25 Times A Break In To A Celeb’s House Made The Headlines
Celebrity home break-ins have become alarmingly common, with several high-profile incidents making headlines. Sandra Bullock faced a terrifying experience when an intruder broke into her home, leading her to call 911 while locked in a bedroom. Similarly, Dorit Kemsley was threatened by burglars in her home while with her children, resulting in a traumatic escape. Notably, Robert De Niro discovered a burglar inside his rental property. These shocking stories highlight the vulnerability of even the most famous individuals, reminding us that safety can often feel elusive.
#1 Sandra Bullock
Image source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS Mornings
In 2014, a man named Joshua Corbett broke into Sandra Bullock’s home while she was at home. She locked herself in a bedroom and called 911. When police arrived, they found Corbett with photos of Bullock and a letter portraying himself as her husband. He was arrested and later convicted to five years of probation and ordered to seek mental health treatment. A 10-year protective order was issued against him for Bullock.
#2 Dorit Kemsley
Dorit Kemsley was subjected to a terrifying ordeal in October 2021 when her Encino Hills mansion was broken into while she was home alone with her two young children. The intruders, who were surprised to find her at home, allegedly pushed her to the ground and threatened to harm her, prompting Kemsley to beg for her life and the lives of her children. Despite the traumatic experience, Kemsley and her children escaped unharmed, but the thieves made off with over $1 million worth of her property, and the case remains unsolved.
#3 Robert De Niro
Image source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS New York
In December 2022, Robert De Niro’s Upper East Side rental home was broken into by alleged serial burglar Shanice Aviles, who was caught by police around 2:45 a.m. while carrying a black bag and attempting to enter nearby businesses. De Niro, 79, was asleep in another part of the home at the time of the break-in, but awoke to discover Aviles inside, according to a law enforcement source. Aviles was charged with second-degree burglary and was found to be in possession of stolen headphones, smiling for cameras as she was led out of the police station.
#4 Paris Hilton
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, TheRichest
Paris Hilton’s Los Angeles mansion was hit by a string of burglaries between October and December 2008, with thieves making off with a staggering $2 million worth of valuables. The stolen items included designer clothing, jewelry, and even a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka, while her beloved Chihuahua Tinkerbell narrowly escaped being taken. In a shocking twist, it was revealed that the perpetrators used a key found under the doormat to gain entry to the 7,500-square-foot property.
#5 Jojo Siwa
Image source: jojosbiggestfan2022, Crystal Ro
In May 2023, Jojo Siwa’s Los Angeles home was breached by masked intruders, who made off with undisclosed items. The singer took to Instagram to share security footage of the incident, revealing that it was an armed robbery that occurred around 2:40 a.m. Fortunately, no one was present at the time of the break-in, which was discovered when police found an open door at the property.
#6 Rachel Bilson
Image source: LiveKellyandMark, HBO
Rachel Bilson’s home was repeatedly burglarized by the notorious Bling Ring, a group of young thieves who targeted celebrity homes in Los Angeles, in April and May 2009. During the five break-ins, which occurred while Bilson was away, the thieves made off with a trove of valuables, including clothes, accessories, and her mother’s engagement ring. The Bling Ring’s crime spree, which also hit the homes of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and others, ultimately netted them around $3 million in stolen cash and goods.
#7 Nicolas Cage
Image source: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Celebrity Lists
In a bizarre incident, Nicolas Cage was startled awake in his Orange County home to find a naked intruder standing at the foot of his bed, wearing his leather jacket and enjoying a Fudgesicle. Rather than resorting to physical confrontation, Cage employed his quick thinking and “verbal judo” skills to calmly persuade the stranger to leave his home. The unusual encounter ended without incident, thanks to Cage’s ability to remain calm and de-escalate the situation.
#8 Terrence Jenkins
Image source: Toi Talks, FOX 11 Los Angeles
Terrence Jenkins narrowly escaped harm in November 2021 when he was ambushed by masked men in an SUV outside his Sherman Oaks, California home. The perpetrators, who were armed, attempted to rob Jenkins at gunpoint, but he refused to comply and managed to drive away despite being shot at. Jenkins and the occupants of his home were unharmed, and he was able to report the incident to authorities after spotting a nearby California Highway Patrol car.
#9 Keanu Reeves
Image source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC7
Keanu Reeves’ home was the target of a brazen break-in in December 2023. Thieves wearing ski masks smashed a window to gain entry, triggering a security alarm, but managed to escape before police arrived. According to reports, the suspects made off with a firearm from the property, which was fortunately unoccupied at the time of the incident.
#10 Pamela Anderson
Image source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, WatchMojo
Pamela Anderson returned to her Malibu home in 2001 to discover a shocking and unsettling scene: a homeless woman had broken in and was wearing her famous red bathing suit. The woman had been secretly living in Anderson’s home for days, helping herself to food and clothes, and had even written a disturbing letter expressing her desire to touch the actress. The situation escalated when police arrived, with the woman attempting to harm herself before being removed from the property and ultimately deported.
#11 Rita Ora
Image source: Architectural Digest, Crystal Ro
Rita Ora’s London home got robbed in late 2015 by Charaf El Moudden, who made off with £200,000 worth of property while the singer and her sister, Elena, slept. Elena had a frightening encounter with the intruder, waking up to find him rummaging through her bedroom, and her screams alerted Ora to the break-in. El Moudden was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to five years in prison in June 2016.
#12 Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban’s Home
Image source: KTLA 5, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s Los Angeles home was also a crime scene with the intruder smashing a glass door to gain entry and ransacking the property. The break-in occurred in the evening, around 8 p.m., while the couple was not present at their Beverly Crest neighborhood residence. Authorities are still determining what, if anything, was stolen from the home, which was reportedly left in disarray by the fleeing suspect.
#13 Taylor Swift
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Faye Bradley
Taylor Swift has faced numerous security breaches, revealing in a 2019 interview that every home address she’s ever had has been shared online. One particularly frightening incident occurred in 2020, when her father, Scott Swift, encountered an intruder inside her home, leading to a physical altercation before the suspect escaped. The intruder was later found and arrested, highlighting the serious risks that can come with having one’s personal information publicly available.
#14 Mariah Carey
Image source: Vogue, CBS Miami
Mariah Carey’s Los Angeles home was targeted by thieves in October 2017, with the burglars making off with $50,000 worth of luxury goods, including designer purses and sunglasses. The singer was not present at the time of the break-in, which occurred around 3 a.m. via an upper-floor entry point. Carey’s homes continued to be a target, with another property in Sandy Springs, Georgia, being burglarized in July 2022, although several suspects were later arrested in connection with the crime.
#15 Hilary Duff
Image source: Architectural Digest, Crystal Ro
In Beverly Hills, Hillary Duff’s was a victim of a burglary in July 2017, with the thief making off with several expensive pieces of jewelry while she was away on vacation with her son. The perpetrator reportedly gained entry through a door without triggering the alarm system. Two years later, Duff and her partner, Matthew Koma, thwarted a potential second break-in by scaring off an intruder who was spotted lurking in their backyard.
#16 Simon Cowell
Image source: X Factor Global, Crystal Ro
Simon Cowell’s London home was targeted by a thief in December 2015, with the burglar stealing jewelry, watches, and passports while the family slept. Darren February, the perpetrator, was able to access the home’s safe and make off with valuable items worth nearly £1 million. He was later caught and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after authorities analyzed CCTV footage and DNA evidence.
#17 Lucy Hale
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Crystal Ro
In January 2018 Lucy Hale’s San Fernando Valley home became a statistic when thieves smashed a front window to gain entry. The intruders made off with a haul of jewelry and purses valued at over $15,000. Fortunately, Hale was not present at the time of the break-in, which authorities believed was a random incident rather than a targeted attack.
#18 Lindsay Lohan
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hollywood.TV
Lindsay Lohan’s home was burglarized by the notorious “Bling Ring” on August 23, 2009, with thieves making off with a haul of designer goods worth nearly $130,000. The stolen items included luxury watches, a Hermès bag, and a custom-made fur coat, which were taken after the intruders walked in through an unlocked door in broad daylight. Lohan discovered the break-in when she returned home at 3am, but waited four hours before reporting the incident to the police, who later released video footage of the suspects in an attempt to catch the culprits.
#19 Kendall Jenner
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, KCAL News
Kendall Jenner discovered that her Hollywood Hills home had been burglarized in March 2017, after returning from a dinner engagement to find that a substantial collection of her jewelry was gone. The stolen items were valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Investigators suspected that the thief may have had inside help, as there was no indication of forced entry at the property.
#20 David Spade
Image source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, KCAL News
A string of celebrity break-ins in Beverley Hills targeted David Spade’s in June 2017. Thieves made off with a safe containing $80,000 in cash and jewelry, including a sentimental wedding band that had belonged to Spade’s mother. The burglars targeted Spade’s home while he was away, leaving him to discover the theft and loss of his family’s treasured possessions.
#21 Miley Cyrus
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Spencer Sher
Miley Cyrus’s 21st birthday weekend was marred by a burglary at her Los Angeles home, where thieves made off with over $100,000 worth of jewelry and purses. The theft, which occurred in broad daylight, was believed to be an inside job due to the lack of forced entry or signs of break-in. This was not the first security scare for Cyrus, as a intruder with scissors was apprehended on her property in 2012 after being spotted by an employee.
#22 Benedict Cumberbatch
Image source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Kristyn Burtt
A disturbing incident unfolded at Benedict Cumberbatch’s London home in 2023, when a former chef, armed with a fish knife, breached the garden gate and threatened the actor and his family. The perpetrator’s erratic behavior, which included vandalizing the property and spitting into the intercom, sent shockwaves through the household, leaving Cumberbatch, his wife, and their three children shaken.
#23 Drake
Image source: Drake, Kristyn Burtt
Drake’s Los Angeles mansion has been the target of two unsettling break-ins, with the first incident occurring in 2022 when a man was arrested for trespassing and claiming to be the rapper’s son, despite being only 12 years his junior. The following year, Drake’s security team foiled another attempted theft when they spotted a suspicious individual on camera, exiting the property with an item in hand.
#24 Travis Kelce And Patrick Mahome
Image source: Today, Inside Edition
The homes of NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burglarized within a 48-hour period in October 2024, with Mahomes’ eight-acre Missouri estate being broken into around midnight on October 5. Police were dispatched to the scene after a burglary report was made, but found no signs of forced entry, suggesting that the perpetrators may have had inside help. Authorities later charged seven Chilean nationals, allegedly part of a “South American Theft Group”, in connection with the burglaries at the homes of Mahomes, Kelce, and other athletes.
#25 Shawn Mendes And Camila Cabello
Image source: The Late Late Show with James Corden, Janelle Ash
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes had a frightening experience in March 2021 when an intruder smashed through a window at their Los Angeles home, only to be startled by the couple’s presence inside. The would-be thief quickly retreated, but not before snatching the keys to Mendes’ Mercedes-Benz SUV, which they used to make their getaway. Fortunately, the vehicle was later recovered and returned to Mendes in April, with the suspect also being apprehended and brought to justice.
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