Famous Vegans

Famous vegans help raise awareness of veganism simply by being themselves. So no matter how you feel about our celebrity-obsessed culture, the fact is that celebrity vegans can show the world what a healthy vegan lifestyle and vegan diet – filled with vegan food and vegan recipes – really looks like.

Unfortunately, the most mainstream media coverage that veganism tends to get is that of parents with children whose health is suffering from a vegan diet that doesn’t represent the balanced nutrition it should.

In fact, veganism is a perfectly healthy alternative for anyone at any age. It’s simply a matter of knowing what can vegans eat to ensure proper intake of vitamins and minerals. Building a strong foundation of vegan resources helps so much, whether it’s:

• Favorite-placing a website that has a detailed food list for vegans
• Frequenting a store where there’s a large selection of vegan food
• Opening a vegan cookbook filled with tasty vegan recipes

As with any product, endorsements of vegan products from famous vegans influence consumer choices. (One example is Natalie Portman’s line of vegan shoes.) And everything celebrity vegans wear makes a statement with their fur-free, leather-free vegan clothes – from paparazzi shots of famous vegans on the streets of L.A., to televised coverage of red carpet events.

PETA teams up with celebrity vegans all the time. Granted their focus is vegetarianism, but the fact is that it’s easier for people to imagine a meat-free diet if they can still eat dairy. I probably wouldn’t have made the leap from meat-eating to veganism without vegetarianism in between. In fact, it’s the dairy debate that inspired the vegan lifestyle in the first place, as explained by the history of veganism.

The list of celebrity vegans is a long one. The most famous vegans include:

Actors

• Casey Affleck
• Pamela Anderson
• Gillian Anderson
• Ed Begley, Jr.
• Linda Blair
• James Cromwell
• Ellen Degeneres
• Portia De Rossi
• Daryl Hannah
• Woody Harrelson
• Kevin Nealon
• Joaquin Phoenix
• River Phoenix
• Jason Schwartzman
• Alicia Silverstone

Musicians

• Bryan Adams
• Fiona Apple
• Erykah Badu
• Chrissie Hynde
• Joan Jett
• Anthony Kiedis
• Lenny Kravitz
• K.D. Lang
• Jared Leto
• Paul McCartney
• Moby
• Morrissey
• Alanis Morissette
• Prince
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Rikki Rockett
• Grace Slick
• Shania Twain
• "Weird Al" Yankovic
• André 3000
• The Veronicas

Athletes

• Ken Bradshaw (Professional Big Wave Surfer)
• Peter Brock (Australian touring car driver)
• Mac Danzig (professional mixed martial arts fighter)
• Scott Jurek (ultramarathon runner)
• Carl Lewis (track and field star)
• Mike Mahler (Professional strength coach)
• Martyn Moxon (English cricketer)
• Salim Stoudamire (Professional NBA Player)
• Ed Templeton (Professional skateboarder)
• Ricky Williams (Professional American Football Player)

Other notable people

• Peter Bogdanovich (film director)
• César Chávez (American civil rights activist and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association)
• Casey Kasem (U.S. DJ/media personality/voice of Shaggy)
• Coretta Scott King (civil rights leader)
• Dennis Kucinich (congressman)
• Daniel Negreanu (professional poker player)
• Petra Nemcova (supermodel)
• Robin Quivers (talk-show host)
• Alice Walker (author and feminist)

For more about famous vegans and vegan information, including answers to the question “What can vegans eat?,” explore this website for more on the vegan diet, vegan food (including a healthy food list for vegans) and vegan recipes. You can also get a FREE Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating. But keep in mind that this link will take you to the Vegan Outreach website so please … if you haven’t already, sign The Vegan Pledge and check out The Vegan Pledge Blog before journeying on your vegan way!