Famous studies hiding criminal (13)
I believe the answer is:
distinguished
'famous' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'studies hiding criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' is an anagram indicator.
'studies'+'hiding'='studieshiding'
'studieshiding' anagrammed gives 'DISTINGUISHED'.
(Other definitions for distinguished that I've seen before include "Made out; noble" , "Made out; illustrious" , "like a VIP" , "saw the difference" , "Noble and dignified in appearance" .)