Sara Whitman
Hollywood often seems like one big party — and for some celebrities, it was at one point in their lives.
Many stars have bravely spoken out about their struggles with substance abuse and their journeys to sobriety.
Several of those have made it their mission to use their platform to help others who have been struggling.
Below are 41 celebrities who have candidly spoken about how sobriety plays a role in their daily lives.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway announced she was giving up alcohol in a January 2019 interview.
The “Princess Diaries” star clarified a few months later that she didn’t have an alcohol addiction — she just needed to stop drinking because she couldn’t handle her hangovers.
“I didn’t put [a drink] down because my drinking was a problem,” she told Modern Luxury’s Boston Common magazine.
“I put it down because the way I drink leads me to have hangovers and those were the problem.”
Bella Hadid
Supermodel Bella Hadid gave up drinking near the end of 2022.
She announced she was five months sober during a trip to Las Vegas in March 2023.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck publicly struggled with alcohol abuse for years and was infamously brought to rehab by his ex-wife Jennifer Garner in 2018 after she held an intervention for him.
He has also been open about his recovery journey, which he said has helped others with their struggles.
“I became — out of no desire of my own — one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in March 2023.
“And the best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they’re like, ‘Hey, can you help me out?’ And it makes me feel so good to do that.”
“The big trick of 12-step is the reason they want you to help other people is because it actually helps you more.”
Blac Chyna
Blac Chyna marked her first year of sobriety on September 14, 2023.
“This process is not easy but I did it, I plan on continuing practicing sobriety,” she wrote in an Instgram slideshow celebrating the milestone.
She added, “I’m hoping that when you see this, this will inspire you if you are struggling with any addiction, just know that you can do it and you are worth it.”
Blake Lively
Despite owning an alcoholic drink line, Blake Lively does not consume alcoholic beverages.
“I don’t drink. I’ve never tried a drug,” she told Allure in 2012.
“It’s just something that I genuinely don’t have a desire for.”
She later explained to People in 2021 that she decided to stay away from alcohol because she doesn’t like the effects of it.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper got sober at the age of 29 after spending years dealing with a drug and alcohol addiction behind closed doors.
In 2013, he told GQ that he knew he was going to “sabotage” his entire life if he didn’t get sober.
“I’ve been sober for 19 years. Very lucky,” the Oscar nominee told Bear Grylls during an August 2023 episode of “Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge.”
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt thanked Cooper for helping him “get sober” during his acceptance speech at the National Board of Review’s annual gala in New York City in 2020.
“Thank you, Bradley. Bradley just put his daughter to bed and then rushed over to do this,” the “Babylon” star said after his pal handed him his award.
“I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier since.”
He has previously been open about his substance abuse, which was reportedly a factor in his separation from Angelina Jolie.
Cara Delevingne
After battling depression, anxiety and addiction stemming from childhood, Cara Delevingne got clean at the beginning of 2023.
She decided to get serious about her recovery after she was photographed in public a handful of times in 2022 appearing to be distressed, disheveled and possibly under the influence of drugs.
“It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, ‘Okay, I don’t look well’,” the model recalled to Vogue in March 2023, reflecting on specific paparazzi shots taken of her following the famous Burning Man festival.
“Sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way those pictures were something to be grateful for.”
Delevingne checked herself into rehab in late 2022 and got the help she needed.
“I always thought that the work needs to be done when the times are bad, but actually the work needs to be done when they’re good,” she explained. “The work needs to be done consistently.”
“It’s never going to be fixed or fully healed but I’m okay with that, and that’s the difference.”
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen tried eliminating alcohol from her life a few times in 2020 and 2021 before finally completing her first year of sobriety in July 2022.
She celebrated the milestone with a compilation of family travel videos paired with a reflective caption.
“not a drop of alcohol in 365 days!” she began.
“I miss feeling loopy and carefree sometimes, but to be honest toward the end, it didn’t give that fun feeling anymore anyhow.”
“I drank to end crazy anxiety that later mostly went away when I – get this – quit drinking! sigh.”
She added, “While I honestly STILL don’t know if I’ll never have a drink again, I do know I never want to be that way again.”
Teigen’s sobriety journey was partially influenced by the fact that she had been canceled in 2021 over several allegations of cyberbullying.
Daniel Radcliffe
“Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe drank heavily as a teen to cope with his global stardom.
“There is an awareness that I really struggled with, particularly in my late teens when I was going out to places for the first time where you would feel — again, it could have largely been in my head — where you would feel watched when you went into a bar, when you went into a pub,” he explained on “Off Camera With Sam Jones” in 2019.
“In my case, the quickest way to forget you were being watched was to get very drunk.”
“Then as you get very drunk, you become aware, ‘Oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.’ It can affect your psyche.”
He added that he’s “much happier” without alcohol in his life.
Dax Shepard
Weeks after celebrating 16 years of sobriety in September 2020, Dax Shepard revealed he relapsed when he began sneaking Vicodin to manage the pain he sustained from multiple motorcycle riding injuries.
“My fear was that if I have one day, I’m going to drink and I’m going to do coke,” he noted on his “Armchair Expert” podcast after apologizing to his wife, Kristen Bell, and his podcast co-host, Monica Padman, for “gaslighting” them.
“I haven’t drank a beer in 16 years and I haven’t snorted a line in 16 years,” Shepard continued.
“And if I have one day, then I might as well f–king have what I really want and then start over.”
“And my fear of that is if I do that, it may take me three years to get that back in the cage and I may die.”
He has since been sober as far as the public knows.
Demi Lovato
After struggling with substance abuse issues for years and nearly losing her life to a heroin overdose in 2018, Demi Lovato finally got sober.
The “Cool for the Summer” hitmaker — who also goes by they/them pronouns — announced her sobriety in December 2021 after previously describing herself as “California sober” — meaning she still smokes weed and drinks alcohol socially.
“I no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “Sober sober is the only way to be.”
In 2023, a person close to the singer confirmed she is still living an alcohol and drug-free lifestyle.
“Demi is doing great. She’s sober and living a very healthy lifestyle,” they told Entertainment Tonight.
“She’s surrounding herself with like-minded people that want her to stay that way and continue to support her positive choices.”
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore infamously frequented Studio 54 as a child star and consequently had easy access to drugs and alcohol.
By the time she was 11, she was an alcoholic. By the time she was 12, she was using drugs.
She spent more than a year in rehab as a tween and became emancipated from her mother at the age of 14, after which she began rebuilding her life and her tarnished career.
However, it wasn’t until after she landed her hit CBS talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” that she eliminated alcohol from her life completely.
“I think the opportunity at a show like this really hit me,” she told the Los Angeles Times in March 2023, adding that she felt like she couldn’t be fully present for the talk show — which premiered in 2020 — unless she was in “a really clear place.”
She previously said she relied on alcohol to “numb the pain” from her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman.
Ed Begley
Actor Ed Begley was a heavy drinker in the 1970s and told Page Six exclusively in October 2023 that he was “headed for trouble” before getting sober.
He remembered deciding to stop drinking for good when his alcoholism landed him in the hospital and affected his ability to be a parent.
“My first-born Amanda was one year old and she wanted to hold me,” he recalled.
“But the problem was I was in the hospital with all these needles and tubes going in me that are trying to keep me alive and I couldn’t hold my daughter because of the tubes.”
“I said, ‘You know? Deal me out. I’m done with this,’” he continued.
“And thank God it’s been since the 70s since I’ve had a drink or anything like that. And I’m very lucky to still be around.”
Elton John
Elton John has been sober for more than 30 years following alcohol and drug addiction, which included cocaine.
“I’m truly a blessed man. If I hadn’t finally taken the big step of asking for help 30 years ago, I’d be dead,” he wrote on Instagram in 2020 to commemorate three decades of sobriety.
“Thank-you from the bottom of my heart to all the people who have inspired and supported me along the way.”
Eminem
Eminem sobered up after a near-fatal drug overdose in 2007.
The rapper first opened up about his struggles during a 2011 chat with the New York Times.
“[I took] Vicodin, Valium and Ambien, and toward the end, which caused my overdose, methadone,” he admitted.
“I didn’t know it was methadone. I used to get pills wherever I could. I was just taking anything that anybody was giving to me.”
“I remember when I first got sober and all the shit was out of my system, I remember just being, like, really happy and everything was f–king new to me again,” Eminem said on Paul Rosenberg’s “Paul Pod” podcast in 2022, per Vanity Fair.
“[2009’s ‘Relapse’] was the first album and the first time that I had fun recording in a long time,” he added.
“It was like the first time I started having fun with music again, and re-learning how to rap, you remember that whole process. It took a long time for my brain to start working again.”
Jack Harlow
Rapper Jack Harlow revealed in August 2021 that he had given up his favorite vice: drinking.
“Haven’t had a single sip of alcohol in 2021,” he proudly declared to fans in an Instagram post.
“Going the rest of the year without it. Maybe I’ll never take another sip, who knows?” he debated.
“My favorite vice was definitely drinking (I don’t like to smoke) but if I learned anything this year it’s that I don’t need it,” the “First Class” hitmaker continued.
“I don’t usually say a lot in my captions because it feels like anything worth telling y’all I should just put in my songs…but today felt like a good time for a life update.”
“I’m really grateful for how far we’ve come and I want you to know I appreciate all of you.”
The following year, he told Rolling Stone he gave up alcohol because he was “sick of waking up with a dry throat, sick of feeling bloated and sick of the decisions” he made while under the influence.
Jack Osbourne
Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s son, Jack Osbourne, marked 20 years of sobriety in 2023.
Two years prior, he celebrated his sobriety journey by sharing an encouraging message to others who may be struggling.
“It’s not that it get easier or harder, It’s just that it’s life on life’s terms,” he penned in the caption of an Instagram post marking his 18th year of sobriety.
“If anyone is trying to get sober, know that it possible if you are willing to do the work. Sending lots of love to my people who have been on this journey with me.”
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith admitted she had such a high tolerance for alcohol at one point that she began mixing it with weed and ecstasy during a 2021 episode of “Red Table Talk.”
She said she took ecstasy for the last time in 1996 after she passed out on the set of “The Nutty Professor.”
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson told Chelsea Handler she has “never” had a single drink in her life while appearing on “Chelsea Lately” in 2013, per HuffPost.
“I’ve never been interested. Nobody ever believes it,” she added.
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson took her last sip of alcohol in October 2017 after her inebriation prevented her from dressing her kids for Halloween that year.
“I was terrified of letting them see me in that shape,” she wrote in her memoir, “Open Book.”
“I am ashamed to say that I don’t know who got them into their costumes that night.”
She was also addicted to diet pills for two decades.
The singer and fashion designer reflected on being sober in 2021 by sharing an “unrecognizable” photo of herself from years prior.
“I knew in this very moment I would allow myself to take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity,” she reflected in the photo’s caption at the time.
She reshared the photo in November 2023 to celebrate six years of sobriety.
Jim Carrey
“I’m very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful,” Jim Carrey told “60 Minutes” in 2004.
He also said he “rarely” drinks coffee.
Kate Moss
Once known as one of the most iconic socialites of the 1990s, Kate Moss reportedly got sober sometime after launching her wellness brand, Cosmoss, in 2019.
She does, however, smoke cigarettes and vape.
Keith Urban
Country crooner Keith Urban entered rehab twice for his struggles with substance abuse — the second time being in 2006 at his wife’s insistence.
“I had to find a different way to be in the world,” Urban told the Sunday Times in April 2022.
“I’m glad [my addictions] didn’t change anything about my music.”
“I wrote plenty of hit songs while drunk,” he added. “I wrote plenty sober.”
“I feel lucky it hasn’t defined my creativity.”
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne first became sober in 2017 after struggling with alcohol abuse but relapsed in 2021.
“I relapsed. Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” she wrote on her Instagram Story at the time.
“But I’ve learned it truly is just one day at a time and I just want to tell you guys the truth because I never, ever want to lie to you,” she added.
The “Fashion Police” alum took to Instagram in May 2022 to celebrate one year of sobriety.
“What a difference a year can make! If you would have told me 365 days ago that I would be sober, happy, and about to be a mumma I would have laughed in your face,” the then-pregnant star gushed.
“Life is truly amazing when you do the work. Thank you to everyone that has supported me on this journey. I love you all so much!!!!!!!”
Kristin Davis
“Sex and the City” star Kristin Davis thanks her acting career for keeping her afloat amid her years-long addiction to alcohol.
“I don’t think I would be alive [without acting],” she frankly said on the “Origins With James Andrew Miller” podcast in 2019.
“I’m an addict. I’m a recovering alcoholic. If I hadn’t found acting…acting is the only thing that made me want to ever get sober.”
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Ray began drinking as a teenager and even got sent to a boarding school when she was 14 in an attempt to get sober, according to her 2012 profile with GQ.
While speaking to the publication, she described her battle with addiction as the “worst thing” to ever happen to her.
“My parents were worried, I was worried. I knew it was a problem when I liked it more than I liked doing anything else,” she candidly recalled.
“Like, at first it’s fine and you think you have a dark side – it’s exciting – and then you realize the dark side wins every time if you decide to indulge in it.”
She ended up leaving school to begin an outreach program in Brooklyn. While there, her music career began taking off.
Lucy Hale
Lucy Hale celebrated her first year of sobriety with an Instagram post on Feb. 14, 2023.
“Bear with me, this is an alternative Valentine’s Day post. This is a post about self-love and about the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” she began in the caption alongside a photo of a sprinkle-covered milestone cake.
“On January 2, 2023 I celebrated one year of sobriety.”
She continued, “While this journey has mostly been private, I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved.”
Miley Cyrus
Although she once had a reputation as a party girl, Miley Cyrus has been sober for several years.
“I’ve been sober sober for the past six months,” the pop star told Variety in June 2020.
She originally cut out all drinking and drugs to prepare for a vocal surgery, but then it became a more meaningful journey after she discovered her family has a history of addiction and mental health issues.
“So just going through that and asking, ‘Why am I the way that I am?’ By understanding the past, we understand the present and the future much more clearly,” Cyrus explained.
Naomi Campbell
Model Naomi Campbell struggled with addiction after her colleague and friend, Versace founder Gianni Versace, was murdered in 1997.
Opening up to British Vogue in 2010, she revealed her most challenging years with her reliance on alcohol and drugs occurred between 1998 and 2005.
“During that time I avoided looking in the mirror, because I didn’t like the person who was looking back at me,” she recalled.
“To be honest, there were times I thought I wouldn’t survive. I used to have a lot of problems.”
She eventually joined Alcoholics Anonymous, which helped her become sober.
Furthermore, she revealed in AppleTV+’s 2023 docuseries, “The Super Models,” that she checked herself into rehab after collapsing during a photo shoot in 1999.
“It’s taken me many years to work on and deal with,” she added about her grief.
“And it does still come up sometimes. But I just now have the tools how to deal with it now when it comes up.”
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj confirmed she is sober in an April 2022 tweet.
“I used to b happy when I was high,” she wrote at the time.
“Now I’m happy when I’m sober. No judgement to anyone. Be gentle with yourself. 🎀 “
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. struggled with drug abuse from a young age and even ended up in the slammer in 1999 after he failed to take court-ordered drug tests for a cocaine possession charge from 1996.
“Honestly, more than anything, I look back and go, ‘It’s shocking that a single movie came out finished,’” he recalled of the “drug-culture life” he lived while acting in the late ’80s and ’90s in his 2022 Netflix documentary, “Sr.”
Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe celebrated 33 years of sobriety with an Instagram post in May 2023.
“33 years ago today I found recovery and a tribe that has sustained me on my incredible, grateful journey,” he wrote alongside a selfie of himself swimming.
“My life is full of love, family, God, opportunity, friends, work, dogs and fun.”
“If you or someone you know is struggling with any form of addiction: hope and joy are waiting if you want it, and are willing to work for it!”
Rumer Willis
Rumer Willis never picked a drink back up after starting dry January several years ago.
“My decision to become sober wasn’t out of a need necessarily, it was more just that I did ‘sober January’ and I just decided to keep going,” she told People in October 2017.
A few months earlier, she celebrated her half-year sobriety milestone via a since-deleted Instagram post.
“I wanted to share this because I am really proud of myself. Yesterday I celebrated 6 Months of Sobriety,” she began.
“It’s not something I planned on but after the long journey of getting here I can honestly say I have never been more proud of myself in my entire life.”
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson was a functioning crack cocaine addict for years — even admitting to The Hollywood Reporter that he was under the influence while working on Broadway in 1990.
However, he decided to get help when his wife, LaTanya Richardson, and their daughter, Zoe, discovered him lying face-down on the kitchen floor.
“I’d been getting high since …15, 16 years old, and I was tired as f–k,” he bluntly told the outlet in 2019.
Tim McGraw
Country crooner Tim McGraw got sober in 2008 after his kids started picking up on some of his drunken mistakes.
“I was pretty sneaky about it for a while. But it was just overdoing stuff,” he recalled to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in August 2023.
“Then I think when the kids got old enough that they could notice things, [that’s] when [my wife, Faith Hill] finally said, ‘You’ve got to figure this out.’”
He shares three adult daughters — Gracie, Maggie and Audrey — with Hill.
McGraw also admitted to Lowe that he feels he “would’ve died already” or ruined his career with his drinking habits if he and Hill hadn’t tied the knot in 1996.
The “Live Like You Were Dying” hitmaker previously recalled in an August 2021 essay for Esquire the moment he asked his wife for help with his drinking addiction.
“I remember a moment when I was getting out of bed and going to the liquor cabinet and taking a big shot at 8:00 in the morning and thinking, ‘I have to wake the kids up,’” he wrote.
“I went straight to my wife and said, ‘This is where I’m at.’ I was scared.”
Instead of getting angry, Hill “just grabbed [him] and hugged” him — a gesture that McGraw said “changed [his] life.”
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire has been sober for most of his life.
“I stopped consuming any mind-altering substances when I was 19 years old. And I’ve been abstinent since then,” he told The Guardian in 2013.
Tom Holland
Tom Holland revealed in May 2023 that he had been sober for a year.
That summer, the British actor recalled deciding to try Dry January after enjoying a boozy 2021 holiday season.
“All I could think about was having a drink. It really scared me,” he admitted on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast in July 2023. “I just was like, ‘Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing.’”
Noticing how badly he struggled with his sobriety, Holland decided to extend his alcohol cleanse for six months to show himself he didn’t actually have a drinking problem.
Once he celebrated his birthday in June sober, the “Uncharted” star said he felt so good that he decided he didn’t need alcohol at all.
“[I was] the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I could sleep better. I could handle problems better,” he explained.
“Things that would go wrong on set, that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity. I felt healthier, I felt fitter.”
“I just sort of said to myself, like, ‘Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?’”
Tom Sandoval
“Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval quit drinking after his cheating affair rocked the reality world in March 2023.
He made the announcement on his “Everybody Loves Tom” podcast in September 2023.
“I haven’t drank since — I believe it was April 4th or 5th,” he said during his premiere episode.
“I didn’t really tell a lot of people during the process. I think that kind of helps.”
He added, “I also quit smoking cigarettes. I was kind of at the point where I was just chain-smoking cigarettes all day, every day.”
Tyra Banks
Supermodel Tyra Banks revealed she refrains from drinking and has never taken any drugs in a 2011 email to fans, according to Forbes.
“I feel like I’ve been very lucky because I don’t really have an addictive personality. I’ve never had any drugs, and I had a little taste of alcohol when I was 12 years old, but that’s about it,” she wrote.
Zac Efron
Zac Efron turned to drugs and alcohol to handle his teenage stardom but got clean after going to rehab in 2014.
“What I found is structure,” he told Elle in 2014 of his sobriety.
“That led me to a balance of opposites: You get out of life what you put in.”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings