35 FAMOUS DRUG ADDICTS FROM HISTORY AND TODAY - ARTE - 2025

Compilation of celebrities who have been drug addicts, several of them cocaine addicts, throughout history. Celebrities who combined success with narcotics such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens or barbiturates.

In some cases they managed to separate her from their life and continue with their career, in others, fatality took hold of them and they left this world leaving many fans orphans. Among the professions, singers, actors, athletes or writers stand out.

Personalities who had problems with drugs

1- Amy Winehouse

(1983–2011) British singer and songwriter. A renovator of soul and jazz, she is considered one of the greatest artists of the present century despite her short musical career. To her credit, three albums (one of them posthumous) and six Grammy Awards.

Captivating voice and unparalleled sensitivity of an artist who since childhood had problems of depression due to the separation of her parents.

This fact greatly disturbed her emotional development, which was sustained with the support of alcohol and drugs such as heroin, in which she spent more than 700 euros a day to consume it with her ex - husband.

After his death, Winehouse entered the famous Club de los 27, to which other musical legends that we will mention below belong.

If you are interested in knowing more about the life of Amy Winehouse and everything that surrounded the artist, you cannot miss the post with her 55 best phrases.

2- Diego Armando Maradona

Maradona is transferred to an anti-doping control in which he tested positive (1994)

(1960) Former Argentine soccer player. Considered by many to be the best player in history, Maradona has always been involved in controversy both on and off the court.

His best football years were between 1984 and 1990, where he won two Italian championships with Naples and a World Cup with Argentina. However, a year before landing in Naples, 'El Pelusa' had already flirted with drugs during his time at FC Barcelona.

In the 90s, the Argentine star was suspended several times for testing positive for cocaine, the case of the 94 World Cup being very popular, where he was immediately expelled.

After his withdrawal from the land in 98, his state of health worsened notably due to his addiction to different drugs, having to be admitted on several occasions both in Argentina and Cuba.

Fortunately, the 'Barrilete Cosmico' was able to detoxify in a neuropsychiatric clinic in Buenos Aires and continue his life close to his daughters and his faithful fans.

Perhaps you might be interested in knowing more about Maradona through his 119 most curious quotes, in which we can highlight this one that comes to the fore:

“At first the drug makes you euphoric. It is like winning a championship. And you think: what does it matter tomorrow, if today I won the championship ”.

3- Janis Joplin

(1943–1970) Rock and blues star. One of the most valued interpreters of the 20th century song and a hippie icon of the 60s, a stage in which she began her musical career and also her involvement with drugs.

His notoriety was one of the causes of his addiction. Unable to assimilate success, Joplin led a chaotic and anarchic life, where in addition the heroine was always present.

Part of that chaos was due to the personality problems that had dragged on since adolescence, in which the Texan suffered a lot from being on the lips of everyone, including her parents, due to her undefined sexuality.

With just three albums released and one on the way, the heartbreaking voice of the singer-songwriter was fading forever in a Los Angeles hotel room after an overdose of her inseparable heroin.

4- Stephen King

(1947) American writer. Horror novel genius and possibly one of the celebrities you didn't expect to make this list. Included me.

Author of best-sellers such as Carrie, Misery or The Shining, King had serious problems with different addictives such as alcohol, cocaine or different antidepressants between the 70s and 80s.

“He was a multi-drug addict”, “I have a novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing” “Misery is a book about cocaine. Annie Wilkes is cocaine. She is my number one fan "or" Sometimes he wrote with his nose between cotton wool while he wrote compulsively "are some of the quotes that best represent the stage in which many of his literary gems had drug-based support.

In the late 1980s, aware of the excess to which he was exposed every day, King put an end to cocaine, other drugs and alcohol by asking professionals for help.

5- Louisa May Alcott

(1832–1888) American writer and activist. It's hard to believe that the author of Little Women, such a delicate and sentimental work, was written by a drug addict.

Specifically, opium, the reigning substance of the abolitionist era in which he lived, as R. Schnakenberg points out in his work Secret Lives of Great Writers. The author further adds that Alcott always had an interest in the erotic and gothic novel.

It must be taken into consideration that opium and its derivatives (morphine, heroin…) were prescribed in the 19th century as a medicine for certain painful diseases, so it was common for many of these patients to become addicts.

Specifically, in countries like the United States or the United Kingdom, many families were left destitute due to the expense of maintaining their addiction.

6- Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison exhausted and with his back to the public. Image via: abc.es

(1943-1971) Composer and vocalist of the group The Doors. Rebelde, rock and roll icon and, like Winehouse and Joplin, member of The 27 Club.

'The Lizard King' had a high IQ (149), a condition that many times took him away from a society that did not understand him. This caused Morrison to be an insecure person with personality problems.

In fact, he suffered from stage fright, something he had to face to be able to perform with his group. Solution? Taking drugs before every concert to go on stage.

A lover of psychedelic drugs (LSD, peyote) or cocaine, his addiction increased after starting his relationship with Pamela Courson, his "soul mate", but also part of his destruction.

Morrison finally passed away in Paris after being found alone in his flat bathtub. The official statement is that he died of cardiac arrest, but there are many versions about what led him to abandon us, including an overdose of heroin.

It should be noted that Morrison, as a good lover of literature, had Baudelaire and Aldous Huxley in his hands, two of his favorite authors who also appear on this list.

7- Truman Capote

(1924–1984) American writer and journalist. Controversial, extravagant, temperamental but above all a genius. Among his literary legacy we find In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany`s.

“I am an alcoholic. I am a drug addict. I am gay. I am a genius". Capote never hid his vices and he developed naturally despite how politically incorrect he was for the time.

However, although he lived without complexes, the novelist suffered from certain emotional disorders that led to him abusing drugs such as tranquilizers.

It was not a few times that he had to be admitted to the emergency room for abusing these substances until, near his sixtieth birthday, he woke up dead with a large dose of drugs on his nightstand.

8- Gia Carangi

Carangi report for Vogue magazine (1980)

(1960–1986) American model. Italian, Welsh and Irish roots that combined perfectly so that genetics gave a spectacularly beautiful woman, considered by many to be the first "supermodel" of the 80s.

Raised in a troubled family environment, Carangi had her first experience with drugs during her high school years, where she sporadically smoked marijuana.

She was able to get out of her troubled neighborhood quickly, as she was hired at the age of 18 by a modeling agency in New York. However, it was there that her flirtation with hard drugs began.

The heroine was his escape to overcome emotional problems and notorious was his report for Vogue in 1980, where puncture marches appeared on his arms. Her modeling career would soon end.

Due to pressure from his family, he managed to rehabilitate himself, but soon another stick shook his life. She was infected with AIDS, a disease that wiped out Carangi forever.

9- Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain smoking during a performance. Image via: Rolling Stones

(1967–1994) American singer and songwriter. Leader of the grunge group Nirvana and greatest exponent of Generation X. Nearly 100 million albums sold in the world despite dying at the age of 27. We continue to add members to the Club de los 27.

The separation from his parents, who had raised him on the basis of Christian doctrine, the abuse he received during his childhood and adolescence and the frustration to which he was subjected because they tried to separate him from art made Cobain a depressive type and with a very marked personality.

Together with Nirvana, a group that he formed with Krist Novoselic in 1987, Cobein's success came and with it his foray into the world of drugs, specifically heroin.

This addiction increased when he met Courtney Love, his sentimental partner and with whom he had a son. She, who was also an addict, was involved in a controversy when it was interpreted that she used heroin during pregnancy. She later denied it, but the tabloid press did not stop harassing the couple, something that greatly affected Kurt Cobain.

Although the singer was admitted to rehabilitation centers, on April 8, 1994, he appeared in one of his properties in Seattle dead with a shotgun.

10- Tennessee Williams

(1911–1983) American playwright. Author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the play A Streetcar Named Desire which made him popular on a worldwide scale.

Williams' beginnings with drugs began, according to his brother Dakin, in the late 1960s, when he became a regular amphetamine user. By then, the playwright was already known and had to be admitted to a hospital to recover.

However, the success never returned to the same magnitude as it had hitherto and Williams turned to drugs again to overcome his decline.

In 1983, at the age of 71, the great icon of the theater was found dead among drugs and barbiturates, many of them prescribed. There is even speculation that an allergy to one of them (seconal) was the true cause of death.

11- Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1859–1939) is an Austrian neurologist. Possibly the most famous psychologist in history and one of the most relevant figures of the 20th century.

The father of psychoanalysis was a habitual user of cocaine. When he began to gain the respect of his professional colleagues, it was common for him to be invited to gatherings and parties at which Freud snorted cocaine to uninhibit himself and interact more actively.

The psychoanalyst considered the drug as a kind of alternative medicine for many diseases. In fact, he tried to extract therapeutic properties to help friends of his addicted to morphine.

And it is that self-experimentation with drugs was common at the time. In 1884, Freud published a medical essay called Über Coca where he wrote the physiological effects that he experienced with its consumption.

One of them was the abrupt change in mood that he suffered, becoming a moody and somewhat disturbed person.

12- Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell with Joaquín Cortés in one of the model's most convulsive stages

(1970) British model and businesswoman. First black “supermodel” and one of the fashion queens of the 90s.

As has happened to many runway mates, the pressure to maintain a body according to established canons and social pressure caused a successful career to falter.

In 2005, he gave an interview in which he admitted his addiction to cocaine, a narcotic that he tried for the first time at the age of 24.

Although he was able to recover, Campbell acknowledges that "the cocaine took the light out of my eyes." He also stated that his famous outbursts of anger are due to the years in which he was hooked on this drug.

Significant was also his suicide attempt in 1997 using barbiturates. The reason was a fight with the dancer Joaquín Cortés, sentimental partner of the "Goddess of ebony" at that time.

13- Charles Baudelaire

(1821–1867) French writer and journalist. Modern poet and one of the icons of symbolism, as well as being a source of inspiration for the aforementioned Jim Morrison.

From a troubled childhood due to his bad relationship with his stepfather, Baudelaire was introduced to bohemian and liberal environments during his stay at the university. During that stage he began to consume hashish and squandered part of his inherited fortune for his disorderly attitude.

He began his professional career as an art critic, but remained in the spotlight for his "inappropriate" lovers and his usual hobby of visiting brothels.

Although Las flores del mal is his best known and at the same time most controversial work, with The Artificial Paradises his addition to different types of hallucinogenic drugs becomes clear, key in the composition of his writings.

14- Elvis Presley

(1935–1977) American singer and actor. 'El Rey' just to present the greatest icon of rock and roll and one of the most well-known and influential faces of the 20th century.

At just 42 years old and a career full of hits such as Love me tender, Suspicious mind or Jailhouse rock, Elvis Presley died at his home in Memphis as a result of cardiac arrest. Or maybe not.

The truth is that the controversy over his death still persists, being inconclusive whether the American rocker died of an arrhythmia, as stated by the medical researcher, or on the contrary, his addiction to drugs made the singer fatal havoc.

Amphetamines were the first addictive substance to pass through Elvis's hands during his time in the military. As an artist, he began to become a drug addict after continuously ingesting sedatives, amphetamines and liquid cocaine.

This led to serious chronic diseases that killed the life of a drug addict who spent a million dollars a year on narcotics.

If you have been wanting to know more about the king of rock & roll, we recommend this article with the 40 best phrases of Elvis Presley.

15- Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston in the final stage of her life. Image via: Mirror

(1963–2012) American singer and actress. Most awarded artist of all time (over 400 awards), famous for songs like I will always love you, one of the most emotional songs in history.

Although her career began in the early 80s, her consecration came in 92 when she starred in The Bodyguard, a film whose soundtrack holds the record of being the best-selling in history and which she herself interpreted. At that time, according to her husband Bobby Brown, Houston began using drugs.

“On my wedding day to Whitney I was so nervous that I decided to skip the tradition of not seeing the bride before the ceremony and went to see her in her room. I found her hunched over a table snorting a line of cocaine. "

In 2002, the singer with a powerful voice recognized that she was a habitual user of cocaine, marijuana and that she was not used to being disgusted to try any type of drug. She entered various rehabilitation clinics, since she became unconscious on several occasions. Finally, she died in the bathtub of her home drowned after having consumed cocaine and various medications for anxiety.

16- Marco Pantani

(1970 - 2004) Italian cyclist. 'El Pirata' won a Tour de France, a Giro d'Italia and a bronze medal in the road cycling World Cup in 1995.

Pantani's success did not seem to have peaked until in 1999, when he was accused of doping. Despite the fact that the Italian denied taking any type of substance, this fact plunged him into a deep depression and led him to rely on cocaine to battle with the frustration of not being believed.

He continued to compete, but never regained his level. In 2004, Pantani's body was found dead in a hotel in Rimini (Italy), indicating in the police report that the death was caused by a drug overdose.

Years later, judicial investigations showed that the results of Pantani's positive were manipulated by the mafia.

In 2016, another investigation opened by the cyclist's family claims that he was beaten and forced to ingest cocaine diluted in water.

17- Aldous Huxley

(1894–1963) British writer. Exponent of modern thought and author of A Happy World, a classic of last century literature.

Huxley, an intellectual voice of the early part of the 20th century, had a sympathy for the mystical and parapsychology, which were very present in several of his books.

In addition, possibly linked to his interest in these pseudosciences, the essayist began using psychedelic drugs. He used to use LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline, which inspired him to write essays like Drugs That Shape Men's Minds, published in The Saturday Evening Post.

Although Huxley always defended that its use was for mere scientific interest, the truth is that his dependence on the drug was visible both in his private life and in his work. So much so, that on his deathbed, the writer asked his wife to inject him with 100 micrograms of LSD, a dose much higher than the minimum active dose.

If you are interested in knowing more about this intellectual, the 68 best phrases of Aldous Huxley are a must.

18- Marilyn Monroe

(1926-1962) American actress. Pop symbol, playmate and for many the greatest feminine icon of the 20th century.

At just 36 years old, 'The blonde temptation' was found dead in the bedroom of her home in California. The reason? An unknown. The most widely accepted version is that he committed suicide by ingesting about forty capsules of nembutal, a barbiturate very present in Monroe's life.

Whatever the reason, the truth is that the actress had serious addiction problems to sedatives and alcohol, especially as a result of a miscarriage when she was expecting a child from Arthur Miller.

The depression made her at odds with many film personalities and much of the filming she carried out was affected by Monroe's chaotic physical condition.

Before dying she had to be hospitalized in the emergency room several times, until that summer of '62 her heart said enough.

19- Jean-Paul Sartre

(1905–1980) French philosopher and intellectual. Exponent of existentialism, author of works such as El Ser y la Nada, which earned him a Nobel Prize for Literature, which he refused.

Sartre was addicted to tobacco, coffee and alcohol, but the drug that most marked his life were amphetamines, which he used for twenty years, also coinciding with his most prolific literary period.

But his experience with amphetamines or mescaline not only gave him creativity or inspiration to develop works like La naúsea (1938). The philosopher confessed on occasion that, due to his excessive drug use, he came to hallucinate with lobsters that followed him everywhere. An entourage of crustaceans with whom he came to have a close and friendly relationship.

20- Jimmi Hendrix

(1942–1970) American musician and singer. Considered the best electric guitarist in history and for many also the best musical artist. Rock is not understood without the sound that came from his fingers.

Typical case of a celebrity who loses control of his success and falls into drugs out of ignorance or as a way out of the constant pressures he is subjected to. In his case, his first experiences with narcotics were aimed at keeping the guy at his grueling concerts and festivals.

However, what was at first a mere tool to give his best, soon became an addiction that cost him his life. Hash, LSD or heroin were some of the illegal drugs that always accompanied him on his tours.

After attending one of the parties he was a regular at, Hendrix returned to his hotel and mixed sleeping pills and a large quantity of alcohol. According to legend, since the causes of death have not yet been clarified, the guitarist vomited everything he had ingested that night, dying asphyxiated by his own vomit.

With this genius we close the list of El Club de los 27. An unfortunate Olympus of music.

21- Kate Moss

(1974) British supermodel. He had a problem with cocaine.

22- Robin Williams

(1951 - 2014) American actor and comedian. He suffered addiction to cocaine and alcohol.

23- Macaulay Culkin

(1980) American actor. He suffered addictions to various drugs and marijuana.

24- Sir Elton John

(1947) British singer and songwriter. He had problems with alcohol and certain drugs such as cocaine.

25- Mike Tyson

(1966) Ex - American boxer. He suffered addiction to cocaine and marijuana.

26- Heath Ledger

(1979 - 2008) Australian actor. He was addicted to marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.

27- Philip Seymour Hoffman

(1967 - 2014) American actor. Addicted to cooking and heroin. Interestingly, he played Truman Capote, which earned him an Oscar.

28- Cory Monteith

(1982 - 2013) Canadian actor and musician. Heroin and alcohol addict.

29- Michael Jackson

(1958 - 2009) American singer and producer. Problems with opioids and various pain relievers.

30- Drew Barrymore

(1975) American actress. She abused marijuana and alcohol and had to be rehabilitated for being addicted to cocaine.

31- Frank Sinatra

(1915 - 1998) American actor and singer. He was addicted to cocaine and had a problem with alcohol.

32- Lindsay Lohan

(1986) American actress. Problems with alcohol and cocaine.

33- Charlie Sheen

(1986) American actor. Multi-drug addict.

34- Axl Rose

(1962) American singer-songwriter and musician. Heroin addict and habitual user of marijuana and estrogens.

35- Jean-Michel Basquiat

(1960 - 1988) American artist, poet and musician. He died of a heroin overdose, of which he was addicted.