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Celebrities in Drug or Alcohol Addiction Recovery
Addiction doesn’t discriminate; it affects people of all different backgrounds, classes, genders, religions, and ethnicities. And, it’s pretty well-known that celebrities struggle with addiction just like us non-famous people. Unfortunately for celebs, often times, their struggles are highly publicized. However, those that recover often use their celebrity and resources in order to give back. Here are the 10 most active celebrities in recovery.
Eric Clapton
Clapton is most notably famous for his long-standing music career – he is a renowned guitarist, one of the best, a singer and songwriter. Clapton is the founder of Cross Roads Center Antigua where he helps those with drug and alcohol addiction problems to recover. Through his center, he has been offering scholarships to people from the Caribbean and the world at large to fight addiction.
Ted Danson
Danson is perhaps first best known for his role as Sam on the hit show Cheers and has been enjoying a renewal of celebrity with his roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and HBO’s original series Bored to Death. Danson is among the founders of Angels at Risk charity organization, which deals with drug and alcohol abuse among the youth. The charity also spearheads parent-teen communication campaigns.
Kristen Johnston
Johnston starred in the hit TV series Third Rock From The Sun and now in the show The Exes. The actress had been abusing alcohol and prescription pain meds for years, but when surgery caused more extreme abuse, Johnston sought out treatment and has been sober ever since. She now publicly supports recovery efforts and speaks out about addiction. I started a fight five years ago to get a sober high school in New York. I’m the founder and executive director of SLAMNYC.org. She states, “Right now one in three teenagers meets the medical criteria for addiction, which is scary.”
Anthony Hopkins
It was on Monday 29th December 1975 that Anthony Hopkins took his final alcoholic drink, you could say his New Year resolution came early or you could be surprised to learn it was 2 days prior to his 38th birthday on 31st December, also New Year’s eve, after which it would have been a more logical time to quit, but he didn’t pick the time, it chose him.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, who has been sober now for 36 years, said later of his moment of realization on that sunny day in Hollywood, where he lived then :
“For me, giving it (alcohol) up was finding the airlock, the escape hatch. It all happened one Monday morning in 1975
Anthony Hopkins, former alcoholic made that call to AA, after his last drink on the morning of 29th December 1975. He has been a lifetime member since that day when he declared war on his demons.
The Silence of the Lambs star went on to join Alcoholics Anonymous.
Hopkins, now 72, went on to become a volunteer at the Midnight Mission. Each Christmas he hands out presents to the homeless and has even taken time out to teach free acting classes.
Steve-O
First famous for his insane shenanigans on Jackass, Steve O’s drunken antics only got worse, and more embarrassing. After publicly making an ass out of himself time and time again, Steve O joined AA and got sober. Today, he has been known to attend AA meetings in both the South Florida area and LA.
Demi Lovato
Recently, Demi has been seen going to a sober recovery house to speak and share her experience, strength, and hope with other women in recovery. It’s obvious that Lovato is all about giving back.
Martin Sheen
The famous actor says that being of service to others is what keeps him sober. The recovering alcoholic and Emmy award-winning West Wing star, 72, has said “Acting is what I do for a living. Activism is what I do to stay alive.” Sheen credits AA for his sobriety—and even headlined a live benefit reading of the play Bill W. and Dr. Bob, depicting the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Eminem
Eminem said in an interview with Rolling Stone“I knew I had to change my life. But addiction is a f*cking tricky thing. I think I relapsed within … three weeks? And within a month it had ramped right back to where it was before. That’s what really freaked me out. That’s when I knew: either get help, or I am going to die. As a father, I want to be here for things. I don’t want to miss anything else.”
About Elton John:
“I speak to Elton [John]. He’s like my sponsor. He usually calls me once a week to check on me, just to make sure I’m on the up-and-up. He was actually one of the first people I called when I wanted to get clean.”
Elton John
“I wasted such a big part of my life… I was a drug addict and self-absorbed. You know, I was having people die right, left, and center around me, friends. And yet, I didn’t stop the life that I had, which is the terrible thing about addiction. It’s that — you know, it’s that bad of a disease,” Elton has said.
Some good has come out of that guilt. In 1992 he founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation and has since raised more than $275 million for the cause.
Kelly Osbourne
After 3 years of sobriety, Osbourne relapsed but quickly got back on the right path. She checked herself into rehab and now has almost a year of clean time. Osbourne is very open about her experiences with addiction as well as her father’s, the famous rocker Ozzy Osbourne.
Sources:
http://www.anthonyhopkinsmovies.com/personal/how-anthony-hopkins-quit-drinking/
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/kristen-johnston-guts#_
http://www.thefix.com/content/martin-sheen-speaks-sobriety90723