September 26, 2024 | Jennifer McDougall

Celebrities Who Got Sober


On Again, Off Again

There are lots of famous people who are on the wagon again and then off it. You may be surprised to uncover which stars have managed to get sober and stay that way.

Sobercelebs-Opera

Who’s On The Wagon?

Is your favorite Netflix star a recovering alcoholic? Did your showbiz hero give up the drink for good? Here are seven famous folks whose experiences with drinking may astound you.

Demi Lovato at the Jingle Ball 2017 at the ForumKathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

Kelly Osbourne

Kelly Osbourne’s first appearance on TV was on the reality show about her family called The Osbournes. After this, she earned her own fame through roles in various programs. You may have seen her on Fashion Police, Australia’s Got Talent, and Dancing with the Stars.

Kelly Osbourne at the Kathy Hutchins, Shutterstock 

Kelly Osbourne

Like father like daughter? Osbourne’s father, Ozzy Osbourne, was the lead singer for Black Sabbath. He struggled through years of substance addiction. He is reported to have said that he “should have died before loads of his rocker friends”, and asked “Why am I the last man standing?”

Portrait Photo of Kelly Osbourne in black outfitEva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Kelly Osbourne

Osbourne followed in the footsteps of her father. She experimented with pills and booze before she was even a teenager.

Kelly Osbourne arrives to the WB/In Style Golden Globe PartyDFree, Shutterstock 

Kelly Osbourne

Osbourne got sick of feeling like she could do nothing without her addictions. She hit a ‘spiritual low’ and decided to make the tough choice to give them up. She changed her life.

Kelly Osbourne at the ABC Summer Press Tour Party 2004DFree, Shutterstock

Kelly Osbourne

For six years, Kelly Osbourne refused to drink. In 2021, during the Covid pandemic, she unfortunately had a relapse. It filled her with deep shame. She noted on Instagram, “Not proud of it. But I am back on track”.

Kelly Osbourne at the 2013 American Music AwardsJoe Seer, Shutterstock

Tom Holland

Tom Holland is best known for his starring role in Marvel’s Spider-Man. You may also recognize him from his parts in The Crowded Room and Dolittle. But he’s notorious for something else as well.

Tom Holland arrives for the ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ LA PremiereDFree, Shutterstock

Tom Holland

Popular pastimes for Tom included pub-hopping and drinking with rugby buddies. Socializing and drinking went hand in hand with him. But his relationship with booze scared him.

Tom Holland arriving to the Onward World PremiereDFree, Shutterstock

Tom Holland

All he could think about was having a drink. He finally asked himself, “‘Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?’”

Tom Holland at the World premiere of 'Spider-Man Far From Home'Tinseltown, Shutterstock

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Tom Holland

In 2022, he embraced “Dry January” and gave up liquor. He sleeps better and the 28-year-old claims he is the happiest he has ever been.

Tom Holland at round 07 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 in Monte Carlo MonacoMichael Potts F1, Shutterstock

Demi Lovato

Today, Demi Lovato is known as a singer and songwriter. She has 53 singles and 2 soundtrack albums. As a child, she acted, and made her TV debut in the kids’ show Barney & Friends.

Demi Lovato performs on stage during American Heart Association Go Red for Womenlev radin, Shutterstock

Demi Lovato

Lovato’s drinking began young. As a teenager, Lovato admits to using substances to numb her pain. In 2012, she confessed to Seventeen magazine, "I'm not gonna lie. I was self-medicating". She would hide her drinks and substances—but how did she get away with it?

Demi Lovato at the Stella McCartney X Adidas PartyJoe Seer, Shutterstock

Demi Lovato

She snuck substances onto airplanes. “I’d sneak into the bathroom, and I’d do it,” she explained about her use of ‘nose candy’. Vodka was concealed in Sprite bottles. She realized she had a problem.

Demi Lovato wearing dress by Hellessy attends the 2022 UNICEF Galalev radin, Shutterstock

Demi Lovato

Her issue became clear to her at 19 years of age. She relayed this to Access Magazine: “I had a moment where I was like, ‘Oh my God…that is alcoholic behavior. [It’s] no longer, I’m young and rebellious and out having fun, it was, wow, I’m one of those people … I gotta get my s—t together".

Demi Lovato at the 2018 Billboard Music AwardsTinseltown, Shutterstock

Demi Lovato

In 2013, she admitted herself to a sober house. Like Kelly Osbourne, Lovato also experienced six years of sobriety. However, in 2018, she almost lost her life to an overdose.

Demi Lovato arrives for the InStyle Awards on October 23, 2017 in Los AngelesDFree, Shutterstock

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Demi Lovato

Thankfully, Lovato’s excessive and dangerous use of substances was caught in time. She spent two weeks in the hospital and three months in rehab. As a result of her OD, Lovato suffered three strokes and a heart attack. She was also left with permanent brain damage.

Demi Lovato at the Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice AwardsTinseltown, Shutterstock 

Demi Lovato

Since 2018, Demi Lovato has been on the wagon. She’s been a huge advocate for mental health support and treatment of addictions.

Demi Lovato at the iHeart Radio Music Awards 2016 ArrivalsKathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

Daniel Radcliffe

You know him as Harry Potter. He’s also been on Broadway and, more recently, played Weird Al Yankovic in the film of the same name. Yet despite his clean image, Radcliffe hid a dark secret—and few people knew that secret was affecting his acting abilities.

Daniel Radcliffe attends the UK screening of Fred Duval, Shutterstock

Daniel Radcliffe

The pressure of fame was having more of an impact on Radcliffe than anyone could see. He wanted to remain “relevant and in the public eye”, but this cost him a lot emotionally. So, he found a way to cope.

Daniel Radcliffe attends the Ron Adar, Shutterstock

Daniel Radcliffe

Radcliffe loved his booze. It was several years before his secret became public. Although often hungover for interviews, fellow actors simply thought he drank to excess on occasions like his birthday. They didn’t realize the extent of his problem.

Daniel Radcliffe attends a screening and conversation for Ron Adar, Shutterstock

Daniel Radcliffe

He eventually did, though: “I woke up one morning after a night going like, ‘This is probably not good,’” he told Off Camera during an interview. In 2010, he quit drinking. Except for experiencing one relapse in 2012, he has been sober.

Daniel Radcliffe arrives for film Kill Your Darlings at Venice Film FestivalMatteo Chinellato, Shutterstock

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Adele

Like Madonna and Prince, this star is so famous she needs only one name! Adele—born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins—came onto the music scene in 2008 with her first album, 19.

Portrait Photo of Adele performing on stageVytautas Kielaitis, Shutterstock

Adele

Adele’s dad left when she was only three years old, and she was tormented throughout her elementary and high school years for being overweight. What did she turn to after being cheated on by her first boyfriend?

Adele at the 59th GRAMMY Awards in Los AngelesTinseltown, Shutterstock

Adele

Substances became a solution to ease her pain. Like Demi Lovato and Kelly Osbourne, Adele’s fondness for drinking began at a young age. When she started dating Simon Konecki, whom she eventually married, her excessive drinking took a bit of a pause. But then…

Adele at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeless_bukley, Shutterstock

Adele

The couple broke up in 2019. She told Oprah that at first, after her divorce from Simon Konecki, “I was probably keeping the alcohol industry alive”.

Adele arriving at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awardscarrie-nelson, Shutterstock

Adele

Despite her semi-sarcastic comments to Oprah, Adele realized she had a problem. She claims she was “borderline” and explained in her 2021 Oprah interview, “Once I realized that I had a lot of work to do on myself, I stopped drinking”.

Adele at the 54th Annual Grammy AwardsJaguar PS, Shutterstock

Adele

Adele’s solution to drinking was “simple”: She quit cold turkey. But she hasn’t forgotten how much she enjoyed booze. “I miss it so much... So enjoy your whiskey sour. I’m very, very jealous.”

Adele performing on stage At Adelaide Oval, South AustraliaRobst56, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Liam Payne

The band One Direction was a boy band with a huge following from 2010–2016. By this time, they had raked in $110 million as a band and were considered teen idols. It’s no wonder that one of the band members, Liam Payne, had some major struggles.

Liam Payne performs during the TAB Everest Race Day in Sydney, AustraliaPic Media Aus, Shutterstock

Liam Payne

Payne affirmed that tours were fun but added that they “just got a little bit toxic”. Like Daniel Radcliffe, Payne hid his mental health issues and addictions. But it soon became too much for him. He hit rock bottom.

Liam Payne walks the red carpet of amfAR Gala NightAndrea Raffin, Shutterstock

Liam Payne

Payne understood that: "I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn't really recognize anymore”. In 2023, he checked himself into rehab.

Liam Payne attends WE Day 2019 in LondonTom Rose, Shutterstock

Liam Payne

What does he think about being sober? He informed iFL TV that, “I feel amazing…I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I'm super happy."

Liam Payne From Play the Apollo in London, 2012Mr Pics, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

We all remember the charming and cute little sister, Gretchen, in the movie ET. This wasn’t Barrymore’s first acting gig—although it may be her most famous. Her first role was in Ken Rusell’s movie Altered States, when she was only five years old.

Drew Barrymore attends Natural Resources Defense Council's Oceans InitiativeDFree, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

Barrymore’s father had a long and complicated relationship with spirits. He was also known to be aggressive when drinking. Would she follow in his footsteps?

Drew Barrymore at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciencess_bukley, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore was really young when she started drinking—she was only nine years old! She claims she was smoking marijuana and using substances by age 12. Barrymore’s parents dumped her into rehab when she was only 13 years old.

Actress Drew Barrymore at Premiere Magazine's Women in Hollywood luncheonFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

Despite her issues with substances, Barrymore tried to convince herself she was in control. She repeatedly told herself, "I’ll master this. I’ll figure it out". Like Adele, however, Barrymore hit the bottle hard after her divorce from actor Will Kopelman in 2016.

Drew Barrymore at the Los Angeles Premiere of 'Grey Gardens's_bukley, Shutterstock

Drew Barrymore

After realizing she needed to abstain, Barrymore gave up drinking in 2019. She claims it’s been "one of the most liberating things in my journey of life".

Drew Barrymore arrives at the 2nd Annual Baby2Baby GalaGa Fullner, Shutterstock

On The Wagon And Staying There

Like us everyday Joe Schmoes, some famous people also have problems with booze. Some stars drink themselves to oblivion. Some don’t. And some have given up their wild days of intoxication.

Kelly Osbourne, Tom Holland, Demi Lovato, Adele, Daniel Radcliffe, Liam Payne, and Drew Barrymore have had a turbulent relationship with drinking. But, like many other famous people, they’ve managed to get on the wagon—and stay there.

Adele, Live 2016, Glasgow SSE Hydromarcen27, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons


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