20 Celebrities Who Struggled With Heroin Addiction

Heroin is a highly addictive substance. Despite the obvious dangers, the number of people using opioid painkillers is increasing in an alarming trend. No matter who they are or where they come from, anyone can become locked in a cycle of addiction and abuse. As more celebrities open up about their recovery, it becomes evident that even some of the world's biggest names are not immune to the impacts of heroin addiction. Hollywood celebrities who have openly discussed their former heroin usage have focused awareness on the risks and issues that can arise.
Some celebrities that are addicted to heroin are musicians, while others are actors. Unfortunately, many outstanding artists died as a result of heroin overdoses. Scroll down to see the list of 20 celebrities with heroin addiction.

#1 Corey Feldman

Source: Louise Palanker / Flickr

Corey Feldman claimed that a pedophile who molested him when he was 16 introduced him to heroin. He battled drug addiction for much of his career as a young actor.

#2 Jean-Michel Basquiat

Source: Galerie Bruno Bischofberger / Wikimedia Commons

Jean-Michel Basquiat claimed to be doing up to 100 bags of heroin every day in the months before his death. He died of an opiate and cocaine overdose in 1988.

#3 Miles Davis

Source: Tom Palumbo / Wikimedia Commons

In 1949, Miles Davis became a heroin addict while performing in jazz clubs.

#4 Cory Monteith

Source: Eva Rinaldi / Flickr

Cory Monteith's Glee crew and co-stars allegedly pushed him to undergo a 30-day recovery program. Unfortunately, the 31-year-old actor died in 2013 from a drug and alcohol overdose.

#5 Sid Vicious

Source: Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) / Flickr

Sid Vicious battled heroin addiction for most of his life. He died of a heroin overdose while on bail in 1978, after being accused of the stabbing death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

#6 Chris Farley

Source: Saturday Night Live / NBC

Chris Farley died following a four-day drug and alcohol binge in 1998.

#7 River Phoenix

Source: Alan Light / Wikimedia Commons

River Phoenix battled addiction for much of his childhood. In 1993, he died of a heroin and cocaine overdose.

#8 John Belushi

Source: National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

In 1982, John Belushi died of a cocaine and heroin overdose. He was 33 years old at the time.

#9 Jimi Hendrix

Source: Original photographer unknown / Wikimedia Commons

Jimi Hendrix was charged with possession in 1970 when heroin and hashish were discovered in his luggage at the Toronto airport.

#10 Jim Morrison

Source: Elektra Records / Wikimedia Commons

In 1971, Jim Morrison died after a heroin overdose.

#11 Coco Chanel

Source: Time / Getty / Wikipedia / Public domain

Coco Chanel allegedly used heroin throughout her life.

#12 Angelina Jolie

Source: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

Angelina Jolie was allegedly in the grip of heroin addiction in a video filmed in 1999. She earlier stated that she barely made it through a "dark and hazardous" period in her life.

#13 Kurt Cobain

Source: Julie Kramer / Wikimedia Commons

Kurt Cobain always claimed that he began using heroin to self-medicate acute discomfort from a gastrointestinal problem. When Nirvana guitarist Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, large amounts of the substance were discovered in his system.

#14 Samuel L. Jackson

Source: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com / Wikimedia Commons

Before becoming one of Hollywood's most known faces, Samuel L. Jackson battled significant drug problems before entering rehab in 1991.

#15 Janis Joplin

Source: Grossman Glotzer Management Corporation / Wikimedia Commons

In 1970, Janis Joplin died after a heroin overdose.

#16 Russell Brand

Source: Eva Rinaldi / Flickr

Russell Brand has battled heroin addiction and has been clean since the early 2000s.

#17 Courtney Love

Source: Manfred Werner/Tsui / Wikimedia Commons

Throughout the 1990s, Courtney Love battled heroin addiction. She even acknowledged using the medication when pregnant with her daughter Francis Bean Cobain in the 2015 documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.

#18 Philip Seymour Hoffman

Source: Georges Biard / Wikimedia Commons

70 bags of heroin and prescription pills were discovered at Philip Seymour Hoffman's residence after he died of an overdose in 2014.

#19 Steven Tyler

Source: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

Steven Tyler said he has spent 20 million to fuel his heroin and cocaine addiction.

#20 Tom Petty

Source: Ирина Лепнёва / Wikimedia Commons

Tom Petty had a heroin addiction in the 1990s, but he kept it a secret until Warren Zanes wrote Petty: The Biography. In the early 2000s, Petty sought therapy for his addiction.