A Closer Look Into Wesley Snipes’ Troubles With The Law, Career Decline and List of Exes & Wives

Quick Facts

Wesley Snipes is a globally recognized actor and a very skilled martial artist; he is also a film producer, director, and author. He began learning martial arts when he turned 12 and has earned 2 black belts in both Karate and Hapkido. Snipes is known for starring in popular movies such as White Men Can’t Jump, Demolition Man, Passenger 57, and most notably, the Blade film trilogy, featuring as Blade the vampire slayer.

He has won several awards, including the Blockbuster Entertainment’s Favorite Actor accolade for Horror; this was for his lead role as Blade. Amongst several other awards, he received the CableACE for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for his role in Vietnam War Story. While he attained an enviable status in the entertainment industry, he also encountered a good deal of troubles as you will find below.

Details of Wesley Snipes’ Run-ins with the Law

In 1991, Snipes was arrested by the LAPD for driving a stolen car and was taken into custody. It later emerged that the car he was driving was leased by his production company, Amen-Ra, and had been mistakenly listed as stolen. About two years later (in 1993), the actor was again arrested for carrying a concealed loaded pistol. He was fined $2,700 and received a 2-year unsupervised probation judgment.

The following year, Wesley Snipes was again caught on the wrong side of the law. He led a Florida state trooper on a high-speed chase which came to an end when the trooper rear-ended his motorcycle, leading to a crash.

Snipes’ biggest brush with the law was in the 2000s. He was dragged to court on 8 count charges of attempting to defraud the Government of tax filings of about $12 million, tax evasion, and fraud. Though he tried to seek legal redress to get out of the trouble, he was eventually convicted. In December 2010, Snipes turned himself in at a medium-security prison in Pennsylvania to commence his time. He was released in April 2013 and has so far tried to stay on the right side of the law.

How Serving a Prison Sentence Affected His Career

Wesley Snipes’ run-ins with the law made it difficult for him to land movie roles and it affected him financially, almost leaving him bankrupt. Other factors contributed to the decline of the actor’s appearances in movies. For instance, he played various roles in films like The Fan, One Night Stand, Drop Zone, Money Train, and Sugar Hill; all of which were not commercially successful. In addition to that, he received negative reviews from critics.

Another reason was his clash with a major studio, New Line Cinema, which he sued for $5 million while filming Blade: Trinity, the third film in the movie series. He was reported to be at loggerheads with the writer and director of the film. At a point, he refused to appear on set, asking the studios to use his stunt double. This action seemed to have sealed his fate; it is probably one of the major reasons why he is not being cast in major movies anymore.

Meet Wesley Snipes’ Exes and Wife

The actor has had a very busy love life, this saw him date some of the most popular ladies in the industry. He has been married twice and his first wife was April Dubois. Snipes and April knew each other before he became famous; they were sweethearts in college.

As you will easily find, they got married in 1985 and had their only child, a son named Jelani in 1988. But then, the union wasn’t meant to endure for a long time as the couple officially separated in 1990.

The actor would move on and date several popular women. 2003 came and he decided to try being a husband again. This time, he got married to actress Nakyung Park. He is still married to the actress and they have had four children together.

Let’s take a look at other women he’s been romantically linked to.

His Relationship with Halle Berry and Jenifer Lopez

Wesley Snipes and famous American actress Halle Berry were in a relationship between 1989 and 1990. It was a very brief one though, and the reason for their split was never revealed. However, unconfirmed reports surfaced as the years went by, suggesting that Snipes had physically abused Halle.

The actor and J. Lo, the superstar musician cum actress had a brief romance that started sometime in 1994. They both starred in Money Train where they pulled-off a love scene together. It is said that they became lovers after shooting the movie and broke up in 1995 without offering any reason.

He Dated Jada Pinkett and Donna Wong

Snipes and actress Jada Pinkett were lovers in the early 1990s. They appeared together at a few high profile events and never revealed why they broke up.

For about two years, between 1996 and 1998, the actor dated another actress named Donna Wong. His relationship with her caused some sort of controversy as it was rumored that Snipes disliked dating black women. They parted ways and Wesley divulged in an interview that they were not ready for marriage when they were together.

Sanaa Lathan and Pilar Sanders Were Once His Lovers

Snipes and Sanaa featured in the movie Disappearing Acts in 2000 and were involved in a relationship thereafter, albeit a very brief one.

Sometime in 2011, it emerged that Wesley Snipes and actress Pilar Sanders were having an affair. They were both married and it is believed that what she had with the actor led to the end of her marriage with Deion Sanders. Snipes’ marriage survived the scandal to the surprise of many.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.