Photo: Claudio Schwarz / Unsplash
In the 90s and early 2000s, the trend among celebrities was to switch to low-fat milk and other diet products in order to maintain their physiques. However, from the 2010s into the 2020s, body positivity and intuitive eating gradually took over as the dominant approaches to healthy living. While restrictive diets are out, the vegan diet has remained a strong favorite due to the fact that it combines both health-based and ethical benefits.
1. Ariana Grande
Whether you love her for her music or find her problematic because of her penchant for cultural appropriation, you probably didn’t have time between albums and controversies to notice that Ariana Grande is vegan. She credits her good health to veganism and sees it as a lifelong commitment that will help her enjoy greater mobility and freedom as she grows older.
2. Venus Williams
While she was a force to be reckoned with prior to her switch to a vegan diet, Venus Williams felt that she was fueling her body in a far better way after she became vegan. While many celebrities cite ethical reasons for making the switch, Venus was inspired to go vegan after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. Venus told Health magazine that her new vegan diet has been a great help in controlling her condition.
3. Peter Dinklage
The actor behind everyone’s favorite Game of Thrones character, Peter Dinklage, is also a committed vegan. In fact, all those times you saw Tyrion Lannister partaking in feasts on Game of Thrones, he wasn’t eating real animal products. Instead, he would eat tofu-based imitations of meat.
4. Olivia Wilde
Olivia’s journey to veganism is one many people can relate to – she constantly sways back and forth between vegetarianism and veganism due to how difficult she finds the restrictions of a vegan diet. Speaking to the Huffington Post, Olivia explained that she can’t always find accessible vegan options, but she aims to follow the diet as closely as possible as she loves the benefits she gets from it.
5. Bill Clinton
Clinton made the switch to a vegan diet after undergoing heart surgery in 2010. The former US president explained to AARP that he felt he was a high-risk person in terms of his heart health. He wanted to live a long and happy life and have a chance to spend plenty of time with his grandkids. So, he made the switch to a vegan lifestyle. While he maintained a strict diet for many years, in recent months, it’s been reported that he’s relaxed things a little and is now including fish and other animal products on occasion.
6. Benedict Cumberbatch
The popular Sherlock actor has been vegan for a while now, and though PETA named him “Most Beautiful Vegan” in 2018, many people aren’t aware that he follows this diet. This is perhaps because Cumberbatch prefers not to talk too extensively about his personal life, preferring to focus on the characters he plays and the projects he works on.
7. Billie Eilish
Eilish was actually raised vegetarian. However, she took things a step further in 2014 by going vegan. The young singer cites her love for animals as one of the main drivers behind this decision. She also noted that she’s lactose intolerant and doesn’t like how dairy affects her skin.
There you have it – seven celebrities you probably didn’t know were vegan. These stars may not be all that vocal about their lifestyles, but their lowkey approach can be inspirational nonetheless.
