21 Brilliant People Who Were Addicted to Drugs

Stephen King

King is most well-known as one of the world's all-time greatest horror authors.

The IT scribe doesn't remember writing all of his books, however, as he was previously addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and Valium.

KURT COBAIN

Cobain is equally as famous for his death as he is for his life, which ended in suicide back in 1994.

It's reported that in order to cope with physical and emotional pain, the grunge musician turned to heroin.

Marilyn Monroe

There may be no actress more iconic than Marilyn Monroe, as her classic style and glowing smile secured her place as a Hollywood star.

Tragically, the blonde beauty was found dead in 1962 of a suspected suicide after overdosing on Barbiturates. She was known to have been taking a "variety of sleeping pills."

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.

The Iron Man actor famously struggled with drug and alcohol addiction having spent time in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility as well as the State Prison.

After cleaning up his act and getting back on his feet, Downey Jr. has enjoyed an incredible rejuvenated career ever since.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway's legacy has lived on in books such as The Sun Also Rises, even though the author took his own life in 1961.

He was a notoriously heavy drinking who might have spent more time drinking than he did writing.

CHARLES DICKENS

Dickens became a notable writer with books like Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, but it was probably A Tale of Two Cities that really secured his position as a legend.

Interestingly, however, he suffered from an addiction to opium and was known to frequent opium dens in London, England.

Edgar Allan Poe

One of the most influential macabre authors in the world, Poe is hugely famous for stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and poems like The Raven.

He was also a frequent user of drugs and alcohol, which many historians think may have contributed to his death.

HOWARD HUGHES

Famously played by Leonardo DiCaprio The Aviator, Hughes was one of the most brilliant minds the world has ever known.

The Texas-born businessman was known to do cocaine as well as overuse opiates due to chronic pain.

Philip K. Dick

Most will know of Dick from his stories being adapted into films such as Total Recall, Blade Runner, and Minority Report.

However, the author, who died in 1982, also suffered from schizophrenia and self-medicated with amphetamines and various other substances.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

Churchill was a world famous British politician who has been portrayed by some of the greatest actors of all time.

Historians will you that the former Prime Minister of England was also a very heavy drinker, and a frequent user of amphetamines.

Vincent van Gogh

This painter once infamously cut off his ear and gave it to a prostitute.

Much of his erratic behavior seems to have potentially been due to the fact that he was a regular consumer of absinthe.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

Grant was a Civil War General and the 18th President of the United States. He was also a heavy drinker, and known to have been an alcoholic during his time at war.

Aleister Crowley

Like Poe before him, Crowley was a renowned occult writer who frequently abused drugs.

He was known to be a heroin addict and even wrote a fictionalized account of his experience with drugs in the book Diary of a Drug Fiend.

CARL SAGAN

Sagan was an astrophysicist who would be recognizable to most as the narrator and host of the 1970s documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

He was also a marijuana user who smoked the drug regularly and advocated for it as a substance to push the human mind beyond its boundaries.

Miles Davis

Davis was a legendary jazz musician whose contribution to the genre is still felt heavily today.

Before locking himself away and beating his habit "cold turkey," Davis was a heroin addict.

ANDY WARHOL

Warhol emerged as the most recognizable pop-cultural artist of the '60s and '70s.

In order to focus more on his work, he would consume an Adderall-type substance regularly.

Truman Capote

Truman Capote was an author whose most famous work was the true crime book In Cold Blood.

Capote was a habitual user of drugs and alcohol, and when he passed away in 1984 doctors found multiple drugs in his system.

FRANCIS CRICK

Crick was a brilliant molecular biologist who discovered the double-helix DNA model.

He was also reportedly high on LSD when he made the world-changing revelation.

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was a world-famous guitar player whose impact on music is still felt in the modern era.

He famously used drugs and alcohol for many year and after he died doctors found Barbiturates and wine in his system.

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE

A British politician who passed away in 1833, Wilberforce was said to have use opium for most of his life.