In celebration of his 44th birthday on Wednesday, Jay Z announced on his Life + Times blog that he—along with his wife Beyoncé—would eschew all meat, dairy, and other animal products in a 22-day challenge that he hopes will permanently change his eating habits. “Any professional vegans out there that have any great food spots please help out!” he wrote. “I don’t know what happens after Christmas. A semi-vegan, a full plant-based diet? Or just a spiritual and physical challenge? We’ll see…” The rapper is just the latest in a long string of health-conscious celebrities embracing a vegan diet. Here are a few others who have proudly jumped on the animal-byproduct-free bandwagon.
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The notorious hamburger-and-Diet Coke-downing 42th president got a wakeup call in the form of a quadruple bypass a few years after his presidency and, in 2010, an angioplasty. That year, he decided to convert to veganism to cure his unhealthy eating habits, at the encouragement of his daughter, Chelsea. Clinton quickly started dropping the pounds, but isn’t as hardcore as many of his vegan counterparts: he’s admitted to cheating with a piece of salmon or omelet once a week.
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It’s only fitting that the climate-change activist would follow in the footsteps of Clinton, his partner in the White House. Just this year, it was revealed that former Vice President Al Gore had become a vegan. The environmentally conscientious have long pointed out that a plant-based diet cuts down on a massive amount of the CO2 and water consumption that contributes to global warming.
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Even onetime cannibal Mike Tyson has sworn off flesh. Explaining his diet, Tyson told Ann Curry last year: “I just threw up the white flag. Too many prison cells, too many jails, too many lawsuits, too many bankruptcies, too many women, too many venereal diseases, too many everything. I got tired.” The 46-year-old heavyweight champion has shed 100 pounds since his conversion in 2012.
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Iconic Clueless star and PETA poster-child Alicia Silverstone went vegan at 21 after suffering from asthma, acne, and insomnia. Now she trains others through her cookbook and website, The Kind Life. “The way I live and eat now , it’s changed me as an actress — totally,” she told The New York Times in 2010.
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In an effort to ward off the bad health of his father, who died of a heart attack, Usher decided to go vegan in 2012. Apparently, he even tried to persuade his protégé Justin Bieber to take the same jump, but the pop star wasn’t having it.
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A former sex addict and heroin junkie turned prolific author, yoga-devotee, and vegan? Comedian Russell Brand has been a vegetarian since age 14, but went all in, purging animal products from his diet, in 2011. He announced it via a tweet, which simply said: “I’m now vegan, goodbye egg.” Brand made the switch after watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, which argues that a plant-based diet can combat a myriad diseases.
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Maverick explorer, diver, and film maker James Cameron wasn’t afraid of a little dietary challenge. He converted to veganism in 2012 after “an epiphany,” as he told the crowd at the National Geographic Society’s 125th anniversary gala this past summer. “I want to challenge all of you as people of deep conscience, people who are environment stewards of the earth and oceans,” Cameron said. “By changing what you eat, you will change the entire contract between the human species and the natural world.”
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