If you have never heard the term before, a mug shot is a portrait photo of a person from the shoulders up. Usually, it includes both a front and profile view. Mug shots are taken after a person is arrested and are included in the police case files. In some cases, when officers are still in pursuit of the criminal, they might find it appropriate to use previously existing police mug shots to warn the public or ask for their assistance.
If you were wondering, no, coffee mugs have nothing to do with the term. In fact, “mug” is an English slang word for face, and this is where this type of photo got its name from. It is believed that the first country to start using mugshots in law enforcement was Belgium, as far back as the early 1840s. Later, in 1888, French police officer Alphonse Bertillon standardized the light and angle, and this is what police officers around the world use till today. Sometimes, though not necessarily, people in mugshots also hold a plate with essential identification information.
Since the development of the internet, a lot of mugshots can be found online. Among mug shots of infamous criminals, serial killers, and drug lords, you can also come across some celebrity mugshots. These, however, should not be confused with headshots. While the general form is the same for both types of photos, they have completely different functions. Headshots serve to promote the person, and actors often use them to apply for a role. And though sometimes celebrities do get in trouble with the law, at other times they may also take funny mugshots or even crazy mugshots just for fun.
For this article, we collected some mugshots of famous people that have been around for a long time or were taken on an occasion that would go on to become very important in history. How many of them do you recognize?
#1 David Bowie
David Bowie was arrested over a drug charge with Iggy Pop in 1976.
#2 Johnny Cash
Mugshot of Johnny Cash taken at Folsom Prison in 1966, the first time he performed there, taken as a joke with the guards.
#3 Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was arrested in 1954 for driving too slow and without a license.
#4 Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant was arrested in 1995 for “‘lewd conduct” in a public place (in his car).
Image source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
#5 Frank Sinatra
Back then a 23-year-old Frank Sinatra was arrested and booked for Seduction in 1938. The charge was eventually dropped when it was discovered that the supposedly single woman was in fact married. Later that year, armed with this new information, the original charge was revised slightly, and Sinatra was again arrested, this time for Adultery.
#6 Robert Downey Junior
Robert Downey Junior was arrested in 1996 for possession of heroin and cocaine.
Image source: California Department of Corrections
#7 Pablo Escobar
Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist Pablo Escobar was arrested in Medellín, Colombia in connection with drug crimes. 1977.
Image source: Colombian National Police
#8 Elvis Presley
On December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley paid a visit to President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in Washington, D.C. The meeting was initiated by Presley, who wrote Nixon a six-page letter requesting a visit with the President and suggesting that he be made a ‘Federal Agent-at-Large’ in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, all of which led to the famous mugshots.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
#9 Bill Gates
Bill Gates was arrested in 1977 for speeding (back then he was 19 years old).
Image source: Albuquerque, New Mexico police department
#10 Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke was arrested in 1994 after allegedly threatening police during a shouting match.
#11 Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger got arrested in 1967 for drug possession.
#12 James Brown
James Brows was arrested in 1988 for failing to stop for a police officer (during a car chase) and aggravated assault.
#13 Janis Joplin
An American singer and musician, Janis Joplin, was arrested for vulgar and indecent language.
#14 Jake Lloyd
In 2015, an American former actor who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”, Jake Lloyd was arrested for fleeing the police in South Carolina in a high-speed chase.
#15 Ted Bundy
An American serial killer, Ted Bundy, was electrocuted January 24, 1989 for the murder of 12 year old Kimberly Diane Leach.
Image source: Florida Department of Corrections
#16 Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes, an American actor and film producer, was arrested and charged with felony tax fraud and conspiracy charges.
#17 Khloe Kardashian
An American media personality and socialite, Khloe Kardashian, was arrested for DUI in 2007 in California after she was pulled over by police and failed a series of sobriety tests.
#18 Blac Chyna
An American model and socialite, Blac Chyna, was arrested and charged with felony possession of ecstasy in Texas, 2016.
#19 Travis Scott
American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer, Travis Scott, was arrested on Saturday, May 13, 2017, on charges of inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor.
#20 Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
The infamous gangster poses while being held in New York. February 12, 1928.
Image source: New York Police Department
#21 Scott Disick
American media personality and socialite Scott Disick was arrested and charged with DUI after he crashed his car in Riverhead, New York after a night of drinking.
#22 Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald, a U.S. Marine veteran, was arrested for the murder of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. November 23, 1963.
Image source: Dallas Police
#23 Meek Mill
Rapper Meek Mill is being booked to the Chester Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania in 2017 after a parole violation.
Image source: Philadelphia Police Department
#24 John Anglin
In 1958, John, Clarence, and Alfred Anglin robbed the Columbia Savings Bank Building in Columbia, Alabama. All received 35-year sentences, which they served at Florida State Prison, Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, and then Atlanta Penitentiary. After repeated attempts to escape from the Atlanta facility, John and Clarence were transferred to Alcatraz.
Image source: US Federal Government
#25 Kiari Kendrell “Offset” Cephus
Mugshot of an American rapper, Offset, following his charges for battery and inciting a riot.
Image source: Georgia Dept. of Corrections
#26 NeNe Leakes
American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer, NeNe Leakes, pictured in 1992 after her first arrest, which came with three felony and one misdemeanor counts of ‘theft of services’ from a phone company and during the two year probation period.
#27 Patty Hearst
Granddaughter of American publishing magnate, later a member of Symbionese Liberation Army, Patty Hearst was arrested in San Francisco on September 18, 1975, charged with bank robbery and other crimes.
Image source: fbi.gov
#28 Todd Harrell
A judge in Nashville ordered an ex member of a rock band “3 Doors Down”, Todd Harrell, to be placed on house arrest in view of his second DUI arrest in D’Iberville pending trial on vehicular manslaughter, 2014.
#29 Eddie Deezen
Original “Grease” actor Eddie Deezen was arrested at a Maryland restaurant for refusing to leave and throwing plates and food at police.
#30 Willie Nelson
American country musician Willie Nelson was arrested for speeding and driving without a license by the police department of Pasadena, Texas.
Image source: Pasadena Police Department
#31 Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy, an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the “Wild Bunch” in the Old West, was arrested at Lander, Wyoming, for stealing horses and possibly for running a protection racket among the local ranchers there.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
#32 Richard Pryor
In 1963. an American stand-up comedian and actor Richard Pryor was arrested and sentenced to 90 days for attacking a woman.
#33 George “Machine Gun” Kelly Barnes
Mugshot of an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, from the Oklahoma City Police Department following his arrest in 1933.
Image source: fbi.gov
#34 Jussie Smollett
American actor and singer, Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 30 months of probation, including 150 days of jail time, for staging a hate crime against himself and lying to police about it.
#35 Clyde Barrow
Clyde Barrow, American criminal was arrested for attempted car theft in 1926.
Image source: Dallas Police Dept.
#36 Rip Torn
Rip Torn, an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years, was arrested for breaking into a local bank with a loaded weapon.
#37 Lisa Robin Kelly
An American actress, best known for her role as Laurie Forman on the TV series “That ’70s Show”, Lisa Robin Kelly was arrested on suspicion of DUI, 2012.
#38 Stacey Dash
American actress Stacey Dash was arrested on domestic battery charge in Florida.
#39 Steve Wilkos
Steve Wilkos, an American television personality, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a former law enforcement officer with the Chicago Police Department, was arrested for DUI after a car crash.
#40 Laura McCulloch
Australian actress Laura McCulloch was arrested by the Santa Monica Police Department for public intoxication and resisting arrest.
#41 Michelle Branch
An American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Michelle Branch was arrested for domestic assault.
#42 Jason Alexander
Britney Spears’ ex, Jason Alexander was arrested on a misdemeanor, 2021.
#43 Jason London
In 2013, Jason London, an American actor, known for his roles as Randall “Pink” Floyd in director Richard Linklater’s film “Dazed and Confused”, was arrested in Arizona and charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
#44 Hopper Penn
Hopper Penn, and American actor and producer, was arrested on drug charges in Nebraska.
#45 Michael Lohan
Michael Lohan, an American television personality, best known as the father of actress Lindsay Lohan, was arrested for patient brokering.
#46 Thomas Ravenel
Thomas Ravenel, an American politician and reality television star, has been charged with assault and battery, 2018.
#47 Shaun Weiss
Shaun Weiss, an American actor, well known for his roles in The Mighty Ducks movies, was arrested for burglary.
#48 Jenelle Evans
In 2015, TV personality Jenelle Evans was charged for domestic violence.
#49 Ariana Biermann
American singer’s, Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s daughter was cited for DUI, Improper/Erratic Lane Change and Underage Consumption of Alcohol.
#50 Bug Hall
Most popular as a child actor during the 1990s, Bug Halll was taken to Parker County Jail on charges of possession for use to inhale/ingest a volatile chemical, 2020.
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