Famous Vegans
There are two types of celebrity vegan; those who are famous for being vegan and those who are famous for something else, but happen to follow a vegan lifestyle.
Celebrity vegans are important to our movement, because they tend to have a lot of followers and can encourage people into researching the effects of animal agriculture on the environment, the animals and worldwide health.
Recently, Lewis Hamilton, Miley Cyrus, Natalie Portman and Woody Harrelson have all spoken about their vegan lifestyle in a way that encourages others to look into the lifestyle.
Famous vegans in history
Lots of very famous historical figures avoided animal products and the exploitation of sentient beings as part of their lifestyle, including Albert Einstein, Buddha, HG Wells, Leo Tolstoy, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mark Twain, Sir Isaac Newton and Voltaire.
For a full list and some lovely quotes, have a look at this page by Viva!. Here's our celebrity vegan list.
Famous Vegan People
There are lots of famous people who are vegan. Some of them you might not even know. From athletes to movie stars to writers to musicians, the vegan movement is spreading through the world of celebrity. Here are some of the best known vegan stars.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are a vegan power couple. Hemsworth was encouraged into veganism by his The Hunger Games co-star Woody Harrelson, who has been vegan since he was a twenty-something actor. Cyrus soon followed his example. Now, the pair regularly discuss their vegan diets on their Instagram accounts and publicly encourage their fans to alter their diets to exclude animal cruelty and exploitation.
Chris Hemsworth
Liam was our favourite Hemsworth because he was a vegan, but then brother Chris, also known as Thor, joined the movement and now we're all confused. We're not sure why Chris suddenly made the switch, but brother Liam told Men's Fitness that he had been trying to encourage Chris into a cruelty-free lifestyle, so we're guessing he heeded his sibling's advice.
Chris's personal trainer, Luke Zocchi, did wonders for the vegan movement when he confessed to Today Extra that he was concerned about the Avengers star's decision to go vegan because they were relying on animal protein to keep him buff, but that he was pleasantly surprised when Chris remained in tip-top physical condition.
Natalie Portman
Natalie was a long-time vegetarian. It isn't entirely obvious when she went vegan, but she spends a lot of time promoting the vegan lifestyle, even filming videos with companies like POPSUGAR to help dispel vegan myths.
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin's entire family are vegan. Their veganism was the result of fishing trip they took and hated when they were children. Now, Joaquin insists that the costumes he wears for his movie roles are made from vegan leather and wool.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis went vegan in 2018 and is not ashamed to admit that he is doing it for the animals. In December of the same year, he uploaded an emotional statement to Instagram highlighting the plight of the world's farmed animals.
Famous Vegans UK
According to Happy Cow, London is the number one city in the world. In 2017, it was the first city in the world to surpass 100 completely vegan restaurants. There are 3.5 million vegans in the UK.
Some of those vegans are famous. We've already mentioned Lewis Hamilton, but here are some other famous UK vegans.
Evanna Lynch
Harry Potter actress Evanna has teamed up with PETA on several occasions to promote veganism and condemn farming and animal testing. She's also a veganuary ambassador and was a keynote speaker at 2018's London Animal Rights March.
Jerome Flynn
Game Of Thrones star Jerome Flynn is a PETA spokesperson and insists that there is no way of ethically killing sentient beings. Jerome went vegan when he fell in love with a vegan woman at college.
Heather Mills
Heather Mills is not just any vegan, she is the owner of VBites. VBites sell 74 vegan products in over 20 countries. Heather went vegan in the early 90s as part of her search for an alternative therapy to traditional medicine. She spread the vegan message through her Instagram account.
Lucy and Tiffany Watson
The Watson sisters were both in Made in Chelsea. Now they're involved in lots of vegan-based activities, including opening a vegan restaurant called Tell Your Friends in West London. Both girls regularly discuss their veganism on their very active Instagram accounts.
Famous Vegan Athletes
Vegan athletes are important to the movement because vegans are often asked where we get our protein from. Veganism is generally not considered to be very masculine or a very ‘strong' thing to do. If you're vegan, you have no doubt been asked if you are healthy more than once. Vegan athletes are proof that our lifestyle is not just cruelty-free, it can be very healthy, too.
For a full list of vegan athletes, check out this website.
Patrik Baboumian
Patrik is a former bodybuilder and a former Germany's Strongest Man. He's a European powerlifting champion and has several strength world records.
Carl Lewis
In the 1980s, Carl Lewis was voted Athlete of the Decade and Olympic Athlete of the Century. He was a vegan sprinter and won nine Olympic gold medals.
Fiona Oakes
Fiona Oakes is a vegan marathon runner with top-level finishes in lots of prestigious events. She has the course record in the North Pole and has ran the Marathon des Sables, a 154 mile event across the Sahara, twice. Fiona also almost single-handedly runs an animal sanctuary.
Famous Vegan Activists
Like most movements, veganism has formed celebrities. There are several well-known individuals who rose to fame because of their vegan activism. They're great, because most of them are in the fortunate position of having enough support that they can promote veganism full time.
Earthling Ed
Ed used to enjoy chicken so much that his local KFC knew his name and his order. Now, he is the founder of SURGE, The Big Vegan Activism Van and Unity Diner. He travels across the country visiting universities and events to talk about veganism.
James Aspey
James says on his website that he replaced drugs, cancer and bulimia with surfing, veganism and meditation. Through his social media accounts, James travels the world highlighting the plight of animals and the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Naturally Stefanie
Stefanie is a vegan blogger and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. On her Instagram account and through her website, she promotes exercise and healthy eating. Her recipes are easy to make and simple to understand.
Joey Carbstrong
Joey Carbstrong has a checkered past. Unfortunately, this past is often used to invalidate his veganism in TV debates or whenever he is interviewed for newspapers or magazines. Still, Joey has a loyal following and, through his YouTube channel, is promoting veganism as a positive lifestyle change and a necessary lifestyle for animal lovers and environmentalists.
Famous Vegan Quotes
"If a kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again." -James Cromwell
"Eating meat is the most disgusting thing I can think of. It's like biting into your grandmother." -Morrisey
"I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man" -Ghandi
"There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery." -Charles Darwin
"Could you look an animal in the eyes and say to it, ‘My appetite is more important than your suffering'?" -Moby
"Being a vegan just helps me build up my self-esteem. I feel good about it every time I eat a meal." -Steve-O
"Why are vegans made fun of while the inhumane factory farming process regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit?" -Ellen Page
"Everyone has to find what is right for them, and it is different for everyone. Eating for me is how you proclaim your beliefs three times a day. That is why all religions have rules about eating. Three times a day, I remind myself that I value life and do not want to cause pain to or kill other living beings. That is why I eat the way I do." -Natalie Portman
"I can't think of anything better in the world to be but a vegan." -Alicia Silverstone
"If you don't like seeing pictures of violence towards animals being posted, you need to help stop the violence, not the pictures." -Johnny Depp
"The concept that you are not ingesting rotting flesh sort of sums it up for me." -Bryan Adams
