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Dry January is a great way to focus on a healthier lifestyle for the coming year. But for certain celebrities, steering clear of alcohol is a full-time practice. Some have persevered through substance issues and come out on the other side with a zero proof philosophy, while others have avoided starting with alcohol to begin with.
Alcohol consumption is falling rapidly among Gen Z, suggesting that the sober-curious trend might be here to stay, and to a certain extent, it might be downstream from celebrity lifestyle choices. Figures such as Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr. help others stay alcohol free by creating products that stand in for traditional beverages. Bradley Cooper and Drew Barrymore share their experiences to spread knowledge for anyone seeking inspiration. However they arrived at their decisions to lead alcohol-free lives, these celebrities all keep their distance from liquor as a regular way of life.
Tom Holland
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Marvel’s “Spiderman” Tom Holland chose to give up alcohol after realizing how difficult it was for him to make it through Dry January in 2022. The actor discussed his struggle on the Rich Roll podcast, explaining that it opened his eyes to just how large a role alcohol played in his life. He decided to stay the course longer, recognizing that liquor was a social lubricant and an emotional tonic for both good and bad times. He devoted himself to a full year of sobriety, which turned into a permanent lifestyle shift.
Holland’s understanding of drinking culture and the need for quality alcohol-free beverages led him to create Bero, a refreshing non-alcoholic beer designed for the discerning drinker looking to leave alcohol behind. Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr., who became a real-life mentor of sorts for Holland, even joined forces to create a Bero-happy coffee collab to expand the zero-proof concept.
Drew Barrymore
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Stories abound of Drew Barrymore’s childhood substance abuse and subsequent treatment. Through many ups and downs in her career, she’s turned to alcohol and has always been honest when recounting her experiences.
Barrymore had been alcohol-free for 2 ½ years by 2021, thanks to her decision to break the cycle that kept her drinking, even when it didn’t serve a purpose for her anymore. Barrymore tackled the situation behind the scenes before going public on CBS Mornings.
The actress and talk show host took to her magazine, Drew, to explain how critical breaking old cycles was to her overall well-being. Ultimately, Barrymore says giving up alcohol took away “guilt and dysfunction” and calls it “one of the most liberating things in my journey of life” (via Eating Well).
Ben Affleck
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You may not know Ben Affleck has Dunkin’ every single day, but you’re likely familiar with struggles his well-publicized struggles with drinking alcohol. Several visits to rehab in the 2000s helped him bring his consumption under control. Now, Affleck has been in recovery since 2020; the actor says coming to terms with his family legacy of alcoholism has been part of the challenge.
Though Affleck’s struggle has often taken place in front of the camera, he wishes he had been able to handle it a little more discreetly. Playing a recovering alcoholic in his film “The Way Back” brought his personal struggles into his professional world. Affleck has accepted the public knowledge of his alcohol habit and says he’s become surprisingly grateful for having the experience. He also admitted in an interview with Howard Stern that in his view, the only way for him to give up alcohol was to suffer so much, he had no choice but to quit.
Jennifer Hudson
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Oscar-winning actress, singer, and talk show host Jennifer Hudson has never allowed alcohol to become part of her life. It came as a shock to interviewer Chelsea Handler, to whom Hudson admitted never even having tried alcohol, let alone getting drunk or high. In the 2013 episode of “Chelsea Lately,” Hudson told Handler that people don’t believe her when she tells them, but it’s the truth.
Her inexperience made it difficult for her to channel the right perspective into her acting, especially when she played an addicted prostitute who abandoned her son in the movie “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete.” Since Hudson has never been drunk or high, she depended on the experience of others in recovery to help make her portrayal on screen as authentic as possible. Thankfully, she had step-by-step mentoring from someone in recovery to make sure she got the role right.
Bradley Cooper
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In one of his most acclaimed roles, Bradley Cooper played an alcoholic singer in “A Star is Born.” He also had a breakout role as one of the leads in “The Hangover” franchise. But despite all the alcohol-based tie-ins in his day job, Cooper hasn’t consumed alcohol for decades. In a 2015 interview with Barbara Walters, Cooper openly discussed his decision to give up drinking in his late 20s, calling it “beautiful” and admitting that going alcohol-free helped lead him to all of the good things that have come his way.
Cooper didn’t tackle his sobriety all on his own; he was able to lean on fellow actor Will Arnett to help him through the hardest moments. It was actually Arnett who broached the topic in 2004 and helped Cooper quit and stay sober ever since. In turn, Cooper helped Brad Pitt sober up in 2016.
Kelly Ripa
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Kelly Ripa decided to stop drinking in 2017, along with friends, as a month-long challenge, creating an internal support system that helped them both stay the course. After a month of sobriety, the talk show host felt so much better that she decided to quit entirely. For Ripa, there was no pull back to her old ways of drinking alcohol; feeling better was enough for her to decide that drinking wasn’t for her anymore.
Mark Consuelos, Ripa’s husband and co-host of “Live with Kelly and Mark,” also gave up drinking alcohol when his wife did. The ultra-fit couple found it to be a logical step in their wellness journey, a philosophy they shared with their three children. Initially, Ripa gained a bit of weight, having turned to sugar as a substitute for alcohol, but eventually she found a diet and fitness plan that complemented her dry lifestyle.
Anne Hathaway
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Though Anne Hathaway never experienced a full-fledged dependency on alcohol, the “The Devil Wears Prada” star decided in 2019 that she’d had enough. Part of the decision stemmed from Hathaway wanting to remain alcohol-free for the 18 years her son would be living at home with her. What prompted her to move forward with it was taking a meeting with a director while she was hungover, a situation that was made obvious during a follow-up meeting when her demeanor was much different. Hathaway also admitted to having done a school drop-off for her son while hungover.
For the actress, drinking was likely her means of feeling uncomfortable in her own body — what she calls “somatic stress.” The decision seems to have stuck; Hathaway has remained sober for more than five years. She’s expressed gratitude for being able to make such a choice and to take measures to stick with it.
Zac Efron
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Though he’s quick to appreciate everything his teen heartthrob status has afforded him, Zac Efron admits his rush to fame as a teen actor in Disney’s “High School Musical” series led to alcohol and drug use to deal with the burden of his whirlwind career. After turning to rehab in 2013, Efron reinvented himself, becoming a fitness fiend and engaging with Alcoholics Anonymous and therapy to keep himself in check.
Being sober full-time has allowed the actor to maintain self-professed structure in his adult life. Efron has reconnected with friends and family. He has also grown professionally, producing his own projects. Now, Efron has been clean and sober for more than 10 years, helped along by a daily exercise regimen.
Miley Cyrus
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The shift from Disney kid tween idol to thriving music career saw Miley Cyrus become a bit of a wild child. She famously dispelled her wholesome image with a wild performance at MTV’s 2013 VMAs. Later, she offhandedly suggested that her Disney Channel alter ego was likely doing “a lot of drugs” after the show ended, hinting at her own situation post-Disney.
Though she initially quit alcohol to prepare for vocal cord surgery, Cyrus eliminated alcohol from her life for good in 2020, after the COVID lockdown saw her relapse. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, she confided, “The sobriety is like, that’s like my God. I need it, I live for it. I mean that it’s changed my entire life.” After realizing that moderation is an issue for her, turning to simpler interests like gardening helped Cyrus channel her energy into something productive.
Colin Farrell
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The multi-award-winning actor was almost as well-known for his partying as for his silver screen performances. In fact, Colin Farrell’s drinking was so prevalent that he once showed up on the set of “Minority Report” after a hard night of birthday partying and struggled to complete scenes opposite uber-professional Tom Cruise. It was an eye-opening moment that made Farrell think long and hard about his alcohol use.
But the actor’s behavior really changed when his son James was diagnosed with a developmental condition called Angelman syndrome, which requires continuous care. It prompted Farrell to quit drinking when James was two years old. He admits that being sober is a frightening prospect at times, especially when filming works like “In Bruges,” where he was faced with hundreds of on-tap beer prospects while being sober for just over a year. Now, Farrell has racked up more than 20 years of alcohol-free living and has watched with clear eyes as James has become an adult.
Demi Lovato
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Another Disney kid making the transition from child performer to full-fledged professional adult, Demi Lovato spent many years battling substance dependence before getting her consumption under control. Her erratic behavior led to a stint in rehab in 2010; after an overdose in 2018, Lovato suffered three strokes and a heart attack, which had lasting effects. It came after six years of sobriety and inspired a confessional song called “Sober.”
Lovato initially declared herself “California sober,” a reference to occasional drinking or cannabis use, she realized that wasn’t a beneficial approach. After another stay in a treatment center in 2021, she considers herself to be fully drug- and alcohol-free.
The actress has been forthcoming about her struggles with both her dependency and her overall mental health, though she has said she regrets committing so much of her journey to film for public consumption before she was truly able to gain control.
Robert Downey Jr.
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Somewhere near the midpoint of Robert Downey Jr.’s decades-long career, the actor’s drug and alcohol use became overwhelming. In 1996, while under the influence of a controlled substance, the Oscar nominee famously entered a Malibu house that wasn’t his and passed out. Jail and rehab followed, and after a few false starts, Downey Jr. finally left both drugs and alcohol behind.
The actor’s comeback after getting clean is the stuff of Hollywood legend. He’s gone on to become one of the most famous and highest-paid actors in the world by transforming into Marvel’s now-iconic Iron Man. He’s even joined forces with Tom Holland for a non-alcoholic beer and coffee project, taking his devotion to sobriety into creative new territory. And his family history of substance challenges even led him to discuss his father’s own struggles with drugs and alcohol as part of Downey Jr.’s Netflix tribute, “Sr.”
Daniel Radcliffe
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Daniel Radcliffe turned to alcohol to deal with the pressure of Harry Potter super stardom. Eventually, the actor realized he had developed alcohol dependency. He described how he would drink more to dissociate from others’ concern or judgment of his drinking. Rather than attempt strict social drinking, Radcliffe chose to put liquor aside entirely in 2010.
Radcliffe has said that fame and success warp people’s perception of actors’ mental health and that outsiders expect people in his position to be unerringly happy and grateful. Though it took a bit of doing to get things straight, Radcliffe now says he’s much happier for having a less chaotic life.
Sarah Silverman
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Comedian Sarah Silverman simply doesn’t like the taste of alcohol, which is why she doesn’t drink it. Even when her boyfriend cracks open a bottle of wine, she confesses that to her, “it tastes like poison” (via The Guardian). Silverman says being teetotal creates a suspicion that she’s in recovery, which isn’t true. And while she does cop to drinking an occasional sea breeze cocktail, she just doesn’t have the palate for liquor, which makes it easy for her to stay away.
Silverman’s alcohol-free living didn’t stop the sometimes-actress from tackling the roles of a recovering alcoholic in the 2011 film “Take This Waltz” and a suburban addict in the 2015 film “I Smile Back.” And while she did appear on a 2014 episode of a show called “My Drunk Kitchen,” hosted by Hanna Hart, Silverman opted for marijuana instead of alcohol, giving the show a slightly different character.
Brad Pitt
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Though you may see Brad Pitt eating in every one of his movies, you won’t see him drinking alcohol in real life. Pitt turned away from alcohol in 2016 after his divorce from Angelina Jolie and has remained alcohol-free since.
During his appearance on Dax Shepherd’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Pitt explained how joining a 12-step program helped guide him through the process of leaving booze behind. The all-male group, which included Shepherd as well, gave Pitt the vulnerability he needed to quit. It was a sharp left turn from his life before, which Pitt admitted in a GQ interview included alcohol or marijuana use every day.
Pitt has credited fellow teetotaler Bradley Cooper for helping him reach and maintain his sobriety. “I got sober because of this guy, and every day’s been happier ever since,” Pitt told the audience while accepting a 2020 National Board of Review award – Cooper presented Pitt with the award. Pitt has counted himself sober for a decade.
Samuel L. Jackson
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One of the true legends of cinema, Samuel L. Jackson has lived an alcohol-free life for the majority of his time as a superstar. Jackson’s drug experimentation in the 1960s led to an addiction. The actor admitted to being a blackout drinker as part of his substance use.
Jackson’s struggles culminated in his wife and daughter finding him in the midst of a tequila-fueled bender after an afternoon bachelor party. His wife LaTanya reached out to a drug counselor who was able to find Jackson a spot at a center in upstate New York.
The actor went to rehab and went on to an illustrious career that made him an A-list star. One of those roles, as the addict Gator in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever,” allowed Jackson to put his experience to use. The script came to him just two weeks after completing his stint in rehab. 30 years later, and Jackson’s films have amassed $13 billion and counting, all while the actor remains alcohol-free.