split up.
Salt
Advertisement
Before her long relationship with Pitt, Jolie took Billy Bob Thornton away from which actress?
Laura Dern
Thornton and Jolie met while they were making the movie, "Pushing Tin." (We're starting to see a pattern here). Dern later said, "I left our home to make a movie, and while I was gone, my boyfriend got married."
Michelle Pfeiffer
Uma Thurman
Christine Lahti
Which actress put a dent in her career by posing for a photo with North Vietnamese soldiers?
Glenn Close
Jane Fonda
Fonda, who had strong antiwar views, posed on an anti-aircraft gun with North Vietnamese soldiers. Conservatives took to calling her "Hanoi Jane," but her career recovered.
Meryl Streep
Susan Sarandon
Which actor is still trying to recover from the release of tapes in which he ranted violently at his girlfriend?
Topher Grace
Mel Gibson
At the time, Gibson was embroiled in a difficult breakup with Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his daughter, Lucia. She also accused the actor of assault. Gibson's career has yet to fully recover.
Jeremy Renner
Liam Hemsworth
Advertisement
Which director came to Gibson's aid when he was persona non grata in Hollywood?
Jodie Foster
Foster cast Gibson, an old friend, in her 2011 project, "The Beaver," and Gibson was profoundly grateful. He told the New York Times, "I just love her, that's all."
M. Night Shymalan
Kimberly Pierce
Steven Spielberg
Which actress's career suffered after she publicly announced she didn't want an Emmy nomination?
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Katherine Heigl
The problem was, Heigl wasn't saying that her acting didn't merit the award -- she was saying that the material her character Izzie Stevens had been written wasn't up to par. This, naturally, didn't sit well with the show's writers and producers. Since then, she notably took a job in a NyQuil commercial.
Mary McDonnell
Zooey Deschanel
Which Brat Pack actor made a sex tape while attending the Democratic National Convention?
Emilio Estevez
Rob Lowe
Lowe was the punchline of jokes for a while (this was before sex tapes were a good career move). But he recovered nicely with a turn on "The West Wing" as Sam Seaborn.
Judd Nelson
Demi Moore
Advertisement
Which "Beverly Hills 90210" actress earned enemies for chronic lateness and on-set feuds?
Gabrielle Carteris
Shannen Doherty
Doherty was so unpopular that her character, Brenda Walsh, was packed off to London in the show's later seasons. Doherty traded on her nasty-girl reputation later by briefly hosting "Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty," a reality show in which she had difficult conversations -- including break-ups -- on behalf of people too scared to have them for themselves.
Jennie Garth
Tori Spelling
Which actress has become nearly unemployable due to unusually conservative views?
Stacey Dash
Dash, a onetime commentator for Fox News, has called African-American actor and activist Jesse Williams "a plantation slave" and called for Black History Month to be scrapped. When even Fox News won't keep you on their schedule, you know there's a problem.
Jennifer Connelly
Olivia Wilde
Gabrielle Union
Which actress shocked the nation by leaving her husband for director Roberto Rossellini?
Ingmar Bergman
Despite the fact that Bergman married Rossellini, instead of just shacking up, her fans were slow to forgive her. The marriage to Bergman produced two daughters, one of whom was Isabella Rossellini (you might have heard of her).
Jean Harlow
Hedy Lamarr
Donna Reed
Advertisement
In 1936, King Edward VIII did what in order to marry Wallis Simpson?
abdicated the throne of England
Wallis Simpson was an American who apparently won Edward over by taking a firm hand with him, like a grown-up version of a beloved childhood nanny. He gave up the throne to be with her.
divorced his current wife
changed the laws of England
granted Simpson a title
What in particular made Wallis Simpson unsuitable to be a queen?
she was American
she was a commoner
she'd been twice divorced
The Church of England refused to marry someone who had been divorced, like Simpson was. The King of England, meanwhile, had to be in good standing with the Church to rule. This presented a seemingly insoluble conflict, until Edward stepped down.
she had a criminal record
Princess Diana had an extramarital affair with which of these men?
Fiat heir Lapo Elkann
former cavalry officer James Hewitt
Both the late princess and Hewitt confirmed the affair. Britons might have forgiven Hewitt had he not tried to sell Diana's love letters to him for about ten million pounds. Tacky!
film actor Rufus Sewell
a never-named bodyguard
Advertisement
What rumor persists about Diana's lover, Hewitt?
that he was involved in her car crash
that they never really broke up
that he is Prince Harry's real father
Hewitt emphatically denies this, saying that Prince Harry was already born by the time he met Diana. But the flame-red hair they both have will probably assure that the whispers never completely die down.
that he cheated on her with Sienna Miller
Prince Charles was having his own affair during his marriage to Diana. What was his lover's name?
Camilla Parker Bowles
Camilla Parker Bowles is now the Prince's consort and Duchess of Cornwall, though she will never be royalty. But her relationship with Charles has lasted for three decades -- a better record than many aboveboard married couples are able to duplicate!
Thelma Furnier
Chelsy Davy
Anna Prince
Southern belle Zelda Sayre was already shocking Montgomery, Alabama, before she fell in love with which budding novelist?
William Faulkner
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald and Sayre went together like gin and tonic -- they were both flamboyant characters who loved attention. After their marriage, they raised eyebrows in New York with their antics and partying.
W. Somerset Maugham
Tom Wolfe
Advertisement
Which rock singer supported herself in her early years as a stripper?
Kat Bjelland
Courtney Love
Love worked as an exotic dancer in the United States, Japan and Taiwan. She later formed the grammy-winning band, Hole, and acted in films like "The People Versus Larry Flynt."
Carrie Brownstein
Janis Joplin
Which 2000s "pop tart" shaved her head during a rough patch?
Christina Aguilera
Hilary Duff
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Spears had a string of hits, married backup dancer Kevin Federline, and had two children. Then things went sideways. Spears was in and out of rehab, and during this period she impulsively shaved her head at a Los Angeles-area salon.
Taylor Swift's song "Bad Blood" is reportedly about a rift with which singer?
Ariana Grande
Selena Gomez
Katy Perry
Apparently, Katy Perry "stole" some of Taylor Swift's backup dancers before a Swift tour. Then Perry dated Swift's ex, John Mayer -- but at this point, who hasn't?
Rihanna
Advertisement
Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian got into a big kerfuffle over which West song?
"Alright"
"Famous"
West used a derogatory term about Swift in the song and claimed to have made her famous (hardly true, since she was accepting a Grammy the first time they crossed paths). West's wife, Kim Kardashian, claimed Swift "approved" the line, but Swift .. well, it's too complicated to recount here. Google it.
"School Spirit"
"My Way"
Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" video takes a jab at which singer?
Britney Spears
This revenge video is about Spears's alleged infidelity. In it, a Britney lookalike leaves her house, only to have Justin and a brunette beauty come in and video themselves having sex in her bed. Ouch!
John Mayer
George Michael
Amy Winehouse
Justin Timberlake ripped the top off which singer at a Super Bowl performance?
Nicole Scherzinger
Janet Jackson
Everyone involved claimed this was accidental, and it might have been -- after all, Jackson was wearing a silicone "petal" over her nipple, which is a decidedly unsexy look to reveal on national television. But what exactly did the choreography call for Timberlake to do, if not rip away her top? Just paw unsuccessfully at her clothing? It's a mystery.
RIhanna
Ariana Grande
Advertisement
Which singer was fined $80,000 for throwing eggs at a neighbor's house?
Justin Bieber
Bieber paid $80,900 in restitution for throwing eggs at a house in Calabasas. Really, nearly $81,000? How do we get a celebrity to throw eggs at OUR house?
Selena Gomez
Drake
Rihanna
Which of these reality-TV stars has a sex tape?
Kim Kardashian
Kendall Jenner
Paris Hilton
both #1 and #3
The existence of the tapes doesn't seem to have hurt either woman's career. However, one of them spawned an Internet joke --%0D it's about the housewife who got excited thinking that her husband was going to take her to France. After all, he Googled "Paris Hilton."
Martha Stewart, lifestyle brand queen, went to prison briefly for what crime?
pet hoarding
insider trading
Stewart sold off bad stock after getting non-public information about it, and served several months for the infraction. For some people, this was the feel-good story of 2004.
shoplifting
driving under the influence
Advertisement
Celebrity cook Paula Deen has been criticized for which of these?
using excessive fat, sugar and salt in her recipes
concealing her diabetes diagnosis
using a racial epithet
all of these
Deen was most harshly criticized for comments she made about black people, including that she wanted to plan a traditional antebellum-style wedding with all black servers for her brother. But Deen has also faced criticism for keeping quiet about a diabetes diagnosis while popularizing recipes high in sugar and fat.
In the 1990s, Charlie Sheen was the biggest name found in the little black book of a Hollywood madam. What was her name?
Heidi Fleiss
Heidi Fleiss was arrested for running a prostitution ring in the early '90s, and half of Hollywood's men lived in fear of what details might be spilled afterward. Sheen, then still the highly-regarded star of "Platoon," was revealed to be one of her customers. Nowadays, no one would be surprised.
Cora Pearl
Jenna Jameson
Nina Lenclos
When Charlie Sheen was fired from "Two and a Half Men" after a public spat with its creator, who replaced him?
Ashton Kutcher
Sheen was in and out of rehab at the time, causing tension with the creator of "Two and a Half Men," Chuck Lorre. Lorre and Sheen took turns "insulting" each other by publicly using each other's real names, Levine and Estevez. Mature!
Kevin James
Seth Meyers
no one
Advertisement
Which comedian was arrested for performing a lewd act in an adult theater?
Louis Anderson
Adam Sandler
Paul Reubens
Reubens was best known for creating "Pee-Wee Herman." Although "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" was a parody of children's television, this nuance was lost on many media critics, who acted as though a televangelist had been caught touching himself in that theater.
Chris Rock
Which comedian faced charges of possession of child pornography in the early 2000s?
Kevin Meany
Bill Maher
Paul Reubens
Okay, this one is harder to laugh off. After Reubens's house was searched in 2002, police said they found materials that qualified as child pornography. Reubens countered that the images were part of a vintage erotica collection, including some of teenaged nudes who weren't engaging in sex acts. The charges were eventually dropped.
Kevin Nealon
Which gifted young athlete was chased from his house by his irate wife?
Buster Posey
Tim Lincecum
Tim Tebow
Tiger Woods
Woods was one of the most respected athletes in any sport, until his wife, Elin Nordegren, had a meltdown over his infidelity. The dam burst, and news of nearly a dozen affairs came spilling out.
Advertisement
Which professional wrestler died in a horrifying double murder and suicide in 2007?
Chris Benoit
Benoit, a legend in the WWE (formerly WWF), killed his wife and 7-year-old son before hanging himself in his weight room. The media were quick to suggests steroids as the reason, but Benoit's autopsy revealed terrible brain damage, presumably from injuries sustained in his long career. The exact cause of Benoit's actions remains unknown.
Bret Hart
Kurt Angle
Shawn Michaels
Which U.S. athlete made headlines for vandalism at the Rio 2016 Olympic games?
Simone Biles
Shawn Johnson
Ryan Lochte
Lochte and several other swimmers were confronted by security guards after they urinated outside a bathroom and Lochte tore a poster. They then gave the guards money to make the situation go away. But when Lochte misrepresented the guards's actions as a robbery by men with fake police badges, it became an international incident. Lochte has since tried to repair his reputation with a stint on "Dancing With the Stars."
Michael Phelps
You Got:
/35
YouTube