There are more plant-based and vegan celebrities than you think! Here are some inspiring vegan celebrity quotes that will make you go vegan today.
Whether you’re a fan of their acting, singing, athleticism or personality, plant-based and vegan celebrities have the power to inspire us to change our diets.
In fact, many new vegans are following in the footsteps of their idols when it comes to a plant-based diet and trying out their recommendations.
We’ve compiled a list of 21 inspiring vegan celebrity quotes from a vast array of your favourite plant-based and vegan celebrities so you can stay motivated throughout your vegan journey.
Let us know which of these vegan quotes is your favourite!
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Vegan actor quotes
You might be surprised that some of Hollywood’s biggest stars choose compassion when it comes to their diets. Here are some of our favourite vegan celebrity quotes from stars of the silver screen.
1. Woody Harrelson
When it comes to vegan celebrities, it’s fair to say that Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson was way ahead of the curve! He is passionate about animals and the environment and has been vegan for over 30 years, even encouraging many of his co-stars to eat plant-based.
“Becoming vegan was the biggest change I ever made in my life, and one of the greatest accomplishments as well.”
2. Joaquin Phoenix
Actor and environmentalist Joaquin Phoenix made headlines last year when he slammed the dairy industry during his Oscar acceptance speech. His impassioned speech was a great example of a celebrity who uses their platform for good!
“We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures. And non-human animals experience pain sensations just like we do. They too are strong, intelligent, industrious, mobile, and evolutional. They too are capable of growth and adaptation.
“Like us, first and foremost, they are earthlings. And like us, they are surviving. Like us, they also seek their own comfort rather than discomfort. And like us, they express degrees of emotion. In short like us, they are alive.”
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3. Natalie Portman
Hollywood actress Natalie Portman went vegan in 2008 after being influenced by Tobey Maguire. Over the past year, she has been sharing vegan cooking videos to demonstrate how easy a plant-based lifestyle can be.
During her speech at WE Day, Natalie took the opportunity to show the audience the connection between animal rights and other social-justice movements, saying:
“Only after I became active in women’s issues did I realize that my veganism was related to those very issues. Dairy and eggs don’t just come from cows and chickens, they come from female cows and female chickens.
“We’re exploiting female bodies and abusing the magic of female animals to create eggs and milk. It doesn’t take a lot to draw the line from how we treat animals to how we treat humans.”
4. Emily Deschanel
Actress Emily Deschanel has been vegan from the age of 17 and has fiercely advocated for the adoption of plant-based diets ever since.
Speaking in 2010 to Vegetarian Times, Deschanel said: “It’s upsetting to me that so many people think of themselves as environmentalists and still eat meat and dairy products.
“I think it’s something people should be considering given the emergency situation we’re in regarding water supplies, global warming, and the destruction of ecosystems.
“There’s a lot of overlap between animal rights and the environment.”
5. Evanna Lynch
Evanna Lynch stopped eating meat at age 11 and then went vegan in 2014 after reading the book Eating Animals. She hosts a podcast called The Chickpeeps and launched a clean vegan beauty subscription box in 2019.
“We don’t need to eat animals to survive and thrive. You can live a full, happy, healthier and abundant life as a vegan.
“The animals deserve respect and compassion – I think we all know this in our hearts, and we just have to make compassionate choices. And in terms of choice, there truly is no better time in history to go vegan than today!”
6. Alicia Silverstone
Clueless actress Alicia Silverstone has been vegan for over 20 years and is a passionate animal activist and environmentalist.
Explaining why she went vegan, Silverstone said: “I watched the documentary ‘The Witness’ and took a look at my dog and thought “If I’m not willing to eat you, how can I continue to eat these other creatures that have the same desire to live, are just as funny, and have the same reaction to pain as my dogs?”
“The easiest and most effective thing any individual can do is adjust their diet to ditch animal products.”
Photo by Kristin Burns
Vegan athlete quotes
From football stars to tennis pros, more and more celebrities are going plant-based to fuel their sporting success. These vegan celebrity quotes from plant-powered sports stars prove the myths about vegans and protein wrong!
1. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One champion and vegan entrepreneur Lewis Hamilton credits a plant-based diet for his colossal success on the tracks, as well as the health of his dog.
“We all have a voice. I have this [influential] platform and so, not to use it correctly would be wrong of me. Nobody is perfect, I’m certainly not, but this [abuse] is happening every day to so many animals worldwide.
“This is why I have decided to go on a vegan diet. It has been over a year now. Yes, it’s hard – nothing’s ever easy – but I’ve felt the best I’ve ever felt.”
2. Novak Djokovic
Multiple time Wimbledon champion and current world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic follows a plant-based diet for optimal athleticism. It is now common knowledge that athletes don’t need animal protein to build and maintain muscle, and plant-based diets in the sporting industry are rising in popularity.
Speaking during a press conference, he explained: “It’s a lifestyle more than just a diet because you have ethical reasons as well, being conscious of what is happening in the animal world.
“The slaughtering of animals and farming and everything, that’s obviously also a huge impact on climate change which maybe people don’t talk about as much.
“It’s more than a performance reason for me, it’s a lifestyle, it’s something I’m really proud of.”
3. Serena Williams
Tennis champion Serena Williams initially went vegan for health reasons. This was partly in an effort to get back to top form after giving birth, but also in solidarity with her sister and fellow player Venus, who switched to a vegan diet due to her chronic illness Sjogren’s syndrome.
Since then, Serena has launched a vegan leather clothing line, and demonstrated her commitment to sustainability and saving animals.
Speaking about her clothing line to ESSENCE, she explained: “I feel like a lot of things are being killed and we’re not saving the earth. We can all just do one small thing and help out.”
4. Hannah Teter
Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter went vegan after watching Earthlings and being shocked at the horrific treatment of animals. The snowboarding champion cut out animal products completely and is now a fearsome vegan athlete changing the face of the sports industry.
“My plant-based diet has opened up more doors to being an athlete. It’s a whole other level that I’m elevating to. I stopped eating animals about a year ago, and it’s a new life. I feel like a new person, a new athlete.”
5. Alex Morgan
FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan is now a fierce proponent of a plant-based diet for peak athletic performance. Moreover, Morgan was named PETA’s most beautiful celebrity vegan of 2019 alongside fellow athlete Kyrie Irving.
“I never thought it was possible I could be playing at an elite level as a professional athlete with a plant-based diet. Then I realised it wasn’t detrimental at all.
“I am passionate about giving animals a voice. I adopted a vegan diet because it didn’t feel fair to have a dog I adore and yet eat meat all the time.”
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Vegan musician quotes
These talented vegan musicians are giving a voice to the voiceless with these motivational vegan quotes.
1. Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis, who found fame on X-Factor, was raised in a vegan household and took the plunge herself in 2012.
“I would go to farms lot with my mum when I was younger to look at the animals – chickens and pigs – and I began to realise that I was eating those same farm animals I loved to go to feed and to be around all the time.”
After one visit, Lewis told her mum she had decided to give up meat. “I remember saying to my mum I just would not eat it any more. I stopped when I was about six or seven,” she recalled.
2. Mýa
American Grammy award-winning R&B artist Mýa is a self-described ‘hardcore vegan’. She has worked with PETA several times to use her platform for good and is a passionate activist.
“When will we say enough is enough? Killing animals is unethical and, and it’s killing us and planet earth too. Start now: choose life, choose compassion, and take pandemics off the menu.”
3. Billie Eilish
19-year-old Billie Eilish has been vegan for five years, as is often spotted helping mum Maggie Baird with events for her vegan charity Support + Feed.
“Extreme weather is wrecking millions of lives. We cannot let this happen on our watch. Up to one million species are becoming extinct because of mankind’s actions. And time is running out. [We need to be] doing what we can to live in a greener lifestyle like cutting out meat and dairy in your diet and reducing plastic use.”
4. Travis Barker
The Blink-182 drummer went vegan back in 2008, after narrowly surviving a plane crash and discovering he had a whopping eight ulcers from smoking.
In an interview with Men’s Journal, Barker said: “Honestly, ever since I found this way of eating I have endless amounts of energy. I can go all day, and after it all I never find myself getting tired.
“No matter what kind of shows I have done, or workouts I do on top of it, I still have to force myself to sleep at night.”
5. Ellie Goulding
British singer Ellie Goulding went vegan in 2018 and is still trying to persuade her ‘carnivore’ husband to ditch the meat too.
“Once I fully understood where meat came from … I found that concept quite hard to live with. If you don’t need meat to survive, I don’t see why you have to have it.
“Also, it makes you feel tired, it makes you feel lethargic, and your body finds it hard to process so much meat all the time.”
Vegan TV personalities
With the world waking up to the power of a plant-based diet, it’s no surprise to hear that many TV stars have ditched animal products too. Check out these vegan celebrity quotes from these plant-based personalities that might just motivate you to quit eating meat.
1. Fearne Cotton
TV personality, writer and podcaster Fearne dabbled with veganism for years before finally going ‘whole hog vegan’ in 2020.
“We all have a better understanding these days of how food affects us, and also how our food choices affect the planet. Whenever you decide to eat vegan, whether it be for a month or once a week on a Monday, it’s still going to be beneficial to you and the planet.”
2. Lucy Watson
Ex-Made in Chelsea star Lucy Watson consistently advocates for veganism on her social media platforms, has written two vegan cookbooks and even opened a fully plant-based restaurant in London.
“As someone who loves animals, when I hear about a process that involves animal cruelty, I no longer want to be associated with it. Aside from the animal cruelty aspect of the meat/dairy industries, there are many health benefits associated with turning vegan, much to many people’s surprise.’
3. Benjamin Zephaniah
British poet and anarchist Benjamin Zephaniah has been vegan since 13 and sees no sign of stopping at the grand age of 62.
“Our thinking about non-human animals is very confused, and people who have chosen to live a cruelty-free plant-based lifestyle are baffled as to why other people have not made the connection.
“Many of us live with companion animals such as dogs, cats, and rabbits. We share our homes with them, consider them members of the family and we grieve when they die. Yet we kill and eat other animals who, if you really think about it, are no different from the ones we love.”
4. Verity Bowditch
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Photo by Linda Blacker
Made in Chelsea star Verity Bowditch is a fierce advocate for a plant-based diet, and even started up vegan restaurant chain Clean Kitchen with YouTuber Mikey Pearce last year. The 25-year-old was raised vegetarian from birth, and after visiting a dairy farm and witnessing cows being milked, consuming dairy products just didn’t sit right with her.
“I’ve honestly felt amazing for it and I have so much more energy. It feels good knowing that I’m not negatively impacting the environment, too.
“If everyone became vegan, we wouldn’t have to worry about climate change half as much, because it would stop so much rainforest from being destroyed by companies rearing cattle around the world.”
We caught up with Verity earlier this year on the Simply Vegan podcast. Here’s what she had to say…
5. Portia De Rossi
Power couple Portia De Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres and switched to a plant-based diet after they moved to a farm and bonded with the animals living there.
Portia explained: “It feels like such a compassionate choice. We are such animal lovers, why stop short of cows and chickens? It didn’t make any sense.
“I feel happier, like I’m contributing to making the world a less violent place.”
Feeling inspired by these vegan celebrity quotes?
Find out why 44 of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities are now vegan with our guide to vegan celebrities.
