As you probably have realized by now, we simply can't go on social media now-a-days without seeing something pertaining to celebrities; I know that I can't go on Facebook without seeing Beyonce's dance moves or hearing about the date that Drake and Rihanna just went on... We are, just like the generations before us, obsessed with Hollywood, the music industry, and reality television stars.
And no, I'm not complaining. I realize that sometimes people overstep their boundaries when it comes to celebrities, but for the most part, I think it's interesting to hear about them. Not to mention that celebrities have an extreme influence on all of us, whether we know it or not. For instance, many celebrities voice their opinions about our environmental, conservation, and animal issues, which then influence the media and bigger institutions views about them, sparking changes.
Therefore, I did some research, and I wanted to share what I found... Here are some of the best conservationist, environmentalist, and just overall animal-helping celebrities that we should be paying attention to right now.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
We all know Leo from many movies, including The Titanic, The Revenant, and The Wolf of Wall Street. In the midst of his successful acting career, he created his own foundation in 1998, appropriately named The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. His aim is to protect the world's ecosystems and all that lives in them, and he has paired up with countless organizations, including World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy.
Plus, Leonardo himself was named the United Nations Messenger of Peace for Climate Change and received the 2014 Clinton Global Citizen Award for calling upon world leaders to act and address climate change. Currently, he and his foundation are working on 70+ projects in over 40 countries.
2. Ian Somerhalder
3. Betty White
Betty White, who made a name for herself on the television show, The Golden Girls, is the cutest animal lover. For her 91st birthday, her only wish was that people donated money towards the Morris Animal Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to advance veterinary medicine. Currently, Betty is 94 years old, and she still continues to work with the Morris Animal Foundation.
She also has served as a trustee of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association for over 40 years, where she promotes education and endangered species conservation. She even published a scrapbook, Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo, where she includes her favorite photographs and stories about her animal friends.
4. Ke$ha
Ke$ha, the talented singer, has been an outspoken animal activist, speaking against dog fighting and trophy hunting. She has even endorsed cruelty-free make-up brands. Further, Ke$ha even won the Humane Society of the United States' Wyler Award in 2013, which honors celebrities for their animal activism.
5. Paul McCartney
Sir Paul McCartney is arguably the world's most famous vegetarian, and has been a very compassionate person for over 30 years. He, like Ke$ha, also won the Humane Society of the United States' Wyler Award, and continues to call attention to inhumane practices of our world today, such as Canada's annual seal hunt.
6. Bob Barker
Former The Price Is Right host, Bob Barker has done a lot for animals. Every episode closing, Barker sent the audience an important message: spay and neuter their pets. Following this same message, he created his own foundation, the DJ&T Foundation, which funds spay and nueter clinics.
Plus, Barker even stepped down as the host of the 1987 Miss USA pageant because they were giving away real animal furs as prizes. In the more current times, Barker still supports many animal foundations and donates his own money to organizations like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
7. John Stewart
John Stewart, former television host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central has a compassionate heart. Although he is an activist for all animals, his main focus is farm animals, and in 2013, he and his wife, Tracey, created a farm for rescued factory farm animals. Then, in 2015, John and Tracey announced their partnership with Farm Sanctuary, where they announced that they were expanding their farm into an official sanctuary for abused and neglected animals farm animals.
8. Gisele Bundchen
Gisele Bündchen, former supermodel, recently partnered with the United Nations Environmental Programme "Wild For Life." Started in 2015, the new initiative aims at ending illegal poaching and helping endangered species, and Gisele works as an ambassador for these species. They even have a quiz to find your "kindred species," such as elephants and pangolins, which call attention to the world's threatened species. Gisele is a sea turtle, and focuses her activism around that species.
9. Sigourney Weaver
After playing Dian Fossey, the famous gorilla conservationist, in the 1999 film Gorillas In The Mist, Sigourney Weaver became a big supporter The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which she still supports today. Weaver has also spoken about several environmental issues, such as deep-sea trawling, in front of the United Nations, and continues to call attention to such problems.
10. Edward Norton
Critically acclamined actor Edward Norton is a pioneer of the Solar Neighbors Program, which helps bring solar panels into poorer neighborhoods. These solar panels are the much greener way to use energy, and will save lower-income families money, while also helping the environment.
11. Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan, the famous actor in many well-known films, and his wife Keely, work closely with The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Currently, they are trying to stop Navy sonar scans, which have been known to disrupt marine mammal hearing and cause their deaths. Brownian also is a board member to many environmental organizations and is a sustainability advocate... He even won “Best-Dressed Environmentalist” by the Sustainable Style Foundation!
