10 Celebrities Who Quit Alcohol and Found Unexpected Benefits in Sobriety

Alcohol has long been part of Hollywood culture—from champagne at premieres to cocktails at late-night industry parties. But a growing number of celebrities have stepped away from alcohol and embraced sobriety instead. Some made the decision after struggling with addiction, while others simply realized alcohol no longer fit into the life they wanted to live.

For some A-listers, giving up alcohol brought unexpected benefits—better sleep, more focus, and a clearer sense of balance. Others say sobriety helped them move past difficult chapters and rebuild their lives. Their paths look different, but they all share one thing in common: once they stepped away from alcohol, many realized they didn’t miss it at all.

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10 Celebrities Who Quit Drinking—and Say Life Is Better Without Alcohol

1. Tom Holland

Tom Holland‘s sober journey started with a casual Dry January challenge in 2023. After he realized it was harder than he thought to give it up for just a month, he reevaluated his relationship with alcohol.

He decided to challenge himself and extend the challenge to six months without alcohol. He noticed a range of everyday improvements and has said on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast that it’s “the best thing I’ve ever done.”

In 2024, the actor launched Bero, a nonalcoholic beer brand, designed to give people the social ritual of drinking without the alcohol. Fortunately, it didn’t take rock bottom for him to reassess his drinking habits, showing that even short breaks from alcohol can do wonders.

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2. Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway‘s decision to give up alcohol began after she noticed how it was affecting her parenting. In 2018, she started rethinking her drinking after dropping off her toddler at school while hungover. The experience alone was enough to make her reconsider her relationship with alcohol.

She also realized her hangovers were lasting longer, making it harder to keep up with daily responsibilities. In 2019, she announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she planned to stop drinking at least until her son turned 18 and moved out so she could be fully present as a parent.

After a few years of sobriety, she had enough distance to see alcohol differently. By 2024, after more than five years of being sober, she could definitively say that alcohol just wasn’t for her.

3. Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper has had a long and complicated relationship with alcohol and drugs. Early in his career, he felt that substance use had affected his professional life. He even remembers moments where he’d be hungover on the set of the TV series Alias.

In 2004, at the age of 29, Cooper had had it. He decided to stop drinking and using substances entirely. In an interview with GQ, he later admitted, “I was really going to sabotage my whole life.”

Shortly after getting sober, he felt more in tune with his acting and professional growth. A few years later, he would land major roles that propelled him into stardom, including 2009’s The Hangover. By the early 2020s, Cooper had been sober for nearly 20 years.

4. Brad Pitt

For years, Brad Pitt had been open about drinking heavily. But 2016 marked a major turning point. After a highly publicized private plane incident in 2016 and the breakdown of his marriage to Angelina Jolie, Pitt began reassessing his relationship with alcohol. Shortly after the split, Pitt decided to quit drinking and seek help.

After the separation, Pitt joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and attended meetings regularly for about a year and a half. He credited the meetings with helping him understand his patterns and begin rebuilding his life.

Pitt first spoke openly about quitting alcohol in a 2017 interview with GQ, admitting that his drinking had gotten out of control and said he had “quit everything but booze” earlier in life before eventually deciding alcohol had to go, too.

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5. Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus first publicly embraced sobriety in 2017 while working on her album Younger Now. At the time, Cyrus said she had stopped drinking and smoking marijuana so she could focus on her music and mental health.

In 2019, Cyrus went through a turbulent year that included the end of her marriage to Liam Hemsworth, vocal cord surgery and major personal changes. During this time, she later admitted she had started drinking again. Cyrus has been candid that sobriety is a journey and that setbacks can happen, especially during stressful periods.

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Cyrus said she briefly began drinking again while in quarantine. However, she stopped quickly after realizing she didn’t like the direction it was taking.

6. Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore has one of the most widely known early addiction stories in Hollywood. Barrymore began drinking at age 9, started smoking marijuana at 10 and using cocaine by 12. By 13, she entered rehab for the first time after her substance use spiraled out of control during her early fame following E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She later spent time in psychiatric care and eventually moved toward recovery in her mid-teens.

As Barrymore transitioned into adulthood, she rebuilt her life and career, becoming a successful actor and producer. While she maintained a more balanced lifestyle during this period, Barrymore has said alcohol continued to appear in her life socially over the years.

Barrymore experienced another turning point in 2016 following her divorce from art consultant Will Kopelman. She later revealed that the separation led to a difficult emotional period where drinking became a coping mechanism.

By 2019, Barrymore had made the decision to stop drinking again. Unlike her earlier struggles, this time the change happened more privately. She later explained that alcohol was keeping her stuck emotionally and preventing her from moving forward in a healthier way.

7. Zac Efron

After rising to global fame through Disney’s High School Musical films, Zac Efron experienced intense pressure in the early 2010s as he transitioned from teen star to adult roles. During this period, Efron later admitted that drinking and drug use became a serious problem. By 2013, the situation had escalated enough that Efron quietly entered rehab for substance abuse.

Efron sought treatment in 2013, focusing on recovery from alcohol and cocaine use. After completing treatment, he began working with recovery programs and attending support groups to maintain sobriety. In 2014, Efron opened up about his sobriety during interviews promoting the film Neighbors. He revealed he had joined Alcoholics Anonymous and was attending meetings regularly to maintain accountability.

Following rehab, Efron focused on rebuilding a healthier lifestyle that included fitness, outdoor activities, and structured routines. He has credited exercise and physical training as tools that helped replace old habits. During this period, he also shifted his career toward more mature roles in films like Neighbors, The Greatest Showman and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

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8. Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe has spoken candidly about developing an unhealthy relationship with alcohol while filming the later entries in the Harry Potter film series, going as far as showing up hungover on set. As fame intensified, Radcliffe said alcohol became a way to cope with anxiety and the pressure of growing up in the spotlight.

Radcliffe decided to stop drinking in 2010, when he was about 21 years old. The decision came shortly before the final Harry Potter film was released, and as he began transitioning into stage and independent film roles.

Since quitting alcohol, Radcliffe has said life feels calmer and more balanced. He credits sobriety with helping him navigate adulthood outside the shadow of the Harry Potter franchise and pursue more diverse acting roles.

9. Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson has been candid about battling addiction long before he became a Hollywood star. During the 1970s and ’80s, Jackson struggled with alcohol and drug use, including heroin and cocaine, while trying to build a career in theater and film. At the time, he was working in New York theater and small film roles, and later said substance abuse frequently interfered with his work and personal life.

Jackson reached a breaking point in 1991 when his wife and daughter discovered him unconscious on the kitchen floor after using drugs. The incident led to a family intervention, and Jackson entered rehab shortly afterward. After completing treatment, Jackson began recovery and stopped using drugs and alcohol.

His first major role after rehab was in Jungle Fever, where he played a character battling crack addiction. The performance earned him critical acclaim and the Best Supporting Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Jackson has often explained that addiction nearly destroyed both his family and his career before he found recovery. Sobriety, he says, allowed him to rebuild his life from the ground up.

10. Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato began speaking publicly about struggles with addiction, eating disorders and mental health in the late 2000s. In 2010, Lovato entered treatment after stepping away from a tour, later revealing that substance use, including alcohol and drugs, had become intertwined with those challenges.

In July 2018, Lovato experienced a widely reported relapse and suffered a near-fatal drug overdose. The incident led to hospitalization and a long recovery process. Lovato later described the experience as a wake-up call that forced a deeper confrontation with addiction.

Lovato explored the relapse and recovery process in the 2021 documentary series Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil. In the series, Lovato explained that recovery had been complex and included experimenting with a “California sober” approach—limiting certain substances while avoiding others. Lovato later moved away from that approach and recommitted to full sobriety.

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This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.