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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Some celebrities have explicitly excluded children from a will; others have only said they do not plan to leave an inheritance. Those are not the same thing. The ten names associated with this topic include documented will provisions, reports about estate outcomes, and public statements about future intentions—but the evidence is not equally strong for all of them.
What “disinherited” means in these cases
A person may be described as having disinherited a child when a will expressly excludes that child, when an estate is distributed without a child receiving an inheritance, or when the person says they intend to leave no money to their children. The first two describe an estate or legal document; the third is a stated plan. A public comment does not establish what a final will says or what an estate ultimately distributes.
The cases below distinguish those categories and identify where the available reporting leaves important questions unresolved.
Reported will provisions and estate disputes
Tony Curtis
Legal commentary describes Curtis’s will as acknowledging his children while intentionally choosing not to provide for them. Forbes reported that his children challenged the estate plan and alleged undue influence. That allegation is a separate claim, not proof that undue influence occurred. Forbes’ report on the estate challenge discusses the children’s allegation alongside the reported terms of the will.
Jerry Lewis
Lewis’s will explicitly named six sons from his first marriage and their descendants as excluded beneficiaries. Forbes reproduces the will’s language: “I have intentionally excluded GARY LEWIS, RONALD LEWIS, ANTHONY JOSEPH LEWIS, CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH LEWIS, SCOTT ANTHONY LEWIS and JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER LEWIS and their descendants as beneficiaries of my estate, it being my intention to that they shall receive no benefits hereunder.” The reproduced wording documents the exclusion; it does not establish a motive. Forbes’ report reproducing the will language.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman’s 2004 will left his residuary estate to his partner, Mimi O’Donnell. The Los Angeles Times, reporting on court filings, attributed to Hoffman a wish not to make his children “trust fund kids.” But the will was written before at least one of his children was born, as the American Bar Association notes. That timing makes the simplified claim that he deliberately cut all three children out less complete than it may appear. Los Angeles Times reporting on the will and court filings; American Bar Association analysis of Hoffman’s estate plan.
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Joan Crawford
An online reproduction of Crawford’s will contains an exclusion clause for two children. A later archive account reports that the will was challenged and the dispute settled. The will reproduction is evidence of the clause’s wording; the account of the challenge and settlement is secondary reporting about what happened afterward. Reproduced text of Crawford’s will; Archive account reporting on the will challenge and settlement.
Publicly stated plans, not completed disinheritances
Jackie Chan
Reports describe Chan as saying he does not intend to leave his wealth to his son. That is a publicly reported view about a future inheritance, not evidence that an estate has been distributed or that a final will contains an exclusion. The 2026 listicle identifying Chan as an example is secondary reporting, and the sources reviewed here do not establish a completed estate outcome.
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Daniel Craig
Craig has been included in reporting about wealthy parents who do not plan to leave their children a substantial inheritance. As with Chan, a reported intention is not a completed disinheritance: it does not show how a final will is written or what beneficiaries will ultimately receive. The available support for this example is the 2026 listicle, rather than a cited estate document.
Sting
The Los Angeles Times reported Sting’s view that trust funds could become “albatrosses ‘round their necks.” The phrase expresses a concern about inheritance; it does not establish that his children have been excluded by a will or that his estate has been distributed. Los Angeles Times report mentioning Sting’s comments.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Three additional names with unresolved support
Mickey Rooney
The 2026 listicle includes Rooney among celebrities said to have disinherited children, but the sources reviewed here did not locate sufficiently authoritative, directly relevant documentation to establish the claim. Without stronger evidence, it should not be treated as a verified will provision or estate outcome.
Kirk Douglas
Douglas also appears in the listicle, but the reviewed material did not establish his estate’s treatment of his children through a sufficiently authoritative, directly relevant source. The claim remains unresolved here.
James Brown
The listicle makes a claim about Brown’s estate, but the sources reviewed did not provide sufficiently authoritative, directly relevant documentation to verify it. The claim should not be presented as settled fact on this basis.
Quick Recap
How to read claims about celebrity inheritance
- Look for the document or outcome. An explicit will clause, court filing, or reported distribution is different from an interview or a headline summarizing a person’s views.
- Separate intent from dispute. A child’s challenge to a will is not proof that the will was invalid or that alleged misconduct occurred.
- Check the timing. A will written before a child’s birth may not reflect a later decision about that child.
- Account for source strength. Reproduced will language and reporting based on court filings offer more direct evidence than a listicle alone; secondary accounts should be described as such.
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