What you might not know about the American author
Fame and fortune have always held unique caveats for Hollywood stars, whether it be the pressures of audiences, the invasion of privacy, or the stress of never being able to live a "normal" life again. Many resort to substance abuse to take the edge off, but get lost and struggle to find their way back.
There have been many other stars who turned to drugs or alcohol at some point in their lives to help cope, and the road to recovery often isn't linear. Click through this gallery to learn more about some of these famous faces and their battles.
Comedian John Mulaney has been open about his struggles with substance abuse and his two-month stint in rehab for cocaine and alcohol addiction in 2020. In his Netflix comedy special 'Baby J,' Mulaney reflects on coming to terms with his addiction, partly with some help from his A-list friends. He recalls the night he walked into a friend's apartment to see a group of his closest comedy comrades waiting for him. He instantly knew it was an intervention, but said, “As mad as I was when I walked in there, I was like, ‘This is a good lineup.' It was like a We Are the World of alternative comedians over the age of 40. All comedians, yet no one said a funny thing the entire night. Before I got there, they promised each other that they wouldn’t do bits.”
As Mulaney goes on to describe the evening, he drops names like Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, Nick Kroll, Fred Armisen, and Natasha Lyonne, all of whom were there that night (either in person or by video call). At the end of his Netflix special, Mulaney lists 13 names, followed by the words “you saved my life."
Cara Delevingne has been open about her mental health struggles in the past, but now the actress and model has shared that she is healing from addiction. Delevingne sat down with Vogue to get into the details. “All I knew is if I was continuing to go down the road I was, I would either end up dead or, like, doing something really, really stupid,” she revealed. This realization came after Delevingne saw some scary paparazzi photos of herself looking out of it and behaving erratically at an airport in September 2022. “At that point, there was a lot of people who were very worried, understandably so,” she reflected. "I wasn’t really worried, though … but that is the nature of the disease. That is what addiction is.”
Delevingne eventually realized that she had been running away from her issues and it was time to stop. She entered rehab and began the 12-step program, favoring them over a "quick fix" like a week-long retreat she might have chosen in the past. She has been clean for four months and celebrated her first sober Christmas and New Year's. The vivacious young star relishes that she can still dance and have fun, but also engage in deep, meaningful conversations with people.
The late Matthew Perry began opening up about his long struggle with alcohol and drug addiction as he prepared for the release of his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. The autobiography delved into his darkest moments, and he gave a preview of his rock bottom in an interview with People. He revealed that he had almost died in 2018 when his colon burst due to overuse of opioids. Perry was hospitalized, and his family was told he had only a 2% chance of surviving. "I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that's called a Hail Mary. No one survives that." However, Perry did, just about. He spent two weeks in a coma and was hospitalized for a total of five months, after which he had to use a colostomy bag for nine months. Perry said the 14 surgery scars on his abdomen were effective reminders to stay sober. "All I have to do is look down."
The late Aaron Carter revealed that he was receiving outpatient treatment for addiction in 2022. He denied that he had been addicted to prescription drugs, noting that the rehab "is to help with the weed," but his alleged history with substance abuse and violence was concerning enough for a judge to take away custody of his young son. Sadly, the 34-year-old passed away suddenly on November 5, 2022. The autopsy showed that he drowned in the bathtub and had a mixture of alprazolam and inhalants in his system.
Macklemore has been very open about his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse throughout his music career, but the ' Thrift Shop' rapper got even more candid on TikTok. In a video posted July 24, he shares, "I relapsed during the first summer of Covid," then adds, "Today I have 694 days clean." He had first started treatment for his addiction back in 2008, and suffered relapses in 2011 and then again in 2014. In 2021, Macklemore first revealed he'd relapsed in the pandemic to Dax Shepard on the 'Armchair Expert' podcast where he said he was losing focus on his sobriety as his 12-step meetings became virtual.
Hayden Panettiere opened up about her struggles with alcohol and opioid addiction. The actress told People that she was given "happy pills" at 15 years of age to help her be more "peppy" and relaxed on the red carpet. At the time, she says she wasn't aware of the risks or that this wasn't normal or appropriate. Unfortunately, her reliance on medication grew as she landed a major starring role in the hit series 'Heroes' when she was just 16. Panettiere recalls that she was able to keep it together on set and be professional, but that things were getting more and more out of control in her personal life.
By 2014, she was in a relationship with Ukrainian professional boxer, Wladimir Klitschko, and expecting their first child. Panettiere suffered from severe postpartum depression, which she sought help for, but kept her addiction to herself. "With the opiates and alcohol I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I'd feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction." This ultimately led to the end of her nine-year relationship with Klitschko, and later caused her to make the tough decision to send her daughter to live with Klitschko in Ukraine while she worked to overcome her addictions. After an eight-month stint in rehab, she finally got "over the hump" and has been on a healthier path. "I don't regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me," she said. "I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance."
The singer opened up to Rolling Stone about her recovery journey after becoming addicted to Xanax and said that making her album helped give her the structure she needed: "It gave me hope," she said. Noah also spoke about how she "struggled a bit" with the pressures of being part of a public family (including older sister Miley Cyrus and father Billy Ray Cyrus), and said she'd battled body dysmorphia and depression over the years. But it was when her former boyfriend gave her downers at 18 years old that the addiction began, which she said came from her desire to "to be what he wanted and what he thought was cool and what I thought everybody was doing." She added, "Once I felt that it was possible to silence things out for a second and numb your pain, it was over." Thankfully Noah got the help she needed. "It took some time to get on my own two feet," she said, but she credits hours of therapy and psychiatry for now being "able to comfort myself and nurture myself."
Brad Pitt decided to get sober after his divorce from Angelina Jolie in 2016, which meant spending a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous, he told GQ for its August cover story. "I had a really cool men's group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe," the actor shared. "Because I'd seen things of other people, like Philip Seymour Hoffman, who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and that's just atrocious to me."
He added that he also quit cigarettes completely, after realizing that he's not the kind of person who can just cut back. "I don't have that ability to do just one or two a day," he told GQ. "It's not in my makeup. I'm all in. And I'm going to drive into the ground. I've lost my privileges."
But beyond the physical part, Pitt also had a lot of healing to do mentally and emotionally, sharing that he "spent years with a low-grade depression." He said, "I always felt very alone in my life," explaining that it wasn't until recently that he's been embracing his friends and family more fully.
Brad Pitt also spoke about his demons in the past. During an interview with GQ Style in 2017, the actor revealed that he has used alcohol and marijuana in excess throughout much of his life. Pitt stated, "Truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good."
In December 2019, Brad Pitt sat down with Anthony Hopkins for a discussion published in Interview magazine. Amongst many topics, they both spoke about their individual struggles with alcohol. "I just saw it as a disservice to myself, as an escape," Pitt said. "I myself needed to hide it, years ago," Hopkins shared in response.
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's intervention by his bandmates and management in 1988 got him sober before, but his more recent struggles are just proof that recovery is a lifelong process. Tyler voluntarily entered a treatment program following a relapse in 2022, prompting the band to put their upcoming Las Vegas residency on hold. The band said in a statement on May 24 that he had undergone surgery before their return to the stage, but in the process of managing his pain, he suffered a relapse. They announced that they will be canceling the June and July dates of the Deuces Are Wild residency in Las Vegas. "Thank you for your understanding and for your support for Steven during this time," they concluded.
Selma Blair revealed a decades-long alcohol addiction that started very young in her memoir 'Mean Baby,' along with several other personal traumas including attempts on her own life and sexual assaults. "I don't know if I would've survived childhood without alcoholism," the 'Cruel Intentions' actress told People in an interview published May 11. "That's why it's such a problem for a lot of people. It really is a huge comfort, a huge relief in the beginning."
In an excerpt of 'Mean Baby' she recalls getting drunk for the first time at age seven and relating the feeling back then to "a revelation," something that was "filling me up with the warmth of God." After that, it was "just quick sips." She added, "I became an expert alcoholic, adept at hiding my secret."
But in her teens and 20s her alcohol abuse escalated, and she recalls being raped after a day of binge drinking. She writes, "I have been raped, multiple times, because I was too drunk to say the words 'Please. Stop.' ... I came out of each event quiet and ashamed." Blair says writing the memoir allowed her to see the full breadth of her trauma and help her continue to heal. She's been sober since 2016 and told People that she hopes by sharing her journey she can help others with similar burdens.
On March 24, 2022, 'Full House' star and comedian Dave Coulier shared a candid recount of his alcoholism and choice to become sober on Instagram. He described how much he loved going for beers with friends and how he was the guy who was always up for a good time and would stay until the very end. "I loved booze, but it didn’t love me back," he wrote, explaining that one fun night would be followed by two days of feeling like a "bowl of dog mess." The post was accompanied by a picture of Coulier with cuts all over his face, which he said sustained from falling while drunk.
Coulier revealed that he chose to give up alcohol for his mental and physical wellbeing, and hasn't had a drink since January 1, 2020. He thanked his wife and friends for supporting him through the challenging "mental and physical withdrawal." Despite the difficult journey, Coulier finished by saying "The sky is more blue, my heart is no longer closed, and I enjoy making people laugh until they fall down more than ever before."
Actor Josh Peck was previously known for starring in the Nickelodeon kids series 'Drake & Josh' and now has a starring role in the series 'How I Met Your Father.' Peck has come a long way. In a recent interview with People, he reflected on the various addictions that became a crutch for his emotional issues throughout his life. As a child he used humor as a defense mechanism and relied on food for comfort. As a teenager, he weighed almost 300 lbs (136 kg). Peck lost the excess weight, shedding 120 lbs (54 kg), but found that it didn't solve his problems. "What is really clear is that I overdo things," he explained, "and then I discovered drugs and alcohol. And that became my next chapter. I used food and drugs to numb my feelings." Peck nearly sabotaged his career as he developed a reputation for being "unstable and erratic," which finally led him to the decision to enter a treatment facility and get sober. He is finally on a better path and says "I feel like everything in my life set me up to find this chapter of health, peace and contentment."
Actress Jane Lynch, who appears in 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,' gave a candid interview about her lifelong struggle with alcohol addiction. She told The Guardian that she first started drinking as a teenager and carried on into her thirties. Lynch quickly started to rely on alcohol to feel good, but when it stopped making her feel good, she found she couldn't stop drinking. She finally reached a point where she wanted to get sober and joined AA. "I just loved AA," she explained. "It was very much a gift; it was almost like I was struck sober." Lynch was so successfully sober for so many years that she believed she could start a new, healthier relationship with alcohol. "I became a connoisseur of wine in a way that only an alcoholic can," she revealed. "I went back into denial, after all those years of sobriety and self-knowledge. I fooled myself—I woke up one day and went: ‘I'm back.'" It took Lynch six months to pull herself out of her relapse. She said it felt like the "sober fairy" gave her one more chance.
Ben Affleck, who has been open about going to rehab multiple times for alcohol addiction in his past, got candid with Howard Stern in 2021 about his struggles with drinking while married to Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children. "I'd probably still be drinking. It's part of why I started drinking … because I was trapped," the actor admitted. "I was like 'I can't leave 'cause of my kids, but I'm not happy, what do I do?' What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution." Affleck went to rehab in 2001, before he married Garner, then in 2017, and again in 2018 after their divorce was finalized. "We had a marriage that didn't work, this happens, with somebody that I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn't be married any longer," Affleck explained.
Jessica Simpson celebrated four years of sobriety with an Instagram post. "This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself ... 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 wrote. She said she needed to stop drinking to stop the cycle of pain and regret she felt. "There is so much stigma around the word alcoholism or the label of an alcoholic," Simpson continued. "The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage. The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do. I have made nice with the fears and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my personal power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free."
In her memoir 'Open Book,' Simpson wrote about how the abuse she experienced as a young child contributed to "killing myself with all the drinking and pills." She told People magazine, "It’s been a long, hard, deep emotional journey, one that I’ve come through the other side with pure happiness and fulfillment and acceptance of myself."
November 1 was also a big milestone for Josh Brolin, who shared on Instagram that he hit eight years of sobriety. He described sobriety beautifully as a selfless experience of love, as "when your children look at you and trust what they see," and as being "about living better than your remembrance of what your greatest drunk ever was."
'Clueless' actress Stacey Dash revealed in an interview with Dr. Oz that she was once secretly addicted to popping pills. “I was taking 18-20 pills a day,” the actress admitted. The host noted, “18-20 Vicodin a day, that’s expensive,” to which Dash replied: “Yeah, I lost everything." Dash said her secret addiction cost her "about five to ten grand” a month. To make things worse, she was also in a physically abusive relationship at the time, and she admitted, "Some part of me thought that’s what I deserved." Fortunately, she found her way to the other side, though Dash said there are still days that are very difficult.
Chrissy Teigen had an unbelievably difficult year, in 2021 particularly after losing her baby and having a very public bullying scandal, which only made her existing issues with alcohol worsen. But she has since celebrated a year of sobriety and is feeling healthier and happier than ever.
Much of The Weeknd's music has centered on drugs, but in his September 2021 GQ cover story, the artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, describes himself as "sober lite" after years of using hard drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms. Tesfaye said he realized that “drugs were a crutch” for him at his lowest point. “It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it,” he explained. “And I’ve spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don’t need it. Because for a lot of people, it’s hard to shake it. But I knew I didn’t want it.” He admitted he still smokes weed and “occasionally” drinks, but he is otherwise clean, and this change is in part because he hopes to “eventually” start a family.
'American Beauty' (1999) star Mena Suvari released her memoir 'The Great Peace,' which details her traumatizing sexual assault at the age of 12, and her later descent in crystal meth addiction. Suvari shared that it was offered to her once at a party and she became hooked, even though she wasn't initially that interested in trying it. She remembers compartmentalizing her addiction and neatly hiding it away so she could continue her career.
Patricia Heaton has had a successful career in TV, from 'Everybody Loves Raymond' to 'The Middle,' and not many people know she struggled with alcohol along the way. The actress took to Instagram on July 10 to share news of her sobriety, however, in a video captioned, "A lot to celebrate this month." She shared that she is "celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol," with a big smile. She then offered help to anyone struggling similarly. "Message me if you are thinking about doing that and if you are doing that now and you need some encouragement or anything at all," she said before ending the video.
Following his divorce in 2020 after reportedly cheating on his wife Elizabeth Chambers, January 2021 kicked off a slew of fresh controversies that included accusations of sexual assault and emotional abuse from other women, along with the much-discussed alleged cannibalism fetish. Hammer was dropped from nearly every one of his Hollywood projects slated for this year.
The 'Call Me By Your Name' star checked into a facility to treat his "drug, alcohol and sex issues," Vanity Fair reports. Fortunately, Hammer, who entered the treatment facility on May 31, 2021, is said to have the support of his family and ex-wife, and he "is committed to getting healthy and having custody of his kids."
After nearly four years of sobriety, Kelly Osbourne shared that she had relapsed. The TV personality opened up in an Instagram Story on April 19: "I've always promised you that I will always be honest with you about where I'm at and what's going on in my road to recovery ... I relapsed," she admitted. "Not proud of it, but I am back on track." She emphasized that she wants to remain truthful, which is why she's holding herself accountable on social media. "I am sober today and I'm gonna be sober tomorrow, but I've learned it truly is just one day at a time," she added.
DMX, born Earl Simmons, passed away on April 9 following an April 2 drug overdose that had left him in a vegetative state and on life support. The legendary rapper battled substance abuse for years and had been been to rehab several times, the last time being in 2019. His family said in a statement: "Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end ... Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever." He was just 50 years old.
Danny Trejo is over five decades sober. In an ad campaign for CRI-Help, a well-known Los Angeles-based nonprofit treatment center, the actor appears fighting in a boxing ring. The image was reminiscent of his time as a top prison boxer at California’s San Quentin State Prison, where he spent time for armed robbery in the 1960s, and where he found recovery. "I got honest. I got clean," Trejo says in the ad, "You can too."
Miley Cyrus opened up to Zane Lowe in an interview for Apple Music on November 23 about her struggle with sobriety. "I fell off," she explained, adding that she was two weeks sober. Cyrus announced in June that she had been sober for six months, but she told Lowe, "I don't have a problem with drinking. I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level." She added that her 27th year was a big wake-up call, because so many icons have been lost to the so-called 27 Club, and that had really pushed her to get sober.
Now famously open about her battle with addiction, Jamie Lee Curtis spoke to Variety about her struggles as she celebrated 20 years of sobriety. Amongst many topics, she spoke of sharing drugs with her celebrity father, Tony Curtis, and of her brother Nicholas, who died of a heroin overdose at 21. The actress even says she went as far as stealing Vicodin from her sister Kelly.
Curtis has also been candid in the past about her struggles with opiate addiction. In a 2016 essay for HuffPost, the actress revealed that she, "sought to kill the emotional and physical pain with painkillers. Kill it. Make it stop.”
"I finally summoned up the courage to say 3 words that would change my life: 'I need help,'" wrote Elton John, referring to the day he decided to get sober in 1990. "Thank you to all the selfless people who have helped me on my journey through sobriety," he said on Instagram.
She revealed that no one else knew about her living arrangements except her now-ex-husband and son—not even her own parents. She then went on to describe her daily routine, complete with Pilates, coming into work, and then a 10 pm curfew.
In July 2019, however, Lovato celebrated one year of sobriety.
In a 1989 interview with People, Barrymore revealed that she began smoking pot at 10 years old and at 12 she took up cocaine. At the young age of 13, she had already gone through drug rehabilitation twice.
In 1988, Williams told People: "Cocaine for me was a place to hide." He struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism in the '80s, but quit cocaine in 1982. Much later, he relapsed and checked himself into rehab for his issues with cocaine just a few weeks before taking his own life in 2014.
Zac Efron has gone to counseling for his extensive battle with drug addiction and alcoholism in his twenties. In 2014, he told The Hollywood Reporter, "It's a never-ending struggle."
One of the greats from Hollywood's Golden Age, the late actress struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism throughout much of her life.
Celebrities' struggles with drug and alcohol addiction
Brad Pitt attended Alcoholics Anonymous for a year and a half
CELEBRITY Struggles
Fame and fortune have always held unique caveats for Hollywood stars, whether it be the pressures of audiences, the invasion of privacy, or the stress of never being able to live a "normal" life again. Many resort to substance abuse to take the edge off, but get lost and struggle to find their way back.
There have been many other stars who turned to drugs or alcohol at some point in their lives to help cope, and the road to recovery often isn't linear. Click through this gallery to learn more about some of these famous faces and their battles.