10 Celebrities who successfully overcame substance abuse

Celebrities in general are known to have a reckless lifestyle. And there is nothing more conducive to a reckless lifestyle than drugs. Many celebrities have succumbed to addiction but there are only a few who rose above it and saved themselves from being the tools of their own destruction. Let’s take a look at who they are:

  1. Fergie

Image Source : digitalspyuk.cdnds.net

The famed singer of Black Eyed Peas was once heavily addicted to drugs. She suffered heavy weight loss because of her addiction to Crystal Meth and she had to leave her musical group called Wild Orchid to seek de-addiction. She successfully gave up drugs after a stint at rehab in 2003 and joined the Black Eyed Peas after that. The rest is history.

  1. Samuel L. Jackson

Image Source : moviemarker.co.uk

As an aspiring young actor Samuel L. Jackson struggled from his heroin addiction. He was admitted to a rehab after passing out in public but he managed to escape again. Ultimately his role as a drug addict in the 1991 film Jungle Fever made him aware of his own situation and he decided to quit drugs.

  1. Sanjay Dutt

Image Source : mrpopat.in

Depressed by his mother’s death, Indian actor Sanjay Dutt succumbed to drug addiction in 1982. In 1993 he was arrested for illegal possession of drugs and sent to jail for five months.  Finally he went to a rehab in US and overcame his addiction.

  1. Demi Lovato

Image Source : popcrush.com

As a teenager Demi Lovato became so heavily addicted to cocaine that she couldn’t even spend an hour without a dose. But in 2010 after a very unpleasant experience she realized her mistake, went to rehab and successfully overcame her addiction.

  1. Robert Downy Jr.

Robert Downy Jr.Image Source : doctorwhowatch.com

Robert Downy Jr. led a turbulent life of an addict. Despite getting married and becoming famous as an actor he couldn’t beat his addiction. In 1999 he was jailed because he didn’t appear at court for a drug test. By 2005 his situation became worse when he stopped getting film roles and started approaching a financial crisis. That was the time when he took the decision to go to rehab and overcome his 20 year long addiction. Right now he is one of the highest paid actors of the world.

  1. Elton John

Image Source : static.independent.co.uk

Elton John started using cocaine in 1974 while he was recording one of his studio albums and soon became an addict. On top of that he also suffered from alcohol abuse and eating disorders. But after going through misery for 16 long years he finally gave up drugs in 1990.

  1. Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonImage Source : theriffrepeater.com

By the time Clapton started playing solo in 1970, he was already an alcohol and heroin addict. In 1972 he showed up drunk at a concert and passed out in the middle of it. And recovery wasn’t too easy for him. After decades of persistent effort he finally gave up his addiction in the mid 1980’s.

  1. Slash

Image Source : static.independent.co.uk

The lead guitarist of Guns N Roses remained a drug addict throughout most of his career. He never made an effort to recover from it. In 2001 he went through a congestive heart failure diagnosis. After that, taking in consideration his fragile health condition, he gave up his addiction at the bidding of his family.

  1. Eminem

Image Source : hotnewhiphop.com

The king of rap Eminem was badly addicted to pain killers. In 2001, at the bidding of his friend Elton John he went to a rehab and recovered from it.

  1. Britney Spears

Image Source : static.wonderfulunion.net

Britney went through highly publicized breakdowns because of her addiction to drugs. She was on the verge of losing her singing career. But then she decided to go to a rehab in 2007. That turned out to be a great decision as not only she saved herself from addiction but she also successfully revived her dying music career.

Today's Top Articles:

Scroll to Top