Priscilla Presley Contests Lisa Marie’s Will: 7 Examples of Celebrity Family Court Battles

Following the tragic death of Lisa Marie Presley, on the 12th of January, her mother Priscilla has hit headlines in recent days after she challenged the authenticity of an amendment made to her daughter’s will before her death.

The amendment is said to have removed Priscilla as successor to her living trust, with Lisa Marie’s children, including 33-year-old daughter Riley Keough, named instead. However, Presley and her lawyers are arguing that the amendment was never delivered before her daughter’s untimely death, making it invalid.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time some of Hollywood’s biggest names have been involved in legal battles with their own family members. With such large amounts of inheritance and estates to take into account, there have unsurprisingly been many notable family fallouts over the years, with many high-profile individuals and their relatives instigating legal battles over such matters as fraud, defamation, copyright and more.

With this in mind, the experts at BPP University Law School have revealed seven times celebrities have gotten into a legal dispute with their own families.

Britney and Jamie Spears
Arguably one of the most famous family legal battles in celebrity history is that of Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears.

Back in 2008, Jamie Spears was appointed his daughter’s conservator, after the singer was involved in a very public breakdown, where concerns about her mental well-being and substance use were raised.

Britney managed to bring an end to the conservatorship in November 2021, after the singer took her dad to court, citing that she was unable to get married, have more children and was forced to perform against her will. Eventually, her father stepped aside.

Beyonce and Matthew Knowles
Even the Queen of pop hasn’t managed to sidestep family drama. Back in 2011, Beyonce famously fired her own father Matthew, after he apparently stole money that he was not entitled to.

Having been the star’s manager for over 15 years by 2011, Beyonce claimed in an Oprah interview that the move had been to take her career in a different direction and to allow her some personal growth. However, in reality, the star’s father had indeed been stealing money from the profits of her tour at the time, which Live Nation claimed they had managed to prove.

Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian
As one of the most famous families in Hollywood, it’s hardly surprising to see the Kardashians end up somewhere on this list.

Back in 2017, Blac Chyna famously sued Rob Kardashian and his family for defamation after she made a string of allegations against them being the reason their show “Rob & Chyna” was pulled from the air.

Chyna, who is the mother to Rob’s daughter, eventually lost the lawsuit to the Kardashians and was awarded zero in damages.

Leighton and Constance Meester
After rising to stardom on Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester found herself at the centre of a legal battle with her own mother, Constance, after they both filed lawsuits against each other over financial support Leighton Meester was providing to her sick brother.

Meester would send $7,500 a month to her mother to help cover the costs of looking after her brother, but later found that Constance had been using the money for herself for things like plastic surgery and hair extensions.

When Leighton sued Constance, the latter counter sued the star for $3m, claiming her daughter was ‘impacting her happiness’. Constance eventually lost to Leighton in June 2012.

Rihanna and Ronald Fenty
Another father-daughter feud that made its way to Hollywood courts back in 2019 was between Rihanna and her father, Ronald Fenty.

Ronald Fenty was accused by his daughter of starting a company without her knowledge, known as ‘Fenty Entertainment’, in which they claimed the singer helped establish. He would then use these lies to enable him to solicit millions of dollars from third parties.

Despite Ronald Fenty also attempting to register the name ‘Fenty’ with the patent office, Rihanna eventually dropped the lawsuit against her father in 2021.

Macaulay Culkin and Patricia Brentrup
Macaulay Culkin rose to fame pretty quickly after starring in the famous Christmas classic Home Alone, earning millions of dollars by the age of just 12.

However, when the star’s parents later got divorced, his earnings became the centre of their custody battle, with his mother attempting to buy an apartment with his $17m fortune.

In retaliation, Culkin attempted to remove both his parents as legal guardians at 16 to protect his millions but later lost to his mother, who stayed his legal parent until he turned 18.

Drew and Jaid Barrymore
Another celebrity that went head to head with her parents was Drew Barrymore when she was just 14 years old. She fought for emancipation from her mother, after she would take her to Studio 54 nightclub and allowed her to use drink and drugs with other actors instead of attending school.
Once Barrymore attended rehab, she came to realise that the toxic environment her parents were creating for her would never allow her to live the life she wanted.

When she turned 14 she applied for full emancipation via court. Surprisingly, her mother supported this, and Drew legally became an independent adult.