Winona Ryder, endearing in “Lucas”, funny in “Heathers”, and brilliant in “Girl, Interrupted”, has brought her downward spiral to the international arena after ‘misplacing’ $125,000 worth of diamonds in Spain.  She was loaned the jewelry, along with a dress and shoes, for a “Marie Claire” event in Madrid on Sunday, November 23.

Not Totally Her Fault This Time.

Not Totally Her Fault This Time.

One source claims that Ryder claimed to have brought the Bulgari diamond bracelet and ring to the hotel desk for safe-keeping in their vault.  Surveillance video of the front desk shows no such transaction.  According to TMZ, however, Winona “never said she had taken the jewels to the front desk, and whoever planted that story may be covering up for someone”.  The actress claims that, when leaving the hotel, she found no one around from Marie Claire to collect the borrowed items, so she left everything–including the expensive jewelry–in her hotel room.  The dress and shoes were found in the room, but the gems were gone.  If she could travel back in time, she might re-think the whole ‘leaving the expensive, borrowed, specifically NOT HER STUFF in the hotel room’ thing, and actually bring the items to the front desk when she checked out.  Especially since her reputation of keeping only things that are hers is kinda questionable these days.

Representatives from Bulgari have declined to comment on the missing jewels, and the police have not contacted the actress.  Right now, it seems, the investigation is on the hotel staff, and not the odd star more famous for shoplifting and prescription drug abuse than her acting skills. 
In December of 2001, Ryder was arrested for shoplifting $5,000.00 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.  She was also found to have an alarming amount of painkillers without benefit of a prescription.  Maybe they were for dulling the troublesome image in her mind of her ever-fading career.  At trial, she received 3 years’ probation and 480 hours of community service, regardless of her compelling defense that she stole the items ‘to prepare for a film role’.  Having checked her filmography, I haven’t seen any movie called “I’m filthy rich and steal stuff anyway”.  
Unfortunately, the talented actress was again caught with her hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, when, in March 2008, she set off alarms at a CVC Pharmacy in Hollywood.  Evidently, she paid for some items, but managed to forget about the makeup she was smuggling out in her purse.  According to “The Daily Mail”, she said “I don’t know what happened”.    Oh, Winona, we want to believe that you are not a kleptomaniac.  We want to believe that Percocet isn’t driving you to thievery.  We want to believe that you will appear soon in a film that isn’t released straight to DVD.  You are a brilliant actress, we love you, and we just wish you’d buy your own diamonds and makeup and clothes.  We like you better when you are not considered a felon.  Really.
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