Celebs Who Gave Up Alcohol And Reaped The Rewards

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These days, sobriety is growing more and more popular, with fewer Americans drinking alcohol than ever. In fact, the share of people who drink in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low of 54%, according to a 2025 Gallup Poll. It's a cultural shift driven largely by Gen Z, fueled by a desire for healthier living, financial wellness, and a broader social acceptance of sobriety.

Quitting drinking can have significant health benefits, as alcohol has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and even mental health problems like depression and anxiety. "Over time, the toxic effects of alcohol can cause damage to the protective coating surrounding nerve cells and ultimately to the nerves themselves," doctor Joseph Volpicelli told Verywell Mind. "The ability to learn, remember, plan, and focus all becomes compromised." Quitting drinking can also pay great beauty dividends, since alcohol often causes dehydration, inflammation, and redness. 

Plenty of people are exploring life without alcohol. "Getting sober started a cascade of other positive changes in my life that wouldn't have happened otherwise," shared one Reddit user. "I trust myself now, and maintaining sobriety has been such a powerful exercise in choosing myself." Whether you're looking to bring a more mindful approach to your drinking habits or considering going completely alcohol-free, plenty of celebrities have demonstrated that an inspiring sobriety journey can mean living a healthier and happier life.

For Miley Cyrus, the journey to a sober lifestyle came in fits and starts over several years. Cyrus first started exploring life without substances in 2019, though she relapsed in 2020. But now, she frames it as key to her creative process, and integral to her mental health. Sobriety is part of her broader commitment to healthy living, which also includes regular workouts and therapy. "I was so used to living at a high, and I don't think I ever learned how to come down from that," Cyrus told Variety in 2026. "Now, through a sober lens, I can have compassion and understanding for myself."

These days, not drinking helps Cyrus be creative and navigate the pressures of fame. Her commitment to self-care is so strong that she's even taking a break from touring, since it's hard to abstain from alcohol on the road. "The sobriety, that's like my god," explained Cyrus during a 2025 Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. "I need it." She credits the lifestyle change with helping her to write "Flowers," the 2023 album that earned the pop star her first Grammy.

For Chrissy Teigen, the 2021 decision to stop drinking was part of an effort to prioritize her mental health. Teigen shared that she often felt shame and anxiety after indulging, and turned to Holly Whitaker's 2019 bestseller "Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol" to launch her sobriety journey. "I now have endless energy, way less anxiety (no more benzos!) and I am *happier* and more present than ever," the former model shared in a 2022 Instagram post marking six months of sobriety. "It's pretty cool."

The road to an alcohol-free lifestyle didn't always run smoothly for Teigen, though, who revealed that she relapsed roughly a year after first cutting out drinking. But recommitting to sobriety has helped her rebuild confidence in herself. "Turns out, without it, I can still be funny. Still be stupid. Still be wildly nervous. Anxious," she shared in a 2026 Instagram post. "And I can get through it all without it."

In 2019, actor Anne Hathaway revealed that she committed to not drinking while her two children were still living at home. For Hathaway, the decision was about healthier living. She didn't like how drinking, particularly the hangovers that followed it, was affecting her time with her kids. "My last hangover lasted for five days," she told Modern Luxury in 2019 (via PEOPLE). "When I'm at a stage in my life where there is enough space for me to have a hangover, I'll start drinking again, but that won't be until my kid is out of the house."

More recently, Hathaway has opened up more about her sobriety choice, as well as her commitment to healthy living. "For me, [alcohol] was wallowing fuel. And I don't like to wallow," she told Vanity Fair in 2024. She explained that quitting alcohol has deepened her relationship with herself. "I don't live in what others think of me. I know my own mind and I am connected to my own feelings," she explained.

According to actor and former '90s indie sleaze queen Drew Barrymore, her drinking problem started at the age of eleven. "It was alcohol for me that was just poison. It was true poison," Barrymore revealed while chatting with Chet Hanks on a 2025 episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show". She explained that she spent years believing that she could find a way to temper her relationship with drinking, without needing to abstain completely. "I thought 'I'll master this' and I just had to realize 'I'm not going to master this.'" She admitted feeling afraid that, without alcohol, she would struggle to have fun and would have to face her emotions.

Still, sobriety has been a powerful, positive change. In an issue of Drew, Barrymore described the choice to stop drinking as 'one of the most liberating things in my journey of life' (via Motherly). When she committed to sobriety in 2019, it was a major life shift. But, despite the challenge, it gave her confidence in her ability to transform her life. "It made me realize that I was capable of great change," Barrymore said during a 2022 appearance on the podcast "Chicks in the Office".

Singer Demi Lovato was openly sober for years before the relapse that led to her 2021 overdose. Since then, she's recommitted to not drinking, opened up about her journey, and sought treatment for bipolar disorder. Getting proper treatment for her mental health condition was a dramatic turning point in her sobriety journey. "I think the glimmer of hope started to change when I started to find joy [in] the little things in life," Lovato revealed at a benefit for The Center For Youth Mental Health in 2014 (via PEOPLE). "And that was something that was so foreign to me before because I was so used to, so used to not seeing hope."

Getting the proper support and getting clean transformed Lovato's life. Since her overdose, Lovato leaned into a holistically healthy lifestyle. "Demi goes to therapy, works out, eats clean, and does things that make her happy," an insider source told ET Online in 2023. "She hikes, writes music, and is very in tune with herself in general." The changes appear to be paying off. "I feel happier than I've ever been. I feel like I'm in such a really great place," she told TODAY in 2024. "I'm mentally very strong."

Model and actor Cara Delevingne decided to cut out alcohol in 2022 after seeing paparazzi shots of herself after partying at Burning Man. "I hadn't slept. I was not okay," she told Vogue in 2023. "It's heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, 'Okay, I don't look well.'" By that point, Delevingne had been drinking since childhood, largely as a way to self-medicate for various mental health challenges. For recovery, she turned to Alcoholics Anonymous for support, as well as therapy. Now, wellness, including meditation and yoga, is a key part of Delevingne's approach to self-care.

These days, the icon feels more comfortable in her own skin. "I didn't trust myself. I second-guessed myself constantly. There was a lot of anxiety involved," she told Elle in 2023. "Now I just feel free of that." Cutting out alcohol meant finally facing up to, and resolving, the shame she'd been carrying for years. Now, for Delevingne, life without alcohol is more grounded and playful. "Ever since sobriety came into my life, and I've been changing in such a big way over the last couple of years, I felt more like a kid than I've ever felt in the best way possible," she told People in 2026.