Fantasia Barrino is a beautiful American singer that won the third season of ‘American Idol’ in 2004. Barrino had signed music deals, and even got nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t pay back a $1.1 million loan she took out for a house in North Carolina, and the once-famous singer ended up homeless.
Ed McMahon
The beloved TV personality Ed McMahon was a household staple back in the '50s and '60s. McMahon was a TV announcer, comedian, actor, singer, and famous game show host, catapulting to fame with the ABC show, "Who Do You Trust?". The game show, which he hosted with legendary Johnny Carson, ran from 1957 to 1962. And then, McMahon went on to host another famous game show with Carson, NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", until 1992.
Needless to say, this American entertainer amassed quite a fortune throughout the years. However, McMahon couldn't hold on to his millions, and lavish spending habits got Ed in a pretty tight situation with lenders. A $4.8 million home loan left him almost broke by the time he passed away, in 2009.
Brett Butler
The 1993 TV comedy show, 'Grace Under Fire', ran for five successful seasons, and its star, Brett Butler, was making a lot of money. Unfortunately, in a few short years, Butler went from living in a mansion to living in a homeless shelter.
The cause? A very ugly addiction problem. Hopefully, she's managed to come out of it and recover in recent years.
Willie Aames
Willie Aames a case of a child star that was on top of the world one day, and nearly homeless and broke the next. Once a famous actor in the series 'Gunsmoke', Aames made a series of bad decisions and suffered from a serious substance abuse issue.
As the actor himself said in an interview, "I lost everything....at one point I went from eating at the White House to sleeping in the bushes and brought myself back again." Good on you, Willie.
Michael Vick
Former American football quarterback Michael Vick was an NFL legend. Once a millionaire at the height of his career, Michael got into some legal trouble back in 2008. The athlete owed the bank over $17 million, and things got worse when he had to do jail time for having participated in an illegal dogfighting operation.
For ten years, Vick had to live with a very tight budget to pay off his debts and get back on his feet. Nowadays, the athlete is finally out of the financial hole, but it’s safe to say he will never be able to afford the lifestyle he once enjoyed.