The lives of celebrities monopolize the media spotlight, generating news every minute that would cause envy in anyone who cannot reach that level. However, although they try to show perfection and luxury, whether through social networks, magazine covers or interviews, there is a parallel reality that affects a large number of celebrities around the world: excesses.
Fame and money can completely transform the lives of artists, musicians, actors, socialites and a long list of celebrities. Although for many years attempts have been made to hide these types of problems to maintain this pristine image, more and more are daring to tell about their health problems related to addictions, either because they have overcome it, or because they want to be honest with their public.
It is not the first time that Drew Barrymore has spoken openly about his problem with drugs and alcohol that has dragged on since he was 11 years old. And it is that starring in one of the most famous films in history, such as E.T., the alien, at only 7 years old, changed his life completely. Barrymore is a clear example that abrupt and early fame can be dangerous. All this, together with the family instability that he went through during his childhood, led to his being admitted to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 13. “I would go to nightclubs, I would skip school and sometimes I would steal my mother’s car…it was out of control,” the actress said on The Howard Stern Show.
In his latest interview for the Los Angeles Times, he wanted to be honest more than ever, explaining how he decided to take a new direction in his life. After her overcomings and relapses, the Charlie’s Angels actress suffered a severe blow in 2016, with the separation of her husband and father of her two children, Will Kopelman, who decided to deal with the drink . The recording of her television program The Drew Barrymore Show and the unconditional support of her great friend Cameron Diaz, made her come out of that dark hole in which she found herself. “I knew that if we all stayed with her and gave her the support she needed from her, she would find her way,” Diaz says.
Another important aspect that made Drew Barrymore rethink his life was the abandonment he suffered from his therapist, Barry Michels. “It was because of my way of drinking. I told him: ‘I understand. I have never respected you more. You see that I am not improving and I hope, one day, I can regain your confidence,’ “explains the actress. After her friends threatened to do the same, Barrymore decided to resume her visits with Michels determined to overcome her alcohol problem.
The model Cara Delevingne has decided to show the world the dark period that she has been going through all her life and that could bring consequences if she does not remedy it: uncontrollable drug abuse. The actress, only 30 years old, has confessed to Vogue magazine that the last Burning Man festival in Nevada (United States) was spent doing crazy things, without washing and practically without eating. “I put myself in danger in those moments because I don’t care about my life,” says Delevingne willing to change for her and her loved ones.
However, one of the hardest confessions of the British model is that she got drunk for the first time at the age of 7 during a family wedding. “I woke up at my grandmother’s house, in my room and hungover, in a bridesmaid dress. I had been around finishing glasses of champagne,” Delevingne declares. After being prescribed sleeping pills at the age of 10 and antidepressants at the age of 15, mental health problems began for the Paper Towns actress, which have led to a life full of excesses.
With the publication of Spare: In the shade, the memories of Prince Henry, it was already possible to glimpse the uncontrolled life that the Duke of Sussex has led for much of his life. Between the pages of his book, you can read how he used cocaine in his teens, smoked weed, and even got high on hallucinogenic mushrooms at the house of actress Courtney Cox. Another shocking fact that Enrique tells is that he admits to having inhaled laughing gas during the delivery of his wife, Meghan Markle.
Now, the controversial prince has had a live chat with Dr. Gabor Maté, an expert in trauma, where he has starred in several headlines about his addictions. Enrique confesses that marijuana “helped him a lot” during the toughest episodes of his youth, unlike cocaine, which did not help him and was “more of a social thing.” But, it is not the only drug that the British has tried throughout his life, ayahuasca, a psychotropic from the Amazon jungle, is also part of his extensive history of excesses.
Hollywood has become a machine to create addicts over the years. Among them is Colin Farrell. The 2023 Oscar nominee for best actor, he had the fame of being the “bad boy” of the industry for a long time, among other things, due to the uncontrolled consumption of alcohol and drugs that he led. “Twenty ecstasy pills, four grams of cocaine, three bottles of whiskey, twelve of wine and 30 liters of beer and 280 cigarettes,” Farrell took in two weeks, according to People magazine.
The moment her eldest son was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder, she decided to take charge of her life and enter a detoxification clinic, for her own sake and that of her loved ones. However, the actor was about to end his life after deciding between injecting himself with heroin until he died or changing. “I chose the right one,” Colin Farrell said in 2013, according to the Irish Mirror.
There are many celebrities who have confessed to having gone through a hard stage with drugs or alcohol. Lindsay Lohan is one of the actresses who has managed to rehabilitate herself after seeing her career ruined by drug problems. This list is joined by Courtney Love, Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston, Robert Downey Jr., the singer Eminem, Ben Affleck or Britney Spears.
However, there are many celebrities who could not overcome their addictions and have not been able to live to tell about it. Amy Winhouse was one of the cases that most impacted society. At the age of 27, she was found in her home with an alcohol overdose. Whitney Houston, Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe, Janis Joplin or Elvis Presley, are other celebrities who were overwhelmed by her excesses.
