Alicia Silverstone first appeared on screen in a music video by Aerosmith. The actress, who is best known for her roles in Clueless and The Crush and who starred in the big budget film Batman and Robin has been a long time vegan activist. She also published a vegan cookbook, called The Kind Diet, and she regularly appears in Peta ads and campaigns.
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Why did Alicia Silverstone Become Vegan?
In 1998, she decided to become vegan after attending an animal rights meeting.
“I realized that I was the problem … I was an animal lover who was eating animals,” she said. She is now an animal rights and environmental activist. Although she became vegan for the animals, she reports that she experienced an extraordinary health transformation.
Inspired
She claims that going vegan revolutionized her world and shaped her life and career, inspiring her to publish two books – The Kind Diet and The Kind Mama. Her change to a more compassionate lifestyle also motivated her to launch Mykind Organics vitamin line, which is a food-based, organic, non-GMO vegan vitamin.
Furthermore, she partnered with the natural and cruelty-free deodorant CRYSTAL.
In 2004, she was voted the Sexiest Female Vegetarian by Peta. She has posed nude in Peta’s anti-wool “I’d rather go naked” ads, and she created a sanctuary for rescued pets in Los Angeles.
In 2012 (during the controversial trial of some members of the Russian feminist protest punk rock band Pussy Riot) she wrote Vladimir Putin, asking him to make vegan meals available to prisoners.
The Kind Life
In October 2009, She released her book The Kind Diet; A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. It has received wonderful reviews, not only on Amazon, but also in the New York Times; and besides a 100 great recipes, it also includes motivational tips and personal anecdotes.
She is an outspoken health and wellness activist and she has been an animal rights activist for 20 years. Her website The Kind Life is a platform for healthy, green and eco-friendly living.
Moreover, she has received the Mercy for Animals Hope Award and Peta’s 35th Anniversary Humanitarian Award.
The Kind Life was created as an extension of her book The Kind Diet, which is all about living your healthiest and happiest life to the fullest while taking care of Earth. It features a blog with helpful articles, a selection of organic, vegan vitamins, and her books The Kind Diet and The Kind Mama.
Together with CRYSTAL, she hosted an event at The Gentle Barn, a non-profit animal sanctuary. The Gentle Barn’s mission is to provide sanctuary for abused animals who would otherwise be unable to find homes. It gives a safe place to not only dogs and cats but also horses, donkeys, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, emus, llamas, turkeys, chickens, and other birds.
“A plant-based diet is the number one thing you can do to dial down your impact on the earth’s precious resources (energy, land use, greenhouse gas emissions, water, and more)!” (source of quote: interview on Medium.com)
Final Thoughts,
Alicia Silverstone uses her fame and success to bring kindness to the world. The Kind Diet became a NY Times bestseller and several people have told her how it changed their lives. Besides that, she has also lobbied politicians on cruelty-free legislation and worked with companies that share her compassionate values. She rescues dogs from the street, and spreads the word about living a kinder life whenever she can.
Hey Christine,
Alicia Silverstone was one of my favourite actresses when I was a teenager, for obvious reasons 🙂
However, she has become one of the most likeable celebrities out there because of the good she does for others, and the Kind Life is one of those. It’s great when someone with Alicia Silverstone’s influence promotes vegan diets because so many people will follow in her footsteps. Alicia is a leader and I talk about leadership every day. So, I know when I see a leader and Alicia certainly is one of them, as are you a leader too Christine.
Thank you for sharing such an inspirational article and I hope lots of people follow in yours and Alicia’s footsteps.
All the best,
Tom
Hi Tom,
I can imagine that she was one of your favorite actresses when you were a teenager, hehe 😉
And it’s very true. Alicia is a leader, a great leader. Coming from you, that is a great compliment!
Thank you for your comment!
Maybe the Russian prisoners get vegan meals anyway? I don’t have much faith in the way they are treated. But that is a side path. Your article is not about that. 🙂
Whenever I read one of your vegan heroes stories, I feel like I am living under a stone. I don’t know many of them and I have never heard of Alicia Silverstone. :-S
But it’s so great that famous people don’t just think of themselves and their next newest model car or a bigger house, but are activists for a better world. We need all the critical minds and willingness we can get to try to reverse climate change. And vegan does certainly add a better opportunity for that change than all these meat-loving, abundantly spoiling people.
BTW, I told you I was going to cook 1x a week? I bought the guide From A to Vegan and another vegan cookbook. So far, so good. 😀
I am not like Tom, who just looks in the fridge and makes something delicious. But with the recipes, I am making very nice meals!
Hi Hannie,
I’m happy you’re enjoying my Vegan Heroes series 🙂 and at the same time finding out about some great actors. I also think it’s great that famous people think of others and use their fame to make a better world. Alicia is certainly a beautiful example for all her followers.
Wonderful that your cooking is going so well! I love cooking. The guide from Nutriciously is really well prepared and so helpful. In time you may end up looking in the fridge like Tom and whip up something delicious, you never know 😉
Hi Christine!
This is so nice to know that such a famous person like Alicia Silverstone, trying to make our world better by helping and rescuing animals and show with their examples how to turn vegan! This video is so cute!
I’m a vegetarian now, and I know that it feels much better and easy in the whole body, and it is not only a question of health of course.
Thank you for sharing this inspiring post!!!
All the best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
She’s very inspiring, a good role model for her fans 🙂
It’s great that you’re vegetarian 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
I’ve always liked Alicia Silverstone. I knew she hasn’t been acting much but didn’t realize she has been following her passion and using her fame for the well being up our beautiful earth. Thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds like a good read for sure!
Hi Jamie,
The Kind Diet is a very good read and it has lots of excellent recipes. 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
I did not realize Alicia Silverstone was such an activist! I have a new found respect for her! She does amazing work for animals an I am impressed! I will have to check out her books!
Hi Brianna,
Her books have received excellent reviews. Thanks for checking them out 🙂
What a lovely read. I absolutely love hearing about celebrities who use their influence to make the world better. I’m a vegetarian myself so this sounds like a really interesting read. In our culture, there seems to be a high demand for weight loss products so I absolutely love that she combines this niche with better serving the planet and kindness to our animals! What an absolute inspiration. I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed her films, so it’s heart warming to hear the difference she is making. Thanks for the info 🙂
Hi Natalie,
I also find her such an inspiration, and it’s wonderful that she’s using her fame to make the world a better place, very admirable 🙂
Thank you for your comment!
Hi Christine,
Thanks for introducing us to another vegan hero and her videos are exciting to watch, to be honest. It’s amazing that she lives a vegan life for more than two decades now and keeps doing something good for animals and our planet.
I love the second video about her vegan restaurants in NYC, and she does show us some good places to eat if we are visiting NYC in the future. So, thanks a lot for this information. I will definitely check on her book soon.
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Those places in New York are definitely worth checking out. I’ll also visit them when I get there one day 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
It’s always awesome to hear about famous people who are trying to use their platform to improve the world in any way they can. Alicia Silverstone is an amazing person and her actions speak more than a thousand words. She was actually one of my favourite actresses when I was growing up. It was so cool to see a woman superhero alongside Batman and his buddy Robin. Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for sharing this awesome post. I like the videos and I’ll be definitely checking out some more of your content here. Keep up the good work!
Hi Ivan,
A female superhero along Batman and Robin and now also for the animals 🙂
Thanks for your comment!