Sobriety is not often synonymous with coolness. People find out you don’t drink or do drugs and immediately assume you’re a snooze fest who doesn’t know how to party, a very cruel irony considering that we usually end up sober because we are so very far from boring or anti-party. So I always feel a little prideful and relieved when I find out mega famous (and I’ll say it, seemingly super cool) people are also barreling through life without ever knowingly altering their brain chemistry. Bradley Cooper and Demi Lovato have both recently been in the news for touting their freedom from addiction and all its benefits. Their willingness to be honest about their personal battles is both inspiring and really important.
Sober and On Top
Cooper has reportedly been clean for over 11 years and in a recent Barbara Walters interview credited a lot of his success as an actor with sobriety. He claims he knew he wouldn’t be able to have a thriving career or live up to his potential if he kept using and drinking. Me too, Bradley, me too! I obviously haven’t caught up to his success level (spoiler alert) but I agree with his reasoning. I try to remain patient, believing that the longer I stay sober, the greater my chances of having the life I’m capable of having—the one the tiny voice spoke to me about when it mentioned that maybe alcohol was starting hold me back as I trudged though another hot yoga class sick and hung over.
Lovato has been an open book about her struggles with a gamut of mental health issues, ranging from cutting to bipolar disorder to booze. And the chick is killing it, recently telling People magazine, “I’m living well with my mental illness—I am actually functioning like a very happy person would.” You may not catch me at every Lovato concert happening (my musical taste doesn’t extend beyond anything created after 2002) but I think she’s especially a good influence for teenagers and young women who might otherwise assume the only path to glamour is bathed in champagne.
Wait, There’s More!
You know who else is super rich, super famous and super sober? Sir Elton John. Full disclosure, my original answer to that question was Rob Lowe but then I remembered Elton John and I guess he’s slightly more rich and famous (though his cheekbones aren’t nearly as notable). Sorry, did I mention I’m obsessed with Rob Lowe? Anyway, my point is that Lowe is sober too, along with being an ageless treasure of American film and television. And both dudes have over a quarter century drug and alcohol free. It’s also worth mentioning that another sober A-list cool kid and former Punk’d star, Dax Shepard, recently told an anecdote mentioning AA on The Ellen Show. Celebrities, they’re just like us! Dysfunctional and prone for destruction if they don’t stay off the sauce!
All The Cool Kids Are Doing It
It’s nice to have these high profiles in our corner showing people that getting sober does not mean cashing in your cool card. In fact, one might argue your cool got so out of control you had to pump the brakes. (Let me have this, please.)
On a deeper level, the openness these famous peeps have about personal struggles and triumphs is more than just about making sober people seem less straight-edged. There have been numerous studies conducted on the societal impact of celebrities, especially in the 21st century. One in particular published in the Human Communication Research Journal cites evidence that young people have the tendency to shape their own self-worth around the connection to the celebrity to whom they most strongly identify. And we Americans are so closely tied to the rise and fall of our own form of royalty (e.g. movie and reality TV stars) that the constant media onslaught of their lives often unknowingly shapes ours.
Famous and Free
I just know, and you can back me up, Bradley and Demi, that sobriety doesn’t mean the end but instead the beginning cannot be emphasized enough. It’s not that “I can’t drink or do drugs,” but instead that, “I don’t have to drink or do drugs.” It’s actually pretty freeing.
And when in doubt, WWRLD, right? (What Would Rob Lowe Do?) *besides be beautiful?
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