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Natasha Lyonne's history of addiction as star admits to recent relapse after nearly 10 years of sobriety

Home> News> US News

Updated 12:37 26 Jan 2026 GMTPublished 12:01 26 Jan 2026 GMT

Natasha Lyonne's history of addiction as star admits to recent relapse after nearly 10 years of sobriety

The actress has often been open about her struggles with substances

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism and drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.

Natasha Lyonne has often spoken in public about her bouts in rehab and her determination to get free from her addiction of drugs and alcohol.

Some celebrities are successful at keeping their difficulties with drugs and alcohol a secret from the public eye.

However, there are others, like Poker Face actor Natasha Lyonne, who has been candid throughout her entire journey, since shooting to popularity in the 90s.

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Most recently, she shared on social media that she had recently relapsed, however, did not go into explicit detail.

Writing on X on January 23, she said: “Took my relapse public, more to come."

Many fans offered words of encouragement and spoke of their own difficulties with drug and alcohol addiction.

In a follow up, Lyonne offered her own words of encouragement.

Natasha Lyonne was met with encouragement when she admitted she relapsed (Maya Dehlin Spach/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Natasha Lyonne was met with encouragement when she admitted she relapsed (Maya Dehlin Spach/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images)

She added: “If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone, we will see how our experience may help another.

"Keep going, kiddos. Don’t quit before the miracle. Wallpaper your mind with love. Rest is all noise and baloney.”

Despite the relapse, many fans remain confident she will get back on track, as she has done in the past.

Following her rise in popularity in the 90s after American Pie, speaking to the Guardian, Lyonne admitted that she fell into the pile of child actors who go on to have substance abuse issues.

This saw much of the early 2000s celebrity stories focus on her many alcohol and drug related scandals, including driving under the influence to ending up in an intensive care unit of a New York hospital in 2005.

The star said, at the time, she was taking it so far and wasn’t concerned about ruining her career.

Lyonne has said that doctors told her she had Hepatitis C, a collapsed lung, and a specific heart infection also known as heroin heart, because it's caused by prolonged heroin use.

She told Entertainment Weekly: “Listen, I did not think I was coming back... so I didn't really care. When you go as deep into the belly of the beast as I went, there's a whole other world going on and something like show business becomes the dumbest thing on planet Earth

"I was definitely as good as dead, you know? A lot of people don’t come back. That makes me feel wary, and self-conscious. I wouldn’t want to feel prideful about it."

Lyonne has previously spoken about the challenges of portraying a recovering heorine addict on screen (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
Lyonne has previously spoken about the challenges of portraying a recovering heorine addict on screen (Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

Following support from her friend and fellow actress, Chloë Sevigny, as well as a court order to go to rehab, the star was able to get clean in 2006.

She did go on to have wobbles further on down the line, and has previously noted there were some difficulties portraying her character, recovering heroin addict Nicky Nichols, in Netflix's Orange Is The New Black.

Speaking to Daily News about the challenges of the role, she said: "It can be problematic for me to play those scenes because I do know them so intimately.

"Of course, I have so many of the same feelings; maybe the violence in which I used to act out in terms of self-destruction has gone. So I sort of have to get back to that feeling in a real way."

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.

Featured Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

Topics: News, US News, Drugs, Alcohol, Celebrity

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

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