In 1950, an actress lost her TV show before it even aired. Behind Hollywood’s brightest smiles, many stars were fighting battles no one could see. From beloved TV moms to Hollywood legends, these women faced painful struggles with alcohol. Some lost everything, while others found the strength to rebuild their lives. It’s just a simple shift of weight. Just practice.

Number one, Lynda Carter. From 1975 to 1979, Lynda Carter spun around in a flash of light and became Wonder Woman. To millions of children, she was strong, brave, and perfect. But behind the golden lasso, she was fighting her own quiet battle. Lynda has said that she did not start drinking until her mid-20s. At first, it seemed harmless, just a way to relax after long days on set. But after her first marriage ended, the drinking got worse. She began to depend on it, and she hid it from the people around her. Her second husband, Robert Altman, saw the danger. He pushed her to get help, and she finally went to rehab. Lynda has been sober since the late 1990s. Today, she speaks openly about her struggle, hoping to help others who feel trapped. She also returned to her first love, music, and she performs as a singer around the world. The real superhero was the woman who saved herself.

Next, the warmest mom on television. Number two, Meredith Baxter. On Family Ties, Meredith Baxter played Elyse Keaton, the calm and loving mother who always knew what to say to her children. She was one of the warmest moms on television, but at home, her life was falling apart. Her marriage to the actor David Birney ended in a bitter divorce in 1989, followed by a painful fight over custody of their children. The stress was enormous. Meredith began drinking more and more to cope with the anger and sadness. She later said that wine became the way she got through every evening. She knew it was a problem and she was frightened by how much she needed it. In 1990, she took her last drink. She has stayed sober ever since for more than 30 years. She later wrote about her life in a memoir called Untied, telling the story with honesty and surprising humor. Readers were shocked to learn what had been happening behind the smile of the perfect sitcom mother.

Next, a tough television cop with a secret. Number three, Sharon Gless. From 1982 to 1988, Sharon Gless played Christine Cagney on the police drama Cagney and Lacey. Her character was tough and stubborn and the writers made her a heavy drinker. In one storyline, Christine finally admits that she is an alcoholic. Sharon won an Emmy Award in the year the show tackled the subject. Later, she realized something painful. She shared the same disease as her character. She was drinking far too much, often to deal with stress and loneliness. Sharon eventually got help and she stayed sober for 15 years. Then she relapsed and the struggle began again. She fought back once more and she has been sober since the 8th of May, 2015. Sharon later told her story in a memoir with a funny title, Apparently There Were Complaints. In it, she wrote about her career, her marriage and her drinking with real honesty. The actress who played a drinker had to face the truth about herself.

Next, the girl who turned the world on with her smile. Number four, Mary Tyler Moore. Mary Richards was the single woman who could turn the world on with her smile. Mary Tyler Moore made the character an icon of 70s television. But Mary grew up with alcohol all around her. Her mother was an alcoholic and Mary spent much of her childhood watching the damage it caused. Years later, she fell into the same pattern. She drank every evening at 6:00 even though she had type 1 diabetes, which made alcohol dangerous for her. In 1984, she finally entered treatment, spending 5 weeks at the Betty Ford Center. There was an irony in the story. Betty Ford, the former first lady who founded the center, had once made a guest appearance on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Now, Mary was a patient at the place Betty Ford had built. Mary later wrote about her life, her diabetes, and her recovery in her memoir Growing Up Again.

Next, a sitcom star who called hiding her drinking her best role. Number five, Gale Storm. In 1952, a sitcom called My Little Margie began as a summer replacement for I Love Lucy. Gale Storm played Margie Albright, a lively young woman who always got into funny trouble. The show was a big hit. In 1953, a poll ranked Gale as the second most popular star on television, behind only Lucille Ball. She later starred in another sitcom, The Gale Storm Show. But for many years, she was hiding a secret. Gale was drinking heavily, and she worked hard to keep anyone from finding out. She later said that hiding her drinking was the best acting job she ever did. Her family and friends had no idea how bad things had become. In the 1970s, she hit bottom. She admitted that she needed help, and she entered treatment. It took several attempts, but she recovered. In 1981, she wrote an autobiography about her life and her recovery, sharing her story to help others.

Next, a Star Trek star who came back from the edge. Number six, Grace Lee Whitney. Grace Lee Whitney played Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek, the loyal assistant of Captain Kirk with her striking beehive hairstyle. It seemed like the start of a great career. But only 6 months into the first season, she was released from her contract, and her character disappeared from the show. Grace was devastated. She later said that losing the role sent her spiraling. She struggled publicly with alcohol and other substances in the years that followed. Her life became chaotic and she lost touch with the world of acting. Before Star Trek, she had even played one of the band girls in Some Like It Hot. But Grace did not give up. She found recovery and she slowly rebuilt her life. She later wrote a memoir called The Longest Trek with a forward by Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock and had remained her friend. Her story had a beautiful second act. She returned to the Star Trek world in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 and she appeared in several later films. She spent her last 35 years sober and she devoted much of her time to helping other people with addictions, often visiting recovery groups and sharing her story. She died in 2015 at the age of 85.

Next, the mother from Lassie. Number seven, Jan Clayton. Long before television, Jan Clayton was a Broadway star. In 1945, she was the original Julie Jordan in the famous musical Carousel singing beautiful songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Later, she found a new audience on television. In 1954, she began playing Ellen Miller, the mother in Lassie. Every week, millions of families watched her care for her son and his brave collie dog. She seemed like the perfect mother. But Jan was fighting a private battle with alcohol. Her drinking grew worse over the years, especially after her daughter Sandra was killed in a car accident in the ’50s. In the 1970s, she began treatment for alcoholism. It was a hard road, but she found sobriety. Then she did something quietly remarkable. Every Thursday, she volunteered at the Alcoholism Council of Greater Los Angeles, answering phones and talking to people who called for help. Many of the callers had no idea that the kind woman on the phone was the famous mother from Lassie. She simply listened and helped. She also became a panelist on television game shows and kept singing in musicals until her death in 1983. Hers is a quiet redemption story of a star who used her own pain to help strangers.

Next, a film star who found a second act on television. Number eight, Jean Simmons. Jean Simmons was born in London and as a teenager she played the young Estella in Great Expectations, a role that would later come full circle. She became one of the great beauties of Hollywood starring in classics such as Spartacus opposite Kirk Douglas and Guys and Dolls and Desirée opposite Marlon Brando as well as Elmer Gantry with Burt Lancaster. Later in life she found a second act on television. In 1983 she won an Emmy Award for the famous mini-series The Thorn Birds and she also starred in the Civil War epic North and South. She had been nominated for two Oscars for Hamlet and The Happy Ending and her husbands included the actor Stewart Granger and the director Richard Brooks. Her career was still strong but she was struggling with alcohol in private. In the mid-1980s she entered treatment at the Betty Ford Center. She later gave credit to Betty Ford, the former first lady who founded the center, for helping her face her problem. Jean spoke openly about her recovery which was brave for a star of her generation. She continued to work after treatment and in 1989 she played Miss Havisham, the strange old woman in the wedding dress, in a Disney Channel version of Great Expectations.

Next, a pin-up star whose children saved her. Number nine, Jane Russell. Howard Hughes, the eccentric billionaire, made Jane Russell a star in The Outlaw, a western that caused huge controversy because of the way it showed her on posters. The film was finished in 1941 but battles with censors held back its wide release for years. She later starred in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Marilyn Monroe and the two became friends pressing their handprints into the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre together. Jane also held Bible study meetings at her home for years. She became the spokeswoman for Playtex in television adverts. She also made guest appearances on the series The Yellow Rose. For more than 20 years, she was married to the football star Bob Waterfield, her high school sweetheart. But Jane had a long battle with alcohol. In 1978, she was arrested for drunk driving and the story appeared in newspapers. For years, she kept drinking. Finally, when she was 79 years old, her children staged an intervention. They told her that she had to stop. Jane listened and she entered rehab. Her story is also full of kindness. In 1955, she founded WAIF, an organization that helped families adopt children. It helped place tens of thousands of children in loving homes. Jane had adopted three children herself.

Next, a Broadway legend with a famous wit. Number ten, Elaine Stritch. Elaine Stritch was born in Detroit into a wealthy family and she became a Broadway legend with a sharp tongue and a powerful voice. Noel Coward even wrote a musical for her called Sail Away and she was famous for singing The Ladies Who Lunch in the musical company. In the late 1970s, she starred in the British sitcom To the Manor Born. Decades later, she won an Emmy for playing the cold and funny mother of Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. Her greatest triumph was a one-woman show called Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which won a Tony Award. In it, she told the story of her life, including her long relationship with alcohol. She explained that her drinking began with stage fright. As a young performer, she was terrified before shows and a drink gave her courage. Over time, she needed more and more. Elaine eventually got sober and she stayed sober for more than 20 years. But later in life, she decided that one drink a night was fine. She was honest about that choice and she never pretended to be perfect. Her famous line was that she could not enjoy anybody sober. A documentary called Shoot Me followed her late in life and she died in 2014 at the age of 89.

Next, a radio legend who paid a price for speaking out. Number eleven, Mercedes McCambridge. Orson Welles once called Mercedes McCambridge the greatest living radio actress in the world. She had a deep, powerful voice that could chill listeners in a second. In 1949, she won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her very first film All the King’s Men. She later starred on television, too, leading series such as Defense Attorney and Family Skeleton. And she appeared in the classic Western Giant, earning another Oscar nomination. She also starred in the cult Western Johnny Guitar opposite Joan Crawford and the two famously did not get along. But behind her success, Mercedes was struggling with alcohol. During her marriage to the radio and television director Fletcher Markle from 1950 to 1962, her drinking became very heavy. She was hospitalized several times. She later said that she drank in secret, hiding bottles and pretending everything was fine. When she finally got sober, she did something very brave for the time. She went public. She testified before a Senate subcommittee in Washington, speaking openly about her alcoholism at a time when almost no famous women admitted such things. In 1970, she served as the honorary chair of Alcohol Information Week, helping people understand that alcoholism was a disease, not a moral failure. But speaking out came at a cost. Mercedes later said that going public cost her work because some producers no longer wanted to hire her.

Even so, her voice found one of its most famous roles. In 1973, she secretly provided the terrifying voice of the demon in The Exorcist. Her growls and screams frightened audiences around the world. She was not credited at first and she had to fight to get her name added to the film. Mercedes later wrote an autobiography called The Quality of Mercy, telling the story of her career, her struggles, and her recovery. She showed that a woman could admit her weakness and still be strong.

These 35 stars shared more than fame. They shared a disease that hid behind smiles, applause, and laugh tracks. Some, like Lynda Carter and Meredith Baxter, found sobriety and became voices of hope. Others, like Diana Barrymore and Barbara Payton, lost everything. But every story proves that addiction does not discriminate—and that recovery is possible.

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