Who Are the Stars Who Chose Sobriety? Inspiring Celebrities Leading Alcohol-Free Lives
If you decided to cut back on alcohol for any reason or you’ve been sober for a while now, it’s always inspiring to hear the stories of these celebrities who have made the same choice.
Quitting alcohol comes from unique reasons for each person. It can be either for improving mental health or for finding a better balance and clarity in life. Celebrities are sharing their personal journeys, and some of them tell us why they never had a drink in their whole entire existence.
Luckily, with more people opening up about their relationship with alcohol and so many delicious nonalcoholic drinks, we can change the drinking culture for the better.
We have 10 sober celebrities and their reasons for choosing this alcohol-free lifestyle.
1. Anne Hathaway
Opening up about her decision to give up alcohol in a heartfelt interview. She explained why she always knew deep down that it wasn’t for her. If you are allergic to something and have a severe reaction, you don’t really need to argue with it. Anne says that this is a path everybody needs to walk for themselves.
In her personal experience, everything is better, and alcohol felt like it was like fuel for wallowing. Her opinion is that everybody can have one or two drinks, but by the time they reach the second one, you will feel like you drank the same amount.
2. Zendaya
The troubled character Rue struggling with substance abuse in Euphoria is far from the real-life actress, Zendaya. She made it clear that she is not consuming alcohol. On her 21st birthday, she posted on her Instagram that reaching her legal drinking age won’t make her start drinking.
She explained that her life is too stressful to even be able to help it by relaxing with a cocktail. She talks about how in this industry she prefers to have control over herself and her decisions, so it’s better for her to not introduce drinking into the equation. She is also concerned about how fast drinking becomes a vice, so why try something when you don’t need it?
3. Cara Delevingne
Starting to drink and party when she was a teen, Cara was driven by a desire to escape and change her reality. Speaking about her mental health, including depression and trauma, she remembered how she had interventions, but they didn’t help because she was not ready.
On her 30th birthday, Cara gave therapy another shot; she entered rehab and committed to a 12-step program to build a new life, free from alcohol and drugs. Before, she used to think that the work needed to be done when things were bad, but in reality, it needed to be done when things were good. She says it’s constant work, and it’s never going to be fully healed or fixed, but understanding this makes her ok with this state, and this is what makes the difference.
4. Josh Peck
The Nickelodeon star talked about how he was able to stop drinking with a 12-step program. In 2022, he shared that he feels more “anchored” since he is sober and how lucky he feels for being able to find recovery in the program he followed 14 years ago. It became the foundation of his life, and everything good came from it.
5. Lewis Hamilton
He started to drink at 16, but now, aged 39, he is living a sober life after years when he had time to realize how brutal his hangovers had become.
He was talking about how he suffered for three or four days, and then he was wondering why he had that one drink.
Hamilton mentioned how alcohol took a toll on his mental health and it affected the pressure he feels before races, something he struggles with as a pro athlete.
He said that he is not sure if he will drink again because he feels much better since he stopped, as he sleeps better and can wake up at 5 a.m. without a problem.
6. Zac Efron
The actor known for The Iron Claw talked about his 2016 decision to go sober. He said that sobriety impacted his life in a great way, as he was able to find structure and balance. Zac Efron believes that you get out of life what you put in, and even if there was a time when his morning routine was literally waking up and Googling himself, he was even able to give up on this toxic trait.
He realized that he didn’t need to see himself through other people’s opinions, and he preferred to live his life on his own terms. When he saw how he was not being true to himself, he was able to take back his hobbies that he stopped because he was concerned he was being followed. He says that overcoming any fear is something that pushes you toward greatness.
7. Elle MacPherson
Australian model Elle MacPherson celebrates more than 20 years of sobriety. When she marked 20, she shared a photo of her Alcoholics Anonymous tri-plate token with the Roman numeral XX.
Opening up about her decision to go sober at 40, she said it was a turning point. MacPherson considers 40 an introspective age. She wanted to become sober back then because he wanted to focus on self-reflection. This was part of her commitment—to prioritize health and wellness—during these years.
8. Tom Holland
He recently opened up about his decision to live sober and how much of a positive impact it had on his life. He admitted that he decided to give up on alcohol at the moment he realized he was definitely addicted to alcohol.
Holland explains how he didn’t just wake up one day to say, “I’m quitting drinking”. After a boozy December, he decided to stop for January, but he couldn’t think of something else than having a drink. The fact that he woke up thinking about this scared him, so he challenged himself to stay alcohol-free for two months to prove to himself he didn’t have a problem.
After two months he was still struggling, and it was hard for him to go to work and social events without a drink. This made him want to push and stay sober until his birthday, June 6th. He described this day as one of the happiest days of his life, and he continued to stay alcohol-free.
9. Florence Welch
Florence Welch from Florence + The Machine has been sober for almost 10 years now. She talked about her experience in a podcast, recalling her early days with the band. With their fame rising, her issue with alcohol was increasing. She says that sobriety is the best thing she ever did for herself.
10. Lana Del Rey
Back in 2012, while Lana was profiled as Woman of The Year by British GQ, she opened up about battling her alcohol addiction starting in her early teenage years. Before turning 20, she moved to New York City to chase her music dream, and she has been sober since then.
If you feel like alcohol started to become more of a burden than a fun trait in your life, don’t let it slide, and allow yourself to be honest with yourself. There is a lot of support that you can get, and there are a lot of people in the same position. It’s not about how you’re going to look while getting the support; it’s about how good you’re going to feel after you pass all the discomfort period, especially if you don’t even remember who you are anymore. These celebrities share their stories, and yes, we can see that some of them admit that it’s never going to be the same, but as long as this is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning, you are far from actually living your life.
If you prefer to do the thing on your own terms for a while, you can read about this. We recommend Drop the Rock–The Ripple Effect: Using Step 10 to Work Steps 6 and 7 Every Day which you can find on Amazon.
Read next: 5 Reasons to Treat Your Sleep Apnea
