Celebrity smoke-show! The glamorous stars who can’t resist a cigarette – from Stacey Solomon and Dua Lipa to Keira Knightley and Jenna Ortega

From Hollywood stars, huge singers and even wellness gurus, there are many celebrities who fans may be surprised to know still enjoy a cigarette or vape.

There being less smokers than ever in the UK – with 11.6% of adults aged 18 years or over considering themselves regular smokers in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), compared to the figure in 2011, at 20%.

However, while they may not all advertise it, or keep their habit hidden, there are still plenty of stars partial to a puff behind the scenes.

Whether it’s the stress of juggling their busy careers, competing on shows like Strictly, or navigating painful splits while in the public eye, it may be no surprise that so many A-listers are lighting up to cope.

And though they live much more glamorous lives than us regular folk, even celebrities like to let their hair down on a night out and can’t resist an occasional smoking break. 

While many stars have claimed to have kicked the unhealthy habit in recent years, some of them have been shown to be blowing smoke, after being snapped sparking up a cigarette in secret.

STACEY SOLOMON 

A visibly emotional Stacey Solomon paused for a welcome cigarette break as she left her local veterinary practice with family dog Teddy on Wednesday. 

The TV presenter, 35, revealed last month that she could lose her beloved dog Teddy, a cocker spaniel who has lost all feeling in his hind legs, in the coming weeks. 

Stacey revealed the dog’s illness was caused by a predisposed condition the family were not aware of and explained that the next few weeks were crucial for Teddy – who ‘may not fully recover’ even if he survives. 

The presenter, who is rarely seen smoking, appeared downcast as she headed back to her car with her beloved dog on a lead.

Evidently mindful of a visible ‘no smoking’ sign on the practice’s exterior wall, Stacey made her way to a nearby kerb before lighting up. 

The presenter previously discussed the unhealthy habit back in 2012, when she broke down on This Morning and revealed her guilt at continuing to smoke while pregnant.

Although she said she had cut down from her 10 a day, she has struggled to quit altogether.

She said on This Morning: ‘At the end of the day, nothing that I can say makes it right. All I can say is that from the day I found out that I was pregnant, I have tried my best to give up. I completely understand why people would be angry, because for some people it’s incomprehensible.

‘As soon as you get pregnant, you think you need so stop. I did smoke between 5 and 10 a day, but I completely cut down and from there on I have been trying to stop.

‘I’m smoking between one and three a day, if that… I just thought I would be able to quit. And some days I’ve done really, really well and had none but there are some days when I have had some. I’m doing my best to just go without, but sometimes it’s not just as easy to cut it out.’

JENNIFER ANISTON

Despite her good-girl image, Jennifer Aniston has a long history of smoking, which she has said she’s since quit.

But in 2022, the actress and wellness advocate was pictured lighting up amid her birthday celebrations.

Her ex-husband, Justin Theroux, posted a video of the actor lighting a cigarette before it was quickly deleted off his Instagram story.  

Jennifer, 56, has admitted she was a chain smoker for years early in her career, regularly making her way through a pack of cigarettes a day.

But in 2007, three years after finishing her hit show Friends, she decided to quit — saying the habit was affecting her health, energy and even relationships.

It doesn’t appear she’s regularly picked up the habit again, but it also seems she hasn’t put away her lighter for good.

JENNA ORTEGA 

Jenna Ortega shocked her young fans and was hit by plenty of backlash on social media after being seen smoking cigarettes in London in 2023, while filming Beetlejuice 2.

However, the worst shade directed towards the 22-year-old star came from her own mother, who took to her Instagram Story to make some very thinly-veiled posts about the dangers of smoking.

Jenna’s lookalike mother Natalie works as a nurse and made sure to promote health to her followers as she posted over a dozen times.

Among them was a meme of Lord Of The Rings character Gollum with text which quipped: ‘Don’t believe those lies about cigarettes being bad for you.  I’ve been smoking for most my 21 years and I feel great!’

Next Natalie shared an image of yellow and rotted teeth, with the warning: ‘Yellow teeth are the most notorious effects of long-term smoking, but the dental damage doesn’t stop there.

‘People who smoke tend to develop gum disease, persistent bad breath, and other oral hygiene problems. Smokers are twice as likely to lose teeth as nonsmokers.’ 

And she later posted a message about duties as a mother which read: ‘A mother is always a mother.

‘She never stops worrying about her children, even when they are all grown up and have children of their own.’

BELLA HADID

Bella Hadid is famed for her beauty and being one of the most recognisable faces in modelling.

But despite her glamour, reports suggest she may be partaking in the not-so-stylish habit of smoking cigarettes.

She’s been photographed enjoying a cigarette while attending the Cannes film festival in France and at the 2017 Met Gala she could be seen blowing smoke in a sneaky photo in the bathroom alongside Lara Stone, Paris Jackson and Ruby Rose.

Bella admitted in the past she started smoking at the age of 14 when she said she would regularly get through a pack a day.

She explained: ‘Whether it was eating disorders or smoking… I’m like, “Oh, this is what all of the kids are doing”.’

However, the supermodel said she resolved to quit in 2017, and then made it her New Year’s resolution to also quit her JUUL vape in 2019. 

DUA LIPA

Dua Lipa surprised fans in January, when she was spotted smoking with fiance Callum Turner as they packed on the PDA in Paris despite her proudly declaring that she’d kicked the habit last year.

Sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower, Dua, 29, and Callum, 34, didn’t seem to have a care in the world as they only had eyes for one another while puffing on the cigarettes.

However, during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers the pop star explained that she initially gave up smoking for her Future Nostalgia tour in 2022. 

The singer revealed she had kicked the habit in order to make sure her vocal health was at its best – before announcing she had stopped altogether.

She told host Seth: ‘I was smoking ­cigarettes at the time… But I’ve stopped. I’ve quit, guys.’

It is not clear exactly when the Houdini hitmaker began smoking, but after suffering from laryngitis in December 2021 she explained she felt the need to quit for the sake of her tour and later gushed about how much ‘confidence’ quitting had given her.

Speaking on her At Your Service podcast, she revealed: ‘I had laryngitis in December and that kind of kickstarted me quitting smoking a month earlier than I was supposed to. But I did it and I have stuck to it.’

Smoking raises the risk of infections and inflammation in the voice box, while doctors warn that it can also cause the vocal cords to become irritated and dried out, which can lead to shifts in how they vibrate — and the sound that’s produced.

KIRSTEN DUNST

Kirsten Dunst was often papped with a cigarette in her hand while out and about over the years.

The actress previously revealed that she had managed to quit before meeting her now-husband Jesse Plemons, who had caused her to pick up the habit again.

She told NBC in 2022 about their first meeting, before starring together on Fargo: ‘I met Jesse at the airport at LAX. And I walked up to him, and he was carrying a carton of cigarettes. 

‘And I was like, “oh, no, you smoke the cigarettes that I used to smoke, and I quit”. So (laughter) I just knew that, like, working with someone that smoked – and I was just like, “oh, God, please don’t become a smoker again on this show”.’

She went on to explain how hard it is to kick the habit while acting, saying: ‘Sets are the worst. It’s just the worst. It’s, like, a moment to yourself. It’s the worst habit and the worst place to be, you know – yeah, it’s just the worst. 

‘It’s, like, the only time people leave you alone – you know? – because they’re always, like, on their walkie-talkies, like, she went 10-1.

‘It’s like, you can only go to the bathroom really to, like, not be around people. It’s just – so smoking on set becomes kind of, like, a break from everybody.’

Kirsten insisted that she and Jesse had both quit however, when they welcomed their children, sons Ennis, seven, and James, four.

However, both actors have been spotted indulging in a cigarette since, with Kirsten seen puffing away during BST last year and both her and Jesse seen with a cigarette in their mouths in a snap at the 2024 Oscars.

ABBEY CLANCY

She’s known for her jaw-dropping figure and toned physique. 

But when she isn’t posing up a storm for fashion and lingerie campaigns Abbey Clancy is fond of a cigarette. 

The model has been snapped numerous times over the years enjoying a smoke while out and about with friends and night outs with husband Pete Crouch. 

Abbey was most recently seen in February 2023 as she smoked between takes as she filmed her Paddy Power advert in Cheltenham. 

The star was seen outside her trailer as she indulged in a cigarette while looking stylish in a beige trench coat and tweed hat. 

Previously Abbey had been spotted getting through a fair few cigarettes to steady her nerves in 2011 ahead of her wedding to Peter.

MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN 

They began their career as babies on Full House before transitioning into the fashion world with several hugely successful brands, including The Row.

And Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen soon shed their child star image, as they became famous for often being snapped enjoying a smoke break together, particularly outside The Row’s New York City office.

There is even a dedicated Instagram account to pictures of the twins smoking called @mka_smoking, which boasts over 12,000 followers. 

The bio on the page – which has been featured on Variety – reads: ‘There’s nothing quite as soothing as a pic of Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen smoking.’

While it was reported that there were ‘bowls and bowls filled with cigarettes’ at Mary-Kate’s wedding to former husband Olivier Sarkozy in 2015, with a source declaring: ‘Everyone smoked the whole night’.

JOHANNES RADEBE 

Dancer Johannes Radebe not only revealed his own smoking habit, but revealed that a lot of his fellow Strictly pros enjoy a cigarette, with his own smoking increasing during the show.

On Jessie and Lennie Ware’s podcast Table Manners last year, Jessie revealed she was shocked when she performed on the show and learnt that Johannes smokes. 

She exclaimed: ‘The thing that blew my mind was when you came in for a cuddle, and I was like “Sorry you smoke!” 

‘Sorry I didn’t think dancers smoked and you had had a power fag before we’d done the bl***y run through! And you are still the fastest, it blew my mind.’

As Johannes laughed hysterically he admitted that a lot of dancers smoke, while Jessie probed: ‘Do you smoke more when you are doing Strictly?’

He replied: ‘Yes. I am weaning myself off it at the moment because I am like “you are not stressed, why are you smoking so much”, but it’s a lot honestly.’ 

SIENNA MILLER

Sienna Miller smokes, but previously gave up when pregnant with and breastfeeding her first daughter Marlowe, 12.

Speaking to Allure in 2017, the actress, 43, admitted: ‘I’m not a big smoker anymore, but it’s definitely a part of me’.

However, she seemingly picked the habit back up, and was spotted letting her hair down after pandemic restrictions eased in 2021, enjoying a glass of white wine and a cigarette with pals in Notting Hill.

But, in a video interview with British Vogue in 2022, Sienna revealed that she was working to curb her nicotine addiction.

Revealing the content of her handbag, she pulled out two packets of Nicorette mints, and said: ‘Uh oh, Nicolette. Yep, this is to not smoke cigarettes which I’m being honest are in my bag and there are two of them.

‘I don’t think I’ve been to an event or done anything of any significance recently without that.’ 

BEN AFFLECK 

Ben Affleck picked up smoking in 2002 when he used to get through a pack a day, according to Marca.

And even his two A-list ex-wives were unable to get him to kick the habit, with the actor’s smoking photos repeatedly going viral online.

Before their short-lived marriage ended last year, Jennifer Lopez was reportedly trying to get Ben to quit the unhealthy habit in April last year. 

An Insider told OK! magazine: ‘JLO loves Ben, but she’s tired of his nasty cigarettes. She put up with his smoking at first because it’s his only vice left and she didn’t want to be a nag, but she can’t stand it.’

Ben’s first ex-wife Jennifer Garner also thought cigarettes were ‘disgusting’ — and banned him from smoking around their children.

The director tried to quit in 2005 when he was expecting his first daughter Violet, who is now 19 years old. 

But in 2017, he was seen to have picked up the cigarettes again and is said to get through an entire pack in a day when he’s stressed, with his smoking photos becoming a viral meme.

Ben was photographed smoking as recently as Wednesday night, as he puffed on a cigarette on the Los Angeles set of his sixth feature directorial effort Animals.

ANT MCPARTLIN 

ITV presenter Ant McPartlin has in recent years swapped his bad smoking habit for an e-cigarette. 

The I’m A Celebrity host has been spotted out and about puffing on the a vape while out walking his dogs near his home in south west London.

Previously Ant had been seeing lighting up cigarettes while taking a break on set filming Britain’s Got Talent and his former hit show with co-host Dec Donnelly, Saturday Night Takeaway.

After an exhausting few takes, the Geordie duo enjoyed a quick break – with Ant seen enjoying a cigarette away from the camera.

LANA DEL RAY

Fitting her old Hollywood image, Lana Del Rey is regularly pictured puffing away on cigarettes, even been known to light one up while performing on stage.

However, in recent years she appears to have made the switch to vaping and was snapped sharing one with her husband Jeremy Dufresne just days after their surprise wedding in September.

The singer has also frequently lost her vaping device while onstage, pausing her show in Portland in 2019 to try and find it.

While at another concert in Brazil in 2023, Lana interrupted the beginning of hit track Norman F***ing Rockwell to ask the crowd: ‘And also if you see my vape on stage, can you find my vape on stage?’

RUSSELL CROWE

Russell Crowe was last seen smoking a cigarette in Coffs Harbour, on the NSW north coast in 2023. 

The Les Miserables star admitted he tried to quit smoking back in 2010 after his then-six-year-old son, Charlie, caught him having a smoke.

‘I have been smoking for 36 years,’ he said at a press conference for Ben Hurr in 2010, revealing that he was ‘smoking 40’ on an easy day.

Russell then admitted that ‘on a day when I would be up at 4am and still up at midnight, then it was 60-plus and it just got to the point where my body was telling me I had to stop.’

SIMON COWELL 

Simon Cowell has been attempting to quit smoking for years now.

But according to his good friend Sinitta, the music mogul was finally keen to kick the habit for good in 2022, with the help of his family.

She revealed that Simon’s son Eric has become the ‘cigarette police’ in his bid to stop his dad smoking.

In 2013, ahead of his son Eric’s birth, the music mogul said he would be giving up his cigarettes and not be smoking in front of his son, after he was criticised for puffing away near his pregnant partner Lauren Silverman.

He told LBC 97.3 at the time: ”I won’t do that. I’ve learnt that. I’m trying to do electronic cigarettes, they’re not bad. But moderation would be better.’

Later, he reportedly made his home a ‘smoke-free zone’ after his son’s birth.

In 2015, it was reported that Simon paid £100 per cigarette for lighting up at The X Factor studios, after refusing to smoke outside.

Due to the judge’s tight time schedule during filming, and his love of tobacco, he had been forced to light-up in the studio during the advert breaks – despite it being classed as a place of work.

Previously, Simon admitted he had his first drink and smoked his first cigarette at just eight years old as he revealed he was a ‘nightmare’ child.

Speaking to The Sun in 2022, he admitted how bad he was when he was his son Eric’s age.

He said: ‘I was so bad when I was Eric’s age. I was a nightmare. I was drinking and smoking at eight, and I once nearly burned the house down’.

ROCHELLE HUMES

While she’s known for her healthy lifestyle and incredible physique, Rochelle Humes has still shown she is partial to a cigarette.

The singer turned businesswoman was snapped enjoying a smoke with the This Morning crew back in 2021. 

Joined by Phillip Schofield and Dermot O’Leary, the group all looked in very good spirits as they congregated outside for a cigarette break, with Rochelle seen exhaling clouds of smoke while having a laugh with her showbiz pals. 

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY 

The global acting powerhouse Keira Knightley is also known to be a smoker, despite efforts to quit over the years.

The 40-year-old was snapped puffing on a cigarette in London in December last year while filming her Netflix thriller Black Doves.

The actress was reportedly a big time smoker on movie sets in her younger years too, according to Elle – having first tried cigarettes at a young age with her mother and playwright Sharman Macdonald. 

Keira revealed in a previous interview: ‘She’d come up to my room, have me roll her cigarettes and then tell me I had to have one with her.

‘It’s not the typical mother-daughter thing, but we were extremely close.’

She appeared to quit in 2012, when she reportedly chastised a director for smoking while filming Can A Song Save Your Life, but it doesn’t seem to have stuck according to recent photos.

SOPHIE TURNER 

While Sophie Turner said she turned in tobacco cigarettes for vapes, she was pictured in December 2023 puffing on the traditional vice as she enjoyed a coffee in London.

The Game of Thrones star reportedly smoked at times, being snapped with cigarettes in 2018, but later took up vaping — with her e-cig appearing so often fans asked whether it was ‘glued’ to her hand.

The addiction was so bad she would even reportedly burst into tears when she was separated from her vape, with X-Men co-star Jennifer Lawrence revealing she cried on set after the device was taken away.

She was not pictured with either, however, following the birth of her first daughter Willa in 2020 and her second daughter Delphine in 2022.

However, amid the breakdown of her marriage to Joe Jonas, she was spotted taking a cigarette break during filming for ITV drama Joan in September 2023, on holiday in Capri in May last year, and again in June, while filming thriller Haven.

EMILY ATACK 

Emily Atack was last seen puffing on a cigarette as she partied with a whole host of England footballers back in October 2023.

The actress was seen smoking after heading from the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards to Chiltern Firehouse in London. 

The TV personality has previously opened up about how she first turned to smoking and drinking after her parents divorce when she was younger. 

During a chat with the Sunday Times magazine in 2020, Emily explained: ‘My idyllic childhood came crashing down dramatically when Mum and Dad divorced. 

‘I didn’t talk to Dad for months and was angry with both of them. I pulled away from Mum, started hanging out with lads and smoking and drinking.’

ANYA TAYLOR-JOY

Anya Taylor-Joy and her husband Malcolm McRae are known to enjoy a cigarette together, with the couple spotted puffing away together over the years.

While filing Furiosa in Australia in 2022, she was seen having a cigarette mid-stroll in Sydney‘s Hyde Park.

And in 2021, the Golden Globe winner revealed while suffering with burnout during the filming The Queens’s Gambit, she survived on ‘cigarettes’ and caffeinated drinks.

Anya first starred as the lead role in Emma, with only one day off before she began work on psychological horror Last Night in Soho, before going straight into filming The Queen’s Gambit.

‘I survived on Diet Coke, cigarettes and coffee, and by the end of it, I was like, “I need to eat a vegetable,”‘ she told Tatler magazine at the time.

GWYNETH PALTROW

She famously espouses a healthy lifestyle and dedicated workout regime, but even Gwyneth Paltrow enjoyed a sneaky cigarette back in the day. 

The 52-year old admitted she allowed herself one cigarette per week in the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar U.S. edition back in 2013. 

When asked about her guilty pleasures, the actress, who has her own healthy eating cookbook, said: ‘My one light American Spirit that I smoke once a week, on Saturday night.’

The actress went on to quit smoking but admitted to Holly Willoughby on her podcast in 2022 that, ‘I miss the cigarettes’ as she reflected on her crazy younger years. 

BECKY HILL 

When UK songstress Becky Hill shared snaps of her recent adventures across the Pond, including at Coachella and in LA, there was one image that evoked more comments than the rest. 

The Crazy What Love Can Do singer, 31, shared an image of herself and DJ Charlie Boon lighting up during the transatlantic trip last month – only to be chastised by some of her followers. 

Some expressed surprise that the singer was a smoker, while others suggested the unhealthy habit would damage her award-winning vocals. 

One fan wrote: ‘I think you are awesome but please don’t glamourise smoking’, while another added ‘Can’t believe you smoke’ with a sad-faced emoji.

A concerned commenter added: ‘It can ruin your singing voice too – be careful Becky.’ 

Others defended her right to drag on cigarettes if she wants to, saying: ‘Why is everyone so sour about the smoking? Let her do what she wants.’

The music artist has been spotted enjoying a cigarette on a night out for years, including while celebrating winning her first ever BRIT Award back in 2022.