Have you ever seen an interview with a celebrity showing off their lifestyle and want it? They have millions of dollars to spend on mansions, clothes, and cars.
What you don’t see, though, is something no one wants.
Behind closed doors, almost every celebrity is dealing with bad mental health, addiction, or suicidal thoughts. Many celebrities speak up about it, saying they feel “empty.” After spending more and more time in Hollywood, they begin to realize they will never be able to buy their happiness.
Winona Ryder, who started acting at fifteen, said, “You can’t pay enough money to cure that feeling of being broken and confused.”
Often celebrities turn to drugs and alcohol. Lindsay Lohan constantly used drugs, leading to multiple arrests and rehab. Starting her career when she was just eleven, Lindsay never really had a childhood. Few moments of her life were private, filming Mean Girls, Freaky Friday, and The Parent Trap when she was still a minor. The stress of Hollywood is already toxic, but for young girls, it can have a big impact on their mental health, and Lindsay was no exception.
But Lindsay isn’t the only Mean Girls star who has spoken up about the struggles of Hollywood. Amanda Seyfried has dealt with depression and anxiety, saying, “I’m on Lexapro, and I’ll never get off of it. I’ve been on it since I was 19, so 11 years.” Amanda doesn’t want to try getting off the treatment because she doesn’t want to risk being worse than she already is.
One way an actor can begin to rely on drugs is method acting or when an actor deliberately becomes their character to play the part better. Heath Ledger, known for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight, died of an accidental overdose at twenty-eight years old. His role as “The Joker” affected his sleep due to his extreme method of isolating himself in a hotel for a month. This led to insomnia and mental unease. He began taking drugs to help him sleep and ease his mind. At the time he had a two-year-old daughter. Heath tried to stop but it was too late, and he overdosed on January 22, 2008.
Sometimes the stress of Hollywood can be too much. Unfortunately, the depression that J.K. Rowling described as “that cold absence of feeling — that really hollowed-out feeling,” takes too much of a toll on them. Many people in the music and acting industry unfortunately commit suicide.
Kurt Cobain, lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and founding member of the band Nirvana, died on April 5, 1994. During his life, he was depressed and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Kurt Cobain also became addicted to drugs, saying it was, “the only thing that’s saving me from shooting myself right now.” He had gotten sick of touring and never wanted to do it again.
Before he committed suicide, there were clear signs that he was in trouble. He consistently said he was going to shoot himself. With high levels of morphine in Cobain’s bloodstream, he was found dead, with a visible gunshot wound, at his house in Seattle.
It may seem like every celebrity’s health spirals out of control and never returns; however, some celebrities have overcome these problems. Robert Downy Jr. had a rough start to his career. As a Nepo baby, Robert was involved in Hollywood from the start. His dad was a movie director which helped Robert Jr. get a foot in the door when it comes to acting. However, this attention caused Downy to begin using drugs.
After repeatedly missing court-ordered drug tests in 1999, he was sentenced to three years in prison but only ended up serving a year in California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison. While on parole in 2001, Robert was arrested again, for suspicion of being under the influence, and sent to rehab. In 2003, Susan Downey, Robert’s wife, said he quit drugs for good due to an ultimatum she gave him. This situation is just one of the many where people turned their lives around, showing no one is too far gone.
