Celebrities hiding personal vices from the public is nothing new. Maybe they changed their appearance or had a disastrous first marriage. Or perhaps they drink or smoke. Plenty of stars smoke cigarettes - but in secret. Whether they hide that fact to prevent career damage from having their wholesome image sullied, or to avoid influencing their young and impressionable fans, celebrities who smoke have many reasons to keep their habit hidden.
A well-documented and addictive health hazard that can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and miscarriages, cigarette smoking is banned in many public places, and merely showing the act in a movie will often nab it an R rating. Yet even with all these risks laid out on the table, some smoking celebrities still enjoy lighting up in secret.
From squeaky-clean and health-conscious stars to royalty and presidents, take a look at some celebrity smokers who have attempted to hide their habits.
Former US President Barack Obama started smoking during his teen years, a habit he returned to at various points in his presidency. At the height of his smoking, he puffed seven to eight cigarettes a day. In 2008, he promised wife Michelle he would quit smoking in exchange for her support of his presidential bid.
According to his daughter Diane, Walt Disney started smoking as a teenager to "look cool" while serving as an ambulance driver during WWI - but ultimately succumbed to a lifelong addiction. The animation innovator supposedly smoked three packs a day, as well as an occasional pipe.
Allegedly, Disney even had his cigarettes airbrushed out of publicity photos so as not to influence younger fans. Rumor has it this manipulation led to his iconic two-finger point that Disneyland cast members still do to this day.
Even though Disney constantly smoked while working, his habit was left out of the biopic Saving Mr. Banks due to the Disney company's ban on smoking in their films. The real-life Disney succumbed to lung cancer in 1966 at the age of 65.
The former First Lady and wife of US President John F. Kennedy was known for her wholesome and glamorous image, but according to the Connecticut Post:
Jackie Kennedy had official White House cigarettes available to guests after formal dinners. She was a heavy smoker but was conscious to avoid being photographed with a cigarette in her hand.
Prince Harry reportedly took up smoking as a teenager and spent a great deal of time trying to kick the habit. However, it was not until he became betrothed that he was able to successfully stop.
At the height of his habit, he allegedly avoided smoking in public to hide it from his health-conscious father, Prince Charles.
Despite undergoing preventive surgeries to remove her breasts and ovaries due to the BRCA1 mutation raising her likelihood of cancer, Angelina Jolie has been an on-again, off-again smoker for much of her life, until quitting in the mid-2010s.
