2007: Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks and American Idol superstar Carrie Underwood. Red-carpet runners-up include sexy sleuth Kristen Bell, Spider-Man 3’s Bryce Dallas Howard, dashing actor Joaquin Phoenix, Heroes hottie Milo Ventimiglia, charming columnist Michael Ausiello, and 30 Seconds to Mars vocalist Jared Leto.
2006: Going vegetarian was an easy choice for brainy beauty Kristin Bell, who says, "I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with—dogs and cats, for example—from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts!" Grammy-winning rock royal Prince says he won't eat "anything with parents" because "Thou shalt not kill means just that!" The strict vegan was praised by animal lovers everywhere for giving fans the lowdown on wool in the liner notes of his CD Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.
2005: Country crooner and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood wore a "V Is for Vegetarian" T-shirt on American Idol, sending her popularity soaring among animal lovers everywhere. She grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and has said that she decided she'd rather sing to cows than eat them. Chris Martin and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, are known for their love of vegan cuisine, and they made international headlines when they gave their daughter, Apple, a vegan birthday cake from Moby's New York eatery, teany.
2004: Alicia Silverstone, who shot to fame on the big screen in Clueless, has said, "Once I became vegan, my nails were stronger, my skin was glowing, I lost a lot of weight. … Going vegan is the single best thing I've done in my life. I am so much happier and more confident. I made a decision based on my moral beliefs." OutKast frontman Andre 3000 took the music world by storm, landing a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and multiple number one hits on the Billboard charts. When he was asked how he would spend his last day on Earth, he replied, "I'd probably go for a great meal—some broccoli probably, because I'm a vegetarian."
2003: Lauren Bush, top Tommy Hilfiger model and the niece of President Bush, has been a vegetarian since the age of 4 and is passionate about animal-protection issues. One Thanksgiving, she told friends that she'd contribute a pie to the family meal but would not cook stuffing for the turkey, saying, "I am a vegetarian. I won't do anything that has to do with the turkey." Josh Hartnett's decision to go meat-free came several years ago and happened in an instant. "One day I was cutting up a chicken for my mom, and I hit a tumor with the knife," Hartnett said. "There was [pus] and blood all over the place. That was enough for me."
2002: Tobey Maguire has been meatless since 1992. He bulked up for his role as Spiderman by eating lots of tofu, and he said of his pre-veggie past, "I had a really tough time eating chicken, because I would start imagining what I was eating and what kind of life the animal led." Natalie Portman, who starred as Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels and more recently starred in V for Vendetta, has been a strict vegetarian since she was 8, after seeing a demonstration of laser surgery on a chicken at a medical conference with her father. She does not eat meat of any kind and avoids gelatin and other animal products. Says Natalie, "I am a very strict vegetarian. ...I just really, really love animals, and I act on my values."
2001: Shania Twain was the first star named "Sexiest Vegetarian Alive" by PETA.org voters. "I don't eat meat, fish, or eggs. I was never a big meat-eater, but I've got more energy now," said Shania, who hasn't eaten an animal since she married longtime vegetarian (and record producer) Mutt Lange in 1993. Her favorite food is pasta, and she says, "I eat a lot of tofu, and I drink soy shakes with fruit every morning. I always have soybeans, black beans, or chickpeas for lunch or dinner." |
