10 Celebrities Who Overcame Addiction
Addiction to drugs and alcohol doesn’t discriminate on the basis of fame or fortune. With the pressures of public life pushing down on them, we often hear of celebrities like Demi Lovato and Ben Affleck’s current or past struggles with substance dependency. While some people sadly don’t survive their addictions, many others have conquered their demons and gone on to thrive. These 10 celebs fought their addictions and won.
(Cover photos by Slaven Vlasic/ Getty Images for Daily Mail; Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images; David Becker/Getty Images)
Eminem: Rap legend Eminem spent years addicted to painkillers and nearly died after a methadone overdose in 2007. But, for Eminem, now 45, it was music legend Elton John who helped push him to sobriety. "I reached out to him and told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice,’” the rapper told The Guardian in 2009. Whatever John said worked — the rapper got clean, poured himself into work and exercise, and had a successful comeback. His 2010 album Recovery detailed his journey from addiction to health and became the best-selling album of the year worldwide. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Robert Downey Jr.: Before his superstardom as the titular hero in Marvel’s Iron Man film franchise, Robert Downey Jr. had become a pariah in Hollywood after years of drug abuse and related arrests. Despite starring in a string of successful films and earning an Oscar nomination for his lead role in the 1992 film Chaplin, the actor was fired from his love interest role on the hit series Ally McBeal after two drug arrests in 2000 and 2001. The star has been clean since 2003, he says, and he attributes his success to 12-step programs, his wife (who gave him an ultimatum), yoga, and meditation. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Angelina Jolie: Before becoming a mother and UNHCR goodwill ambassador, actress Angelina Jolie admits that she tried “every drug” imaginable, and had a heroin addiction in her early 20s. Although she hasn’t ever gone into extensive details about her years of drug use, she did tell 60 Minutes that she was grateful she didn’t die young from her drug use. “I went through dark times and I survived.” (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Britney Spears: We all remember when Britney Spears shaved her head in 2007. Speculation abounded that the singer shaved her locks to avoid a drug test, and Sears wound up making several high-profile rehab stints and underwent a court custody battle over her two young sons. Eventually, Spears’ parents intervened. Though the singer remains under her father’s legal guardianship to this day, she told an Israeli newspaper in 2017 that she’s learned to “take responsibility” for her mental health. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Macklemore: Although he’s known today for his uplifting lyrics and collaborations with Kesha, the Grammy-winning rapper was experimenting with drugs and alcohol by the age of 14. He eventually began abusing Oxycontin, a drug he says had a strong grip on him. But stronger was the grip that music had on his life, and by 25, he realized he needed to get clean in order to have the career he wanted. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Nicole Richie: Famous for being a Hollywood A-lister and party girl in the early 2000s, Nicole Richie was charged in 2003 for heroin possession. With the help of her parents, she got clean and sober and married pop rocker Joel Madden in 2010. Since getting sober, the mother of two has written novels, designed fashion lines, and starred in both reality and scripted television. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)
Drew Barrymore: Drew Barrymore got her first acting job at 11 months in a dog food commercial and her career grew from there. As a child, she starred in films like Firestarter and ET, but by the time she was 13, the self-described “party girl” was put in a mental health facility for alcohol and drug addiction. She eventually got clean and sober and legally emancipated herself from her mother at age 14, starting her life and career all over again — this time, with a much different outcome. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Zac Efron: Many celebs who have dealt with addiction cite the pressures of working in Hollywood, which is also true for former Disney star Zac Efron. The High School Musical star entered rehab for drug and alcohol treatment in 2013, and has credited a combination of therapy, exercise, and Alcoholics Anonymous for his sobriety. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Lindsay Lohan: Actress and singer Lindsay Lohan faced the pressures of childhood stardom and a tumultuous home life by self-medicating with alcohol and drugs. Between 2007 and 2012, the Mean Girls star was arrested six times and made several trips to rehab. Since 2013, however, the star has been rebuilding her career, appearing on reality shows and working on side projects like a makeup line and namesake nightclubs overseas. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
Matthew Perry: Canadian-born Friends star Matthew Perry first entered rehab for prescription pill addiction while filming his hit show in 1997. Although clean and sober for a few years, he relapsed and went back to rehab in 2001 for addictions to painkillers, methamphetamine, methadone, and alcohol. Since his second stint in rehab, the actor has advocated for better drug supports and even ran a sober living home, Perry House in Malibu, until 2015. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)