Celebrity Stalkers

The top 20 scariest celebrity stalkers and their creepy stories. If you’re a famous actress or singer, it’s not unusual to have obsessed fans. Most of them will just send you valentine’s cards filled with bad poetry, but some cross the line and become terrifying maniacs hell-bent on killing you in bizarre and unmentionable ways.

1. Rebecca Schaeffer and Robert John Bardo

In 1986, Rebecca Schaeffer was a pretty young actress who appeared in the TV sitcom “My Sister Sam”. 19-year old Robert Bardo became obsessed with her. He built a shrine to her in his bedroom and sent her numerous letters. He even hired a detective to find out her address. When he saw her in a love scene in one of her movies, he became enraged. He believed she was “losing her innocence” and needed to be “punished”. He went to her house and rang the doorbell. When Rebecca came to the door, he told her he was her biggest fan. She signed an autograph to try and get him to leave, but he pulled out a gun and told her he was there to “rescue her”. Then, he shot her in the chest and ran off. Her neighbor called an ambulance, but sadly, by the time she reached the hospital, Rebecca was dead. Bardo was arrested the next day and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

2. John Lennon and Mark Chapman

Mark David Chapman was an obsessed fan of The Beatles. He was especially obsessed with John lennon. In 1980, he hung around outside the Dakota building in New York where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived. When John lennon was leaving the building, Chapman approached him and got him to sign a copy of his album. Later, when John Lennon came back to the building, Chapman pulled out a gun and shot Lennon four times, killing him. He remained at the scene reading “The Catcher In The Rye,” and told police that the novel was his “statement.” He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life.

3. Selena and Yolanda Saldivar

In 1992, Selena was a well-known and much-loved Latin-American pop singer. They called her the Mexican Madonna. Yolanda Saldivar was an obsessed fan of Selena who set up a fan club for her. But in 1995, Selena learned that Saldivar was stealing money from the fan club and fired her.

A few weeks later, Selena agreed to meet with Saldivar in a motel room to discuss things. During the meeting, Saldivar pulled out a gun and shot the singer in the chest. Selena managed to escape and she ran to a nearby hotel lobby where she collapsed. Before she died of her injuries, Selena managed to name her killer. After a 9-hour standoff with police, Yolanda eventually gave herself up and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

4. Jodie Foster and John Hinckley Jr

After watching “Taxi Driver,” John Hinckley Jr became obsessed with Jodie Foster who was just 15 at the time. When she was going to Yale, he enrolled as a student in the university so he could stalk her and slipped poems and messages under her door. To show her how much he loved her, he tried to assassinate president Ronald Reagan in 1981. He managed to shoot Reagan in the chest, but luckily the president didn’t die from his wounds and made a complete recovery. After that Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital where he remains to this day.

5. Theresa Saldana and Arthur Jackson

In 1982, 27-year old Theresa Saldana was a beautiful up-and-coming actress. She had an obsessed fan named Arthur Jackson, a 47-year-old drifter from Scotland who had traveled all the way across the globe to meet her. Jackson’s plan was to find Saldana, kill her, and then join her in the afterlife after he was executed for her murder.

He hired a private detective to find the phone number of Saldana’s mother. Then, he called her and pretended he was trying to contact Theresa about a movie role. Saldana’s mother gave him her daughter’s address and Jackson went to her house and waited outside. When Theresa came out, Jackson stabbed her 10 times with a hunting knife.

Luckily, a deliveryman named Jeffrey Fenn happened to be passing by and heard the commotion. He rushed to her rescue and subdued Jackson. Saldana made a full recovery and Jackson was given a 12-year sentence for attempted murder.

6. Bjork and Ricardo Lopez

The Icelandic singer Bjork had an obsessed and deranged fan named Ricardo lopez. He made videos in which he ranted about Bjork. Lopez sent Bjork a booby-trapped book in the mail. His plan was that when Bjork opened the book, a small bomb would detonate, spraying acid on her which would burn off her face and permanently disfigure her. He said he wanted to be “the one person who changed her life the most”.

After he mailed the package, he made a video in which he took off his clothes, shaved his head and painted himself red, green and black. Then, while one of Bjork’s songs played in the background, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth. Thankfully, his plan didn’t succeed and the parcel bomb was intercepted in the mail before it reached Bjork.

7. Justin Bieber

Two criminals, Mark Staake and Tanner Ruane planned to track Bieber down and chop off his… um… private parts… with a garden shears. They wanted to give the Bieber’s… uh… boy bits… to their buddy as a “souvenir”. Their buddy was doing life in prison for the murder of a 15-year old girl. When police found out about their dastardly plot, the two men were arrested, which was definitely a stroke of good luck for Bieber…

8. George Harrison

George Harrison from The Beatles was stalked by a 34-year old man named Michael Abram who reportedly hated The Beatles and believed they were witches. He broke into Geroge Harrison’s home and stabbed the Beatle in the chest more than 40 times. His wife managed to fend off the attacker by beating him over the head with a poker and a lamp. Luckily, George survived his wounds but he died a few years later of lung cancer. Michael Abram was deemed insane and placed in a mental hospital.

9. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dawnette Knight

Dawnette Knight became obsessed with actor Michael Douglas. He was married to Catherine Zeta-Jones at the time and Dawnette was extremely jealous. She sent alarming letters to the famous couple, threatening to cut Catherine Zeta-Jones into pieces and feed her to the dogs. Catherine Zeta-Jones nearly had a nervous breakdown and Dawnette was convicted of stalking and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

10. Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Norman

The legendary director was stalked by a 31-year-old man named Jonathan Norman. He was planning to kidnap Spielberg and assault him. Norman was arrested outside Spielberg’s house and when police searched him, they found duct tape and a pair of handcuffs. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

11. Joss Stone

Joss Stone had some seriously scary stalkers named Bradshaw and Liverpool. The two men were plotting to rob and kill the singer. Their plan was to decapitate Joss, dump her body in a river and apparently make off with some cash and other loot in the process. The men were found at Joss Stone’s home with a samurai sword, some hammers, a few knives and a body bag. Liverpool was sentenced to 18 years in prison and Bradshaw was sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

12. Uma Thurman and Jack Jordan

Jack Jordan was convicted of stalking Uma Thurman for several years. He sent her cards with drawings of an open grave with a man standing over it holding a razor blade and a picture of a bride with her head torn off.

13. Gwyneth Paltrow and Dante Michael Soiu

In 2000, Gwyneth Palrtrow was stalked by a 51-year old pizza delivery man named Dante Soiu. He sent her 5 letters a day and left pizzas outside her house. He also showed up unannounced at her parents’ house. He was obsessed with Gwyneth and said he was going to take “God’s scalpel” and “cut the sin” out of her. He was declared legally insane and was placed in a mental hospital.

14. Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez was stalked by a 46-year-old man named Thomas Brodnicki. He was so infatuated with 20-year-old star that he claimed he had “over fifty conversations with God a day, about killing Ms. Gomez.” In 2011, she got a restraining order against him. He admitted he was a threat, saying, “I do not wish to object to the restraining order against me because I know it is the only thing that will make me stay away from Selena.”

Selena had another stalker named Juan Garcia. He broke into her house because he wanted to “see the singer in person.” He was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

15. Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock’s stalker, Joshua Corbett, entered her home with a loaded machine gun. Sandra locked herself in a room until the police showed up and arrested the intruder.

16. Alyson Hannigan

Alyson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a stalker named John Hobbs. He contacted her online, threatening to kill her and her husband. He left a message on Facebook that read, “I still can marry you tomorrow. I can kill you tomorrow too. Cause I simply like and love you… It doesn’t end. Even after death.” To make things even horrible, he had a gun permit and was recently discharged from a mental hospital. Alyson obtained a three-year restraining order against him.

17. Ivanka Trump

The beautiful Ivanka Trump allegedly had a stalker named Justin Massler who was obsessed with her. He threatened to commit suicide and sent her pictures of himself covered in blood.

18. Madonna

Madonna was stalked by a man named Robert Dewey Hoskins. He escaped from a mental hospital and threatened to kill her. He even scaled the walls of her home to get to her and her bodyguards were forced to shoot him. Hoskins was a crazed and violent man. He said he was either going to marry Madonna or “slash her throat from ear to ear.” He was arrested in 1995 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

19. Beyonce

Beyonce’s stalker, Bassey Essien, sent her threatening letters. He was convinced that the real Beyonce had been killed and replaced by an impostor who was living the pop star’s life.

20. Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt was stalked by a woman named Diana Napolis. She believed Jennifer was part of a Satanic cult run by Steven Spielberg. She also believed the cult had implanted a microchip in her brain. She even turned up at various celebrity events, yelling at Jennifer and calling her a murderer. The woman was put on probation, ordered to take her psychiatric medication and to stay away from Spielberg and Hewitt for at least 10 years.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence had a stalker named Han Cong Zhao. He wasn’t sure how to get in touch with her, so he called her brother and sent him scary messages like: “I wouldn’t kill anyone for sure, but I would scare them enough with real things happening around their life to make sure that they get it.” He also went to Jennifer’s hometown and tried to find out where her mom lived. The police eventually found him and he was deported back to Canada.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift had a stalker named Timothy Sweet, who sent her creepy emails and letters. He even claimed she was his wife. She got a restraining order against him.

Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul’s stalker was a woman named Sandra Goodspeed who appeared as a contestant on American Idol. She became so obsessed with Paula Abdul that she sent her more than 100 letters, called her numerous times on the phone calls and made a number of uninvited visits to her house. She even had her name legally changed to Paula Goodspeed. Eventually, she committed suicide outside Paula Abdul’s house by taking a drug overdose.

Rihanna and Jonathan Whooper

Rihanna had a stalker named Jonathan Whooper. He threw a chair through her window, broke into her house and claimed to be her future husband. She got a restraining order against him.

Brad Pitt

Brad was stalked by a lovesick teenager named Athena Rolando who sent him flowers and chocolates. She broke into Brad’s house in 2000 and was found wearing his clothes and carrying a voodoo doll. She was sentenced to three years probation.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus was stalked by a 53 year old man named Mark McLeod. He would wait for the singer outside her movie sets and claimed he was engaged to her. The police warned him to stay away from her, but he didn’t listen so they arrested him.

She was also stalked by a year old man named Jason Luis Rivera. Police caught him trying to break into the pop star’s house, armed with a pair of scissors.

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale’s stalker, Nicholas Fiore, sent her over 18,000 messages on Twitter, including death threats. He was arrested and put in jail.

Agnetha Faltskog

Agnetha Faltskog was the blond girl in ABBA. When the group split up in 1983, she went to live on a remote farm in Sweden and became a recluse. She was afraid to leave her house. She had an obsessed fan named Gert van der Graaf. He was so obsessed with the ABBA singer that he moved into the house next door to her. They met and became a couple, which lasted for two years – until she came to her senses. After they broke up, he began stalking her again.