13 Entertainers and Athletes You Didn’t Know Are in Recovery
As societal attitudes around mental health and addiction continue to change, countless sober celebrities have helped usher in a new age of acceptance around issues like substance use.
Hearing stories of recovery from some of the most successful people in entertainment—including those who struggled at the height of their careers—can help us understand the realities of addiction and foster more awareness and empathy for those dealing with addiction.
Both the entertainment and sports industries have indeed lost their share of icons to the disease. Addiction does not discriminate.
The 13 sober celebrities and entertainers we’ve included in this blog post, like Lindsay Lohan, Daniel Radcliffe, and Andre Agassi, demonstrate that mental illness and substance abuse can affect anyone, regardless of how successful they are.
These stories also remind us that anyone—no matter their status—can overcome such complex struggles and bounce back better than ever.
Sober Celebrities in Entertainment
While some may deal with their addictions publicly, many celebrities and entertainers who struggle with substance abuse may conceal these personal struggles from the public eye for a variety of reasons.
Most professional sports organizations impose strict anti-doping regulations to prevent substance abuse in athletes, leading some professional athletes to use substances in secret.
On the other hand, many individuals in entertainment choose to share their experiences with substance use and mental illness since overcoming those challenges. Some public figures also use their platforms to spread awareness about addiction and advocate for those who are still struggling to seek treatment.
Continue reading to learn more about famous athletes, actors, and musicians you may not know who lead sober lives now.
Andre Agassi
After years of burnout and dissatisfaction with the sport and an ongoing wrist injury, legendary tennis player Andre Agassi began using crystal meth in the late 1990s. In his autobiography, Open, Agassi admitted to his drug use, failing a drug test from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and lying to the federation to avoid suspension.
He said in the Open that he felt “vast sadness and regret” after his first time using meth. After hiding his drug use from the ATP, Agassi quit using crystal meth and soon began a new training regimen. In 1998, the American returned to tennis and won his fourth Grand Slam at the French Open in 1999.
Agassi recently spoke with E! News about the importance of communication, transparency, and acceptance of mental health in athletes. He said the changing conversation about mental health in professional sports has made the environment “friendlier to honesty and communication.”
Ben Affleck
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck has opened up about his struggles with alcoholism in recent years. With an extensive family history of addiction, Affleck has lost a grandmother and uncle to suicide, his aunt struggled with heroin addiction, and his father spent years living and working at an addiction treatment center during Affleck’s adolescence.
Affleck himself dealt with alcohol addiction until his mid-twenties, seeking inpatient rehab in 2001. He said in a 2020 ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer that during his marriage and at the height of his directorial career, he’d begun drinking socially again. After a decade, he realized he’d fallen back into alcoholism.
Amidst two public relapses in 2017 and 2019, Affleck sought residential and outpatient treatment twice in three years. In his ABC News interview, Affleck stressed the importance of not repeating generational patterns that can harm his family and loved ones.
Brett Favre
National Football League (NFL) great and longtime Green Bay quarterback Brett Farve struggled with opioid and alcohol addiction early in his professional career. He first started taking prescription painkillers after suffering an ankle injury and later began getting pills from teammates.
After suffering a seizure due to his Vicodin dependence, Favre entered an NFL-sanctioned substance abuse program in 1996 and spent over two months in inpatient rehab. After returning to the league, Favre led the Packers to a Super Bowl win that year.
However, after having left rehab initially, he was given “non-addictive” painkillers. Favre said after taking 20 of them, he finally caught a “buzz” and realized he had relapsed into addictive behaviors again. Favre decided to quit cold turkey and undergo detox alone.
Meanwhile, he was also dealing with an alcohol addiction that he eventually chose to kick before entering rehab again in 1998. “I haven’t taken a drop since 1998,” he said on an episode of his podcast, Boiling with Favre, in 2021.
Daniel Radcliffe
Known for his titular role as Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe is one of the most famous child actors of the 21st century. In a 2019 interview on Off Camera with Sam Jones, he said after the Harry Potter franchise concluded in 2011, he struggled with the media and public attention he received and turned to binge drinking to cope.
He said that he often felt scrutinized by the people around him, particularly in pubs and bars in the U.K. “[I]n my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you’re being watched was to get very drunk,” he said, “and then as you get very drunk, you become aware that all people are watching more now…so I probably drink more to ignore that more.”
Radcliffe said it took “a few years and “a couple of attempts” for him to get sober, but he also credited the people close to him for their support as he dealt with alcoholism and the pressures of fame.
The Harry Potter star expressed his enduring love for acting in the off-camera interview and has since succeeded in both theatre and television. In early 2024, he won his first Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in Merrily We Roll Along.
Darryl Strawberry
Many know eight-time all-star and four-time World Series champion Darryl Strawberry for leading the New York Mets to victory in the 1986 World Series. However, many people also remember Strawberry for his illustrious and infamous life outside baseball, which was marred by controversy due to personal issues and substance abuse.
In 1995, Major League Baseball suspended Strawberry for testing positive for cocaine. He was suspended again in 2000, effectively ending his MLB career. Strawberry later said that the pressure to perform and the amount of media scrutiny he received in New York drove him to use cocaine, alcohol, amphetamines, and other substances regularly.
In 1999, he was arrested for prostitution solicitation and drug possession. While battling cancer, Strawberry faced a handful of legal issues over the next few years after violating the terms of his probation and rules at the treatment center, where he was court-ordered to serve house arrest. Strawberry ultimately served 11 months in prison and was released in 2003.
After briefly returning to baseball in 2003 as a spring training consultant, Strawberry left to spend more time serving the church. In 2006, Strawberry met his wife, Tracy Boulware (also a recovering substance abuser), at a drug recovery convention. Together, the couple founded a Christian recovery center and The Strawberry Foundation, a charity organization for children with autism.
Demi Lovato
A prime example of resilience, Disney star and musician Demi Lovato struggled with mental health and addiction from the time she was a teen. She sought treatment for cocaine and alcohol abuse and disordered eating in 2010. After a relapse in 2012, she returned to rehab after her management threatened to leave her if she did not get clean.
Shortly after celebrating six years of sobriety in 2018, Lovato revealed that she’d relapsed again with a single, “Sober.” A month later, she was rushed to the hospital after being found in her home unresponsive due to an apparent drug overdose.
After recovering from her overdose, Lovato sought inpatient treatment once again. She later said that she believed when she overdosed, her dealer gave her fentanyl.
In her 2021 documentary chronicling the relapse and overdose, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, Lovato said she now only drank socially and was “California sober,” meaning she only smoked marijuana. On The Howard Stern Show in 2023, she described the approach as a “slippery slope” that sent her into isolation and addiction, saying “sober sober” is the only way to go.
Dexter Manley
The fifth-round draft pick by the Washington Redskins in 1981, Dexter Manley first tried cocaine during his second year in the NFL.
He recalled his first experience using drugs, saying, “I had never experienced anything like it and was on the chase since then.”
In 1987, ‘88, and ‘89, Manley failed three consecutive drug tests amidst an NFL crackdown on substance abuse in the league, leading to a yearlong suspension for the defensive end. Manley returned to the NFL in 1990 and managed to stay sober for a year before failing a fourth drug test in 1991. Knowing he was facing a lifetime ban from the league, Manley officially retired from football.
No longer able to play football, Manley began experimenting with other drugs and, at one point, found himself homeless, broke, and suicidal. He was arrested several times on drug-related charges during this period, eventually spending 15 months in prison.
While incarcerated, Manley got clean, but after his release, the former NFL star continued to battle drug addiction, going from one treatment center to the next, desperately pursuing sobriety. In 2005, Manley underwent brain surgery to remove a cyst in his brain that doctors had warned him about nearly 20 years prior. He has been sober ever since.
Drew Barrymore
Multi-hyphenate star Drew Barrymore achieved instant stardom with her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Firestarter. Still, amidst her onscreen success throughout the 1980s, the child star experienced a troubled childhood.
Barrymore has long been open about her struggles with substance abuse during her youth. She became addicted to cocaine at the age of 12 and was subject to extraordinary media attention for her nightlife and partying habits as a young teen.
Barrymore has also criticized her mother for exposing her to partying, drugs, and alcohol as young as nine years old.
Barrymore’s mother sent her to rehab at 13. After a suicide attempt the following year, her mother sent her back to treatment. Barrymore then sought emancipation from her mother, which she was granted.
Barrymore penned her autobiography Little Girl Lost at 14 to chronicle these experiences, living independently by 15.
In the late 1990s, Barrymore reestablished her image by transitioning to more grown-up and less rebellious roles, finding considerable success in romantic comedies and films like Charlie’s Angels.
She has more recently ventured into daytime television with The Drew Barrymore Show, where the actress has been open and vulnerable about her recent experiences with alcohol and her decision to quit drinking entirely.
Dock Ellis
Another baseball player with a controversially storied baseball career, Dock Ellis, is widely known for claiming to have pitched a no-hitter on LSD in 1970. Also regarded as one of the most outspoken Black players in MLB against racial injustice in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Ellis was rebellious and unpredictable.
His behavior was often seemingly influenced by drugs and alcohol, which he had been addicted to since high school.
Facing extraordinary pressure to perform in the Pittsburgh minor leagues in the ‘60s, he became addicted to speed, cocaine, and other substances, later admitting to being under the influence of drugs every time he took the field as a major leaguer.
The Pirates released Ellis in the late ‘70s, whose drug and alcohol consumption had significantly impacted his performance. With his baseball career effectively over in 1980, Ellis finally sought treatment. He then began working as an addiction counselor and motivational speaker to spread awareness about the dangers of drug use to young athletes.
After being unable to secure a liver transplant in 2008, Ellis died from cirrhosis of the liver at age 63. Despite his death at a young age–likely due to the damage his early drug and alcohol use had on his body–Ellis’s legacy lies in his commitment to changing his life and helping others learn from his mistakes.
Lindsay Lohan
Another of the most recognizable names and faces in 21st-century Hollywood, Lindsay Lohan’s story of addiction and recovery is another example of resilience and accountability akin to Drew Barrymore and Demi Lovato.
Lohan became famous in the late 1990s and early 2000s, appearing in Disney films like The Parent Trap, Life-Size, Get a Clue, and Freaky Friday. Ultimately, Mean Girls catapulted her to starlet status in 2004. However, Lohan soon began losing out on opportunities amidst public struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Between 2007 and 2015, much of Lohan’s life was documented by tabloids and paparazzi, exposing the string of legal issues she faced regarding driving under the influence, drug possession charges, shoplifting violation of probation, and numerous court-ordered rehab stints.
Though she claimed the six court-ordered rehab visits she was required to complete were “pointless,” Lohan also said she considered rehab good for her.
After numerous arrests and visits to inpatient treatment, Lohan has slowly returned to the entertainment industry over the last eight years, appearing on television and releasing new music.
Lohan received positive reviews in the previous few years for her appearances in Netflix films like Irish Wish. She married Bader Shammas in 2022, and in 2023, the couple welcomed their first child.
Robert Downey Jr.
One of the highest-paid actors of all time and everyone’s beloved Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.’s experience with addiction began at only six years old when his dad, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., first let him try marijuana. Downey Jr. grew up “surrounded by drugs” as his father was a drug addict and his mother an alcoholic.
His career blossomed in the 1980s and early ‘90s with films like Weird Science and Chaplin, but soon, Downey Jr.’s drug addiction caught up with him. After checking himself out of rehab earlier that year, Downey Jr. was stopped for speeding in June 1996, with police finding heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine in his car. He spent the remainder of ‘96 and most of ‘97 in either jail or a court-ordered rehab center.
After a brief stint of sobriety, Downey Jr. relapsed in 1999 and faced two arrests, a year of prison time, and another stint in rehab. After his last arrest in April 2001, he decided it was time to make a change and overcome his addiction problems finally.
Downey Jr. has been sober since 2003, and his resurgence as an actor is iconic. Some of his most notable work includes the Iron Man and Avengers franchises, alongside the 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer, for which Downey Jr. won his first Academy Award.
Steven Tyler
As Aerosmith achieved global mainstream success in the mid-1970s with albums Toys in the Attic, Rocks, and Draw the Line, frontman Steven Tyler lived the epitome of a rockstar lifestyle–recording, partying, and using drugs on the road with his bandmates.
Tyler said he spent millions on drugs between 1979 and 1982. During this period, the band’s success weaned with Joe Perry and Brad Whitford’s departures, and despite a reunion in 1984, Tyler’s drug use continued to spiral.
The Aerosmith frontman said he sought treatment in 1984 and ‘86 but was not serious about his sobriety until the band staged an intervention to get him into rehab in ‘88.
In a 2019 interview with GQ, Tyler said he was nine years sober, and he has relapsed four times since 1988. After 12 years of sobriety, he relapsed after his divorce in 2006 and again in 2009, after which he sought treatment for prescription pain pills.
In May 2022, the band announced that Tyler had suffered another relapse with painkillers after foot surgery, canceling the first set of dates for their summer Las Vegas Residency.
As he continues sobriety, Tyler is recovering from a vocal chord injury as he and Aerosmith prepare to embark on their 2024 farewell tour.
The Importance of Sober Role Models
Celebrities and high-profile individuals battling substance abuse issues often face an added layer of complexity that everyday individuals may not consider. The relentless public scrutiny, constant availability of drugs and alcohol, and pressure to maintain a perfect image can make addiction recovery even more difficult.
Many of these individuals also have the resources to fuel their addictions for years before seeking help. However, those willing to be vulnerable and share their journeys significantly help destigmatize addiction and mental health in larger society and culture, improving awareness and removing shame from the equation of asking for help.
When well-known figures courageously open up about their struggles with addiction and mental illness, it also sends a message of hope to people with similar struggles. Seeing successful, admired people overcome these challenges and emerge from the storm stronger shows us that we all have the potential for redemption and success on the other side of addiction, even if that path isn’t linear.
Begin Your Path to Sobriety at The Summit Wellness Group
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction or a mental health issue, understand that it’s never too late to ask for help. If you’ve relapsed recently, know that you are not alone and deserve a life free from substance abuse. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, so trust The Summit Wellness Group to help you return to sobriety.
Our personalized treatment plans and dual diagnosis rehab programs can help you find the inspiration and inner resilience to overcome addiction. Contact us today to learn more.
Reach us anytime by phone at (770) 525-7868 or by email at ContactUs@TheSummitWellnessGroup.com.