We’re Glad They’re Still Here: Celebs Who Survived Suicide Attempts

With millions of adoring fans and millions in the bank, celebrities may seem to have it all but behind closed doors, they have their dark moments too.Here’s a list of stars who have survived suicide attempts.

Paris Jackson

Paris Jackson lived a life relatively outside of the spotlight until her very famous dad suddenly passed away in June 2009. Since then, the King of Pop’s only daughter has struggled to deal with his death. To make matters worse, the 15-year-old is expected to stand trial at the lawsuit her family has filed against Jackson’s concert promoter later this month. Early Tuesday morning the younger Jackson was rushed to the hospital after trying to take her own life. She reportedly slit her wrist and took a large amount of aspirin pills. Grandma Katherine’s rep has released a statement on the teen: “Being a sensitive 15-year-old is difficult no matter who you are. It is especially difficult when you lose the person closest to you. Paris is physically fine and is getting appropriate medical attention. Please respect her privacy and the family’s privacy.”

Halle Berry

Halle Berry has been named the “Most Beautiful Woman” by People magazine but even the insanely gorgeous can hit a rough patch. The Oscar winning actress was at her wit’s end after her marriage to professional baseball player David Justice ended in divorce. Berry admitted to trying to kill herself by carbon monoxide poisoning. She locked herself in the garage and turned the car on but changed her mind when she pictured her mother finding her dead body. Although Berry’s second marriage also ended in divorce, as did her relationship with her daughter’s father, the Monster’s Ball star has finally found happiness with fiancé and the soon-to-be father of her second child Olivier Martinez.

Eminem

Eminem burst onto the rap scene in 1997 and became a household name. The blonde-hair blue-eyed emcee’s lyrics immediately drew attention because of its particularly dark and misogynistic content. Although he frequently rapped about killing his daughter’s mother as well as his own mom, Emimen, real name Marshall Mathers, tried to take his own life by swallowing a bottle of Tylenol pills before he became a star. The Detroit native was distraught over his then girlfriend keeping his daughter away from him after a break-up. Eminem also nearly died after he overdosed on pills during the height of his career but he is now clean and sober.

Fantasia

Singer Fantasia Barrino shot to stardom after winning the third season of “American Idol.” Going from a nobody to a household name overnight can be tough on anyone. Add in the responsibilities of being a single mom and the sole provider in her family, publicly frolicking with (and getting pregnant by) a married man, and a struggling singing career and it’s not hard to see how all of the pressure boiled over in 2010 when the singer tried to take her own life by overdosing on pills. Many speculated her philandering relationship was the root of the attempt but Barrino admitted it was much more than just that. “I lost a lot of things. I lost a lot of friends, a lot of family. I lost a lot of money. I’m not sad about any of that and I wouldn’t change any of it because it made me the woman that I am today. It made me smarter and wiser,” Barrino said.

Elton John

British pop star Elton John wasn’t always an openly proud gay man. There was a time in Sir John’s young life where he struggled to keep his sexuality a secret. Upset over a lost lover, the “Rocket Man” singer tried to end his life by sticking his head inside of a gas oven. Luckily a friend caught him in the act before anything serious happened. Before he was comfortable living out loud and proud, the rock star was previously married to his secretary. When that ended in divorce, Sir John married another woman, which also didn’t work out. The 66-year-old singer is now in a civil partnership with long-term lover David Furnish. The happy couple has two sons.

Oprah

Could you imagine a world without Oprah Winfrey? Although the talk show maven has one of the best rags to riches stories ever, there was a time when things in Winfrey’s world seemed bleak. A then 14-year-old pregnant Winfrey attempted suicide by drinking a bottle of laundry detergent. The media mogul blames the attempt on the fact that she was so scared of coming home to her father pregnant. Winfrey’s baby died shortly after birth. Looking back on her life, the owner of her own cable network believes it was a blessing in disguise. “When the baby died, I knew that it was my second chance,” she said.

Children growing up in Hollywood tend to grow up faster than normal children. That was certainly the case with Drew Barrymore who grabbed her first role at 11 months. The child star started smoking cigarettes at nine years old. By the time she was 13, she had graduated to snorting coke. After leaving a drug rehab, 14-year-old Barrymore tried to kill herself. After another rehab stint, the Charlie’s Angel star cleaned up, got her act together and went on to have a successful acting career.

Vanilla Ice

No one had a bigger hit in 1989 than rapper Vanilla Ice. “Ice Ice Baby” topped the charts and shot Vanilla Ice into superstar status overnight. The sudden success and subsequent downfall proved to be too much for the one-hit wonder. Just a few years after experiencing unheard of success, Ice, born Robert Van Winkle, tried to end his life by overdosing on heroin. After switching music genres, Winkle found success in real estate by flipping houses and is currently the host of “The Vanilla Ice Project” on the DIY network.

Jayson Williams

From the outside looking in, professional athletes seem to have it all with the adoring fans and multi-million dollar contracts but sometimes the fairytale doesn’t always have a happy ending. Former NBA all-star Jayson Williams was on a downward spiral after he accidentally killed someone in his New Jersey home in 2002. The one-time New Jersey Nets player spent the next several years in court fighting for his freedom. In 2009, police were called to a Manhattan hotel room to find an intoxicated and suicidal Williams. Reports showed police found empty pill bottles and a suicide note. Williams had to be tasered and handcuffed to stop him from killing himself. He has since plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Artie Lange

Comedian Artie Lange has battled with substance abuse for much of his career. The 45-year-old radio host famously walked out midway through the second season of “MadTV” due to his coke habit. Lange saw his star rise to enormous heights when he joined the cast of the widely popular “The Howard Stern Show” on radio. No matter how successful he got, the New Jersey native could not shake his demons. In January 2010, Lange was rushed to the hospital after he stabbed himself nine times. Fortunately, doctors were able to save Lange who remained in a psych ward for eight months following the incident.

Owen Wilson

Actor Owen Wilson has starred in numerous comedy films during his career but behind closed doors, the Wedding Crashers star battled with drugs and depression. 46-year-old Wilson was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after slitting his wrists in August 2007. Rumors circulated that it was the break-up with fellow actress Kate Hudson that sent Wilson into a tailspin. After receiving treatment for depression, Wilson and Hudson rekindled their relationship before calling it quits for good. Wilson and his current girlfriend Jade Duell have one son together.

Ginuwine

R&B singer Ginuwine had ladies across the country and the world swooning whenever he sang since the mid 90’s but amid all of the fame and accolades, the Washington, D.C. native went through a dark period in his live when he lost his parents within a short period of time. The “Pony” singer revealed his mother passed away from cancer less than a year after his father killed himself. During this emotional time, Ginuwine tried to follow in his father’s footsteps and take his own life. “There was no one around that I really loved at the time, so I turned to the drinking and drugs like weed and ecstasy,” Ginuwine confessed. “I was done mentally and emotionally to the point that I had to go see a psychiatrist, but that didn’t do any good because I wasn’t interested. In fact, the two times I visited him I was high. I was depressed and felt like I had nobody to talk to that could relate to me.” The R&B singer credits counseling with his pastor for helping out.

Drew Carey

Drew Carey has enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood for a long time but it wasn’t always great times for the comedian. The “Price Is Right” host had a very rough upbringing and tried to end his life twice by overdosing on pills, once when he was 18 and again in his early 20’s. Carey opened up about his battle with depression and how he is able to get through each day now. “I learned how to believe in myself,” he said. “Learned how to set goals, you know, self help books, man. I just read every single one I can get a hold of and I still do. I read that stuff all the time still. I am always coming out bigger, better, stronger and happier.”

Danny Bonaduce

By the time he was 11 years old, Danny Bonaduce was a star thanks to his role of Danny Partridge on the TV show “The Partridge Family.” The ginger-haired actor grew up with the cameras in his face so it was no surprise he starred in his own reality show later in life. The highly emotional actor turned radio host unraveled during the taping of “Breaking Bonaduce” and tried to commit suicide after his wife asked for a divorce. The attempt nor his hospitalization that followed where shown on-screen.

Ken Griffey, Jr.

The pressures a rookie feels when they step into the big leagues can be overwhelming. Just days after inking a deal, a 17-year-old Ken Griffey, Jr. attempted to end his life by downing over 200 aspirin pills. The future baseball great woke up in the intensive care unit. He has since opened up about his why he felt so despondent. “It seemed like everyone was yelling at me in baseball, then I came home and everyone was yelling at me there,” Griffey recalled. “I got depressed. I got angry. I didn’t want to live.” With one of the prettiest swings in baseball, the 13-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, a 7-time Silver Slugger award winner and 1997 MVP went on to have stellar career.