Joan Rivers still in coma
Alcoholism is a dangerous addiction that affects a person’s health, as well as their social and work responsibilities. Famous people are constantly under a lot of pressure and it’s no surprise that some of them end up as drug or alcohol addicts. We all know what happened to Lindsay Lohan, who recently completed another rehab, but she is not the only star with this problem. Check out some other celebrities who have a history of alcohol abuse.
The famous comedian abused cocaine and alcohol early in his career, but quit when friend and fellow comedian, John Belushi, died of a cocaine and heroin overdose in 1982. When he began slipping into alcoholism again in 2006, he immediately checked himself into rehab. Today, he’s alcohol-free.
Mel Gibson has publicly admitted to battling alcoholism for all of his adult life. He was arrested in 2009 for driving under the influence. In a previous 2006 arrest made on the basis of suspected drunk driving, the arresting officer claimed he made anti-Semitic remarks. In the past, Gibson has sought professional help and checked himself into rehab for his alcohol problem.
Even boy wizards have their vices. Radcliffe’s was whisky, which he began to rely on during the filming of the sixth Harry Potter movie in 2009. “There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me,” the now-22-year-old actor told GQ. He added that he hadn’t had a drink since August of 2010. “As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time—that doesn’t work for me,” he said.
The 55-year-old actress has been battling her addiction for three decades. She has received treatment twice for substance abuse in 1988 and 2000 and again in August 2009. Her problems first got out of control when the then 18-year-old Griffith was “living in a real wild ‘love, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ lifestyle” with actor Don Johnson. “I was never loved unconditionally,” she told Vanity Fair in 1994. “Coke, booze give you a feeling, a physical sensation … a buzz inside your body that takes the place of something you should have had when you were a child.” She managed to overcome her addictions and today she is clean. “Now I feel free. I don’t drink, I don’t take pills, nothing, and it’s fantastic, like getting out of prison.”
You would never know accomplished actor Sir Anthony Hopkins was a raging alcoholic until 1975. He gave up alcohol when he woke up in a Phoenix hotel room with no recollection of how he came to be in Arizona. Anthony publically broke his anonymity to raise money for Alcoholics Anonymous. He is quoted as saying “There were some days when I’d drink a bottle of tequila and I didn’t care if I died. I was so washed up, so empty and feeling emotionally bankrupt.” Hopkins has been sober for almost 40 years.
Kristin Davis battled alcohol before anyone cared who she is. In 2008 the love and the City actress admitted to Health magazine that she’s a “recovering alcoholic.” Davis has said her addiction was so bad that she was certain she wouldn’t live past 30. Now, she’s free from addiction–to booze at least. “Chocolate and coffee has taken over,” she said.
The actress has achieved many things in her life, but the actress believes that her biggest accomplishment was facing her addiction more than a decade ago. She an alcohol and pain killers addiction but got sober in 1999. “Getting sober was the single bravest thing I’ve ever done and will ever do in my life. Being courageous enough to acknowledge it privately with my family and friends. Working really hard at solidifying it, getting support around it and being healthy. And then talking about it publicly. That is the single greatest accomplishment of my life,” she said in 2012.
