Music1956–1977
Elvis Presley
Most of Elvis's FBI file concerns threats made against him, plus correspondence with the Bureau.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Archive
Directory
Every file we cover, filterable by category, file type, and era.
Browse by category
44 files
Music1943–1985
Frank Sinatra
One of the largest celebrity files at over 1,200 pages, covering decades of associations and threats.
Unclear or mixedRead the guide
Music1993–2005
Michael Jackson
The released file mostly tracks extortion threats and FBI assistance to local agencies during the abuse investigations.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1922–1978
Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin was investigated for alleged Communist ties and under the Mann Act.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1940s–1950s
Lucille Ball
Ball's file centers on a 1936 voter-registration card listing her as a Communist.
Background checkRead the guide
Music1969–1970
Jimi Hendrix
A short file tied to a 1969 Toronto drug arrest and routine name-check requests.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Music1992–1996 (direct references); family files extend earlier
Tupac Shakur
Released records focus on threats and an extortion plot against him before his 1996 death.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Music1997–2000s
The Notorious B.I.G.
Records relate to the unsolved 1997 murder investigation in Los Angeles.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Music1964–1980
The Beatles
Most of the file concerns John Lennon; the band itself appears in connection with tours and threats.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1960s–1990s
Elizabeth Taylor
Most entries cover threats, kidnapping plots, and extortion attempts against Taylor and her family.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1950s–1970s
Sammy Davis Jr.
Includes threats tied to his interracial marriage and reports on his political associations.
Unclear or mixedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1960s–1970s
Steve McQueen
Records reflect that McQueen was reportedly named on the Manson Family's target list.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1956–1968
Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the most extensive FBI surveillance campaigns ever conducted against an American citizen.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Music1971–1975
John Lennon
The FBI and Nixon administration tried to deport Lennon over his anti-war activism and influence on young voters.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1955–1962
Marilyn Monroe
The FBI monitored Monroe for suspected Communist ties after her relationship with playwright Arthur Miller.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1932–1955
Albert Einstein
The FBI compiled a 1,427-page file on Einstein, suspecting him of Communist sympathies and possible espionage.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1940–1966
Walt Disney
Unlike most celebrities in FBI files, Disney actively worked with the Bureau as an informant during the McCarthy era.
CorrespondenceRead the guide
Athletes & Cultural Figures1964–1971
Muhammad Ali
The FBI monitored Ali over his conversion to the Nation of Islam and his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Writers & Media1942–1961
Ernest Hemingway
The FBI monitored Hemingway for years, contributing to the paranoia that plagued his final years.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1940s–1963
John F. Kennedy
Unlike most figures here, Kennedy does not have a standalone FBI Vault profile page. The primary public records are the JFK Assassination Records Collection at the National Archives, alongside FBI investigative materials from before and after his presidency.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Music1967–1971
Jim Morrison
Morrison's FBI file lists ten arrests and documents the Bureau's concern about his provocative performances.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Music1988–1999
Whitney Houston
Houston's FBI file documents extortion attempts and threatening fan mail, not criminal investigation.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Athletes & Cultural Figures1946–1972
Jackie Robinson
The FBI monitored Robinson's civil rights activism and political involvement after his groundbreaking baseball career.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Writers & Media1991
Steve Jobs
Jobs' FBI file is a background check from when he was considered for a presidential appointment.
Background checkRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1920s–1960s
Helen Keller
The FBI tracked Keller because of her socialist politics, support for birth control, and co-founding of the ACLU.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Music1954–1986
Liberace
Liberace's 400-page FBI file covers a major jewel robbery, extortion attempts to expose his sexuality, and illegal gambling.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1943–1980s
Nikola Tesla
Tesla's file is mostly about what happened to his papers after he died, not about investigating him while alive.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1953–1965
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was actively investigated and surveilled by the FBI for more than a decade until his assassination.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1928–1947
Al Capone
Capone's federal file is a real criminal case file — but the charges that stuck were about taxes and contempt of court.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1950s–1980s
Jimmy Hoffa
Hoffa's file covers labor racketeering investigations and the enormous, still-unresolved search after his 1975 disappearance.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1932–1934
Bonnie and Clyde
The federal case against Bonnie and Clyde hinged on a stolen car crossing state lines — a much smaller legal hook than the legend.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Music1967–1970s
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin's file exists mainly because of who she performed for and appeared alongside, not because she was investigated.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Music1969–1970
Janis Joplin
Joplin's file is short and unglamorous: a stage-obscenity arrest, a threatening letter, and a bit of paperwork.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Music1940s–1959
Billie Holiday
The agency that pursued Billie Holiday was the Bureau of Narcotics — a fact most retellings blur into "the FBI."
Unclear or mixedRead the guide
Writers & Media1958–1974
James Baldwin
Baldwin's file runs to roughly 1,800 pages — one of the largest the Bureau ever kept on an American writer.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Writers & Media1940s–1960s
John Steinbeck
Steinbeck asked the Attorney General to tell "Edgar's boys" to stop following him — and the letter is in his file.
Unclear or mixedRead the guide
Writers & Media1960s–1980s
Truman Capote
Capote's file is mostly about *In Cold Blood* — how he portrayed the Bureau, and how the Bureau reacted.
CorrespondenceRead the guide
Athletes & Cultural Figures1940s–1970s
Paul Robeson
Robeson's file is enormous — decades of surveillance driven by his politics, not his performances.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1955–1994
Medgar Evers
Evers's file spans both sides of the ledger: he was monitored while alive, and his murder became a federal case.
Victim or threat reportRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1967–1970s
Fred Hampton
Hampton's file is one of the clearest records of COINTELPRO in action against an individual organizer.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1965–1970s
Cesar Chavez
Roughly 1,400 pages of monitoring of a labor organizer who preached nonviolence — and turned up nothing.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1950s–1960s
Groucho Marx
Groucho's file is thin, odd, and mostly about jokes the Bureau did not find funny.
Mentioned in recordsRead the guide
Political & Historical Figures1967–1980s
Abbie Hoffman
Hoffman's file is thousands of pages: protest monitoring, the Chicago Seven trial, and years as a fugitive.
InvestigatedRead the guide
Hollywood & TV1969–1979
Jean Seberg
Seberg's file documents the FBI planting a false story about her pregnancy in the press — and the Bureau later admitted it.
InvestigatedRead the guide