Actresses We Lost to Addiction

Losing a beloved performer is always hard, and it’s even harder when the cause is tied to substance use. This list looks back at actresses whose lives and careers left a mark, while their deaths underscore the real risks of addiction and drug- and alcohol-related disease.

You’ll find brief snapshots of their work, along with clear, sourced details about what happened. The aim is simple: remember the talent, be honest about the circumstances, and keep the focus on facts.

Judy Garland

Judy Garland rose from vaudeville to global fame with films like ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’, and ‘A Star Is Born’, and later hosted ‘The Judy Garland Show’. Studio-era demands and a grueling schedule were widely documented, as was her long-term use of barbiturates and sleep medications that began early in her career.

On June 22, 1969, a London coroner ruled her death an accidental “incautious self-overdosage” of barbiturates; evidence showed no single massive dose but rather barbiturate poisoning over time. Reports from the inquest and later retrospectives consistently classify the manner as accidental.

Marilyn Monroe

One of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars, Marilyn Monroe anchored classics including ‘Some Like It Hot’, ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’, and ‘The Seven Year Itch’. Her career blended comedic timing and dramatic roles, while her public life drew intense press attention.

Monroe died in Los Angeles on August 4–5, 1962. The coroner’s verdict cited acute barbiturate poisoning, with findings recorded as a probable suicide after an inquest; subsequent official reviews found no evidence of homicide.

Dana Plato

Dana Plato became a household name as Kimberly Drummond on the TV sitcom ‘Diff’rent Strokes’. After leaving the series, she worked in independent films and interactive media, while publicly acknowledging struggles with substance use and legal troubles that followed.

Plato died in Moore, Oklahoma, in May 1999 from an overdose of prescription medications hydrocodone/acetaminophen and carisoprodol; the Oklahoma medical examiner later ruled the death a suicide based on toxicology and history.

Lisa Robin Kelly

Lisa Robin Kelly was best known as Laurie Forman on ‘That ’70s Show’. She also appeared in guest roles on television and in small film parts, with intermittent pauses in her career.

In August 2013, days after entering a treatment facility in Los Angeles County, she died in her sleep. The coroner concluded the cause was accidental “multiple drug intoxication,” and the death was ruled an accident.

Skye McCole Bartusiak

Skye McCole Bartusiak worked steadily as a child and teen actor in projects like ‘The Patriot’, ‘Don’t Say a Word’, and the series ’24’, as well as early credits in ‘The Cider House Rules’ and ‘Storm of the Century’. She also acted in independent films into her twenties.

She died at home in Texas in July 2014. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences later determined the cause to be the combined toxic effects of hydrocodone, difluoroethane, and carisoprodol, and classified the manner of death as an accident.

Anissa Jones

Anissa Jones became famous as Buffy Davis on ‘Family Affair’. After the show ended, she stepped away from acting and lived out of the spotlight during her later teen years.

Jones died in Oceanside, California, in 1976. The San Diego County coroner reported a drug overdose later ruled accidental, with multiple substances noted in contemporaneous reports and later summaries.

Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith appeared in films such as ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’ and ‘Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult’ and became a pop-culture fixture through modeling and reality television. She made additional acting appearances while navigating intense media attention.

She died in Florida on February 8, 2007. Following a multi-week investigation, the medical examiner ruled her death an accidental overdose caused primarily by chloral hydrate in combination with other prescribed medications; no illegal drugs were found.

Veronica Lake

Veronica Lake became an icon of 1940s cinema with ‘This Gun for Hire’, ‘Sullivan’s Travels’, and ‘I Married a Witch’, and was known for her “peekaboo” hairstyle. Her later years included stage work and a memoir, with well-documented struggles that affected her career.

Lake died in Burlington, Vermont, in July 1973. Hospital officials and contemporaneous reports listed acute hepatitis as the cause; accounts of her medical history and obituary coverage also reference alcohol-related illness and acute kidney injury around the time of her death.

Barbara Payton

Barbara Payton starred in films including ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye’, ‘Bride of the Gorilla’, and ‘Dallas’, and later published the memoir ‘I Am Not Ashamed’. Her life story has been chronicled in biographies that detail years of substance use and associated legal and financial troubles.

She died at her parents’ home in San Diego on May 8, 1967. Contemporary and retrospective sources report heart and liver failure, with extensive coverage linking her declining health to long-term alcohol and drug use.

Share your thoughts on these actresses and the legacy they left behind in the comments.