They say you can’t choose your family – as the SAS: Who Dares Wins hardman Ant Middleton recently discovered.
As reported last week, his older brother Michael has been jailed for his part in smuggling £700,000 worth of cocaine.
He has been sentenced to three years and five months in prison, but Ant isn’t the only celebrity with a criminal relative.
Here, Natasha Wynarczyk looks at some other famous cases…
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon’s brother Ronnie has struggled with addiction for years (Image: Instagram)
Gordon Ramsay’s brother Ronnie’s heroin addiction has torn the celeb chef’s family apart for years.
Gordon said: “I have tried to help many times. It’s hard. Every time you see him, God bless him, it reopens a wound for everybody.”
In 2007, Ronnie was sentenced to 10 months in prison for heroin possession after he was caught with the drug on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Leighton Meester
Leighton Meester’s mum served time in prison while she was pregnant with her (Image: Getty Images,)
Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester’s mother Constance was serving time in prison while pregnant with the star.
She had been part of a ring that smuggled cannabis from Jamaica to the US.
Leighton lived as a newborn with her mother in a halfway house, then was raised by her grandparents until Constance was released from jail.
She told Us Weekly: “”My family has a crazy history. Probably the craziest I’ve ever heard of,” she confessed.
“I look back now and I see it in a nice light. It wasn’t uncomplicated, but I played outside, I went to the beach. There were happy, fun times.”
Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson’s dad died in prison after a series of violent crimes (Image: FilmMagic)
Actor Woody Harrelson’s dad Charles was a crime lord who was convicted of killing a judge in 1979.
He was tried for several other murders and also jailed for armed robbery.
The Hollywood star’s father Charles was also alleged to have been involved in the assassination of President John F Kennedy, who was shot in 1963.
He died behind bars in 2007.
Billy Bob Thornton
The actor’s estranged daughter was jailed for killing her friend’s daughter (Image: Getty Images for Tribeca TV Fest)
Billy Bob Thornton’s estranged daughter Amanda Brumfield, who he had with ex Melissa Lee Gaitlin, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering her friend’s one-year-old daughter in 2011.
She claimed that Olivia Garcia hit her head falling while she was clambering over a playpen in her care, but the autopsy found the tot had suffered a fractured skull.
Prince
Prince’s sister Tyla resorted to prostitution to pay for her drug addiction (Image: All Action General)
Late musician Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson led a troubled life, turning to prostitution to support her children and her addiction to crack cocaine.
In 2003, she told a US newspaper: “I was a single mother and my boys were babies. I sold my body for food, money and Pampers.”
She was also arrested for assault and driving under the influence two years before, adding: “I pawned the car Prince had given me and sold the kids’ TV for drugs.”
She got clean after he brother paid for her to go to rehab.
Marlon Brando
The icon’s son shot his sister’s boyfriend in a rage (Image: Mondadori via Getty Images)
Marlon Brando’s eldest son Christian shot his younger sister Cheyenne’s boyfriend Dag Drollet in a drunken rage after she told him that he had been abusing her.
Although Christian said the shooting was an accident, as he was trying to “scare” Drollet, in 1991 he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon’s brother was charged with sexual battery back in 2002 (Image: WireImage)
In 2002, Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon’s brother John entered a female neighbour’s house and assaulted her while she slept.
He plead guilty to aggravated burglary and sexual battery.
He received two years’ probation for the crime, which he said he did while drunk.
Madonna
Madonna’s brother Anthony has had multiple run-ins with the law (Image: Getty Images for Madonna’s MDNA SKIN)
Madonna’s older brother Anthony Ciccone has had his fair share of legal troubles over the years. In 2013, he was arrested for trespassing after he refused to leave a bathroom and was also found to be five times the legal alcohol limit in Michigan.
He’s had numerous other run-ins with the law, including being fined for swearing at children while drunk in a church.
He had previously lost his job at the family vineyard after being found on his back drinking wine straight from the vats.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
