Plant-based Lifestyle Plant-based Living

Why Are So Many Celebrities Vegan?

Lucia Tiffany MPH July 11, 2018

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Celebrity Vegans

Everytime I turn around there seems to be a new announcement about some celebrity that has embraced vegan or plantbased eating. Do they know something other people don’t? Or is this just a publicity stunt that will soon blow over?

I reviewed over 70 celebrities stories and experiences with a plant-based diet to bring you a summary that answers those questions. It turns out that there are many kinds of celebrities and many reason why celebrities make the choice to eat clean and green. Let’s start by looking at the types of celebrities and their backgrounds.

Actors and Actresses

We probably hear the most about women in Hollywood. Besides living glamorous lives, their faces are often very familiar to large numbers of Americans. They are often stars of well-known TV shows or movies. Mayim Bialik who is best known for her role on The Big Bang Theory TV series is even author of a vegan cookbook called Mayim’s Vegan Table. Anne Hathaway, Bellamy Young, Demi Moore, and Daryl Hannah are also actresses who are declared vegans.

There are plenty of male stars that have also adopted a vegan diet. This includes Alec Baldwin from Saturday Night Live who does Trump impersonations, Dan Stevens star of Beauty and the Beast, and actor Joaquin Phoenix.

Other celebrity vegans

But actors and actresses are not the only celebrities that have adopted vegan diets. So have quite a list of famous musicians, singers, and songwriters. Alanis Morisette switched over in 2009, Ariana Grande goes so far as to be quoted as saying, “I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding.” Beyonce does not care for the title “vegan” but prefers to call her diet “plant-based”. Bryan Adams, a well-known crusader for Greenpeace and PETA decided if he was “going to talk the talk” he needed to “walk the walk” and so he opted out of the cycle of killing animals. Even Stevie Wonder has become an advocate for going vegan.

Elite athletes from many different sports have also elected to eat a vegan diet. Venus Williams, famous tennis star; Jermain DeFoe, football player; Scott Jurek, ultra longdistance marathoner;

Hannah Teter, Olympic snowboarder; and Meghan Duhamel, pairs figureskater, have all testified that this dietary and lifestyle choice has enhanced their performance.

Their stories

Everyone has a story about what triggered their decision to become vegan. Some of them are touching, some are humorous, and others just fascinating life events. A number of them were convinced to make the switch after watching documentary films. The documentary film, Forks Over Knives, was a turning point for Kat Von D, the beauty entrepreneur. That was also the case for Russell Brand who dramatically changed his diet after watching that film. A farming documentary about cows was what made singer Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, think twice about using animal products. Isabel Lucas, Australian actress, became vegetarian after watching the documentary about factory farms, research labs, and puppy mills called Earthlings. For Jenna Dewan-Tatum it was a documentary on slaughterhouses, watched at the age of 10, that made it impossible for her to even consider eating meat.

Natalie Portman, produced and narrated a documentary called Eating Animals, that convinced Evanna Lynch to go vegan after living as a vegetarian since she was a young girl. Evanna had been vegetarian due to feeling “viscerally repelled by the idea of eating animal flesh”.

Others made the switch after health issues triggered the need to change something about their lifestyle. Alec Baldwin was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in 2011. By January of 2012 when he won the SAG award for Best Actor in a TV comedy, he had lost an amazing 30 pounds! President Bill Clinton changed his eating habits for health reasons and lost 24 pounds to boot! When Jenna Dewan-Tatum was diagnosed as lactose intolerant that sealed her switch to plant-based eating. Scott Jurek, an American ultramarathon runner and winner of 16 prestigious titles, switched to a vegan diet in college in an effort to avoid his family’s history of chronic disease, as well as to avoid the many health defects and illnesses he saw while in physical therapy school.

Bellamy Young states that her decision came after she got a weirdly plated piece of chicken breast in her college dining hall. As she looked at it, it seemed to look exactly like her mom’s little furry yippy dog when she’d roll over and want you to rub her tummy. “That was it for me” she said in an interview with YouBeauty.

When Joaquin Phoenix was only 3, he went on a fishing trip with his family. He vividly remembers being horrified when they caught and killed fish. He asked his mom, “Why didn’t you tell us that’s where meat came from?” His mom had no answer and that was it for him! Kristen Bell also became a vegetarian as a kid because she didn’t like how meat tasted or smelled. When she committed to a cruelty-free lifestyle she became vegan.

In an unusual series of events, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, started to going out with this girl and pretended he had been vegetarian just to impress her. As soon as he started eating that way, he noticed that he felt better and healthier. So he ended up going vegan and sticking with it.

Other celebrities like Brad Pitt and Carrie Underwood made the switch due to environmental concerns or because it made them feel better.

The Results, In Their Own Words.

All of them report that the switch has had a real impact on how the feel and look. Alanis Morissette stated in 2009 after giving up meat, “I feel very alive…I have no more aches and pains, and my allergies are gone too.”

Alec Baldwin, President Bill Clinton, Alicia Silverstone, Shania Twain, Actress Demi Moore, and Alanis Morissette all saw their dietary changes help them to lose weight. Ellie Goulding found that her face shape was different and her eyes brightened as she ate vegan. Michelle Pfeiffer, known for her flawless complexion, speaks of her vegan lifestyle as avoiding a lot of toxins that age you skin and body. She has noticed a real difference in her skin since switching to a vegan diet. Bellamy Young went on record as saying she saw her cystic acne disappear, her digestion improved, and enjoyed an energy boost as well.

James Cameron, director, found it also improved his quality of life. In his own words, “You’re going to be healthier, you’re going to live longer, you’re going to look better. You’re going to have fewer zits. You’re going to be slimmer. You’re going to radiate health. You’re going to have a better sex drive. That’s what shifting away from meat and dairy does”. Paul McCartney, British musician, started as a vegetarian in 1975 and has since switched to a vegan diet. Many credit his youthful looks to this choice.

Many report that a major effect has been having more energy. Jennifer Lopez says it gives her tons of energy. Lily Aldridge, a model, finds that eating a plant-based diet makes her feel healthier overall.

Ariana Grande believed in “eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-around happier person.”

Barny du Plessis is the world’s first vegan bodybuilder and Mr. Universe 2014. What’s really interesting about his experience is that he had actually retired from bodybuilding in 2013 as he suffered from a variety of health concerns. After adopting a vegan lifestyle, he saw such an improvement in his fitness level that he decided to return to the stage and then won the Mr. Universe title in 2014. He credits this comeback to going vegan, GMO free, and organic. Now his focus is on spreading the message that we can live a healthy, happy, and prosperous life without exploiting innocent creatures.

The Take Away

Well it seems that this is not just a passing fad but in fact, eating plant-based is an experience where the “proof is in the pudding”. You will have to answer the question, Do they know something you didn’t? If so, I hope this will give you even more inspiration to “try it – you might like it”. Feel free to share your story in the comments below.