5 Sober Celebrity Parents, Empowered By Their Children

Eminem Goes to A Rehab Counselor Weekly For His Kids

Jessica Sierra's New Baby Gave Her A New Lease on Life

Tracey Morgan's Son Issued Him A Wake-Up Call

Robert Downey, Jr. Says As a Dad His Job Is To "Do The Right Thing"

Colin Farrell Says He Wouldn't Be Here If It Weren't For His Son

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 1

Many celebrities battle addictions to drugs and alcohol, and oftentimes their families are on the line, and the custody of their children is at stake.

We're taking a hopeful and triumphant look at five celebrity parents who have been motivated and empowered by their children to start and stay on the path of sobriety. Eminem, Jessica Sierra, Tracy Morgan, Colin Farrell, and Robert Downey, Jr. all attribute their recovery to their children.

• Eminem

Rapper Eminem (Marshall Mathers), has endured many public battles with addiction, which have taken large tolls on his marriage and family life. His drug and alcohol addictions started in his teenage years, and at age 35, he got a wake-up call when he overdosed on methadone.

Eminem's three daughters, Whitney, Alaina, and Hailie, have kept him on track with his most recent effort to stay sober.

The talented artist shares,

My kids help me stay sober, and also I see a rehab counselor once a week. I've been clean for two years. I love my kids so much, and they've helped me through so many things.

• Jessica Sierra

American Idol star Jessica Sierra recently sat down with Celebrity Baby Scoop to share the personal details of her struggles with addiction and her new life since giving birth to son, Kayden Cash, 6 months. The singer has been sober for 2 1/2 years, and when asked if she has difficulty on the path of sobriety she shares,

I really don't think about it. Especially with Kayden, I have so much to think about with him. I guess there are times I'd just really like to sit back and have a beer but I can't, so I don't.

Sierra also explains how motherhood has changed her life perspective,

Before, I didn't have anyone to worry about or take care of but myself. And now everything that I do is for him now.

• Tracy Morgan

Hilarious 30 Rock star and comedian, Tracy Morgan reveals that his children saved his life and motivated him to clean up his act and get sober. Sadly, his marriage to Sabrina Morgan was a casualty of his addiction, and the couple got divorced before Tracy got sober. Morgan shares,

I thought I was winning. And I lost my family. I lost a 21-year-old marriage. And that just made me go, ‘Wait a minute.’ You know, I’m walking around with a bracelet on my ankle and my son looking at me like I’m Kunta Kinte, like, ‘What’chu doing, Dad? What if I start driving and drinking? Would that be cool?’ And that was it for me. That was the end of it.

His son served him a wake-up call with the question, "What if I start driving drunk and kill somebody?” To that Morgan responds,

That right there just made me look in the mirror like, I got to step up my game. So I did, and I'm glad it came from my son. I love him. He saved my life - again. Because before, I was on the street corner in Brooklyn hanging out, just hanging out. Then I had these kids, and they gave me responsibility and made me grow up and become a man, so again, there he was to rescue me.

• Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr. has suffered epic battles with drug addiction that have landed him in prison and threatened his very life on a variety of occasions. He admits to having first tried drugs at the shockingly young age of 8 years old.

But the gifted and inspiring Iron Man star has come full circle and is now enjoying a solid marriage to the love of his life, Susan Downey, and a career that continues to successfully unfold.

He had a brief respite from his downward spiral when he married Deborah Falconer and they had son Indio, now 16, together. He says, “Our marriage and having a child probably kept me from going off the rails completely,” he says, “but it wasn’t enough to right the ship.”

With regard to his hopes for his son, Indio, Downey Jr., offers,

My son is gifted and artistic and has a great sense of humor... yet he’s a very contemplative guy. That’s good. I don’t want him to be in a hurry to find out who he is. I’m a guy who was in such a hurry that I missed the train four or five times. I didn’t understand the importance of the crossroads I found myself at. As a dad, I think that my job is to do the right thing—to prepare him for what is coming in his life.

• Colin Farrell

Handsome and brooding Irish actor Colin Farrell says he is much more appreciative of his family and his career now that he is sober. Farrell has two young sons, James, 6, and Henry, 9 months. He credits his son James for saving his life, saying,

I don't know if I would be here if I hadn't had him. He was a huge part of me going in and making certain changes in my life.