Buzz
At some point, nearly everyone develops a fascination with a celebrity. Perhaps you penned a fan letter or two in your youth, only to forget about them later. However, for some, this admiration evolves into a lifelong fixation, occasionally spiraling into devastating outcomes.
10. Richard Ramirez
In 1985, Richard Ramirez, infamously known as the “Night Stalker,” embarked on a murderous rampage that claimed the lives of at least 14 individuals. His method of breaking into homes and killing victims in their beds terrorized the Los Angeles area for months. Yet, amidst the widespread fear, one woman remained unfazed: Doreen Lioy.
At the time, Doreen, a 30-year-old magazine editor, first saw Ramirez’s mugshot on television in 1985. Reflecting on that moment, she said, “Looking back, I realize it was a pivotal point for me. There was something in his eyes. Something that drew me in,” as she later shared with the Los Angeles Times. Her obsession grew rapidly; she attended his trial and sent him countless letters. Among the many women vying for Ramirez’s attention, Doreen, a devout Catholic, stood out due to her virginity, ultimately winning over the Satan-worshipping killer. The two became engaged in 1988 and shared their first embrace in 1996, the same year they married.
9. Dolly Parton
In the 1970s, country music icon Dolly Parton rose to fame with her hit song “Jolene,” unaware of the unexpected consequences her newfound stardom would bring. Parton revealed that the character of Jolene, a red-haired temptress, was inspired by a bank teller who had feelings for her then-husband. The name “Jolene” itself was borrowed from an eight-year-old fan who had once asked for her autograph.
One day, Parton encountered another Jolene in a shocking way. Returning home, she found a box at her gate containing a baby and a note that said, “My name is Jolene, my momma has left me here, and she wants you to have me.” Panicked, Parton contacted social services, who took custody of the child. Over the years, Parton often wondered if the now-grown Jolene ever attended her concerts, but she made no effort to locate her, preferring to leave the past untouched.
8. Joni Mitchell
While Dolly Parton was dealing with unexpected surprises on her doorstep, Joni Mitchell faced a peculiar situation of her own. A devoted fan set up a tent outside her Los Angeles home and refused to leave. Unlike others who might stay briefly, this man remained for years, compelling Mitchell to live under the protection of armed guards. According to her, the fan viewed her as his “pathway to God, the voice of his deceased sister, and his future wife.”
Mitchell also revealed that the fan shared numerous violent and disturbing fantasies with her, describing them in explicit detail through letters. Desperate for a resolution, she reached out to his parents for help. Eventually, the man vanished in December 1980, just two days after John Lennon was tragically killed by his own obsessed fan, Mark David Chapman, outside his New York apartment. Reflecting on the incident, Mitchell stated, “I believe he finally understood how much he was invading my privacy,” as she shared with People.
7. Andy Lau
Andy Lau, the Hong Kong actor and singer widely recognized in the West for his role in the 2002 film Infernal Affairs (later adapted into The Departed in 2006), has faced his own challenges with overzealous fans. One such admirer, 29-year-old Yang Lijuan, took her obsession to such extremes that it tragically cost her father his life.
Yang’s fixation began at age 17 after she dreamed about Lau. She dropped out of school and devoted the next 12 years to following him. To finance her trips to Lau’s concerts, her father, a retired teacher, sold their family home and even contemplated selling his kidney. In 2007, Yang finally met Lau at a fan-organized birthday event, but a photo with him wasn’t enough. Her father threatened to take his own life if Lau didn’t meet his daughter and “save her.” Tragically, he followed through, jumping into the sea the next day. The incident sparked a wave of similar suicide threats from Lau’s fans, who vowed to end their lives if he refused to meet them. Overwhelmed by guilt, Lau had to seek psychiatric help to cope.
6. Olivia Newton-John
During the 1980s, singer and actress Olivia Newton-John faced multiple stalkers, but none were as persistent as Ralph Nau. Nau’s fixation began after a paid pen pal named Cindy ended their relationship. While wandering the Arizona desert, he claimed to have a vision revealing that Olivia Newton-John loved and needed him. In the early 1980s, Nau traveled to Australia twice in an attempt to locate her, but failed. He became convinced that a woman named Maria had cast a spell on Newton-John to keep her from responding to him, and even believed Maria had replaced her with a malevolent double.
Upon returning to the US, Nau moved back in with his parents and exhibited increasingly strange behavior, such as sleeping inside a dead cow. His delusions escalated, leading him to believe his step-brother had transformed into an animal, prompting Nau to kill him with an axe. Following this tragic event, Nau was committed to a psychiatric facility.
5. David Letterman
For more than ten years, Margaret Mary Ray was convinced she had a romantic relationship with comedian David Letterman. Her relentless efforts to get close to him became a recurring joke on his show. Ray’s first arrest occurred in 1988 when she stole Letterman’s Porsche, introducing herself as Mrs. Letterman and her three-year-old son as David Jr. Over time, she repeatedly broke into Letterman’s home and stayed on his tennis court. In 1993, Letterman humorously included Ray in his list “Things I Have to Do Before I Leave NBC,” quipping that he needed to “send change-of-address forms to the woman who keeps breaking into my house.”
After serving multiple years in prison and various psychiatric facilities for stalking both David Letterman and retired astronaut Story Musgrave, Margaret Mary Ray tragically ended her life by kneeling before an approaching coal train.
4. Paula Abdul
During her audition for the fifth season of American Idol in 2006, Paula Goodspeed was swiftly rejected by all three judges. Among them was Paula Abdul, the very celebrity Goodspeed idolized.
In a pre-audition interview (pictured above), Goodspeed expressed her lifelong admiration for Abdul, showcasing numerous drawings she had made of the singer. After her disappointing audition, Goodspeed faced public mockery, plunging her into severe depression. Her repeated attempts to connect with Abdul failed, culminating in her tragic decision to overdose in her car in 2008. Her vehicle was parked outside Abdul’s residence, with a photo of the star dangling from the rearview mirror.
Abdul later accused American Idol producers of being aware that Goodspeed had stalked her for over 17 years, yet ignored her requests to prevent the audition. Speaking to Barbara Walters, Abdul alleged that the producers found it “entertaining” to place the two of them in the same room.
3. Eddie Waitkus
While it’s normal for sports fans to feel disappointed when a beloved player is traded, Ruth Ann Steinhagen took her reaction to an extreme. When Eddie Waitkus, a Chicago Cubs player, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1948 season, Steinhagen’s response was to attempt to murder him.
Before the trade, 19-year-old Steinhagen harbored affectionate feelings for Waitkus. She collected newspaper clippings and photos of him, even setting a place for him at her family’s dinner table. Discovering his Lithuanian heritage, she began learning Lithuanian to feel closer to him. However, after Waitkus joined the Phillies, her admiration turned into a deadly obsession, and she began planning his murder.
During a Phillies game in Chicago, Steinhagen rented a room in the same hotel where Waitkus was staying with his team. She lured him to her room and shot him. Although Waitkus survived, the incident, which he later referred to as involving a “crazy honey with a gun,” caused him to miss the entire 1949 season.
2. Ken Dodd
In 2001, British comedian Ken Dodd, then 73, became the target of an obsessive stalker named Ruth Tagg, a woman significantly younger than him. Tagg relentlessly followed Dodd across the country, attending every one of his shows from the front row. She sent him love letters and explicit photos, even asking in one letter, “What does it take to become part of your extended family?” Tagg also spent months creating a tapestry featuring Dodd as a gift for him.
When Tagg failed to meet Dodd privately after a show, her behavior turned hostile. She began sending strange and disturbing gifts to Dodd’s longtime partner, Anne Jones, including a perfumed rat. Her obsession reached a dangerous climax in October 2001 when she shoved burning rags through the letterbox of Dodd’s Liverpool home, causing extensive damage. In 2003, Tagg confessed to stalking, arson, and harassment charges and was placed under the Mental Health Act.
1. Bjork
While many found the relationship between Icelandic singer Bjork and British electronic artist Goldie unusual, no one reacted as violently as Ricardo Lopez. Lopez began idolizing Bjork in 1993, filling 803 pages of his diary with thoughts of her. However, his obsession took a dark turn when he read an Entertainment Weekly article about her romance with Goldie. Enraged, he declared, “This is unacceptable. I will have to kill her.” Lopez built an acid-spraying bomb and mailed it to Bjork’s London residence. He also recorded his suicide, shooting himself in the head, believing their deaths would unite them in the afterlife.
Thankfully, the package took longer to reach the UK than it took authorities to find Lopez’s body. Using clues from his video diary, police intercepted the package before it could harm Bjork. Coincidentally, Bjork and Goldie ended their relationship that same year.
+Monika Seles
In 1990, Yugoslav tennis prodigy Monika Seles made history by becoming the youngest French Open champion at just 16. By her 20th birthday, she had secured eight Grand Slam singles titles, setting a record for the most Grand Slam wins by a teenager in the Open Era. Seles also halted Steffi Graf’s remarkable 186-week streak as World No. 1. She began 1993 as the top seed, defeating Graf in the Australian Open final.
Just three months later, during a match in Germany, Steffi Graf’s home country, Seles was assaulted by Gunter Parche, an unstable Graf fan. Hoping to restore Graf to the World No. 1 spot, Parche rushed onto the court during a pause and stabbed Seles in the back with a 23-centimeter (9 in) boning knife. While the physical injury healed quickly, the psychological trauma kept Seles away from tennis until 1995. Parche’s scheme succeeded, as Graf claimed all the remaining Grand Slam titles that year in Seles’ absence.
