Celebrities live under a lot of pressure. There’s their jobs (which pay really well, but are also very demanding), there’s the constant attention to their personal life, and there’s the overwhelming pressure to “behave” because any transgression will be a stain on your career forever. But some stars choose to deal with this by leaning into the bad behavior.
Here are 10 celebrities that have had problems with alcohol.
Lindsay Lohan
You knew this was coming. No list of drug and alcohol abusing celebrities can be released without the mention of Lindsay Lohan. She had a great acting career as a child, and then things really went south for her when she started drinking and abusing drugs. As a matter of fact, she was the first high-profile child actor to openly have so many problems, and for that she will always be mentioned on lists like these.
However, what you might not know is that she has cleaned up her act and is actually living quite a fulfilling drug-free life right now.
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne’s alcohol problems got him kicked out of Black Sabbath and his wife almost left him. She set him an ultimatum — either he quits drinking and get back to making music, or she walks out. He got back to making music, and for that, we’ll always have his wife to thank!
Johnny Depp
Of all the people on this list I can’t think of anyone else who disappointed fans as much as Johnny Depp. First everybody had a crush on him after Edward Scissorhands, then everybody had a crush on him after Pirates of the Caribbean, and then we all found out that he has a drinking problem and is a violent husband. And now we’re all disappointed in him (or at least we should be).
Robert Downey Jr.
RDJ’s story is so interesting! He was an up-and-coming (actually more like “rapidly rising”) actor in the 80s, and then he started drinking and taking drugs, which ended up with him going to jail. But, just like with Ozzy Osbourne — there was a redemption arc! He got his act together, and now there’s the RDJ we know today.
Zac Efron
Another child-actor who seems to have gone off the rails for a bit. But, as with RDJ — there was a redemption arc. In 2016 he quit drinking and has been sober ever since! At a certain point he realized that “You get out of life what you put in” and if what he was putting in was poison, there was no way for him to be happy with his life.
Mel Gibson
I mean is it a surprise to anyone that Mel Gibson had an alcohol problem? Honestly, he behaves like an archetypical person with a drinking problem. He’s angry, he goes on sexist and antiseptic rants, but he feels like it’s all okay because he’s a talented actor and a good director.
Kate Moss
I mean, honestly, in the roster of substance abuse that Kate Moss has gone through, I would guess that alcohol is the most harmless substance on the list. However, that’s where it all started, and a lot of the infamy that Kate Moss has stems directly from things she has done while under the influence.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck has had an on-and-off relationship with alcohol for nearly his entire life. His father was an alcoholic, and although he managed to turn his life around eventually, it was still something he had to deal with every day. The same can be said about Ben Affleck. Shortly after his role in Good Will Hunting (Ben was 24), he quit drinking. He didn’t enjoy being obnoxious and out of control.
However he soon began again, and eventually ended up in a 30-day rehab program in 2001.
And then there was a nearly monthly on-and-off story of rehab and binge and sobriety and more binging. He had to quit for the role of Batman though.
Brad Pitt
After a long time, the truth finally came out that it was actually his drinking that lead to his divorce with Angelina Jolie. But now Brad Pitt is sober, and it’s been good for him! His acting career is making a comeback (he just stared in Tarantino’s latest film), and he seems to be looking happy and healthy again.
Adele
Adele has admitted in numerous interviews that she was “completely off her face” (drunk) when she was writing her hit album 21. However, after its release and her decision to focus on family and her child, she quit drinking. And here we can see that alcohol is not required for a great songwriting career, because her album 25 was even better than 19 and 21 combined!