Celebrity Businesses that went south

Days ago news broke that Blake Lively's lifestyle site, Preserve, will be no more as of October 9, less than two years after its launch. But the Gossip Girl star is far from the first celeb who floundered as an entrepreneur

. Over the years, fashionable actresses' clothing lines have gone under. Restaurants with a famous name attached have gone bust. Even the Kardashians aren't immune to business folly.


Ahead, we rounded up a few more celebrity businesses that went south. Because for every Walburgers, there's a Fashion Cafe. At least these celebs have their fame and (hopefully) their fortune to fall back on. And hey, maybe they'll find more success the next time around.
Kardashian Kard, The Kardashians

You'd think combining two things American consumers love — Kardashians and phonetically but incorrectly spelled names (looking at you, Kidz Bop) — would be a recipe for success. But not even the golden Kardashian touch could save their debit card. It was discontinued after only a month of existence in 2010, after questions about high fees were raised by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.


The Fashion Cafe; Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson, & Claudia Schiffer

The Fashion Cafe's time was brief — one opened in New York City in '95 and a second in the U.K. in '96. Both were gone by '98. By 2000, Tommaso and Francesco Buti, the non-model investors in the cafe, were both arrested on money laundering and fraud charges.


Mblem, Mandy Moore

Granted the name was pretty hokey, but the singer/actress/wearer of cardigans ran the contemporary clothing company from 2005 until it folded in 2009. Like Lively, Moore's expressed a desire to give entrepreneurship a second chance, telling WWD in 2009 that she'd do it all again if she found the right partnership.

Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs, Flavor Flav

Flavor Flav once owned a mini restaurant empire, with three chicken-and-rib restaurants across three states. But the reality star/rapper quickly lost his restauranteur status as all three restaurants shuttered. The final one closed in 2013.

Natalie Portman For Té Casan, Natalie Portman

The Oscar-winning star doesn't get full blame for her busted business. Portman's line of (fairly expensive) vegan shoes was carried by Té Casan, which went under during the 2008 economic downturn.refinery29