25 Celebrities You Never Knew Had Addiction Issues (2 of 5)

Angelina Jolie

Substances used: Heroin, cocaine, and LSD

Drugs were all the rage in the 1990s and Jolie wasn’t spared either. Be it cocaine or heroin, the actress has used intoxicating products since she was a teenager and up until her early adulthood.

Along with her addiction, Angelina was also afflicted with depression and even had planned to take her life two times. She found some stability after she became a parent by adopting her first child, Maddox when she was 27. She told USA Today that she knew she would never engage in self-destructive habits once she commits to a child.

It has been long now since Angelina has stayed away from drugs, and is now living a happy, contented life.

Lindsay Lohan

Substances used: Alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana

The limelight that came with becoming a public figure wasn’t too much for Lindsay and she would often find refuge in abusing intoxicating substances. Her battle with addiction was common in the paparazzi’s headlines. Many times she was pictured drunk and had been arrested for driving under the influence too.

When her reputation as a heavy drinker improved, Lohan openly talked about it in a chat show with Piers Morgan. She said that she now lives without regrets. She acknowledged her mistakes and added they have taught her a lot about life.

After being called to courts many times and some stays at rehabilitation centers, Lohan made the decision to give up acting and live a simple life in Europe. This also brought to the forefront her businesswoman side and she now owns several clubs.

Matthew Perry

Substances used: Alcohol, amphetamines, methadone, and Vicodin

Shocked to see the person who played your favorite TV character in this list? We were too. He was a part of one of the most iconic sitcoms ever and it’s hard to tell what could have led him to drugs.

Perry had had a watercraft mishap during his career’s most prime years and used prescription drugs for pain relief.

It was during the shootings of Friends that Matthew’s addiction was at its peak. As a matter of fact, the actor had gone to rehab two times, in 1997 and again in 2001. Substances he was a regular user of included Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines, and alcohol.

The best part is that it was very shortly after that that Matthew completely recovered from his messed-up phase. He shared with The Hollywood Reporter that now if anyone asks him if he could help them with their addiction, his response is that he very well knows how that can be done.

Elvis Presley

Substances used: Barbiturates, prescription drugs, and pethidine

Elvis Presley’s aka the Rock ‘n’ Roll king’s death resulting from an overdose of codeine and some prescription drugs created quite a controversy. To save the singer’s reputation, rumors were floated that the true cause behind his death was cardiac arrest and not a deadly mixture of drugs.

As many other stars were regular consumers of such combinations, it was said the dose Elvis had taken was too little to have a fatal effect on the body.

All through his life, Presley had to regularly take opiates to deal with excessive pain. But, on the day that he died, the concentration of the drug in his body was fairly high and intolerable.

According to his toxicology report, many other substances such as Percodan, codeine, Dilaudid, Demerol, and quaalude were also consumed by him prior to his demise.

Ben Affleck

Substances used: Alcohol

The Batman’s star, Ben Affleck’s issues with substance abuse have often made the news and even the actor has not shied away from admitting that he had a problem. He got into rehab in the year 2001 to leave behind this toxic habit. However, not long after he was separated from Jennifer Garner, he shared that he was into rehabilitation again. This was in 2017. The Accountant actor again relapsed and was seen in a high state in 2019.

Ben opened up in 2020 about dealing with depression, as well as anxiety and how that’s making it difficult for him to stay on a sober path. He confessed that he took pretty long to admit he was addicted to alcohol and needed to do something about it.

As of now, Affleck is on a 12-step program which is proven to be quite effective to enable people to beat their addiction.