From serial attacks to armed robbery, these infamous celebrity jewelry heists are the stuff of movies.

With the world of celebrity comes fame and fortune, as stars are thrust into the spotlight and their lives put on display. When it comes to celebrity jewelry heists, this doesn&rsquo;t make for the best combo. From letting the public know you aren&rsquo;t at home to flaunting millions of dollars of diamonds, it makes sense that celebrities are very often the targets of coordinated burglary or armed robbery attacks from thieves hoping to make a profit or make headlines.
Most recently, Tina Knowles, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/beyonce-renaissance-tour-fashion-looks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyonce&rsquo;s</a> mother, experienced a burglary in her home in Los Angeles, with about $1 million in cash and jewelry stolen. Celebrity jewelry heists aren&rsquo;t just the content of blockbusters about criminal masterminds, so keep scrolling to read about seven of the most alarming celebrity jewelry heists.

Bling Ring

Paris Hilton was a constant target of the Bling Ring bunch.

And, in perhaps the most infamous celebrity jewelry heist in Hollywood history, the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/bling-ring-scandal-timeline-celebrity-heist-hollywood-burglary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bling Ring robberies</a> of 2008 to 2009 took about $3 million, from cash to jewelry to handbags. The teenagers and one adult involved in the crimes wanted to be celebrities themselves, so intrigued by the lives of the stars that they broke into the homes of some of the biggest. Targets included the homes of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/paris-hilton-complete-dating-relationship-history-carter-reum-stavros-niarchos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paris Hilton</a>, Audrina Patridge, Rachel Bilson, and Orlando Bloom. It was when the group attempted to rob the home of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/lindsay-lohan-young-fashion-moments-movies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lindsay Lohan</a> that they were ousted. The actress&rsquo;s security camera identified their features in enough detail that the police could uncover the culprits. The court proceedings became incredibly high-profile, and the panic and paranoia these starstruck teens managed to invoke inspired a 2013 film called The Bling Ring from Sofia Coppola and a docuseries released in 2022. Even if they didn&rsquo;t get away with the crimes, there&rsquo;s no denying that the group definitely got a taste of the fame they sought.

Kim Kardashian

Photo: Getty Images

One of the most harrowing cases of a celebrity jewelry heist comes from <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/kim-kardashian-louis-vuitton-pharrell-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kim Kardashian&rsquo;s</a> armed robbery at the No Address Hotel in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/shopping/paris-fashion-week-street-style-looks-outfits-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paris</a> in 2016. It was early in the morning and Kardashian was alone, as her bodyguard had left to accompany <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/kourtney-kardashian-leaving-the-kardashians-new-reality-tv-show-spinoff-travis-barker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kourtney</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/kendall-jenner-best-bikini-pictures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kendall</a> out in the city. So, when the robbers entered, they held her at gunpoint and tied her up while demanding her valuables. They took her $4 million ring as well as <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/cartier-le-voyage-recommence-high-jewelry-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cartier</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/lorraine-schwartz-natural-diamond-council-emerging-designer-bipoc-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lorraine Schwartz</a> jewelry and more items, totaling around $5.6 million according to insurance documents. Kardashian recalls the night as traumatizing and life-changing, revealing that she hasn&rsquo;t bought new jewelry since in a June episode of The Kardashians.&nbsp;

Heists at Cannes

Turner-Smith opts for a preppy look at the 2022 Equality Now Gala.

Clearly, France seems to be a hotspot for celebrity jewelry heists. Cannes, especially, has been the site of robbery multiple times. In July 2013, a man assuredly walked into a diamond exhibition at the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel, where he managed to fill a case of jewels and watches by threatening the staff and visitors. He walked out just as casually with an additional estimated $136 million in valuables. Earlier that year, during the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/cannes-film-festival-2023-red-carpet-fashion-celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cannes Film Festival</a> in May, another group of banding thieves managed to steal more than $700,000 worth of jewelry from Chopard, gems meant to dress the A-list stars at the festival before being taken away still in their safe. More recently in 2021, actress <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/jodie-turner-smith-best-fashion-moments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jodie Turner-Smith</a> had jewelry worth over $10,000 <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/jodie-turner-smith-jewelry-stolen-cannes-film-festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stolen from her hotel room in Cannes</a>, including a meaningful personal item in her mother&rsquo;s wedding ring.&nbsp;

Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell was also the target of a celebrity jewelry heist in 2015. Even more frightening, Cowell was sleeping with his family in his home, including his 2-year-old son, when the attack took place. The serial burglar took almost $1 million in valuables like jewelry and two passports, and he had previously been convicted of 37 other burglaries according to the prosecution. Luckily, no one was hurt, but Cowell said that he became much more anxious about his son&rsquo;s well-being.

Bling Ring 2.0

After using social media to determine that the singer would not be home, a group of teenagers and one of their mothers broke into <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/rihanna-maternity-shoot-photos-topless-nude-rza" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rihanna&rsquo;s</a> home in Los Angeles in 2018. All it took was a final confirmation by just knocking on the door before they enacted the crimes. The suspects were also in connection with robbing the homes of stars Yasiel Puig of the LA Dodgers and Robert Woods of the LA Rams. After a routine traffic stop, police officers discovered the teens in possession of items from Woods as well as $50,000 in cash and jewelry. The crew is thought to have burglarized 24 celebrity homes with more planned.

UK Celebrity Jewelry Heists

In the UK, a gang of robbers went on a series of raids on celebrity homes in 2019, a spree worth about $33 million. Of the targets was former England footballer Frank Lampard and his wife as well as Tamara Ecclestone, the socialite daughter of the billionaire <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/celebrities-formula-one-f1-british-grand-prix-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Formula One</a>&nbsp;racing magnate, Bernie Ecclestone. The burglary of Ecclestone&rsquo;s home in Kensington was the largest, a $32 million steal while she was away. Like the plot of a movie, the Italian nationals responsible were believed to have conducted similar crimes across Europe with plans for more in the UK. Not all of the items have been recovered and it took the police looking through thousands of hours of CCTV footage and tracking down over 1,000 taxi drivers to confirm their identities.&nbsp;

Tina Knowles

When the 69-year-old entrepreneur was out of town, burglars entered her home in the Hollywood Hills and made out with a safe of more than $1 million worth of cash and jewelry. Knowles is the most recent target of planned heists from full crews attacking the homes of celebrities in Los Angeles, who locate properties containing high-value items all in a transportable safe. Celebrity jewelry heists often target these expensive homes, knowing they can make out with a pretty substantial bounty. Luckily, since Knowles was not in the home at the time, there was no violence involved.

7 Shocking Celebrity Jewelry Heists

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