Charlie Sheen's Tragic True Life Story

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse, plus discussions of substance abuse and mental health.

Charlie Sheen was born in 1965 under the name Carlos Irwin Estevez, but began going by Charlie as a child to differentiate himself from his uncle Carlos. When he entered the family trade, the young actor took a stage name, like his father Martin Sheen, because Latino names were discriminated against when he was trying to establish an acting career in New York.

Charlie quickly found success in serious films such as "Platoon" and "Wall Street," as well as comedies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Major League." Charlie also co-starred with his brother Emilio Estevez in "Young Guns," a Western following the outlaw Billy the Kid and his gang, the Regulators. The cast was packed with young, up-and-coming actors who would become big Hollywood stars.

In the early 2000s, Charlie transitioned to television and the next phase of his acting career. He took a role in "Spin City" and later became the highest-paid actor on TV for his role in the hit series "Two in a Half Men." Unfortunately, Charlie's dramatic personal life has often eclipsed his accomplishments as an actor. Keep reading to explore Charlie Sheen's tragic true life story.

Charlie Sheen's struggles with addiction have shaped his life and derailed his career, but his first experiences with addiction weren't his own. As a child, Charlie and his siblings watched their father, celebrated actor Martin Sheen, deal with alcoholism. Visiting Martin in the Philippines while he was filming "Apocalypse Now" was a formative and traumatic experience for the Sheen-Estevez children.

Drinking heavily while making the war film, Martin suffered a heart attack in the jungle and was airlifted to Manila for treatment. Charlie was only 11 when it happened. "I've often said that if I had known going in that I'd have to endure what I did, I would've passed. But I have no regrets because it forced me to come to grips with parts of myself that I otherwise may never have embraced," Martin told Yahoo! Entertainment.

"He was a terrible drunk," Emilio Estevez told The Irish Examiner. "Some people are pleasant drunks. He would get sentimental and angry. It scared all of us." Martin quit drinking in 1989 and credits recommitting himself to his Catholic faith as a pillar of his sobriety, although Martin found AA helpful while dealing with Charlie's addiction issues.

After actor Kelly Preston was taken to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound in early 1990, rumors swirled that Charlie Sheen, whom Preston was engaged to, had accidentally shot her. Their engagement ended shortly after the incident, fueling the gossip. Although both Sheen and Preston later explained what happened, these rumors followed Sheen throughout his career and life in the spotlight.

Sheen finally told his version of the story during his "My Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour. "I was downstairs early in the morning making coffee and I thought she was still asleep upstairs," Sheen said. "And I heard a f***ing gunshot go off. I thought, 'She did it, she finally f***ing did it. She killed herself and they're going to f***ing blame me.'"

Sheen explained how a small pistol fell out of his folded pants in the bathroom when Preston picked them up, struck the floor, and accidentally went off, hitting the toilet bowl and sending shrapnel into Preston's leg. Preston confirmed this story to TMZ before her death in 2020. Preston also came to Sheen's defense during his 2011 meltdown. "We were together for a year, and he wasn't drinking, and he wasn't doing drugs and there's a beautiful person in there," Preston told The Mirror. "He really is a great man."

In 1995, Charlie Sheen testified, via a pre-recorded videotape, at the tax evasion trial of the "Hollywood Madam," Heidi Fleiss. Sheen admitted to spending over $50,000 for services from her sex workers on 27 different occasions. Although none of Fleiss' clients were named during her first trial, the financial records used for her tax evasion trial revealed that Sheen was among her Hollywood clientele.

Sheen's spokesman read a statement outside the courthouse after Sheen's pre-recorded testimony, which said (per The Los Angeles Times), "I apologize to my family, my future wife, my close friends, for any embarrassment these incidents may have caused. I offer no other explanation for my actions, only the truth, which is contained in detail within my testimony. They wouldn't call it 'the past' if it wasn't."

Many have since suggested that Sheen suffers from sex addiction, something which would adversely affect his relationships and his health in the future. During a 2013 interview, Dr. Mehmet Oz asked Sheen if he was a sex addict. Sheen replied, "I'm sure. I mean, I don't know the definition of it."

Meeting during a commercial shoot in 1995, Charlie Sheen and Donna Peele married a mere six weeks after they began dating. Sheen filed for divorce months later in 1996, calling the marriage suffocating. "I like breathing too much," Sheen told The New York Times. "I had to come up for air." According to The Tampa Bay Times, Sheen said, "There was a voice. Not like drug-induced voices, but there was a voice that kept telling me this will not work." Sheen quickly began dating Brittany Ashland after filing for divorce.

In 1997, Sheen was charged with, among other things, misdemeanor battery and assault after an incident in which Sheen allegedly smashed Ashland's head into his marble floor, knocking her unconscious and splitting her lip. Sheen's spokesperson called the charges extortion, and Sheen pleaded not guilty. Eventually, the actor pleaded no contest in a deal, giving him two years of probation and a suspended one-year jail sentence. According to The Los Angeles Times, Sheen told Judge Lawrence Mira: "I feel this is very fair, and I'm grateful ... You will not see me back in this courtroom."

In 1998, Charlie Sheen overdosed on drugs and was taken to Los Robles Hospital in Los Angeles, where he was admitted in fair condition. "He's eating. He's talking. He's aware," Chris Caraway, spokeswoman for the facility, announced during a press conference, with Martin Sheen adding, "My son is here because of a drug overdose. This is not an easy moment in our lives, but it's a necessary one. Our hope is that he will accept recovery and be fine." Sheen had already attended rehab once in 1990, the same year his engagement to Kelly Preston ended. He reportedly entered rehab for the first time because of alcohol addiction and exhaustion due to his intense filming schedule. 

The overdose proved Sheen was still abusing drugs and hadn't continued with the 12-step program after leaving rehab for the first time. His father informed Los Angeles law enforcement authorities that his son was using drugs, which violated Charlie's probation for his alleged assault of Brittany Ashland and landed Charlie back in court.

Martin Sheen advocated for tough love and consequences for his son's actions, but he also stuck by Charlie Sheen's side during his treatment for addiction. Some might have judged Martin for turning his son in to the authorities, but Martin was doing what he believed was in Charlie's best interests. "I am very motivated by our dear friend, Carroll O'Connor. I'm very much appreciative of the messages that he took the time to record after ... he lost his son," Martin said after Charlie's overdose (via CBS News). "Do anything you can to get between the drugs and your kids. And that's what I'm doing."

After his overdose and probation violation, Charlie had two options. He could go to jail for his probation violation, or enter rehab for the second time. At the behest of his father, Charlie opted to go to rehab at Promises in Malibu. After being released from rehab and attending a court hearing for his probation violation, Charlie said he wasn't angry with his father. "I was a little annoyed at the time," Charlie said after his hearing (via Empire), "but he saved my life, and I love him for that, and I'm thankful for him as well."

After going to rehab, Charlie Sheen entered a new phase in his career by joining the cast of "Spin City," after Michael J. Fox left the series following his Parkinson's diagnosis. Not only did Sheen win a Golden Globe for his performance on the comedy series, he got to know Denise Richards on the set when she guest-starred and they began dating shortly after. Sheen and Richards were married a year later in 2002, and the couple welcomed their first daughter, Sam, in 2004.

In 2005, after a three-year marriage, Richards filed for divorce while six months pregnant with their second child. Sheen and Richards briefly attempted a reconciliation after their daughter Lola was born, but the couple moved forward with the divorce. It was finalized in 2006, despite Sheen and Richards still needing to come to an agreement on the custody of their children and shared finances.

In 2007, their custody battle got ugly and turned into a mudslinging match, with both parties airing their grievances publicly. Over the years, disagreements over child support and custody have flared up periodically. Richards and Sheen have voiced their frustrations in the media and turned to the court system to resolve their disputes. Despite any animosity, both Sheen and Richards have stayed committed to co-parenting their daughters and Richards even temporarily cared for Sheen's twin sons from his third marriage to Brooke Mueller.

On Christmas morning in 2009, Charlie Sheen was arrested in Aspen, Colorado for an alleged domestic violence assault involving an unnamed party. Per Colorado law, a protection order was issued against Sheen for the alleged victim. Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, told Entertainment Weekly, "Do not be misled by appearance. Appearance and reality can be as different as night and day. It would benefit everyone not to jump to any conclusion." It was soon clear that this alleged assault was against Sheen's third wife, Brooke Mueller, just nine months after she gave birth to their twin sons, Bob and Max. Although Mueller tried to recant her police statement after the alleged assault, charges were filed against Sheen.

Many remembered Sheen's conviction for assault in the '90s and Denise Richards' claims of abuse. This established a pattern of behavior that led some to view Sheen as a serial domestic abuser, further tarnishing his public image. In the wake of the alleged Christmas assault, Mueller and Sheen both entered rehabilitation centers to deal with addiction issues. In August 2010, Sheen pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to a 30-day stay in rehab instead of jail time, along with probation and 36 hours of domestic violence counseling.

Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller's marriage woes were rooted in both parties struggling with substance abuse. Mueller and Sheen would both attend multiple rounds of rehab in the years following the dissolution of their marriage. Before the end of 2010, Sheen and Mueller filed for divorce and came to a financial agreement that included a settlement in accordance with their prenuptial agreement and child support payments. Unfortunately, the former couple continued to clash over custody of their sons Bob and Max.

In 2011, Mueller applied for a restraining order and their twin sons were removed from Sheen's home. Sobriety continued to elude Mueller, and in 2013, the boys were removed from her custody by the Department of Children and Family Service because their home environment was deemed unsafe. The twins briefly lived with Denise Richards and their half-sisters while Mueller was in rehab, but custody of Max and Bob was given to Mueller's brother, Scott, in 2014.

In 2016, Mueller was hospitalized for observation after Utah authorities mounted a search for Mueller, Bob, and Max following an early morning incident at a bar. Mueller entered another in-patient rehabilitation program in 2019, so the twins went to live with Mueller's parents. In 2018, Sheen requested that the court amend the child support agreement because his earnings had declined, and in 2022 Mueller and Sheen finally agreed to an undisclosed child support sum.

In January 2011, production of "Two and a Half Men" was shut down twice in one season because Charlie Sheen entered rehab for the third time in 12 calendar months. The production team said in a statement, "We are profoundly concerned for his health and well-being, and support his decision," when Sheen reentered rehab. Unfortunately, Sheen's relationship with Warner Brothers became acrimonious after Sheen launched a bizarre public attack on show co-creator Chuck Lorre.

In March 2011, Sheen was fired from the hit series that had made him the highest-paid actor on television. Warner Brothers issued a statement saying (via CNN), "After careful consideration, Warner Brothers Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on 'Two and a Half Men,' effective immediately." After being fired, Sheen sued Warner Brothers and accepted a huge settlement.

A decade later, Sheen acknowledged that this episode was one of the biggest regrets of his career. "There was 55 different ways for me to handle that situation, and I chose number 56. And so, you know, I think the growth for me post-meltdown or melt forward or melt somewhere — however you want to label it — it has to start with absolute ownership of my role in all of it," Sheen told Yahoo! Entertainment. "And it was desperately juvenile."

Charlie Sheen told the world he was HIV-positive on The Today Show in 2015. Sheen told Matt Lauer that he wanted to go public after being blackmailed by multiple sex workers in exchange for their silence. "I always led with condoms and honesty when it came to my condition," he said. "Sadly, my truth soon became their treason, as a deluge of blackmail and extortion took center stage in this circus of deceit." Sheen also wrote in an open letter published by USA Today, "To date, I have paid out countless millions to these desperate charlatans."

Sheen revealed that he relapsed after years of sobriety around the time he learned about his HIV-positive status, although Sheen didn't directly attribute his 2011 meltdown to learning he had HIV. "I wish I could blame it on that. That was more of a roid rage," Sheen admitted to Lauer. Although Sheen was upset by his diagnosis, he responded well to anti-viral drugs and Sheen's doctor told Lauer they were more concerned with Sheen's substance abuse than HIV.

In 2017, Sheen revealed that he was participating in an FDA study for an experimental HIV drug. "We are very close to being approved and it is not this hideous cocktail that leads to so many side effects ... it's one shot a week," Sheen told Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" (per E! News). "It's going well and I feel like I'm carrying the torch for a lot of folks who are suffering from the same thing."

During an interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2016, Charlie Sheen acknowledged what many have speculated since his 2011 meltdown— that he might be bipolar. When asked if he was bipolar, Sheen responded that his experience "with the manic behavior is usually in the throes of deep partying, deep substance abuse and drinking," Sheen told Dr. Oz. "It doesn't really happen when I'm not doing that, it has never really reared its head."

After this admission, Sheen expressed his willingness to explore a diagnosis with a mental health professional. "I actually connected him to a world expert psychiatrist in bipolar and they are talking. He's going to see a psychiatrist named Dr. [Shahla] Modir," Dr. Oz told People magazine. "He's actually making inroads. He was very resistant to this possibility. The fact of the matter is, if he doesn't banish this, he's going to keep making the same mistakes he's been making."

Despite once being the highest-paid actor on television, Charlie Sheen isn't as rich as one might suspect. Sheen was once worth $150 million, but his net worth has shrunk to approximately $10 million. "I love making money and I love spending it," Sheen told The Guardian. "I spend more on others than on myself. Part of my code is, when I eat steak, everyone eats steak. Vegans be damned." Years of over-spending, expensive divorces and child support payments, blackmail, and legal woes have made a huge dent in his once-large estate.

But despite his often tragic life and many mistakes, recent developments in Sheen's acting career suggest that Sheen might be on the verge of a comeback. Sheen has mended fences with Chuck Lorre and is guest-starring on "How to Be a Bookie." The talented actor and mercurial pop culture icon may reinvent his career yet again and rebuild his estate for his five children and future generations of the Sheen-Estevez acting dynasty.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, domestic abuse, or mental health, contact the relevant resources below: 

• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
• Please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.