With Lindsay Lohan’s post-rehab interview with Oprah Winfrey airing Sunday night, we’ve taken a look at seven other celebrities, from Charlie Sheen to Drew Barrymore, who have battled addiction and spoken about the benefits (or drawbacks) of treatment.
Charlie Sheen
While Sheen may believe he’s always “winning,” the Anger Management star is well-known for his erratic behavior. His drug problems started more than two decades ago, culminating in a stint in rehab in 1990. By 1998, Sheen overdosed on cocaine and was hospitalized, leading to another visit to a treatment facility. In the years following, Sheen’s addiction issues continued, and he attempted home rehabilitation treatment three different times in 2011. Not long after, Sheen had his notorious public “meltdown” on 20/20, in which he lambasted rehabilitation and suggested that he didn’t have drug-dependency issues.
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Drew Barrymore
Besides being known for her countless on-screen appearances and historic Hollywood name, Drew Barrymore is infamous for something else: her rather unsupervised childhood. The actress began experimenting with alcohol in elementary school, when she found herself partying late at night with movie co-stars. The actress began doing cocaine at age 13 and was checked into rehab for drug addiction by the next year. While her rebelliousness continued, Barrymore got sober and wrote an autobiography recounting this period in her life, Little Girl Lost. Success soon followed, which Barrymore detailed in an interview with James Lipton on Inside the Actor’s Studio in 2003.
Robert Downey Jr.
After a series of successful films in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Downey’s career started going downhill after his first arrest for possession of drugs and a gun in 1996. By 2001, Downey had been arrested several times and took just as many trips to rehab. His final stint in treatment seems to have done the trick, and Downey has been sober since 2003. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that his career has also been reinvigorated since then. He shared his secrets about relapse and sobriety with Oprah, emphasizing persistence and perseverance.
Amy Winehouse
The late singer’s drug and alcohol abuse was no secret. After several years of severe weight loss and depression, Winehouse was hospitalized in 2007 and then entered a rehab facility for a two-week program in 2008. When speaking to a host on British television’s The Album Chart Show, Winehouse insisted that she was a manic depressive, not an alcoholic, which she said “sounds like an alcoholic in denial.” She allegedly quit taking drugs at this time, but relapsed in 2010 and continued drinking heavily. Sadly, Winehouse succumbed to her addiction in July 2011.
Robin Williams
The actor known for his lovable roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Good Morning Vietnam struggled with an alcohol and cocaine addiction in the early ‘80s. When his close friend John Belushi fatally overdosed in 1982, Williams sought to quit cold turkey, and managed to stay sober for two decades. Unfortunately, he turned again to alcohol in 2006, at which point his family urged him to seek help. After spending two months in an Oregon rehab center, a positive Williams spoke to Diane Sawyer about his journey to sobriety.
Demi Lovato
The seemingly wholesome Disney star entered a treatment facility in 2010 to confront physical and emotional issues, including bulimia, self-injury, and drug and alcohol abuse. During this time, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although she addressed her issues, Lovato elected to reside in a sober living facility between 2012 and January 2013 to avoid relapse, even making a documentary with MTV to chronicle her journey, entitled Stay Strong. In 2011 (and on several occasions since), Lovato visited Good Morning America to discuss her tribulations and subsequent rehabilitation.
Matthew Perry
Unbeknownst to most of his fans, this Friends star first sought treatment in 1997 for a Vicodin addiction. In 2001, he checked into rehab again, for an addiction to alcohol, amphetamines, and opioids—and shocking the world with his weight gain and subsequent public announcement of his struggles. Perry told ABC News how he has since stayed clean—he most recently visited rehab in 2011 as a “preventive” measure—and how he even opened his private home to become a recovery center, called the Perry House.
