The A-Listers who have gone teetotal… there are more than you’d think (Picture: Getty)
Hollywood has always been a place of extremes and excesses, but for many celebrities, a quieter, calmer life of sobriety is getting them high these days.
Toxic celebrity culture has long seen Hollywood’s biggest names fall victim to alcoholism or their lives derailed as a result of dangerous drinking habits.
What used to be tabloid fodder, however, is slowly but surely shifting toward thoughtful conversation about the benefits of going sober.
According to alcohol awareness organisation Drinkaware, the proportion of non-drinking adults (aged 16+) has increased from 16% to 20% between 2011 and 2021 – proving more and more people are turning away from liquor.
Candid conversations are growing daily as celebrities share their milestones, honest reflections and toughest moments in interviews, with some revealing the more harrowing side effects of booze and admitting they were ‘addicted to alcohol’ and trapped in ‘binge drinking’ cycles.
So here are some celebrities who you may not know have sworn off drinking…
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway is over five years sober (Picture: Shutterstock)
Academy Award-winning screen star Hathaway is adding her experiences to the discourse, as she opened up about celebrating five years sober.
The 41-year-old actor, set to appear in Prime rom-com The Idea of You opposite Nicholas Galitzine, said in a new interview that although she ‘doesn’t talk about it’ making it over half a decade without drinking felt like ‘such a milestone’.
Earlier in March, Hathaway had explained why drinking wasn’t for her and why quitting has ‘made everything better’.
‘It just felt so extreme to have to say, “But none?” But none. If you’re allergic to something or have an anaphylactic reaction to something, you don’t argue with it. So I stopped arguing with it,’ she told Vanity Fair.
Tom Holland
Tom Holland first opened up about quitting alcohol last year (Picture: Getty)
Spiderman star Holland, 27, first opened up about going sober in May 2023, admitting he had stopped drinking over a year ago after trying Dry January following a ‘very, very boozy’ Christmas.
In July, he shared that he was ‘definitely addicted to alcohol’ and that he used to ‘drink and drink and drink’ until one day he asked himself: ‘”Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?”‘
After setting himself a six-month sober target, he soon realised he was the ‘happiest I’ve ever been in my life’.
In September, he shared a positive update by uploading a picture of his party drink which very noticeably contained 0.0% alcohol content.
Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell shared his family history with alcohol (Picture: Film Magic)
Oscar nominee Farrell first opened up about going teetotal in 2021 to The Irish Times.
The 47-year-old actor, who stars in The Banshees of Inisherin and In Bruges, went sober in 2008, saying: ‘After 15 or 20 years of carousing the way I caroused and drinking the way I drank, the sober world is a pretty scary world.’
In 2022, in conversation with Jamie Lee Curtis, he spoke more about his commitment to sobriety and breaking from family history.
‘I’m stopping what has been a generational issue in my biological family,’ he told Variety.
‘It’ll be the single greatest thing I do, if I can stay sober. Because generations of people have had their lives ruled and ruined by alcoholism and drug addiction. For me, sobriety first. Always.’
Lucy Hale
Lucy Hale opened up about her ‘dark’ relationship with drinking (Getty)
Pretty Little Liars actor has been sober since January 2022 after realising she was a ‘textbook binge drinker’ as she told The Diary of a CEO podcast last February.
‘I was willing to go to this crazy dark place every time,’ the 34-year-old actor explained, saying that now she views alcohol ‘as an allergy’.
Earlier this year, Hale celebrated two years sober with a poignant Instagram post saying this was the ‘greatest gift I’ve given myself’.
‘My only advice is to remain open-hearted, curious, and to find the people who see and support you. It does get better,’ she added for those who might be struggling.
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen celebrated a year sober in 2022 (Picture: Getty)
The model and TV personality first opened up about her fraught relationship with alcohol in 2017.
‘I was just, point blank, drinking too much,’ she said at the time. ‘You feel horrible.’
In July 2022, Teigen celebrated one year sober with an Instagram post, saying it had helped her get rid of her ‘crazy anxiety’.
‘I’ll let the bad dreams come up and try to sort them out in therapy, not booze,’ she concluded.
Celebrities who have given up drinking alcohol
Kit Harington
In 2022, Harington gave a joyful update that he had been sober for over three years and was ‘much happier for it’.
‘All I can say to anyone thinking about [going sober] is it’s a wonderful way of living your life. It saved me, for sure,’ he shared at the time.
Bella Hadid
The 27-year-old supermodel addressed her almost 10 month anniversary with a post in July 2023 stating that she was ‘proud of anyone discovering their sobriety’.
In 2022, she admitted she used to ‘cancel’ nights out if she felt like she ‘couldn’t control’ herself.
Blac Chyna
The 35-year-old rapper, who also goes by Angela White, posted the major milestone on Instagram, saying that she was ‘going for the two’.
She also thanked God for ‘this journey to happiness’.
Kristin Davis
The 59-year-old Sex and the City star has previously opened up about becoming teetotal in her 20s.
‘[Alcohol] was enough of a problem for me to go, “This is something that could get in the way of what I want to do in life.” Luckily my first boyfriend out of school was sober – which was super-duper helpful,’ she told The Telegraph last year.
Jada Pinkett Smith
During a Red Table Talk episode in 2021, the 49-year-old star said ‘drinking red wine’ was like ‘drinking glasses of water’ at one point in her life.
During one incident where she was reaching for a ‘third bottle of wine’ she decided from then she was going ‘cold turkey’ and hasn’t touched a drop since.
Elton John
The Rocketman singer has been sober for over three decades. After seeking treatment in 1990, John has been candid about his journey through sobriety.
He penned an essay about his experiences in 2019 where he explained coming out of treatment was like ‘being reborn’.
‘Make recovery your absolute priority over everything else,’ he offered as advice.
Need help?
The NHS recommends Drinkline, the national alcohol helpline. If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s drinking, there is a free helpline you can call in complete confidence. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).
Or you can use Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a free self-help group with a 12-step programme.
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