PETA Celebrates 20 Years of ‘Most Beautiful Vegan’ With 20 Stars to Watch
Back in 2001, PETA crowned Shania Twain as our first-ever Sexiest Vegetarian. Now, 20 years later, the world is a very different place when it comes to animal-free dining. Many major fast-food chains now offer a vegan burger, and it seems like a new vegan restaurant pops up weekly—meanwhile, supermarkets are exploding with animal-free milk, cheese, seafood, and meat. Who helped get us where we are? Outspoken animal rights activists like Joaquin Phoenix, James Cromwell, RZA, Pamela Anderson, Edie Falco, and Woody Harrelson paved the way for a new wave of vegan stars!
To commemorate two decades of celebrating kind vegan celebrities and to show how far the movement has come, PETA is excited to acknowledge 20 beautiful vegan stars across the entertainment industry who are inspiring millions of people around the world to keep animals off their plates and go vegan.
Meet 2021’s 20 Most Beautiful Vegan celebrities!
Anderson .Paak
The talented multihyphenate is one of the hottest names in music right now—and speaking of hot, he made sure that his interview on the popular YouTube series Hot Ones was 100% vegan (wings, milk, and all!). You can also find him posting vegan recipes on his Instagram stories, and he partnered with chef Roy Choi to cook up tasty vegan treats for California fans.
Andrea Meza
The Mexican model, software engineer, and Miss Universe 2020 is a dedicated vegan (it’s even proudly displayed in her Instagram bio) who stands up for animals and climate justice.
Ashima Shiraishi
The professional rock climber said that she went vegan “for environmental and ethical reason(s) cuz I love animals”—and says that the compassionate change made her happier, stronger, and more energized.
Ava DuVernay
The creative mind behind hit films like Selma, 13th, and A Wrinkle in Time sees going vegan as a social justice and food access issue. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “My mom always said to treat others like you like to be treated. … [E]veryone wants to be … respected and treated in a loving way.”
Billie Eilish
“I just can’t go on in my life knowing what’s going on in the animal world and, like, not doing anything about it,” says the young superstar, who has been vegan for seven years. And compassion clearly runs in the family—Billie’s mom, Maggie Baird, received PETA’s 2020 Company of the Year award for her organization Support + Feed.
Chloe x Halle
The talented twins say that being vegan helps them keep their stunning voices in tip-top shape, and they encourage their fans to give the compassionate lifestyle a try.
Chris Paul
The nine-time NBA All-Star credits being vegan with helping him keep up with teammates nearly half his age. CP3 is a Beyond Meat ambassador and an executive producer of the popular vegan documentary The Game Changers, and he partnered with Pinky Cole of Slutty Vegan to provide folks in Atlanta with free vegan food on Juneteenth.
Christian Serratos
The Selena: The Series and Walking Dead star has been working with PETA to speak up for animals since she was just 14 years old. In addition to being vegan, Serratos has also spoken out against the fur industry and Canada’s cruel seal slaughter.
Colin Kaepernick
Former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick knows that being vegan can help change the world for humans, other animals, and our planet—so, it’s no surprise that his first Ben & Jerry’s collaboration is a vegan ice cream flavor appropriately called “Colin Kaepernick’s Change the Whirled.”
Diana Taurasi
Taurasi is arguably one of the best WNBA players of all time—and she’s vegan. She went vegan alongside her wife and former teammate, Penny Taylor, and credits the change with improving her athletic performance and stamina.
Francesca Farago
The Too Hot to Handle star and popular influencer credits Cowspiracy with helping her go vegan. The way she sees it, “you are either a part of the solution or a part of the problem.”
Heather Rae Young
The star of Selling Sunset has been vegan for over 10 years and has several animal-related tattoos, including the number 269 in memory of a slaughtered cow. When Young gets married in a couple of months, you can bet she’ll be celebrating with a big vegan wedding cake!
Julio Torres
The Salvadoran comedian, actor, and activist—who’s known for his off-kilter comedy and very dry delivery—isn’t afraid to talk about being vegan in his stand-up routines.
Justin Fields
The Chicago Bears quarterback is one of many vegan stars in the NFL and is the player to watch this upcoming season. For Fields, going vegan was a family affair—he did it after his dad, stepmother, and sister made the switch.
Lenny Kravitz
The legendary rock star says that being vegan is “the right thing for yourself and for the planet and animals.” He keeps his body healthy by fueling it with fruits and veggies grown in his very own Bahamian garden.
Lewis Hamilton
The seven-time Formula 1 racing world champion is also a champion for animal rights. Lewis urged Mercedes to ditch its all-leather interiors, shared PETA Asia’s investigation into the leather industry with his 20+ million Instagram followers, and backed the world’s first international vegan burger chain, Neat Burger. Even his dog, Roscoe, is vegan!
Lizzo
The “Good as Hell” singer encourages fans to go vegan one TikTok at a time by sharing her mouthwatering vegan recipes and promoting local vegan restaurants to her more than 16.5 million followers.
Madelaine Petsch
The Riverdale star was raised vegetarian and went vegan at the young age of 14. Petsch enjoys being a positive role model for her millions of fans, telling Elle’s 2020 Conservation Issue, “I want to teach people how positive and easy it is to be vegan.”
Pinky Cole
The founder of Slutty Vegan (the hottest vegan spot in Atlanta) told Thrillist, “I know that veganism is fresh. It’s trendy right now, but I want veganism to be something that becomes a staple in inner-city communities, especially.”
Sadie Sink
The Stranger Things star calls herself a “passionate [v]egan” and credits her Glass Castle co-star (and the recipient of PETA’s 2012 Sexiest Vegetarian honor) Woody Harrelson with inspiring her to make the jump from vegetarian to vegan.
This year’s 20 recipients of PETA’s Most Beautiful Vegan honor join two decades’ worth of compassionate stars who have been honored throughout the years, including Prince, Kyrie Irving, Alex Morgan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jenna Dewan, Ruby Rose, Maggie Q, Jhené Aiko, and Leona Lewis.
It’s the end of an era. After 30 successful years of ads, protests, and catwalk crashes, PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign can retire.
Check out these clever, sexy, shocking, and downright provocative PETA ads to see what your TV has been keeping from you all these years!
Turns out, the cholesterol in meat, eggs, and dairy products slows the flow of blood to all the body’s organs—not just the heart.
