Celebrities are no slouches when it comes to using their fame to support their favourite causes. A-listers such as Oprah Winfrey, George and Amal Clooney, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie regularly top annual lists of the world’s most generous stars. However, some famous faces are so inspired – frequently by a particular role or an event in their own lives – that they go a step further and set up their own charities. We take a look at some of those generous actors and television stars, both in New Zealand and overseas, who have gone that extra mile to help those less fortunate than themselves.
His own struggles with depression, drugs and alcohol inspired New Zealand comedian Mike King to give up a successful career on stage and screen (Mike King Tonight) to help advocate for better mental health services. Recently back on television, competing alongside his daughter Alex on Celebrity Treasure Island, he is the founder of I Am Hope, a registered charity under the Key To Life Charitable Trust, which advocates for more suicide prevention measures. King was named New Zealander Of The Year in 2019 for his work and also appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order Of Merit – but returned the latter in 2021 as a protest over the lack of progress in improving the mental health system.
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Her role as Law & Order: SVU’s Detective Olivia Benson had a profound impact on Hargitay. What she learnt about sexual abuse while preparing for the role, combined with the fan letters she received from women who had suffered abuse, prompted her to take action. The result is the Joyful Heart Foundation which aims to educate and empower victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. One of the organisation’s major accomplishments involved Hargitay speaking to Congress to enact rape kit reform and eliminate case backlog.
In 1991, when Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, the Family Ties and Back To The Future star took a negative and turned it to a positive, founding the Michael J. Fox Foundation which raises awareness and helps fund research to help find a cure for the disease. In 2016, the foundation created a raffle to boost awareness of Parkinson’s, raising US$6.75 million.
The Speed actor reportedly donated around 70 per cent of his salary from 1999’s The Matrix movie to help with the search for a cure for leukaemia. The donation was made while his younger sister Kim was in a years-long battle with the blood cancer. She went into remission in 2001. “Money is the last thing I think about,” he has said. “I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries.”
The help that British charity Mencap gave his learning disabled cousin, Laurent, turned the Game Of Thrones star into a champion of the charity. In 2019, when GOT fans set up a fundraising site for the actor when he was undergoing treatment for “wellness issues”, Harington donated the money raised to the charity. “This donations page lifted my heart and brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful gift to receive… how generous of all of you,” the actor said. “Mencap is truly a wonderful charity and the money given here will go to the most incredible cause. With love and respect from beyond the wall… Kit x.”
The Long Shot star made an appearance on American game show The Price Is Right in 2019 to help raise awareness and funds for the charity, Hilarity for Charity. Founded by him and his actor wife Lauren Miller (Superbad), it aims to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The couple set up the organisation in 2012 after Miller’s mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
When her son, Sylvester, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a college student in 2011, the Riverdale star and her family turned to the National Alliance on Mental Illness as “a resource”. Three years later, Amick became a vocal advocate for the charity. “I always look forward to any NAMI event,” she said. “The supportive community is a must in the recovery of those living with mental illness and the loved ones who support them.”
The Australian X-Men star launched Laughing Man Coffee in 2011 after a World Vision trip to Ethiopia where he met a fair trade coffee farmer. All profits from the Laughing Man cafes and coffee sales go towards supporting educational programmes, community development and social entrepreneurs around the world.
This actor takes climate change very seriously. He is a UN Messenger of Peace for the Climate and his charity, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, has been protecting the world’s oceans, wildlife, forests, and more since 1998. The charity runs a variety of initiatives all over the world, issues millions of dollars in grant money to support “the long-term health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants”, and uses social media in a bid to bring attention to a variety of important environmental issues.
The Block Australia judge and Selling Homes Australia designer Blaze runs family violence charity Voice Of Change and earned nearly $500,000 for the organisation by winning the Celebrity Apprentice Australia last year. “I haven’t had the best time in a lot of relationships, but I am not defined by what has been done to me,” she said at the time, revealing that she had personally experienced domestic violence in her past.
The CSI: NY and 13 Reasons Why star has been helping veterans and active service men and women almost as long as he has been acting on screen. He started his own foundation in 2011 after spending years visiting the troops and backing initiatives to support them. The Gary Sinise Foundation has started campaigns to feed homeless vets, build smart homes for wounded soldiers and provide financial support to America’s firefighters, police departments and other first responders.
Through their Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, Texan actor McConaughey and his wife Camila have helped more than 10,000 at-risk youth in inner-city schools turn their lives around. The initiative aims to empower high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. “Just Keep Livin’ is something that came to me just a few days after my father passed away in ’92,” the True Detective star says. “In trying to cope with him physically no longer being here, I firmly believe that I can still have a relationship with him spiritually if I just keep his spirit alive.”
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