Actresses Who Were Alcohol Addicts

Alcohol use disorder has affected people in every walk of life, including some of the most successful actresses in film and television, many of whom have later chosen to speak openly about what they went through and how they got help. Their stories often include early exposure to fame, family history of addiction, or intense work pressures, along with rehab stays, relapses, and long-term recovery efforts. By talking publicly about treatment, therapy, and support groups, they help reduce stigma and show that addiction is a health condition rather than a moral failing. Below are several actresses who have shared their own histories with alcohol and, in many cases, their ongoing commitment to sobriety.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore became famous as a child in films like ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ and has said her early entry into Hollywood played a role in her starting to drink and use other substances very young. She has described being placed in an institution in her early teens after serious struggles with alcohol and drugs, and later entering rehab again as she tried to rebuild her life and career. In recent years, Barrymore has talked on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ about being a “high-functioning” drinker for a long time before finally deciding to stop drinking alcohol completely. She has publicly marked multiple years of sobriety, explaining that she now connects many of her past difficulties to alcohol and is focused on maintaining a different lifestyle.

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith, known for films such as ‘Working Girl’, has spoken about beginning to drink wine as a child and later developing problems with both alcohol and drugs. She has entered rehab multiple times, including treatment in the late 1980s specifically for alcoholism and later stays related to dependence on prescription painkillers. Interviewers and biographers note that Griffith’s struggles with substances have stretched over decades, overlapping with major milestones in her acting career and personal life. In recent years, she has said that returning to treatment was part of reinforcing her commitment to stay healthy and continue living in recovery.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis, who rose to prominence with horror films like ‘Halloween’ and later projects such as ‘True Lies’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, has disclosed a long-hidden addiction involving both alcohol and the painkiller Vicodin. She has said her dependence began after minor cosmetic surgery, leading to a decade in which she secretly misused opioids and drank while maintaining her acting career and family life. Curtis has described reading an article about painkiller addiction as the turning point that pushed her to seek help and start attending recovery meetings in the late 1990s. Today she speaks frequently about being in long-term sobriety and uses interviews, speeches, and essays to advocate for honest conversations about addiction and the pressures that can fuel it.

Kristin Davis

Kristin Davis, widely recognized for playing Charlotte York on ‘Sex and the City’, has repeatedly described herself as a “recovering alcoholic.” She has said that she began drinking heavily as a teenager and that alcohol once made her fear she would not live past 30. Davis has explained in interviews that acting and drama school gave her a reason to seek sobriety, and she has remained alcohol-free since her early twenties. She has also noted that her character’s on-screen love of cocktails contrasts sharply with her own life, where she avoids alcohol entirely and occasionally talks about her recovery in order to help others feel less alone.

Lucy Hale

Lucy Hale, known for roles in ‘Pretty Little Liars’, ‘Life Sentence’, and various films, has spoken in detail about her history of alcohol misuse and her decision to get sober. She has described years of secretive, escalating drinking that eventually led to a “rock bottom” moment in her early thirties. Hale has said she stopped drinking on January 2, 2022, and has since celebrated multiple anniversaries of sobriety publicly, often sharing messages of encouragement on social media and in interviews. She has also linked her recovery to broader work on mental health, explaining that therapy, support networks, and daily commitment are central to how she maintains a life without alcohol today.

Taryn Manning

Taryn Manning, who played Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett in ‘Orange Is the New Black’, has acknowledged a history of alcoholism that at times affected her work. She has stated that producers on the series urged her to enter treatment when her alcohol use began interfering with production. Reports from that period describe her briefly entering rehab and working with a sober companion and therapists while continuing to meet her professional commitments. In later interviews and social media posts, Manning has discussed ongoing struggles with sobriety and the efforts she makes to stabilize her life while remaining active in acting and music.

Jodie Sweetin

Jodie Sweetin, best known as Stephanie Tanner from ‘Full House’ and ‘Fuller House’, has written and spoken extensively about her addiction, which included alcohol as well as several drugs. She has said she began drinking at 14, shortly after the original series ended, and that her substance use escalated over the next decade. Sweetin’s memoir ‘unSweetined’ and numerous talks describe multiple attempts at sobriety, relapses, and eventual long-term recovery starting in the late 2000s. She now frequently appears at recovery events and on podcasts, describing many years without alcohol and emphasizing that acting remained an important part of her life even while she was working through treatment and rebuilding her career.

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith, whose work includes films like ‘Set It Off’, ‘Girls Trip’, and ‘Magic Mike XXL’, has used her talk show ‘Red Table Talk’ and other platforms to discuss her past alcoholism and drug use. She has described starting to drink heavily in high school and later combining alcohol with marijuana and ecstasy to achieve the effect she wanted. Pinkett Smith has said she eventually realized she had crossed into addiction and decided to quit “cold turkey,” later maintaining more than two decades of sobriety. She often connects her story to wider discussions about depression, coping mechanisms, and the cultural normalization of “wine culture,” especially for women and mothers.

Mackenzie Phillips

Mackenzie Phillips, who starred in the sitcom ‘One Day at a Time’, has detailed a long history of addiction involving both drugs and alcohol. She has spoken about multiple relapses and treatment stays over several decades, including the period covered in her memoir ‘High on Arrival’. In more recent years, Phillips has focused on recovery work, becoming a certified drug and alcohol counselor and working at treatment centers. She travels frequently to speak about addiction, emphasizing education, destigmatization, and the idea that long-term sobriety is possible even after many setbacks.

If you’ve learned something from these stories or know of other actresses whose openness about alcohol and recovery has made a difference for you, share your thoughts in the comments.