Unfortunately, there are many celebrities who ultimately succumbed to their drinking problem. Click through this gallery to see which stars sadly died as a result of alcohol abuse. The singer sadly passed away at the age of 56 on September 4, 2023.

Matthew Perry

Shortly following Christopher’s death, “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini said he was “heartbroken” over the actor’s passing in a statement to USA TODAY in October. The film grossed more than $22 million on a $65,000 budget and preceded the release of Eric Schlosser’s influential “Fast Food Nation,” which accused the industry of being bad for the environment and rife with labor issues. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Verne Jay Troyer (Died: April 21,

actors who died of alcoholism

Chock full of affairs with seemingly every man she encountered, violent relationships, shoplifting, prostitution, and numerous run-ins with the police, the only thing that seemed to offer any stability to this troubled actress was the bottle. Though we loved them onscreen, https://thesandiegodigest.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ their lives offscreen were quite the mess. Whether out of habit, for fun, or out of despair, these actors and actresses came to depend on the bottle, which resulted in disastrous health problems, relationship troubles, and in many cases, premature deaths.

Drug-Related Deaths – Notable Celebrities

actors who died of alcoholism

Having experienced the death of his father from alcohol abuse, Jackson would himself go on to recount his own life-threatening struggle with addiction. With help from his family, he was able to successfully complete an inpatient rehab stay, and has maintained his sobriety for more than 20 years. We are dedicated to transforming the despair of addiction into a purposeful life of confidence, self-respect and happiness. We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful. Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, Nick Adams starred in the TV show The Rebel and appeared in multiple films. The overdose involved paraldehyde and promazine, which are both central nervous system depressants.

Like many celebs, Daniel Radcliffe said a pattern of problem drinking began in the face of insecurities about his talent and career, compounded with the pressures of handling fame at a young age. The marked personality changes that it brought about, as well as the negative health effects, led the young actor to seek treatment and, ultimately, live an alcohol-free life since Sober House 2010. Best known for his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers films, Verne Jay Troyer struggled with alcohol abuse and depression for many years. In 2009, film star Brittany Murphy died of pneumonia, anemia, and a prescription drug overdose. She had ingested a variety of over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including acetaminophen, hydrocodone, and levomethamphetamine.

  • A coroner’s report unearthed evidence that she’d died in her sleep due to drug intoxication.
  • She was once arrested in 1991 for robbing a video store in Las Vegas and again in 1992 after she forged a prescription for drugs.
  • After the Sony Open win in Hawaii, an emotional Murray discussed the hard fight he had with mental issues and finding happiness and admitted he had considered suicide.
  • The condition occurs when a buildup of plaque causes the inside of the arteries to narrow over time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • In 2017, he died of liver and kidney failure as a result of years of alcohol abuse.

Drug Interactions Can Be Deadly

  • Drug-drug interactions may also play a role in drug-related deaths.
  • He went on to land the lead role of Eddie Duran in Hollywood Heights.
  • The famous actress and model Anna Nicole Smith died from combined drug intoxication involving several prescription drugs, primarily the sedative chloral hydrate, benzodiazepines, and others.
  • Some of his biggest roles were still to come, though, including his part as Plutarch Heavensbee in the “Hunger Games” films.
  • His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music, blending a Michael Moore-ish camera-in-your-face style with his own sense of humor and pathos.

Sir Anthony Hopkins has been sober for nearly 40 years, and is very open about how AA helped him, as a young actor, turn his life around. Bradley Cooper, now sober for close to a decade, has spoken openly about his addictions negatively impacting the amount of work he was receiving, and how the realization that he may not work altogether helped him to get sober. Pier Angeli was an Italian actress who died from a barbiturate overdose. “Six years is a long drought, far longer than I wanted,” Murray said. “Sometimes your highs are high out here and your lows are low. I’ve been working really hard, and this is a testament to the hard work.

As mentioned, though, some high profile people in recovery have been outspoken about their experiences, feeling that, as public figures, they can help raise awareness around the issues of drug and alcohol abuse. As a child actor in the 1990s, Brad Renfro got exposed to drugs at an early age. He developed an addiction that led to his drug overdose death at age 25 in 2008. In 1974, Burton almost died from a binge on hard liquor, and even a few years before, in 1970, doctors had warned him that alcohol abuse would eventually kill him. His destructive habit had caused his kidneys to grow to abnormal proportions and his spine was found (during an operation in the early 1980s) to be covered with crystallized alcohol.