5 Vegetarian Celebs Who Swear By Plant-Based Diets

Staying healthy remains top of mind for many celebrities. In addition to staying fit, plenty of Hollywood's biggest names follow specific dieting rules, including going plant-based. For some stars, the desire to embrace a plant-based diet stems (pun fully intended) from a commitment to avoid consuming meats and foods containing animal byproducts. For others, their bodies just seem to respond better when they're fueling up on mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and grains.

It's no secret that this lifestyle choice comes with a few science-backed health benefits. A 2023 review in the European Heart Journal looked into the long-term health impacts of vegan and vegetarian diets, and the authors found that vegetarians typically enjoy lower cholesterol levels, are less likely to be overweight, and have a decreased risk of developing chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. With that said, they also acknowledged some potential downsides to plant-focused diets, such as the possibility of getting too few nutrients due to restrictive eating behaviors. Still, considering the numerous upsides of going plant-based (including a lower risk of cancer), the following celebs might just be on the right track.

Ricky Martin soared to fame in the U.S. in the 1990s as a performer, but it wasn't until 2013 when he made the decision to go vegetarian. At the time, he went on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and noted, "I am not eating meat at all. And I feel amazing. My cholesterol is stable, my head is clear, I sleep better, my energy is where it needs to be." 

That same year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a special U.S. postal stamp sheet featuring Martin alongside other celebrities in honor of their vegetarian lifestyles. Since then, Martin has been consistent in his decision to stop eating animals. In 2021, the singer raved to Vogue about the natural cholesterol-lowering effects that going vegetarian had for him. And in a 2024 appearance on "Dr. Oz," Martin gushed about his daily health regimen, including one of his go-to vegetarian dishes: spiced mango chutney. Yum!

Country singing sensation Carrie Underwood comes close to being a full-fledged vegan, with her primarily (but not strictly) plant-based diet. She does, however, avoid ultra-processed foods, as well as all meat products. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Tonight, the singer identified as vegan; however, she admitted to being more flexible with her diet due to her pregnancy, saying, "Now that I'm pregnant, I can't just order steamed broccoli; that's not gonna cut it."

Nowadays, Underwood calls herself a "wannabe vegan," enjoying eggs and cheese from time to time. As she told VegNews in 2025, "Overall, keeping things as simple as possible is always the best." It seems that the star shifts between being vegan and being vegetarian, which, according to research, isn't unusual for plant-based dieters. Case in point, a 2016 study from Faunalytics found that 84% of vegans and vegetarians at the time eventually switched to a different eating plan.

Aside from being a prolific Hollywood star, producer, and director, Forest Whitaker is a passionate advocate for vegetarianism. Nearly two decades ago, in 2008, he sat down for a PETA testimonial with his daughter True, and he called becoming a vegetarian "one of the best choices [he had] ever made." In the video, Whitaker revealed that he became a vegetarian years earlier because he no longer wished to consume meat.

In an interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in 2007, Whitaker gave more context into how his vegetarian journey affected his acting during filming for a movie in Uganda. During the discussion, he was asked about whether or not his vegetarianism collided with being able to eat authentic African meals while on set. Whitaker responded that because of the starch-heavy diet that's common in Uganda, he had no shortage of options. Indeed, many Ugandan food favorites are plant-based or make limited use of animal ingredients.

Tennis legend Venus Williams surprised the world by coming out of retirement in her 40s. What's behind her ability to play like a champion again? One answer could be her self-named "chegan" diet, a mix of the words "cheat" and "vegan." After all, the daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus she shared with Tennis World in 2020, which feature a lot of fruits and vegetables, land her squarely in vegetarian territory. However, she does enjoy the occasional egg white omelet, as she told Cosmopolitan (via Yahoo!) in 2016.

In addition to helping Williams maintain her athletic abilities and better manage her autoimmune disorder, she shared with Forks Over Knives that vegetarianism has also given her "amazing skin." Her sister and fellow tennis star, Serena, also follows a plant-based diet. Initially deciding to try veganism to make Venus' dietary adjustment easier, Serena felt herself becoming healthier and stronger, and has since adhered to a predominantly plant-based diet.

At age 11, after learning what happens inside slaughterhouses, TV and film star Zendaya was dead set on becoming a lifelong vegetarian. That's a pretty amazing feat, given that she's not head over heels for veggies. As Zendaya announced on her now-defunct app in 2016, "My main reason for being a vegetarian is that I'm an animal lover — definitely NOT because I love vegetables" (via Yahoo! Life). Interestingly, Zendaya being a vegetarian who dislikes vegetables doesn't seem to be an uncommon phenomenon. When Dr. Hal Herzog of Psychology Today asked vegetarian Facebook users who dislike vegetables to contact him, he received a lot of responses.

What does a daily menu look like if you're a vegetarian who doesn't cook and isn't exactly delighted to consume garden fare, then? In Zendaya's case, instead of glorified salads or stir-fried veggies, the menu contains a hodge-podge of recipes like pancakes with Nutella, lemonade, noodles, and the occasional ice cream indulgence.