6 Hollywood darlings who used to be infamous

Before Angelina Jolie was the mother of six children, a UNHCR ambassador and a Hollywood darling, she had two failed marriages, was estranged from her father Jon Voight after a distressed childhood and wore a vial of blood around her neck. She was known for her eccentricities as much as her accomplishments, and once made headlines after the media questioned a kiss she shared with her brother.

In 1988 Rob Lowe was involved in a sex tape scandal that involved two women. One of them was 22 years of age and the other was only 16. The three met at a bar the night before the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, and Lowe was unaware that one of the girls was underage. Lowe also had run-ins and lawsuits with former nannies. Today he is a successful television star in movies and on Parks and Recreation.

Drew Barrymore was a drug addict and alcoholic who successfully completed rehab by the age of 14. She had written her autobiography Little Girl Lost and moved into her own apartment by the age of 15 and the rest is Hollywood history. It’s rare that such a successful transition can be made at such a young age, but Barrymore proved it can be done. She now has her own production company, and her films have grossed over $2.3 billion worldwide. That’s not bad for a lost little girl.

Robert Downey, Jr. was once the butt of jokes due to his heavy drinking and drug use. In 1997 he was given a 180-day jail sentence for violating probation. He later served 12 months in prison after being sentenced to three years in a state-run substance abuse facility and prison in California for failing to show up for a court-ordered drug test. In 2013 Downey topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid Hollywood actors for starring in movies such as Iron Man and The Avengers.

Hugh Grant was arrested in 1995 for lewd conduct in a public place after having sex with a prostitute. It was right before a huge promotional push for his movie Nine Months was about to begin, and he took his lumps rather well. While appearing on Late Night with Jay Leno, he was asked what the heck he was thinking; rather than dodge the question, he simply answered: “I think you know in life what’s a good thing to do and what’s a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it.”

Grant stars in fewer movies now than he has in the past, but that’s his personal choice and not a byproduct of his former behavior.

Before joining Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, Mark Wahlberg was a drug dealer and cocaine addict. According to an article on Today I Found Out, Wahlberg was arrested and charged with attempted murder in 1988, pleaded guilty to criminal contempt, was sentenced to two years in the Deer Island House of Correction in Boston but in the end only spent 45 days in the facility. Wahlberg is expected to earn around $17 million for the upcoming Transformers movie and is currently starring in one of the first hits of 2014, Lone Survivor.