Disclaimer: The claims in this article are based on public information from news media sources. We don’t know, nor do we proclaim to know, if the actors presented in this list are still addicted to substances.

This information is presented to the best of our knowledge. If you or anyone you know suffer from drug addiction, please call the addiction hot line number to find the right facility for you.

Actors and Actresses Who Were Addicted to Drugs

Charlie Sheen

• Years on drugs: 1990-2005 , 2016-2017
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol, cocaine 
• Treatment: Alcoholics Anonymous, Promises Malibu & Santa Monica

Mega-movie mogul Charlie Sheen and drugs have almost become synonymous with one another. He had a long history with drugs, starting with an arrest for cocaine use in 1995.

Throughout the years, he would have drug-induced parties. His drug abuse got so bad that in 2011 Two and a Half Men terminated production due to his problem. In 1998, he attended one of the best drug rehab centers because he almost overdosed on drugs.

In 2016, he opened up to Dr Oz about getting clean for 11 years, until learning about his HIV diagnoses brought him back to addiction. However, once he stopped paying extortionists and started being real about his addiction, he stayed clean. He even took a drug test live on Good Morning America, where he jokingly told Dylan Howard that the stipulations for him passing the drug test is for Dylan to drink his urine

Lindsay Lohan

• Years on drugs: 2006-2013
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine, alcohol, cannabis
• Treatment: Betty Ford Clinic, Wonderland Center in Los Angeles, Promises Treatment Centers, Cliffside Malibu, Utah’s Cirque Lodge Treatment Center, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Lindsay Lohan’s mugshot was plastered on the the nightly news in the mid 2000s. Around age 21, she attended Alcoholics Anonymous in Los Angeles due to having multiple run-ins with the law. In 2014, she admitted on Oprah to being an addict.

She is not a stranger to rehab clinics either. One time she checked herself into Promises in January 2007 for 45 days. In 2010, she made her way to Betty Ford Treatment Centers twice in 2011. Feeling a possible relapse, she checked into Cliffside Malibu for 90 days.

She admitted that her run-ins with the law and how the press covered those stories contributed to her taking drugs.

Originally, she got hooked on cocaine while at a club. She admitted that she never liked the way cocaine made her feel, “I never felt good the next day.”

Robert Downey Jr

• Years on drugs: 1987 – 2003
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin
• Treatment: USC Medical Center, Exodus Recovery Center, Promises Malibu

Robert Downey Jr was a regular at many crackhouses around Los Angeles county. He would get arrested for drug possession many of times. His father, Robert Downey Sr, had substance abuse problems too. In a 1996 People interview, Robert Downey Jr admitted that using drugs with his father allowed them to bond.

“There was always a lot of pot and coke around,”  Robert Downey Jr referenced the relationship between he and his father in the 60s and 70s. He continued, “When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how.”

Now the actor has renewed himself and made a 180-degree turn gracing screens across the world as an A-list actor.

Heath Ledger

• Years on drugs: – 2008
• Drugs addicted to: heroin, cocaine, 
• Cause of death: intoxication by combining Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Diazepam, Temazepam, Alprazolam
• Treatment: 2006 – Promises Treatment Center in Malibu, Calif. (Refused to check-in)

An actor who deservingly received an Oscar for his 2009 role as Joker in The Dark Knight, some of his last conversations were with family about the danger of prescription drugs. He was repeatedly warned about mixing drugs, but in his mind, he was going to be fine.

Allegedly, he used these drugs to keep him going for work, since some cinema work schedules are so demanding. Moreover, the drugs were used to hide his pain.

He died suddenly in January 2008 at 28 years old of an accidental prescription drug overdose, leaving behind a 2-year-old daughter. His toxicology report stated that his death was a result of acute detoxification from mixing the following drugs:

• Oxycodone
• Hydrocodone
• Diazepam
• Temazepam
• Alprazolam
• Doxylamine

His story should be a lesson in mixing prescription drug abuse. Prescription meds are stronger than you think, even if you have developed a tolerance for them!

Michael J Fox

• Years on drugs: 1991 – 1992
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol

The “Back to the Future” star did not particularly get into drugs, but more so alcohol addiction due to learning about his Parkinson’s diagnosis at age 29.

He was young and had to deal with this disease. He’s quoted in a Good Morning America interview, “The tools that worked for quitting drinking work even better for [Parkinson’s], which are: acceptance and surrender.”

According to him, his wife Tracy Pollan was instrumental in his recovery. When she found him passed out on the couch, an interaction occurred that made him want to change and quit cold turkey.

Samuel L Jackson

• Years on drugs: 1980 – 1991
• Drugs addicted to: crack cocaine, marijuana and LSD
• Treatment: unknown drug rehab center in New York

Samuel L Jackson had his fair share of drug addiction before his career took off.

He landed the role in Jungle Fever a couple of weeks after leaving rehab treatment. He ended up passed out drunk after cooking up cocaine in front of his 8-year-old daughter and wife during filming.

He dibbled and dabbled in marijuana and LSD, but drinking was his thing.

When movie roles didn’t come his way like he wanted, he would binge and do acid.

Despite all his issues, he would miraculously still show up on time to movie sets and able to perform his acting duties satisfactorily.

Many would call him a “functional” drug addict.

After getting high since age of 15, he got tired of it and quit on his own.

Angelina Jolie

• Years on drugs: 1993 – 1999
• Drugs addicted to: cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, LSD 
• Treatment: After researching, Angelina Jolie has never publicly admitted to entering rehab or therapy

Superstar Angelina Jolie was subjected to drug tests while filming Tomb Raider. She admitted to doing the following drugs, “I’ve done coke, heroin, ecstasy, LSD, everything.” Even her alleged drug dealer admitted in an interview to selling her “coke and dope” in the late 1990s. Allegedly, there’s a now deleted video of her pacing around her apartment agitated waiting for him to serve her.

Drew Berrymore

• Years on drugs: 1984  – 2019
• Drugs addicted to: cocaine, marijuana, alcohol
• Treatment: ASAP Family Treatment Center, Van Nuys Psychiatric, Luxury Malibu Center California

Drew Berrymore allegedly got turned onto drugs at a young age while partying at Studio 54 Club.

By age 12, she was in rehab after a wrist-cutting suicide attempt.

She would go out drinking five times a week, but cocaine and marijuana were her drugs of choice.

Because of her cocaine habit, she got blacklisted from Hollywood at age 14.

Jada Pinkett Smith

• Years on drugs: 1990 -2000
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol, weed, ecstasy

In 2021, Jada Pinkett Smith opened up about her battles with drug abuse on her Red Table Talk show where she described mixing alcohol, ecstasy, and weed as a cocktail. Wine also reared its ugly head during her abuse stage, “Wine for me was like Kool-Aid.”

She mostly did these things in high school and admitted to “passing out” on the set of Nutty Professor. In her mind, “I wasn’t doing things that I thought was addictive.”

But she switched and quit cold turkeys after hitting her rock bottom. She realized how addiction was affecting her and her family and decided she would no longer do it anymore.

Macaulay Culkin

• Years on drugs: 2004
• Drugs addicted to: marijuana  
• Treatment: ‘’I’ve never been to rehab or anything like that,’’ Macaulay Culkin told Esquire

Child star Macaulay Culkin started traveling down a rough road as he got older. He started having legal issues and even turned to drug abuse. His first arrest was in 2004 in Oklahoma for marijuana possession. In a 2016 Guardian interview, he rejected rumors of drug abuse. However, in 2021, Esquire featured a story where he made a comment about drugs, “I do love them. They’re like old friends. But sometimes you outgrow your friends.”

Russell Brand

• Years on drugs: 1999 – 2003
• Drugs addicted to: Heroin, Alcohol
• Treatment: Alcoholics Anonymous, Focus12

Comedian Russell Brand, the Renaissance Man from Essex, England is no stranger to addiction. Sex addiction and drug addiction spearheaded his life at one point. He did crack, heroin, LDS, ecstasy, amphetamines and everything else you can think of. He also suffered eating disorders, ADHD and bipolar disorders.

He plight started around age 18, but now he has 18 years of sobriety under his belt. He is a completely different person today, “I hit rock bottom in 2003” at age 27 due to his addiction that cost him a job at MTV and more troubles. He published his full story in Recovery: Freedom of Our Addictions.

Todd Bridges

• Years on drugs: 1978 – 1993
• Drugs addicted to: crack, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana
• Treatment: unknown rehab in 1990

This famous Diff’rent Strokes star was into crack cocaine, meth by age 20. “I was ready to die,” Todd said in his memoir Killing Willis: From Diff’rent Stroke to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted. He said he doesn’t blame Hollywood for his drug addiction, but more so himself.

Another actor from the show Dana Plato, who played Kimberly Drummond in the show, used prescription drugs to commit suicide in 1999.

Todd Bridges’ life seemingly went downhill when the show ended.

One of his lowest points was when he found himself wearing a diaper.

In 1993, it was either go to rehab or jail due to a drug possession charge, and that’s when he gave up narcotics.

Dennis Quaid

• Years on drugs:  1980 – 1990, 
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine
• Treatment: St. John’s Hospital in California

Dennis Quaid admitted to doing 2 grams of cocaine a day. “I liked Coke. I liked it to go out,” he told the Sunday Times.

He saw himself dead one time, and that experience motivated him to go into rehab.

He was able to stay off of drugs, but admitted that he missed doing cocaine.

He checked into rehab in the 90s right when his career started to takeoff.

Lena Dunham

• Years on drugs:  2017 – 2018
• Drugs addicted to: Klonopin 
• Treatment: Friendly House treatment center in Los Angeles

Lena Dunham is known for controversy, but she had a different type of drug addiction than most: prescription Klonopin. She admitted to abusing this drug in an essay about her infertility. She is quoted on the Drew Berrymore show, “no one should be ashamed of wanting to get out of pain.”

Every day she would do perscripts and felt like she did not want to live anymore, reaching a low point at age 33.

At this time, she was recovering from a hysterectomy and a relationship breakup.

Richard Pryor

• Years on drugs:  1967 – 1991
• Drugs addicted to: freebasing cocaine
• Cause of death: – heart attack

Richard Pryor burned 50% of his body in a freebase explosion. A 1978 People article says he was snorting about $100 cocaine per day. During this time he was beating his wife, getting arrested a lot.

One time Richard Pryor said, “sprinkle my ashes in about two pounds of cocaine then short me up!”

Alec Baldwin

• Years on drugs: 1983 – 1985
• Drugs addicted to: Alcohol

Alec Baldwin had issues with substance abuse in 1985 at age 27. He overdosed and blacked out in a hotel room one time. Part of the problem is that he was earning tens of thousands of dollars a week that fueled his addiction. He wrote a memoir “Nevertheless” detailing his struggles.

Corey Feldman

• Years on drugs: 1989 – 1995
• Drugs addicted to: Heroin, Cocaine, mushrooms and acid
• Treatment: Cri-Help rehab

Child star Corey Feldman is now known for exposing pedophiles in the movie industry, and the results of those abuses contributed to the death of his friend Corey Hain. The victimization made them abuse drugs, resulting in mental disorders and suicide. Now he’s speaking out about these issues, and is completely clean.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

• Years on drugs: 1987 – 1991, 2013 – 2014
• Drugs addicted to: Alcohol, Heroin
• Cause of death: heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine mix
• Treatment: unknown East Coast facility 

Oscar winning director and producer Philip Seymour struggled with drug addiction when he was younger but was able to kick his addiction at age 22.

During an interview with 60 Minutes he talked about being panicked about his life, “doing the things I wanted to do in my life.” He had a whole life ahead of him and things will not be successful for him if he keeps getting high.

Unfortunately, he died of a ‘toxic mix of drugs‘ with a syringe in his arm at age 46 after a 20 year relapse.

His wife said the following, “Being sober and a recovering addict was, along with acting and directing, very much the focus of his life,” she writes. “But he was aware that just because he was clean didn’t mean the addiction had gone away.”

Judy Garland

• Years on drugs: 1939 -1969
• Drugs addicted to: Benzedrine, Phenobarbital, Alcohol
• Cause of death: barbiturate overdose

Judy Garland played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. At age 10, her mother gave her “pep pills” and insisted a diet change to help her career, which lead to a dependence on the drug. Additionally, working long hours pushed Judy to consume stimulants to continue working and fight sleep.

By 17, she was addicted to barbiturates, amphetamines, and sleeping pills. Her goal with taking all this stuff was to stay thin and pale.

She died in 1969 from an overdose of barbiturates.

Andy Dick

• Years on drugs: 2004 – 2014
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol, cocaine
• Treatment: Promises Malibu Rehab, SOBA Malibu, Oasis Treatment Centre California, Passages Malibu

Comedian Angry Dick has a long history with drugs. During the height of his career, he would get arrested for cocaine possession and marijuana. He enrolled in a treatment program so he wouldn’t go to jail one time. He was known for doing a lot of crazy stuff like urinating on a beach and exposing himself to minors and adult women. Aside from his crazy behavior, his addiction case is a classic one.

Chris Farley

• Years on drugs: 1990 – 1997
• Drugs addicted to: cocaine, heroin, alcohol, marijuana, mushrooms
• Cause of death: a “speedball” mix of cocaine and morphine 
• Treatment: Father Martin’s Ashley, Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota

Arguably one of the funniest comedians in this century, Chris Farley died of cocaine and morphine (known as speedball) overdose. His seemingly newfound fame, and the media coverage about his weight, was highly stressful and pushed him into drugs and alcohol in the 1990s. Chris Farley went to treatment several times and adopted this philosophy, “I want to live fast and die young.”

Michael K Williams

• Years on drugs: 1985 – 2021
• Drugs addicted to: fentanyl, heroin
• Cause of death: NY Medical examiner concluded that his death was the result of “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.”

Michael K Williams started his acting career playing “Omar” in the critically acclaimed TV show The Wire.

Williams landed that role while living in the projects in Brooklyn and getting high on cocaine.

Williams died of a fentanyl-related overdose in 2021.

Robin Williams

• Years on drugs: 1970 – 1983, 2003 – 2014
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine, Alcohol
• Cause of death: Suicide
• Treatment: twice – Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center near Newberg (Betty Ford), AA

Beloved Robin Williams used to suffer alcohol and drug addiction. He admitted to it without much prodding in interviews and even joked about it in his comedy special. He said that he felt bad about doing drugs.

“Cocaine for me was a place to hide. Most people get hyper on coke. It slowed me down,” he said during a People interview in 1988.

Williams actually partied with John Belushi when OD.

Belushi’s death and the birth of his child is what forced him to quit. After 30 years of being clean he went to a renewal center.

He attended Hazelton Springbrook in the Oregon treatment center around 2006.

He talked about his drug issues in the film Come Inside My Mind.

Some speculate his suicide resulted from depression and maybe even drug addiction, but he did not have drugs or alcohol in his system. Robin Williams was sober until 2002.

Gary Busey

• Years on drugs: 1978 – 1995
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine, Alcohol

Gary Busey got arrested in 1995 due to a near-death drug overdose. His drugs of choice were cocaine and marijuana.

He told NBC News, “When you do drugs like I did, they become the number one relationship in your life.” His dealer told him that doing cocaine would make him “more creative.”

Since 1995, Gary wrote extensively about his drug addiction and the term F-R-E-E-D-O-M, which stands for “facing real exciting energy, developing out of miracles.”

Jaimee Foxworth

• Years on drugs: 2000 – 2009
• Drugs addicted to: Marijuana, Alcohol
• Treatment: Pasadena Recovery Center in California

Jaimee Foxworth is most notable as the child star in Family Matters. She revamped her fame by doing adult movies, and taking on a notable role on Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew first season for marijuana and alcohol. addiction. The birth of her son motivated her not to drink or smoke anymore, for her son’s well-being.

Verne Toyer

• Years on drugs: 2002 – 2018
• Drugs addicted to: alcohol
• Cause of death: suicide by alcohol intoxication
• Treatment: hospital in the San Fernando Valley, Michigan treatment center

Verne Toyer is mostly known for playing the character “Mini-Me” in Austin Powers. He was no stranger to alcohol addiction as his ex girlfriend stated that he would drink himself almost to the point of death.

He died in 2018 from self-induced alcohol poisoning.

Chyna

• Years on drugs: 2008 – 2016
• Drugs addicted to: Alcohol,
• Cause of death: overdose on prescription drugs Ambien and Valium + alcohol
• Treatment: UCLA Medical Center

Chyna was known as the “Ninth Wonder of the World” because she was one of the tallest women in WWF. She was the face of female strength.

Unfortunately, Chyna met her fate one night in 2016 after dying at age 46 from a mix of alcohol, tranquilizer, and prescription sleeping pills. She was selected to attend a free rehabilitation program on the hit tv show “Intervention”, but things did not work out.

Rob Lowe

• Years on drugs: 1983 – 1990
• Drugs addicted to: Alcohol
• Treatment: 12-Step Program, Sierra Tucson Center, Arizona.

Rob Lowe celebrated 31 years of sobriety on Twitter on May 10, 2021.  

He told NPR that it was normal for him to “drink a beer and think nothing of it.”

In a Variety interview he said that “cocaine was the thing that successful people did.” It was normal in Hollywood.

He proceeded to say that getting sober is something has got to be in you. He attended a treatment program in Tucson.

Joan Rivers

• Years on drugs:  – 2014
• Drugs addicted to: Alcohol (according to daughter)
• Cause of death: Lack of oxygen on operation due to human mistake (300 milligrams of Propofol, instead of 120)

Comedian Joan Rivers died on an operating table from low blood oxygen from a treatment of an alleged prescription drug overdose. She has admitted in the past that she has “taken everything, including cocaine. It was just so stupid.”

Anna Nicole Smith

• Years on drugs: childhood  -2007
• Drugs addicted to: Painkillers (Methadone, phenobarbital, Valium, Tylenol, Vicodin, Alcohol and over 40 others)
• Cause of death: mix of Klonopin (clonazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Serax (oxazepam), Valium (diazepam) , chloral hydrate, 
• Treatment: Betty Ford Center

Model and Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith was a big name in the industry. She became a billionaire when she married an elderly oil tycoon, and when he died, she amassed his wealth.

Unfortunately, she died of an “accidental” drug overdose in 2007.

She wanted to attend rehab at one point in life, but her boyfriend, a lawyer, rejected the idea. Sometimes family can be why the person gets on drugs, stays on drugs, and refrains from getting treatment.

Coincidentally, her only son followed in her footsteps when he died of a drug overdose in the Bahamas after her death.

Marilyn Monroe

• Years on drugs: ¬1950(51) – 1962
• Drugs addicted to: barbiturates (amytal, sodium pentothal, seconal, phenobarbital), amphetamines (methamphetamine, Dexedrine, Benzedrine and dexamyl—a combination of barbiturates and amphetamines used for depression), opiates (morphine, codeine, Percodan), the sedative Librium, and alcohol
• Cause of death: self-administered overdose of sedative drugs

Marilyn Monroe lived a wild life, but it ended at age 36 due to drug addiction, anxiety, and depression.

She was found with opiates, tranquilizers, speed, and more in her system. It is not known if Marilyn Monroe ever attended rehab.

Steve-O

• Years on drugs:  2006 – 2008
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine
• Treatment: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Entertainer Steve-O celebrated 13 years of sobriety in 2021 by posting a before/after photo on Twitter. The ‘Before’ photo shows him smiling above a table full of narcotics, and the ‘After’ photo shows him above a table full of veggies while holding a green juice in his hand.

At one point, he claimed to have tried almost every drug. One time he sniffed cocaine with HIV-positive blood. In June 2008, a couple of months after he was admitted into a psychiatric hospital 14 days after a suicide attempt, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine. He needed to complete a treatment program to avoid jail time.

Stacy Dash

• Years on drugs: 1975 – 2016
• Drugs addicted to: Vicodin

Stacy Dash talked candidly with Dr Drew about her addiction. She claimed to take 18 to 20 Vicodin pills a day, costing between $5,000 to $10,000 a month. “I lost everything.” She first tried drugs at age 8. Her mother even gave her a line of coke when she was 16.

Wendy Williams

• Years on drugs: 1989 – 1997 , 2019 – 2021
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine, Alcohol, Crack
• Treatment:  Sober Living of Queens – Pure Recovery Network,

Talk show host Wendy Williams talked about her drug habits that she got clean from. She admitted on TV in 2019 to living in a sober house.

Dax Shepard

• Years on drugs: 1993 – 2004
• Drugs addicted to: cocaine, opiates, marijuana, diet pills, Vicodin, alcohol

Dax Shepard has 16 years of sobriety, but admitted that he relapsed, so he keeps drug tests around his house so his wife can grab them and test him anytime she wants. She hasn’t done it yet. His addiction derived from an ATV accident, and purchased some pills that got him hooked.

Bruce Lee

• Years on drugs: 1969 – 1973
• Drugs addicted to: Cocaine, ACID, Marijuana
• Cause of death: a second cerebral edema brought on by taking Equagesic

People respected Bruce Lee as one of the most prominent martial artists globally. People would also be surprised to know that he might have abused drugs based on his handwritten letter, authenticated by experts. He asked star actor Robert Baker to give him “a large amount of cocaine.”

One time Bruce Lee put in an order, but then rejected it by telling his seller to “forget about the ‘stuff’.” He continued to explain he did not need the drugs during his training.

Bruce Lee died in 1973 from taking a prescription painkiller Equagesic that allegedly put him in a coma that eventually led to his death.

Johnny Depp

• Years on drugs: 1977–2016
• Drugs addicted to: ecstasy, cocaine, hashish, marijuana, alcohol, Roxicodone

Johnny Depp is a self-avowed drug user from age 11 onward. He started as a tween with nerve pills and tobacco. By age 14, he’d taken every type of drug.

Depp abused alcohol during the filming of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, a 1993 drama with Leonardo DiCaprio. He drank regularly during his 14-year relationship with French singer Vanessa Paradis. After years of drinking, he claimed to go sober in 2013.

Depp had a volatile three-year relationship with actress Amber Heard. While together, the couple abused Roxicodone, ecstasy and cocaine. In 2020, he admitted to an alcohol relapse during their relationship; the subject of a 2022 libel suit. 

Reporter Stephen Rodrick, who profiled Depp for a 2018 issue of Rolling Stone, wrote about using hashish with the actor.

Amber Heard

• Years on drugs: ?–present
• Drugs addicted to: ecstasy, mushrooms, cocaine, alcohol

Amber Heard (born 1986) started dating actor Johnny Depp (23 years her senior) in 2013. They were married from 2015–2017. Their relationship was rocky, volatile and plagued with domestic abuse (against him) and drug use. Depp admitted they used Roxicodone, ecstasy and cocaine.

In 2016, Heard admitted to her nurse, Erin Falati, that she drank and used ecstasy and mushrooms at Coachella. As a result, the actress vomited for an entire day. She attended the event after a fight with Depp.

Two weeks after her breakup with Depp, Heard abused ecstasy and mushrooms again, this time with a “high-profile” but unidentified male friend. 

In their highly publicized recent trial, Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages for falsely accusing him of domestic abuse during their three-year drug-addled relationship.

Make That Call So You Don’t Become An Actor on Drugs

We talked about these celebrities who are or were addicted to substances. Some sought treatment, some did not, some survived and recovered while others died from their addiction abuse.

Their stories should be a catalyst for what can be achieved with a bit of motivation. It doesn’t matter how much fame, money, or power a person has, they too can suffer addiction. No one is protected.

Make that call ASAP.

You are a celebrity yourself, and you too can overcome addiction; there are plenty of luxury addiction rehab centers, celebrity addiction rehab centers as well.

Take the first step forward.