Fox News contributor Stacey Dash sparked controversy last year when she told Meredith Vieira that when it comes to closing the gender wage gap, women need to simply work harder and stop complaining.

But bankruptcy documents recently uncovered by Daily Mail Online reveal that the 49-year-old Clueless actress was once drowning in debt and survived on $6,000-a-month support payments from her then-fiancé, James Maby, that she used to pay her bills.

Dash filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy back in May 2004, 11 years before appearing on The Meredith Vieira Show, where she made headlines for speaking about the wage gap and equal pay for women.

Bankruptcy documents recently uncovered by Daily Mail Online reveal that in 2004, Fox News contributor and Clueless actress Stacey Dash was drowning in debt and couldn't find a job

Dash said that women needed to stop making excuses about the wage difference and take control of their own finance opportunities.

She said: ‘It’s an excuse. Stop making excuses. If there are opportunities, seize them. And be prepared for them. And be the best, if that’s what it takes. If you have to be extraordinary, be extraordinary.’

Vieira told the actress that women make 70 cents on the dollar compared to men, but Dash responded: ‘I don’t know if that’s true.’

She added: ‘I know that the numbers are true, but I feel like your daughter will be able to make as much money as she wants in her life. Just like you are. I mean, look at you.’

The TV host told Dash about her history of being paid less than her male counterparts, and she replied: ‘I guess i won’t put my fate into anything other than my own action and taking my destiny in my hands. I will not play victim to anything.'

Eleven years later, however, she told Meredith Vieira that when it comes to closing the gender wage gap, women need to simply work harder

She told Vieira that there was a law that promised equal pay and that women should just work harder.

But 11 years earlier, Dash couldn’t find work and needed $6,000 a month in support from her fiancé, Maby, to cover her expenses.

Maby went on to marry her in 2005, but they divorced in 2006. He is the father of her daughter Lola and was Dash's second of three husbands.

Stacey was Maby's first wife. His second wife was Landon Clements of Bravo's Southern Charm, whom he married in 2008 and split from in 2012.

Dash filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2004 and said she had only $28,582 in assets but $157,703.53 in liabilities owed to creditors.

Her personal property included $7 in her checking account and $4,000 in household goods, furniture and electronics.

She listed miscellaneous photographs worth $500, as well as $2,100 in clothing, $600 in costume jewelry and 100 per cent interest in her company Bronx 13 Productions, which had a value of $0 but held $2,000 in the company bank account.

Dash also had a 2001 Mercedes Benz ML320, which she was leasing.

The actress’ debts included more than $70,000 to the IRS in unpaid taxes and $3,378 to the California State Franchise Tax Board for unpaid taxes.

When Dash filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 2004, she was surviving on $6,000-a-month support payments from her fiancé, James Maby (pictured above with his and Dash's daughter, Lola)

Other debts included $5,438.43 owed on the Mercedes Benz, $500 on a charge card purchased to Best Buy, $38,200 on a Citi Advantage Credit Card, $110 to Mobil, $480 to Macy’s and $133 to Saks Fifth Avenue.

Dash listed her monthly expenses as $5,934.76, but said she was making no money as a self-employed actress at the time of her filing for bankruptcy.

The only funds she had were $6,000 a month from her fiancé at the time.

The bankruptcy closed in July 2006 with a trustee presiding over the case, stating that Dash had no assets and the case was closed.

Earlier this month, Dash launched a website called Dash America. She called the site ‘an exhilarating political movement that focuses on unity, faith, family values, and feminism’, according to NJ.com.

The website’s ‘about’ section says it is ‘the 21st century's most exciting political movement’ that draws upon ‘American traditions - love of country, love of freedom, and love of family’.

Dash became a regular Fox contributor after voicing her support for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Dash found fame in films including Mo' Money and Clueless (pictured above) before becoming a Fox News contributor