Which celebrities are sober? 10 famous people who have quit alcohol

A disruptor of our routines and habits, Dry July challenges those undertaking the alcohol-free month in more ways than one. But, like any major challenge worth completing, persevering through four weeks of no drinking (at the height of the mid-year slump) doesn’t come easily for everyone.

Whether you’re giving up the grog for a mid-year health reset, to raise awareness and funds for those impacted by cancer, or in solidarity with a loved one struggling with their own substance abuse issue or sobriety journey, finding support through the month-long challenge is essential.

Luckily, a surprising number of celebrities have walked (and are still walking) the path to sobriety, openly sharing how and why they chose to give up alcohol in hopes of inspiring others. Here are ten celebs who are sober.

#1. Anne Hathaway

Yes, the Queen of Genovia herself lives a life sans alcohol, as she reveals on the Lorraine show. While acknowledging her consumption of alcohol wasn’t entirely out of control prior to going sober, Hathaway shares her decision was inspired by motherhood.

“I quit drinking back in October, for 18 years,” she shares. “I’m going to stop drinking while my son is in my house just because I don’t totally love the way I do it and he’s getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the mornings.”

In a candid interview with Vanity Fair, the actress shares that her reaction to alcohol was primarily negative, prompting her to reevaluate its role in her life, “My personal experience with it is that everything is better. For me, it was wallowing fuel. And I don’t like to wallow,” she says. “The thing that I have faith in is that everybody else is going to have one or two drinks, and by the time everybody gets to two drinks, you’ll feel like you’ve had two drinks – but without the hangover,” she adds.

#2. Joe Manganiello

In a 2019 interview with Men’s Health, Magic Mike actor Joe Manganiello details the moment he acknowledged he had an issue with alcohol abuse, at the young age of 25. “Drinking was a way for me not to have to deal with me,” he says. “And I think that acting was a way for me to not have to be me either. So I could go onstage and not be me, come offstage and go to the bar and not be me. Rinse and repeat.”

Having been sober for over 18 years now, Manganiello also supplements his wellness by practising transcendental meditation and prioritising his fitness.

#3. Cara Delevingne

When those troubling paparazzi images of the model and socialite went viral in 2022, concern was raised over Delevingne’s health and substance abuse issues. A wake-up call for the English model, Delevingne spend the next year addressing her alcoholism and drug use, opening up about her sobriety journey in a 2023 interview with Vogue.

“I hadn’t slept. I was not okay,” she shares. “It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, ‘Okay, I don’t look well’. Sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way those pictures were something to be grateful for.”

“I always thought that the work needs to be done when the times are bad, but actually the work needs to be done when they’re good,” adds the model, opening up about her recovery. “The work needs to be done consistently. It’s never going to be fixed or fully healed but I’m okay with that, and that’s the difference.”

#4. Zac Efron

Thrust into the spotlight at a young age thanks to his career-defining role in High School Musical, actor Zac Efron made the switch to sobriety in 2016 for the sake of his mental health.

“What I found is structure. That led me to a balance of opposites: You get out of life what you put in. There was a moment when my morning routine was, like, Get up and Google yourself. But that stopped, dramatically and instantly, probably three years ago,” he tells ELLE US. “I realised that viewing yourself through other people’s pictures is not living your own life. I wasn’t really being myself. A lot of my hobbies had gone out the window. I couldn’t skateboard or surf for fear of being followed. Crossing the line of fear is what leads to greatness.”

#5. Bella Hadid

One of the world’s most sought-after models, Hadid has spent her fair share of time partying with the rich and famous – a fact she says caused her to develop unhealthy habits at a young age, “I have done my fair share of drinking,” she shares in an interview with InStyle. “I loved alcohol and it got to the point where even I started to, you know, cancel nights out that I felt like I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”

But a fellow Dry July participant herself, Hadid has spent the last two years sober, attributing the inspiration for her lifestyle switch-up to prioritising her mental health.

“I don’t feel the need [to drink] because I know how it will affect me at 3 in the morning when I wake up with horrible anxiety thinking about that one thing I said five years ago when I graduated high school,” Hadid said. “There’s just this never-ending effect of, essentially, you know, pain and stress over those few drinks that didn’t really do much, you know?”

#6. Tom Holland

Like many people, Holland’s alcohol dependency wasn’t made apparent to him until he tried to abstain from drinking for a month. “I didn’t one day wake up and say, ‘I’m giving up drinking’. I just – like many Brits – had had a very, very boozy December. Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot,” Tom explains to Entertainment Weekly. “I decided to just give up for January… and all I could think about was having a drink. It was all I could think about. I was waking up thinking about it, I was checking the clock… and it just really scared me.”

Extending his sobriety challenge to two months, Holland found he was still struggling at the end of the period, prompting him to stay on the path of sobriety until June of that year. Reaching the date and not feeling an urge to drink, Holland decided to stay sober indefinitely.

#7. Elle MacPherson

Wellness guru and supermodel Elle MacPherson is another big name in sobriety, a journey she explains began when she turned 40. “I stopped drinking in 2003 because I felt I couldn’t be fully present in my life and it was a wonderful springboard of getting to know myself on a deeper level,” she tells Body+Soul, adding that once she stopped, she never started again.

Recently celebrating her 20th year without alcohol, MacPherson took to Instagram to share a snap of her blue and gold Alcoholics Anonymous tri-plate token, engraved with ‘XX’ in the middle, the Roman numerals symbol for 20.

“Although it required discipline and persistence the bottom line is you can’t be well and present in your life if you’re not present and well, and alcohol doesn’t really support that. It’s very difficult to get to know yourself if you’re numbing yourself,” she adds.

#7. Bradley Cooper

Actor Bradley Cooper has spoken a number of times about his previous battles with alcohol and painkiller addiction, and his decision to become sober at a fairly young age, “But I was lucky, you know? I got sober at 29 years old. And I’ve been sober for 19 years,” he says.

Helping out a fellow Brad on his sobriety journey, Cooper has been publicly credited with Brad Pitt’s decision to cut out booze, following his public divorce and family breakdown in 2016. “I got sober because of this guy, and every day has been happier ever since,” Pitt said during his  National Board of Review Awards acceptance speech. “I love you and I thank you.”

#9. Chrissy Teigen

Model and cookbook connoisseur Chrissy Teigen revealed on Instagram in July 2022 that she had been sober for an entire year, “Not a drop of alcohol in 365 days! I miss feeling loopy and carefree sometimes, but to be honest toward the end, it didn’t give that fun feeling anymore anyhow,” she writes. “I drank to end crazy anxiety that later mostly went away when I – get this – quit drinking! Sigh.”

“Anyhow I feel really good. Sometimes I get really frustrated looking back on days I should remember way better than I do because of alcohol,” she continues.

#10. Drew Barrymore

Show business veteran Drew Barrymore has spent the majority of her life in the public eye, publicly battling substance abuse issues since she was a teenager. Speaking to TV host Gayle King in an interview, Barrymore revealed she has been sober for over two years, initially keeping her sobriety journey a secret from the public in order to protect her well-being.

“I just want to figure this out and go about this with no profession, no public anything, and now it’s been long enough where I’m in a lifestyle that I know is really working on a high road for my little journey, and there’s so much peace finally being had where there were demons,” she says.

“When you are stuck in a pattern, or if you are going through things and you not only admit them out loud, but you force yourself to say, ‘I’m willing to make big changes’… I think we all think we’re very weak when we don’t make those changes [but when we do, that’s where the empowerment comes in],” adds the actress.

This article first appeared in bodyandsoul.com.au as Which celebrities are sober? 10 Famous people who have quit alcohol