Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably heard about celebrity couple Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher confessing that they don't bathe their two children daily. They basically let the world know that money can't buy cleanliness. The couple probably thought nothing of it in the moment and weren't expecting the revelation to garner so much attention, but it ended up sparking an entire online debate about whether bathing every day is necessary for kids — and adults, too. Weeks later, the argument is still raging on social media.
To be honest, a lot of pediatricians don't recommend bathing little ones daily, so we're not really mad at Ashton and Mila, but it got us thinking about the many other celebrities who have admitted to questionable hygiene habits themselves or been outed for their less-than-stellar practices. And we're telling you, these celebs take the saying "they clean up well" to a whole other level. It's shocking how spiffy and squeaky clean some celebrities look on the red carpet when you realize that they aren't into personal hygiene at all in real life. All credit to those glam squads!
But just in case you weren't in the know, we decided to clue in our readers on exactly which celebrities have dubious hygiene habits. Get ready, because some of this stuff is wild.
Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher
In case you missed it, here's how the whole Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis thing went down: They made an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by their buddy Dax Shepard, and they were all talking about bathing habits when Mila said: "When I had children, I also didn't wash them every day. I wasn't that parent who bathed my newborns — ever." Then Ashton admitted, "Now here's the thing: If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there's no point." Once word spread online, lots of people expressed disgust at the idea, while others admitted to not bathing their children daily either.
Dax Shepard
OK, let's rewind, though. This all actually started when Dax told Mila and Ashton that he doesn't think it's necessary to use soap every time you bathe. And that, friends, is definitely strange. He pointed out that soap can "get rid of the natural oil on your skin." Okey dokey, then.
Kristen Bell
The saga continued when Dax and his wife, actress Kristen Bell, appeared on The View and admitted that they don't bathe their children daily either. "I'm a big fan of waiting for the stink," Kristen said on the show. "Once you catch a whiff, that's biology's way of letting you know you need to clean it up. There's a red flag. Honestly, it's just bacteria, and once you get bacteria you gotta be like, 'Get in the tub or the shower.' So I don't hate what Kunis and Kutcher are doing. I wait for the stink."
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal has played some pretty gritty characters in his career as an actor, and not all of them looked so fresh and so clean on screen. But as it turns out, he's not big on bathing in real life either. "More and more, I find bathing to be less necessary at times," he told Vanity Fair in August 2021.
Kim Kardashian
Back in 2016, Kim Kardashian confessed on her now-defunct app that she only washes her hair twice a week, and fans went berserk. The woman has incredible hair, so people were really shocked and some were totally grossed out. That said, a lot of hair professionals say shampooing once or twice a week is more than enough.
Jessica Simpson
Singer and businesswoman Jessica Simpson has always been a stunning beauty with a gorgeous smile, so it's pretty surprising that dental hygiene doesn't fall real high up on her list of priorities. Years ago, she told Ellen DeGeneres that she doesn't brush her teeth every day. "… because my teeth are so white and I don't like them to feel too slippery, but I do use Listerine and I do floss every day. But I don't brush them every day," she said, going on to explain that she sometimes uses a shirt to wipe her teeth clean. "I know it's gross, but I always have fresh breath," she said.
Matthew McConaughey
At this point, no one should really be surprised that actor Matthew McConaughey is kind of a hippie. He spoke years ago about the fact that he refuses to wear deodorant, and he reportedly hasn't used it in decades. "I believe he bathes because he smells delicious. He just didn't have deodorant on," his Tropic Thunder costar Yvette Nicole Brown said recently, after admitting that she was determined to smell him while on set.
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz is in the same club. "I don't believe in antiperspirant," she told E! in 2014. "It's really bad for you. I haven't used it for almost 20 years. You're stinky because you use antiperspirant. It keeps all the stink in," she asserted about her choice to sweat it out.
Bradley Cooper
Yup, him too. Apparently Bradley Cooper isn't a deodorant fan either. He once told Esquire that he believes the body "self-cleans," so he doesn't wear deodorant or cologne, though he has admitted to sometimes taking multiple showers a day to compensate for not using those smell-good products.
Brad Pitt
Say it isn't so! We're not sure if this is still the case for Brad, but in 2009 (when his kids were younger) he told his Inglourious Basterds costar Eli Roth that he sometimes uses wipes instead of taking a shower. "I got six kids. All you've got to do is just take them, a couple quick wipes under the pits," Eli quoted Brad. "Man, I'm getting peed on all day. I don't have time to take a shower," he said Brad explained to him.
Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson's signature spiky locks apparently take a lot of not trying to achieve. He was once quoted as having said that he's gone six weeks without washing his hair. When asked about it, he told Extra: "I don't know. I don't really see the point in washing your hair." Maybe vampires and superheroes don't sweat?
Kesha
Singer and songwriter Kesha doesn't have much of a filter, and several years ago she shared some TMI tidbits about her own scent, explaining that she often gets told that she's smelly. "One time, someone told me I smelled like a shrimp on a diaper," she said, reported Us Weekly. "I thought I could make a fragrance that was a little like a shrimp on a Fabergé diaper, but I don't know if people want to smell like that," she continued, also admitting to once taking a swig of her own urine.
Taylor Swift
We just can't quite wrap our heads around this one. Taylor Swift once told Ellen DeGeneres that she doesn't actually wash her legs in the shower. Apparently, T-Swift believes that shaving cream acts just like soap and she shaves her legs every time she showers, eliminating the need for her to scrub her long gams.
Zac Efron
Actor Zac Efron works out a lot and is super fit, so you would expect that he also bathes a lot, but back when he did High School Musical 3, a source told Star magazine that he doesn't shower much. "Zac isn't a big fan of showering. It's so gross because Zac loves to work out and plays basketball all the time — and then goes days without showering. When he gets lazy, he likes to clean himself with baby wipes," the source explained. He's grown up a lot since then, so here's hoping his hygiene habits have changed.
Julia Roberts
In 2008, A-lister Julia Roberts told Oprah Winfrey that while she doesn't like to publicize it, she doesn't wear deodorant. "It's just never been my thing," she said. Perhaps now that there are so many options on the market, she's changed her ways. We'd hate to think that the "Pretty Woman" walks around stinky.
Charlize Theron
Though we don't think she purposely makes a habit of it, actress Charlize Theron doesn't mind being a little dirty. "I'm a tough girl and I can not shower for a week — I'm fine with that," the actress, who is originally from South Africa, told talk show host David Letterman in 2008 while she was promoting the film Hancock.
Kourtney Kardashian
Back when she was still in her breastfeeding days, reality TV star and Poosh founder Kourtney Kardashian famously refused to wear deodorant so she could "keep her breast milk free of toxins." No matter how stinky she got, she wouldn't swipe any on, much to the ire of her then-boyfriend Scott Disick, who disgustedly exclaimed, "She reeks!" during an episode of Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.
Johnny Depp
This one is honestly no huge surprise. Johnny Depp's whole boho vibe lends itself to the idea of not bathing too often. "Johnny usually smells because he rarely showers," a source told Fox 411. "He isn't big on personal cleanliness, and Vanessa isn't much different. They found their perfect match in each other. It's hard to be around them. Their personal hygiene is not their priority," the source reportedly said of the former "sexiest man alive" and his former partner, Vanessa Paradis.
