It’s no secret that younger people are more forthcoming about mental health. A 2015 study conducted by American University found that millennials are more likely to talk about mental health, as well as be accepting of others who struggle with it, compared to their parents or grandparents. And in the years since that study was published, this openness has found a place in the spotlight, as leading in talents in pop culture have spoken out about their own experiences.
From Billie Eilish’s raw transparency to Selena Gomez’s career-encompassing commitment to the cause to Cara Delevingne’s candour around her newfound sobriety, here are some of the stars raising awareness and reducing stigma around mental health.
Billie Eilish
Since bursting onto the scene in 2017, Billie Eilish has emerged as a fierce mental health advocate. As well as exploring her inner struggles via her music, the experimental pop singer has also been refreshingly candid in interviews, speaking about her struggles with depression, body dysmorphia, and more. “Depression has controlled sort of like everything in my life,” she told Zane Lowe during an interview on Apple Music’s Beats 1. “For my whole life, I’ve kind of always been a melancholy person.”
This sensibility is reflected in much of her art, and most recently in her song “What Was I Made For,” written with brother Finneas O’Connell for the Barbie movie. As she matures, Eilish continues to reckon with a sense of melancholy, as well as the darker sides of fame. When asked about unending exposure during a recent interview with Allure, Eilish shared a characteristically honest take.
“I’m starting to do better, but I’ve not been doing so great, to be honest. For a while. I have impending-doom feelings most of the day. When I think too much about it, how I can never have privacy again, it’s enough to make you want to do all sorts of crazy things. But you have to let it go.”
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez has dedicated a large portion of her career to the issue of mental health — from speaking out about her own struggles, to raising money, to founding entire brands focused on mental health maintenance. For years, Gomez has been incredibly open about her own mental health and she’s worked to help others facing similar challenges find support. In 2021, Gomez co-founded Wondermind, a platform designed to foster community and provide education and resources around mental health, while her Rare Impact Fund aims to raise over $100 million within the next decade to benefit mental health services and education. And with the release of her 2022 documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, Gomez made it clear that her commitment to this cause — both personal and global — is wholehearted, authentic and ongoing. “I don’t feel good all the time,” Gomez recently told Vogue — though time spent with her 10-year-old sister, Gracie Elliott, helps. “She reminds me of a perspective in life that can be a bit simpler and pure. Even just having a moment with her makes me feel better.”
Cara Delevingne
In US Vogue’s April cover story, Cara Delevingne opened up about her mental health, her family, and her journey toward sobriety (which she has achieved with the help of a 12-step program and therapy). Delevingne began experimenting with substances as a child, experiencing mental health issues (and starting various therapies) at the age of 10, and taking antidepressants at 15 after an emotional breakdown. “This wasn’t a chemical imbalance as much as it was a full trauma response,“ she said, adding that medication “saved [her] life.”
Delevingne went on to reveal that during the pandemic, she suffered what she terms an existential crisis — a bout of depression that saw her falling back into destructive habits. She finally asked for help in late 2022. “I just needed support. I needed to start reaching out. And my old friends I’ve known since I was 13, they all came over and we started crying. They looked at me and said, ‘You deserve a chance to have joy.’ ”
Megan Thee Stallion
Seize the Awkward — a national US campaign that urges youth to talk to their peers about mental health, and has previously tapped the likes of Billie Eilish — found this year’s spokesperson in Megan Thee Stallion. “I’ve always been told I’ve got to be strong — thick skinned, stiff upper lip, tough as nails,” says Stallion in an accompanying video. “But to be everything for everybody? It wears on you. Black don’t crack, they say. But it can. I can. We all can.” Stallion goes on to remind viewers that vulnerability is strength — and that we all need a little help from our friends.
Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner experienced postpartum depression with both of her pregnancies, a reality that she shared with Vanity Fair Italia in February of this year. “I have experienced it. Twice. The first time was very difficult, the second was more manageable,” she said, before offering advice to new mother going through the same thing. “I would tell those women not to overthink things and to live all the emotions of that moment to the fullest. Stay inside that moment, even if it is painful. I know, in those moments you think that it will never pass, that your body will never be the same as before, that you will never be the same. That’s not true: the hormones, the emotions at that stage are much, much more powerful and bigger than you. My advice is to live through that transition, without fear of the aftermath. The risk is to miss all the most beautiful things of motherhood as well.”
Lucy Hale
Earlier this year, Lucy Hale took to Instagram to share that she had achieved one year of sobriety. “This is a post about self-love and about the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” she captioned. “On 2 January, 2023 I celebrated one year of sobriety. While this journey has mostly been private, I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved.” Days later, on an episode of podcast The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, Hale shared that her issues with alcohol came in the company of eating disorders and a low sense of self-worth. “I tried to change for boyfriends, I tried to change for my mom, I tried to change for my career, I tried to change for vain reasons — ‘I’ll look younger and look skinnier. I’ll stop drinking for that.’ One of my best friends died of alcoholism and that still didn’t make me want to get sober,” she said, going on to note that in her case, alcohol wasn't the problem — the problem was “this feeling inside of me.” Hale’s sobriety came from a deep desire to prioritise peace — and herself. “I said, ‘I deserve more out of this life. I have to try it a different way.’ ”
Hailey Bieber
Social media melodrama can get under all of our skins — and celebrities are no exception. Earlier this year, obsessive online analysis of Hailey Bieber’s relationship with husband Justin, and her interactions with his ex-girlfriend Gomez, inspired Bieber to take to Instagram Stories to share her own struggle. “I like to make jokes about how I feel because sometimes it’s easier than admitting I’m having a hard time,” she wrote. “But truthfully since 2023 started I have had some of the saddest, hardest moments I’ve ever had in my adult life and my mind and emotions have been fragile to say the least. And I know so many other people feel the way I feel, so just know you’re not alone.”
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has never been one to dismiss the realities of mental health hygiene. The pop star canceled the remainder of his Justice World Tour earlier this year, sharing that previous health concerns and subsequent shows in Europe had “taken a toll” on him, and that he needed to prioritise rest. In a 2019 interview with Vogue, Bieber spoke about why he had to cancel 14 dates of his Purpose tour back in 2017. “I got really depressed on tour,” he explained. “I haven’t talked about this, and I’m still processing so much stuff that I haven’t talked about. I was lonely. I needed some time.”
He also got real about how he’s misused prescription drugs in the past. “I found myself doing things that I was so ashamed of, being super-promiscuous and stuff, and I think I used Xanax because I was so ashamed,” he said. “Drugs put a screen between me and what I was doing. It got pretty dark.” Having overcome drug abuse and achieved more stability, due in no small part to the work he’s put into his marriage to Hailey Baldwin, Bieber has been dedicated to working on himself from the inside out.
Simone Biles
Simone Biles made headlines when she chose to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics midway through the competition, citing her mental health. “I say put mental health first,” she said at a 2021 news conference. “Because if you don’t, then you’re not going to enjoy your sport and you’re not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it’s okay sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are — rather than just battle through it.”
Maisie Williams
During an interview on the Happy Place podcast, Maisie Williams revealed that being in the spotlight from a young age has taken a serious toll on her self-esteem and mental health. Cast as Game of Thrones’s Arya Stark at 12, Williams said the constant social media criticism she experienced throughout the show’s run was overwhelming. “It gets to a point where you’re almost craving something negative, so you can just sit in a hole of sadness,” Williams explained. “I still lie in bed at, like, 11 o’clock at night telling myself all the things I hate about myself. It’s just really terrifying that you’re ever going to slip back into it. That’s still something that I’m really working on, because I think that’s really hard. It’s really hard to feel sad and not feel completely defeated by it.” Having built up her inner confidence over the years, Williams has been able to shift her perspective. “It sounds really hippy-dippy and, like, look within you to find peace, but it is true,” she said. “At the end of your day, you’re making yourself feel this way for a reason.”
Sophie Turner
Also affected by the Game of Thrones mania was Williams’s co-star Sophie Turner. On Dr. Phil’s podcast series, the 22-year-old actress discussed living with depression, as well as how deeply affected she’s been by negative social media commentary in the past. It was when Turner hit puberty that she started to take negative feedback on social media to heart. “It was just a lot of weight comments,” she said. “Or I would have spotty skin, because I was a teenager, and that’s normal, and I used to get a lot of comments about my skin and my weight and how I wasn’t a good actress.” At one point, Turner said she’d had a hard time getting out of bed and once even contemplated suicide. “I don’t think I viewed myself as worthy of anything that I was doing,” she admitted. Turner has cited medication and therapy as helping her.
Lili Reinhart
Lili Reinhart has shed light on her struggle with anxiety and depression while emphasising that therapy is an invaluable tool. “Friendly reminder for anyone who needs to hear it: Therapy is never something to feel ashamed of,” Reinhart wrote in a series on Instagram Stories. “Everyone can benefit from seeing a therapist. Doesn’t matter how old or ‘proud’ you’re trying to be.” Zeroing in on the stigma of therapy, the Riverdale star is using her platform to change the narrative. “We are all human, and we all struggle,” she continued. “Don’t suffer in silence. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.”
