The choice to become sober and overcome any addiction is a tough one, no matter who you are. But it's easy to see how it could be even more difficult while living in the spotlight. With all eyes on you, it's certainly not easy to admit you have a problem and get help. But celebrities who have struggled with addiction have paved the way for others going through something similar to get help, especially those who have been open about their experiences along the way.
Stars including Ben Affleck and Drew Barrymore aren't afraid to share that they would have lost it all if they didn't go to rehab, and some celebrities, such as Matthew Perry, have even admitted that they thought they might have lost their lives if they hadn't gotten treatment to help them commit to staying sober.
Here are 20 celebrities who have been to rehab, many of whom have chosen to speak openly about their journey to sobriety. It's not an easy path to take — especially while the entire world inserts their opinions on the matter — but in the end, it's well worth it.
Scott Disick
Before reality star Scott Disick settled into his drama-free co-parenting relationship with Kourtney Kardashian, he'd made a trip to rehab. As People reported in 2020, he checked into a facility in Colorado, though his rep, Marty Singer, denied that it had to do with substance abuse.
Singer's statement said at the time: "In an effort to finally come to terms and deal with the pain that Scott has been silently suffering for many years due to the sudden death of his mother, followed by the death of his father three months later, Scott made the decision to check himself into a rehab facility last week to work on his past traumas. He did not check in for any alcohol or cocaine abuse."
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen has checked into rehab on multiple occasions, perhaps most famously after his scandal on the set of Two and a Half Men led to him losing his spot on the show. In that year alone, he attempted rehab three times, and would go on to star in the show Anger Management after completing an in-home program.
Demi Moore
Demi Moore is another celebrity who has been in and out of rehab since the '80s, with her most recent stay taking place in 2012. After Demi experienced a seizure while inhaling nitrous oxide at a party with her daughter, Rumer, and had to be hospitalized, she entered a treatment facility, where her rep said she was being seen for "stress and exhaustion."
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck has been to rehab three times, most recently in 2018. In a 2017 Facebook status, he opened up about the reason he has continued to go to treatment after he relapses as he works to maintain his sobriety.
"I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be," he wrote. "I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step."
Britney Spears
Following her famous head shaving incident in 2007, Britney Spears checked into rehab just a few months after she had divorced Kevin Federline, though it wasn't clear what she was being treated for.
"We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time," her rep, Larry Rudolph, said in a statement at the time.
Robert Downey Jr.
Before he was known as Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. had his own history with rehab. After being arrested multiple times and even serving jail time, Robert finally ended up in a treatment facility and managed to beat his addiction to substances, including cocaine.
Drew Barrymore
After Drew Barrymore was thrust into the Hollywood spotlight at such a young age, she was sent to rehab for drug addiction at just 14 years old. And as she told The Sun, it made her understand as a teenager what it's like to lose everything she'd worked for.
"I know what it's like to lose and work for things and be so lucky and have the opportunities I have and everything in between," she said. "I don't think there's much to hide at this point."
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan has been to rehab more than once, and in 2013, she attended a court-ordered, 90-day session to avoid jail time after she was arrested for reckless driving, lying to a police officer, and violating probation for earlier shoplifting charges.
Demi Lovato
While battling substance abuse and an eating disorder, Demi Lovato has been in rehab multiple times. In 2018, they spent time in rehab following an overdose that required them to spend two weeks in the hospital recovering, an experience the singer talked about in their 2021 YouTube documentary, Dancing With the Devil.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis has been sober for more than 20 years, but it hasn't always been easy. She was addicted to Vicodin for more than a decade after being prescribed the pills after cosmetic surgery. She also struggled with alcoholism.
"To call yourself an alcoholic or a drug addict is a badge of honor," she told Variety. "It is a way of acknowledging something that is a profound statement and can be, for many people, life-changing. Because the secret, the shameful secret, is the reason why it is such a pervasive illness in our industry — in every industry, in every socioeconomic stratum, in every country in the world. It is the secret shame that keeps people locked up in their disease."
Keith Urban
Keith Urban has admitted that drinking and doing drugs, like cocaine and ecstasy, helped him with the insecurity he once felt while performing, and while he'd been to rehab multiple times, it wasn't until he had wife Nicole Kidman's encouragement that what he learned there finally stuck.
"I caused the implosion of my fresh marriage. It survived, but it's a miracle it did," he told Rolling Stone. "I was spiritually awoken with her. I use the expression, 'I was born into her,' and that's how I feel. And for the first time in my life, I could shake off the shackles of addiction."
Jon Hamm
While filming Mad Men in 2015, Jon Hamm went to rehab for alcoholism, and he had nothing but positive things to say about the experience in an interview with Vanity Fair.
"People go for all sorts of reasons, not all of which are chemically related," he said. "But there's something to be said for pulling yourself out of the grind for a period of time and concentrating on recalibrating the system. And it works. It's great."
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne has been to rehab multiple times. And although the television personality admitted that she relapsed in 2021, she has since recommitted herself to her sobriety.
"I am an addict and had thought that I had enough time under my belt and I could drink like a normal person, and it turns out I cannot and I will never be normal," she told Extra. "I don’t know why I even tried it. It's not for me, and it took me a matter of days and I was like done, not doing this."
Nicole Richie
Before she was a mom of two, Nicole Richie had a stint of her own in rehab. In 2003, Nicole — who was starring in The Simple Life at the time — was sent to court-ordered rehab after she was arrested for driving with a suspended license and possession of heroin.
Matthew Perry
It took multiple trips to rehab to help Friends star Matthew Perry along in his sobriety journey after struggling with an addiction to Vicodin and alcohol.
"I'm grateful for how bad it got," he told People. "It only made me more adamant about trying to get better. I learned that a happy life is possible without alcohol or drugs."
Colin Farrell
Though Colin Farrell has struggled with addiction for years, he did manage to remain sober for a 12-year period before checking into a facility in 2018 for a "tune-up."
"He isn't drinking again," an insider told People at the time. "He worked back-to-back projects and just needed a break. He's been sober 12 years and wanted to do this to make sure he stays that way. He's taking some me-time and doing a tune-up and a reset. This was all his idea."
Gerard Butler
In early 2012, Gerard Butler checked into the Betty Ford clinic for three weeks to get help with his addiction to painkillers.
"Maybe a stronger person wouldn't have needed to go," he told Men's Journal. "When you hear the word rehab, you think, 'He's a mess, he's f—ed up.' But I'm glad I did it. I've made a s—load of wrong decisions in my life. But I know I've made some right ones as well."
Melanie Griffith
Over the course of her career, Melanie Griffith checked into rehab three times — in 1988, 2000, and 2009. Her most recent stint, according to her rep's statement to People, was so she could keep her health in check.
"She is there to reinforce her commitment to stay healthy," said the statement. "This is part of a routine plan that was designed between her and her doctors years ago."
Eminem
In 2005, Eminem was hospitalized and entered a treatment facility for an addiction to sleeping pills, which required him to cancel his European tour so he could put his health first. In 2008, the rapper would return to rehab a second time, and he's been sober ever since.
Zac Efron
In 2013, Zac Efron surprised fans when news broke that he was checking into rehab for his addiction to alcohol and drugs.
"I was drinking a lot, way too much," he later told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's never one specific thing. I mean, you're in your 20s, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn't take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least."
