Celebrities Who Got Sober After Their 40th Birthday

By giving up alcohol after turning 40, many celebrities have proven that it's never too late to make major changes to get healthier. They've also disproven the age-old notion that "the damage is already done" by discussing how sobriety has improved their lives. However, you don't just have to take an A-lister's word for it, as research also indicates that even temporary alcohol cessation can be beneficial for one's health. 

A 2018 study published in BMJ Open compared the health markers of two groups of moderate to heavy drinkers. While the first group practiced sobriety for a month, the second group continued drinking alcohol. The abstinence group's mean age was 45.5 years across 94 individuals, and its counterpart had a mean age of 48.7 years across 47 folks. At the end of the study, the abstinence group showed improvements in blood pressure, insulin resistance, weight, and cancer-related growth factors. None of these changes could notably be chalked up to other lifestyle factors. In contrast, the group that continued drinking showed no major changes in their health markers over the period of the study.

Another major upside of practicing sobriety after you turn 40 is that you don't have to experience how alcohol affects your system with age. As we grow older, our bodies have a tougher time metabolizing alcohol. Subsequently, alcohol stays in our systems longer and makes us more prone to falls, affects our sleep quality, and ultimately causes more intense hangovers that take longer to recover from. With all this in mind, there's no denying that celebrities (and countless everyday people) have made the right call by choosing sobriety, even if it was in their 40s or beyond. 

In July 2026, a 45-year-old Kelly Rowland said on Women's Health's "The Huddle" podcast that she had been sober since she was around 43 years old. The former Destiny's Child member revealed that she had been sleeping better and felt more mentally alert in the years since. 

Rowland also told Business Insider the month prior that eliminating alcohol from her life was one of the many lifestyle changes that had helped her get her eczema under control. After experiencing what drinking alcohol does to a person's skin, specifically the facial puffiness it can cause, Rowland has been happy with how sobriety looks on her.

Speaking at a panel in September 2023 (via People), Gisele Bündchen revealed that she had quit drinking when she was around 41 years old. When the supermodel appeared on the "Rich Roll Podcast" the following year, she shared that she had previously been a moderate drinker and mostly only drank to meet social expectations. However, she eventually realized that she had no desire to succumb to peer pressure and had no problems enjoying a cup of tea while others had alcohol. At the panel event, Bündchen confirmed that sobriety had changed her life for the better, saying, "It's amazing how much more clear [I feel]."

Speaking on the "Heart of the Matter" podcast in September 2021, Patricia Heaton revealed that she had sworn off alcohol in 2020 60. The star of "The Middle" was forced to think about what drinking alcohol really does to a person's brain after she struggled to say the word "tradition" after having a couple of glasses of wine. 

Heaton explained that although she had felt fine in the moment, she knew that drinking had affected her brain and altered her communication skills. She admitted to Parade in July 2020 that although she still longed to drink sometimes, she knew that sobriety had changed her life for the better.

Kelly Ripa revealed to People in February 2020 that she didn't have to put too much thought into her decision to practice sobriety in 2019 while she was in her late 40s. After doing a month-long sobriety challenge with her friends, the talk show host realized that she wasn't rushing to have a drink. 

Ripa also highlighted the positive changes she experienced after that month, saying, "It felt great, I felt like I looked great, I felt like I didn't feel hungover." That same month, her nutritionist, Daryl Gioffre, informed Women's Health of another simple reason she chose sobriety: "She just knows what her body needs and what it doesn't need."

Speaking to Muscle & Fitness in August 2025, Brett Young opened up about his decision to go sober in his early 40s, saying, "I just decided that [alcohol] was not serving me at all," he continued. "In fact, it's doing nothing but make life more difficult." 

In January 2026, the "Mercy" singer told People that his decision to go sober was largely motivated by a desire to hone his health for his family's sake. Still, Young initially found sobriety difficult since alcohol had helped ease the stresses of his country music career. Still, he was happy to report that it had transformed him into a more self-assured performer.

In a January 2026 Instagram post, Chrissy Teigen revealed she had been sober for 52 days, starting her journey not long after turning 40 in mid-November 2025. The model was previously among the celebrities who gave up alcohol then reintroduced it into their lives, but after being sober for two years, Teigen revealed in a May 2025 Instagram post that she had started drinking in moderation. 

However, in her more recent Instagram update, Teigen confessed that she was unable to drink mindfully and ultimately felt she was better off being completely sober. This time around, though, she didn't feel compelled to drink because she had overcome her previous misconceptions that she needed alcohol to be funny or manage her nerves. 

During a September 2023 chat with People, Valerie Bertinelli revealed that a big part of the reason she gave up drinking in her early 60s was that she had grown more mindful of what she wanted to consume as she grew older. The "One Day at a Time" alum stressed that she had no desire to go back to her old ways, saying, "I don't miss it because I don't miss how it actually made me feel either after having it or the next day." Two years later, in an April 2025 Instagram Story, she shared that sobriety had done wonders for her mental health.