Just for fun, here's a little something worth looking into: which of the world's most famous faces are actually vegan? The list turned out to be longer — and far more international — than anyone expected. Movie stars, pop icons, Olympic champions, World Cup footballers, Bollywood royalty… plant-based living has gone global.
But first, one honest disclaimer: celebrity diets are a moving target. Stars drift in and out of veganism, vegetarianism, and "mostly plant-based" all the time, and what's true this year might shift the next. So consider this less a verified census and more a fun roundup of the famous names that turned up while digging around — the ones who've publicly championed plant-based living at one point or another.
And honestly? That drifting-in-and-out part is kind of the whole point. More on that in a minute.
Here's the lineup, from Hollywood to Seoul to the football pitch.
🎬 The Actors
Natalie Portman — Black Swan (Academy Award for Best Actress). A vegetarian since childhood, she went fully vegan around 2009–2011 and has since produced the documentary Eating Animals.
Joaquin Phoenix — Joker (Academy Award for Best Actor). Possibly the most committed of the bunch — reportedly vegan since age three, and one of Hollywood's most outspoken animal-rights voices.
Jared Leto — Dallas Buyers Club (Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor). Plant-based for over two decades, and he loves crediting that streak for his famously ageless face.
Alicia Silverstone — Clueless. A longtime, vocal advocate who transitioned from vegetarian to fully vegan years ago.
Woody Harrelson — Cheers, No Country for Old Men. One of Hollywood's original vegans, plant-based since his twenties, and the man who reportedly nudged several other stars onto the path.
Peter Dinklage — Game of Thrones. Vegetarian since his teens, he cut out all animal products around 2014.
Benedict Cumberbatch — Sherlock, Doctor Strange. The British star went plant-based and even posed on the cover of British GQ in vegan boots and a "future wool" suit.
Kate Winslet — Titanic. A longtime PETA advocate who has narrated videos campaigning against foie gras.
Maggie Q — Mission: Impossible III, Divergent. Uses her platform through PETA campaigns to spotlight how food choices ripple out into the world.
🎤 The Musicians
Billie Eilish — multiple Grammy wins, including Album of the Year. Vegan since age twelve, and known for turning entire concert arenas plant-based.
Ariana Grande — global pop superstar and Wicked star. Plant-based for years, and often spotted fueling up on smoothies and Japanese-inspired dishes.
Travis Barker — blink-182's legendary drummer. Went vegan after surviving a 2008 plane crash, and now co-owns a vegan fine-dining restaurant.
Moby — electronic music icon (Play). One of the longest-running vegans on this list, plant-based since the late 1980s.
Bryan Adams — Canadian rock legend (Summer of '69). Vegan since around 1989, and a vocal animal-rights supporter ever since.
Ellie Goulding — British pop star (Lights). Has followed a plant-based diet and spoken openly about it.
Sam Ryder — British singer and Eurovision favorite. Vegan mostly out of love for animals — he once ran a vegan café — and credits cutting dairy with improving his vocal health.
Morrissey — The Smiths frontman, born in Lancashire. Wears his vegan and pro-animal credentials proudly.
Sia — Australian singer-songwriter (Chandelier). A longtime vegan who appeared in the documentary Dominion.
🏅 The Athletes
Venus & Serena Williams — between them, dozens of Grand Slam titles and Olympic golds. Venus turned to a raw vegan diet after a Sjögren's syndrome diagnosis in 2011 threatened to end her career — and credits it with helping her get back on the court.
Lewis Hamilton — seven-time Formula 1 World Champion from the UK. Fully vegan, and he races the fastest cars on Earth on nothing but plants.
Carl Lewis — nine-time Olympic gold medalist. The sprinting legend has said some of his best competitive years came after going vegan.
⚽ The Footballers (World Cup Season Bonus!)
With the World Cup energy in the air, here's a fun one: the beautiful game has its own plant-based wave.
Héctor Bellerín — Spanish defender, one of football's most famous vegans. Went plant-based in 2016, credits it with faster recovery and less inflammation, and even became a major shareholder in Forest Green Rovers — recognized by FIFA as the greenest football club in the world.
Chris Smalling — England and AS Roma defender. Originally went plant-based thanks to his vegan wife, then found it kept him healthier and more injury-free on the pitch.
Sergio Agüero & Lionel Messi — the Argentine legends both dramatically cut meat from their diets during the season (vegetarian more than strictly vegan) after consulting the same nutritionist for injury recovery. Proof that even the GOAT leans on the power of plants.
Jermain Defoe — former England striker. Went plant-based in 2017 and believes it helped extend his career — though he's admitted to the occasional fish, making him a classic part-time player in more ways than one.
🌏 The International Set
Plant-based living isn't just a Hollywood story — it's everywhere.
Im Soo-jung — beloved Korean actress (I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK). Often called Korea's most famous vegan celebrity, she went plant-based after discovering an allergy to animal protein — then grew to love it, and now promotes vegan restaurants and meal ideas to her followers.
Lee Hyori — the "J.Lo of Korea." A passionate animal-rights advocate who, with her musician husband, supports animal shelters, she leans plant-based (with the occasional pescatarian exception).
Tiffany Young — Girls' Generation star. She's shared that she eats plant-based meals five days a week for the environment, taking it "step by step, changing one meal at a time."
Kay Tse — Cantonese platinum-selling pop star from Hong Kong. A longtime vegetarian who's invited fans to celebrate her birthday by eating more greens, she's a vocal champion of sustainable, cruelty-free living.
Aamir Khan — one of Bollywood's biggest icons (3 Idiots, Dangal). Began his vegan journey in 2015 after watching a documentary about meat and health.
Alia Bhatt — Bollywood superstar. Shifted from vegetarian to fully plant-based out of love for animals and concern for the environment.
Anushka Sharma & Virat Kohli — Bollywood star and India's cricket legend. The power couple has followed a vegan diet for years and even invested in a plant-based meat brand. Kohli credits the switch with a noticeable boost in his game: "I have never felt better."
Jacqueline Fernandez — Sri Lankan-born Bollywood actress and longtime PETA India advocate, honored for her animal-rights work.
That last theme — eating plant-based "step by step," "during the season," "with the occasional fish" — is the perfect segue, actually…
The "Part-Time Vegan" Permission Slip
Notice how many of these stars float between diets? Five days plant-based and two days not. Vegan during the season, a steak in the off-season. Vegan most of the time, pescatarian on occasion. That's not a flaw — it's freedom. And it's exactly the philosophy Chef Mia champions at UT47.
As she puts it: a plate doesn't need a label to be delicious. Plenty of dedicated meat-eaters order the vegan dishes here, take one bite, and forget they were ever "supposed" to have something else. Being a part-time vegan — plant-based on Tuesday, LA galbi on Friday — isn't just completely okay, it's kind of the smart move. Just like the stars who drift in and out, there's no rule that says it has to be all or nothing. One meal at a time, exactly like Tiffany said.
So why not try it? One vegan dish. No commitment, no membership card, no judgment.
Which brings us to the fun part.
Reading the list is one thing. Eating like the list is another — and that's where Hell's Kitchen earns its name.
At UT47, plant-based isn't a polite afterthought tucked at the bottom of the menu. The Korean-Mediterranean kitchen builds its vegan dishes to stand on their own — like the Vegan Eggs Benedict, with plant-based sausage and "eggs" so convincing that regulars have to remind themselves it's meat-free, or the Penny-Benny series that lets brunch-goers find their perfect match. There's the Vegan BLT Panini, the Korean tacos, the dumplings, the crispy tofu — dishes built with Korean culinary roots and a European kitchen philosophy. No sacrifice, no sad side salad — just genuinely good food a few of these stars would happily order seconds of.
So whether a favorite actor, musician, athlete, or footballer sparked the curiosity — or the hunger simply showed up uninvited — come read, come taste, and become a part-time vegan for a night. Hell's Kitchen has a table waiting on 9th Avenue.
UT47 Kitchen & Bar · 683 9th Avenue, Hell's Kitchen · Brunch daily 8AM–4PM · Happy hour 4–8PM · Korean tapas Friday–Saturday until midnight.
Comments
Post a Comment