Tragic Details About Lisa Robin Kelly
This article contains references to drug and alcohol use, addiction, domestic violence, and miscarriage.
Career-wise, the late actor Lisa Robin Kelly is best known for her work on the hit comedy, "That '70s Show". There she played Laurie Forman, the promiscuous, ditzy big sister of Topher Grace's Eric Forman. During her time on the show, she starred alongside burgeoning actors like Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Laura Prepon, who would go on to become major players in the entertainment industry. Kelly's sitcom role was a dream job that earned her a substantial audience and likely lots of possible connections. It should have been her big break and a jumping-off point for the talented starlet, but life sadly had other plans for the star.
It wasn't what Kelly did in front of the screen that had the public buzzing. Instead, it was her unfortunate moments off-screen that caught the world's attention. Following her time on the show, Kelly found herself at the center of more than one legal woe. Prior to her untimely death in 2013, she also dealt with a serious addiction. As fans continue to remember her as the bubbly and carefree tearaway of the Forman family, these tragic details about Kelly offer a reminder of the complicated life she experienced when the cameras stopped rolling.
Stable beginnings and a hopeful heart
Lisa Robin Kelly was born in Connecticut and later moved with her family to the heart of the nation, attending school and cheerleading in Sylvania, Ohio. However, small-town America wasn't what she saw for herself. Eventually, the budding star moved to California in the hopes of an acting career, where she scored minor roles on shows like "Married With Children" and "The X Files." Speaking to My Record Journal, the actor's cousin, John Kelly, revealed that she'd often return back to her family for gatherings. "She used to come back and talk about how she was trying to make it out there," he said. "Then she came back and was talking about how she was making it out there," he added.
Aside from strong family roots, Lisa believed that her talents would someday take her straight to the top of her game. Even after experiencing life's low points, she never lost hope. A year before her death, she wrote a Facebook post affirming this very idea to her fans. Stating that people had questioned why she wasn't still working in television, she wrote, "I quit for personal reasons. I'm getting back to my acting career now and hope to be working again soon. I look fine, I'm sober and married. I'm not selling out to do lame projects or appear on gossip shows or anything of that nature." Lisa never stopped believing that a big break was headed her way.
Lisa Robin Kelly left That '70s Show after a personal loss
In season 3 of "That '70s Show," Laurie Forman made a hasty exit from the show, with the character heading off for beauty school. Although Lisa Robin Kelly reappeared as the character in four episodes of the 5th season, she was briefly replaced altogether. For season 6 of the show, actor Christina Moore appeared as the new Laurie for six episodes. Creative minds then wrote the character out of the series altogether for the sitcom's final season.
Speaking to "Good Morning America," Kelly confirmed that she'd lost the sitcom gig due to her ongoing issues with using alcohol. "With 'That '70s Show' I was guilty of the drinking problem, and I ran," she said. However, the comedy star also revealed that there was deeper anguish behind her addiction. "I had lost a baby, and as a result of that, I lost everything, and I was abusing alcohol — which I no longer do," she explained.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Alcohol misuse got her into trouble
Lisa Robin Kelly's alcohol addiction impacted so many facets of her adult life. In 2010, she was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The star plead guilty to the charge and was handed down a sentence of 12 months of unsupervised probation and related fines. Three years later, she was arrested in Southern California on suspicion of drunk driving yet again. California Highway Patrol officers responded to Kelly's stalled car on Interstate 5. At the scene, they witnessed behavior that suggested Kelly was in an intoxicated state. Per AP, the actor was booked on suspicion of DUI with a bail of $5,000.
Her problems with alcohol eventually reached a point where intervention was necessary, and in 2013 Kelly checked herself into Pax Rehab House in Altadena, California. Tragically, she was found dead at the facility just days later. Her death, like the events leading up to it, would become the focus of tabloid speculation for years.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
She was ashamed of her mugshots
Celebrities are only human, and thus they sometimes make missteps. Occasionally, those missteps are significant, and the media has a field day with them. For a good while, there were few things as delectable to the tabloid media as a viral celebrity mugshot – particularly so when said celeb got booked for a suspected DUI. The likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Heather Locklear knew this all too well. In time, so did Lisa Robin Kelly when the mugshots from her 2010 DUI and 2012 arrest caught some brutal attention from the media.
While "Good Morning America" stated about her 2012 arrest, "[Kelly] is the latest celebrity to go from rising beauty to rock bottom," the Daily Mail sniped about her associated mugshot, "Lisa Robin Kelly looks a haggard wreck of her former self." The former "That '70s Show" star became known for all the wrong reasons.
Still, Kelly tried to clear her name on "Good Morning America." Her shame was evident as she spoke about her 2012 arrest and mugshot, tearfully explaining, "My poor mother has to look at that picture of me. That doesn't look like me. That's not me." The star also insisted that she was sober when the picture was taken. When asked point-blank if she was using any substances at the time of the incident, she adamantly responded, "Absolutely not. There is nothing that I was on or abusing at that time."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Kelly had a brief and troubled marriage
Laurie Forman brought all the boys to the yard in "That '70s Show." In real life, Lisa Robin Kelly's love connections weren't quite as simple. Unlike many of the glitzy romances of the "That '70s Show" cast, the actor wasn't one for high-profile relationships. In October 2012, the actor married Robert Gilliam, a retired drug counselor who was roughly twenty years her senior. However, Kelly filed for divorce from him just months later, citing "irreconcilable differences."
Speaking to "Inside Edition" following the star's death, Gilliam described himself and his ex-wife as being a true love match. However, he depicted Kelly's issues with addiction as being a great source of contention. "We were very much in love," he said. "The only thing that ever came between Lisa and I was drugs and ... alcohol." He further suggested that his former bride had been happy and sober when they married, only to relapse when a back injury required her to use painkillers. "I gave her an ultimatum, where she had to go into treatment and get off everything, or I was leaving," he said.
It's worth noting that Kelly appeared to paint a different picture of their troubled relationship and the reasons for their divorce.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
A history of domestic violence
The relationship between Lisa Robin Kelly and her husband Robert Gilliam was riddled with repeated reports of domestic disturbances. More than once, law enforcement was called in to settle disputes between the tumultuous couple. In November of 2012, police were summoned to a residence in the suburb of Mooresville, outside of North Carolina in response to a domestic disturbance between the couple. According to Fox News, both parties were arrested for the incident with Kelly booked on misdemeanor assault charges, while Gilliam was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female.
Unfortunately, this wasn't an isolated event. The following year, Los Angeles police were again called to the couple's residence. According to TMZ, Kelly's version of events suggests that her husband had allegedly attacked her after she refused to relinquish her entire bank account to him. A nearby neighbor called law enforcement following the violent altercation, and Gilliam was arrested for physical assault. He was charged with domestic battery and sentenced to 69 days in jail with three years probation.
Following the incident, Kelly won a request for a restraining order against him and moved forward with her decision to end her marriage.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Her love life continued to be complicated
Sadly, it wasn't the first time that Lisa Robin Kelly had been involved in a domestic violence dispute. In March 2012, just months before her marriage to Robert Gilliam, she was arrested on suspicion of spousal abuse against her then-boyfriend, John Michas. Speaking to "Good Morning America" following the incident, she claimed that the accusations against her had been fabricated and that she was the one who had been assaulted, not Michas. Speaking to TMZ, the star alleged that her ex-boyfriend had become hostile when she'd tried to leave him. She elaborated, "I am clean and sober and ... I am completely innocent. I weigh 105 pounds. I could never hurt him." Michas didn't respond to the allegations.
Prior to her death, Kelly had appeared to have reconciled her relationship with Michas. According to TMZ, both he and Gilliam spent some time pointing fingers at each other due to their respective treatment of the late actor. While Michas claimed that his girlfriend's problems had been exacerbated by the alleged physical and emotional abuse she'd experienced from her ex-husband, Gilliam suggested that her boyfriend was simply trying to deflect from his own guilt, stating, "In the last two weeks, she called me 22 times to get away from [Michas]." Her ex-husband further claimed that he was attempting to set her up with treatment at a facility closer to his home at the time of her death.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
She died in rehab
In June 2013, Lisa Robin Kelly received her second DUI arrest. Two months later, she voluntarily checked herself into Pax House, a Californian rehabilitation facility, in the hopes of getting sober — tragically, she was found dead at the facility days later. Per E! News, the 43-year-old's autopsy report confirmed that Kelly had died from multiple drug intoxication, thought to be accidental.
Speaking to People, her agent, Craig Wyckoff, suggested the star was determined to get help for issues and to start her life and career anew. "I spoke to her on Monday and she was hopeful and confident, looking forward to putting this part of her life behind her," he said. "Last night she lost the battle." Following Kelly's death, Robert Gilliam, her former husband, filed a wrongful death suit against Pax House and claimed negligence on the part of the center and its owner. The case was settled in 2015, with the terms remaining undisclosed.
Former costars like Danny Masterson and Kurtwood Smith expressed their sorrow over Kelly's death with the latter sharing in a statement to E! News, "I know the last 10 years have been such a difficult struggle for her but I will always remember the lovely, funny and very talented young lady I worked with."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).