Florence Welch
Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and the Machine, has been sober since 2014. In recent years, she’s opened up about her history of addiction and eating disorders. Welch says she grew up with a sense of terror that could only be quelled by music or self-destruction. “I learned ways to manage that terror—drink, drugs, […]
Danny Trejo

The actor Danny Trejo has been sober since August 23rd, 1968. He started attending AA meetings in prison, where he landed after trying to sell heroin to an undercover cop. Trejo first smoked weed at 8 years old, had his first drink by 12, and started shooting heroin at 14. He was in and out […]
French Montana
The rapper French Montana has been sober since November 2019. He got sober following a hospitalization a little over a week after his 35th birthday, when he collapsed from mixing Adderall, Percocet, and alcohol. Montana says his life was out of control, but he was the only one in his orbit who didn’t notice. “It’s […]
John Mulaney
John Mulaney’s pandemic relapse made a lot of news, but before that he’d been sober since 2005. He first quit drinking and using drugs at age 23. Mulaney started drinking at 13; at that age he felt awkward, and thought alcohol made him funny and gregarious. He also started using cocaine and prescription drugs. “I […]
Kaveh Akbar
Poet Kaveh Akbar got sober in 2013. Since then, he’s released a chapbook, Portrait of the Alcoholic, and his first full-length poetry collection, Calling a Wolf a Wolf. The latter—which draws from his experience as a Muslim Iranian-American in recovery—won several major awards, including a Pushcart Prize. Akbar says that he didn’t write with any […]
Eileen Myles
The poet Eileen Myles—who reached some mainstream fame as the inspiration for a character on the show Transparent—has been sober for decades. “I remember the first spring I wasn’t drinking; it was 1983,” they said. “My friend Tom and I were walking around the West Village, and we were staring up and pointing. ‘Isn’t that […]
Star-Studded Addictions: Eric Clapton
Musician Eric Clapton has been sober for over three decades. He went into addiction treatment for the second time in 1987, ten years after releasing a cover of the song “Cocaine” and a year after his son Conor was born. He’s been sober ever since. Clapton’s addiction was to cocaine, heroin, and alcohol. At one […]
Star-Studded Addictions: Tim Allen
In March, the actor Tim Allen—best known for his role on the show Home Improvement—reached 23 years sober. Allen has seen lots of success in his career, but it didn’t always seem like his life would take this path. Before he became famous, Allen spent two and a half years in federal prison for cocaine […]
Matthew Perry
Leading up to the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. reunion, fans are worried about Matthew Perry. He’s struggled with addiction since the 90’s and has had periods of sobriety, but his slurred speech in promo videos is causing speculation about a relapse. It’s unclear whether Perry did relapse or is having health problems, but he has been open about […]
Star-Studded Addictions: Macklemore
The first time rapper Macklemore drank, he was 13 or 14. He drank alone—stealing from his parents’ liquor cabinet—and had about 12 shots.[1] Throughout his freshman year of high school, he skipped school to drink and smoke weed. He later began misusing OxyContin. Macklemore has been making music since about the age he started drinking, […]