5 Celebrities Who Overcame Drug & Alcohol Addiction

Carey relapsed and returned to porn, starring in and directing a parody film called Celebrity Pornhab with Dr. Screw, a decision which Pinsky said saddened him. Regarding her sobriety, Pinsky commented in a January 2010 TV Guide story, “She puts together, like, six weeks at a time of sobriety, then drifts away. We’re trying to get her to stay with it once and for all.” While Pinsky and the series has won praise from both former addicts and other addiction specialists, many take issue with Pinsky’s methods. The sixth season, which filmed in early 2012, featured non-celebrities as treatment subjects, and the series name shortened to Rehab with Dr. Drew. In May 2013, Pinsky announced that season six was the final season, explaining that he had grown weary of the criticism leveled at him after celebrities that he treated had relapsed into addiction and died. Not only do these factors influence substance use, but they can lead to mental health problems that can perpetuate or lead to addiction. Addiction has no face, no name, no guidelines, nor parameters for who it affects.

• In a 2004 interview, Sheen admitted that the overdose was caused by his injecting of cocaine.
• A recovering addict herself, she has also appeared on Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.
• But other big-name actors and icons have secretly battled their own addiction demons, too.
• Post-rehab, he ended up in the hospital after an overdose, and he was clean for two weeks before relapsing again.
• This young starlet was addicted to both heroin and cocaine in her teens before she sought treatment in her early 20s.
• Fisher was a princess of Hollywood, known worldwide for her iconic role as Princess Leia in Star Wars.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was notorious for his incredible heroin addiction, among struggles with other substances. He and Joe Perry, the band’s guitar player, were referred to as the “Toxic Twins” due to their habits for heroin and other assorted pleasantries, especially during the 1970s and 1980s. Still, even after that, it took a 12-month prison sentence, two additional arrests, and a final court-ordered drug rehab for him to call it quits. Robert Downey Jr. got clean and sober in July of 2003 and has stayed that way since. Chip Sommers, Brand’s manager at the time, stepped in for a timely intervention.

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But before he met his wife, Urban went through rough times and struggled with dark thoughts. “It was within two months of my COVID relapse, and the disease of addiction is crazy,” he said. “It made me feel, as someone that celebrities who died of alcoholism had relapsed again, like a month or two before, that I’m not alone,” he added. Macklemore said the pressure of fame contributed to his relapse — he “just wanted to escape.” He told Dax Shepard he relapsed again in 2020.

Sheen’s personal life has made headlines, including reports of alcohol and drug abuse and marital problems, as well as allegations of domestic violence. The well-known star, who has worked with the likes of Eddie Murphy and Arnold Schwarzenegger, battled opioid addiction and alcohol abuse for many years. Jamie Lee Curtis was first exposed to prescription opioids after minor surgery. The popular comedian and actor have been sober for nearly 20 years. Russell Brand struggled with heroin addiction in his 20s and was inspired to quit and south treatment after his close friend Amy Winehouse died of an overdose.

John Belushi

Sometimes, alcohol and drugs interact with medications used to treat mental illness and make them less effective. Many people with mental health problems use alcohol and drugs to self-medicate psychological symptoms. If you or someone you know is struggling under the pressure of addiction and mental health disorders, contact a treatment provider today. Freud struggled with cocaine use throughout his career after he started experimenting with it as a way to cure morphine addiction. Freud began using cocaine to combat negative emotions.7 Freud would start his recovery from cocaine addiction after one of his patients died of an overdose in the 1890s.

• Somewhere between Transformers and motherhood, Fox began dabbling in ecstasy, heroin, and cocaine, though today she is quick to assure that while she knows a number of people who continue to take drugs, she is not one of them.
• Oro Recovery provides compassionate care, combined with evidence-based treatment therapies for people struggling with addiction and mental health.
• The Blackberry Center a state-licensed and Medicare-approved facility.
• Reportedly one of his favorite party games was cocaine chicken, in which a line of cocaine was poured, and he and a friend would race to see who could snort the most before reaching the middle.
• Popular actress Jamie Lee Curtis used to hide her resentments in drugs and alcohol.
• Downey was introduced to marijuana by his father when he was eight years old.

Richie was raised in the spotlight alongside her adopted father, especially after his bitter split from his then-wife Brenda Harvey. Years later during an interview with the Guardian, Downey noted that his role in Less than Zero felt like an exaggerated version of himself. As time passed, though, he pointed out that he became an exaggerated version of that character. The editorial staff of DrugAbuse.com is comprised of addiction content experts from American Addiction Centers . Johnny Depp became a heavy drinker simply because of his claim to fame. As a result of dealing with her mentally unstable mother, Oscar winner Tatum O’Neal turned to cocaine by age twenty.

Celebrities and Drug Addiction: The Ones Who Beat Addiction

Uchitel spoke to other 9/11 families at the site, and was moved by her encounter with them. Pinsky released a statement saying that he was saddened by McCready’s death, and that he had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger child. Pinsky also stated, “Mental health issues can be life-threatening and need to be treated with the same intensity and resources as any other dangerous potentially life-threatening medical condition.” On April 22, 2009, it was announced on the Futon Critic that Celebrity Rehab had been renewed for a third season and a new spinoff titled Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew was being put into production. Patient Heidi Fleiss was shown to be living in solitude in the wilderness of Nevada while caring for 25 parrots.

Barry also struggled with extramarital affairs throughout his life. Franklin discussed https://ecosoberhouse.com/ his SUD throughout his writings, mainly because he did not see it as a problem.

Kristen Johnston

She was prescribed medication to help her get through the day and to sleep at night. Although she went through several detoxes, Monroe’s substance use disorder made her fear not being good enough to grow in the acting world. Actor Heath Ledger died in January 2008 of an overdose of a number of prescription drugs, including codeine, temazepam, diazepam, and alprazolam. Jim Morrison, psychedelic rocker and lead singer of the Doors, died in 1971 at age 27 of a heroin overdose and was buried in Paris. Jimi Hendrix, a famous rock guitarist, died in 1970 in London of alcohol and barbiturate overdose.

Actor Ben Affleck has been quoted saying that he owes his success to beating his drug use, gambling, and alcohol addiction. After years of sobriety and a divorce, Affleck went back to rehab. After getting prescribed painkillers after an operation in 1989, she said she was addicted for the next decade, and that she stole drugs from her family and friends. The “Halloween” star attended her first recovery meeting in 1999, and she has been working at sobriety ever since.

This initiated the progression of over 30 years of use, failed attempts at recovery, tries at treatment, and time behind bars. He was one of America’s best Friends from 1994 to 2004, but off-screen, he was struggling with alcohol and prescription drug use disorder. The actor says he got addicted to painkillers when he was prescribed them after a personal watercraft accident. The sitcom and movie star has sought treatment, and he says helping others is an important part of his own recovery. She had dabbled with drugs before, but singer and actress Courtney Love says her heroin use became real after a party at Charlie Sheen’s house at the urging of a friend. “At some point, Jennifer — who has been very clean for 16 years now — convinced me to shoot up.

Jackie Wilson, one of the first great rhythm and blues vocalists, was born in 1934. His father was an alcoholic, and Jackie started drinking cheap wine at age 9. In 1975, while performing in New Jersey, he had a massive heart attack followed by cardiopulmonary arrest. He was in a coma for 3 months, sustaining severe brain damage, and remained hospitalized for over 7 years until his death in 1984 at age 49. Elvis had visited the dentist the day before for a temporary crown and was given codeine. Later he called his physician, Dr. George Nichopoulas (“Dr. Nick”), for increased pain and was prescribed six hydromorphone tablets.