Famous Female Teetotalers

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Out of many other explanations, it is generally accepted that the word teetotal evolved from reduplication of the T. Reduplication is the process of forming a compound word by the repetition of all or part of it. It was a common practice in the 1800s to repeat the initial letter in of the word, in form and sound, to emphasize it; for example the T in total. In a speech, Richard Turner, a member of the British Temperance society, emphasized that he abstained tee-totally from drinking. People abstain from the consumption of alcohol mostly due to religious or medical considerations. There are however some social elements which encourage drinking on one hand and abstinence on the other hand. It is interesting that in some cultures such abstinence is considered rude, as in France. Chile is even more extreme in this respect and a teetotaler is looked down upon there. They suspect that the only reason for abstaining from drinking is to keep one’s wits sharp enough to exploit the weakness of those who are drunk.

1.  Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman was born on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is an American and Israeli citizen and a renowned actress. She studied at Harvard University. She is best known for her performance as Padmé Amidala in US$431 million-grossing Star Wars prequel trilogy. In 2005, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting actress and won it. In 2011, she won an Academy award, a Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award, the Screen Actors Guild award and the Independent Spirit Award for her lead role in Black Swan. She performed ‘drinking ’til she’s sick’ on Saturday Night Live, while she never drinks in real life. She said ”¦when there’s a break everyone else goes to their trailers and drinks beer and I like, go to school’. She is a literal teetotaler and told Australian Dolly, in August 2000 that ‘I’ve never tried smoking. I don’t drink. I’ve never tried drugs’.

2. Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette was born to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Empress Maria Theresa on November 1755 in Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria. She died on October 16, 1793 at Place de la Révolution, Paris, France. She was the Queen of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1792. She was convicted for treason and executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793. After climbing on the scaffold just before execution, her foot accidentally stepped on the executioner, Henri Sanson. To him she said her last words ‘Pardon me sir, I meant not to do it’. She was a teetotaler and did not allow any impoliteness in her presence. She has been subject of many literary genres. Whereas some scholars say that French revolution started due to her, others disagree and opine that her execution was unjust.

3.  Mary Jane McLeod Bethune

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born to slave parents on July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina, U.S. and died on May 18, 1955 at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. She started a school for African American students and it became Bethune-Cookman University. She is known for being the advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt. She was known as ebony on account of her color. Among students she was known as Mama Bethune on account of her behavior. She was a teetotaler and chastised drunken blacks, if she found them in public. Louis E. Martin, a columnist, wrote upon her death ‘She gave out faith and hope as if they were pills and she some sort of doctor’.

4. Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith was born on September 18, 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is a well-known American actress, songwriter and entrepreneur. She has performed in more than twenty films. Along with her husband Will Smith, she co-founded a nonprofit organization YouthBuild. She became a teetotaler and remarked ‘I found myself drinking two bottles of wine on the couch and I said, ‘Jada, I think we’ve got a problem here.’ I had problems with alcohol and I really had to get in contact with the pain, whatever that is, and then I had to get some other tools in how to deal with the pain. From that day on I went cold turkey; I haven’t had a drink in eight years.’

5. Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky

Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky

Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky was born to Raphael Kaplinsky and Catherine Kaplinsky on September 9, 1972 in Brighton, UK. She graduated in 1995, in English from Harford College, Oxford. She is a British newsreader and television presenter. She has worked with BBC, ITN and Sky News. She left BBC on October 5, 2007 to join Five News as a presenter. Her Salary at BBC was £175,000 and Five offered her a salary exceeding £300,000. Her first broadcast at Five was presented on February 18, 2008 and it was seen by more than a million viewers. She was total abstainer from all sorts of alcoholic drinks.

6. Kathleen Mary Griffin

Kathleen Mary Griffin
Kathleen Mary Griffin

Kathleen Mary Griffin was born to Mary Margaret and John Patrick Griffin on November 4, 1960 in Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. She studied drama at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She came into prominence after her performance on the Bravo reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. She received two Emmy awards for Outstanding Reality program. She suffered from binge eating disorder but she was teetotaler. During an interview in 2006, she told that she did not drink alcohol.

7. Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Elisabeth Hasselbeck
Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Elisabeth Hasselbeck was born to Elizabeth Del Padre and Kenneth Filarski on May 28, 1977 in Cranston, Rhode Island. She is an American television personality and is best known for hosting ABC morning broadcast Good Morning America which won her the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host. She suffers from celiac disease and has authored a book The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide. The book has appeared on the bestsellers lists. It is probably on the medical ground that she refrains from drinking alcohol.

8. Eliza Patricia Dushku

 Eliza Patricia Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku

Eliza Patricia Dushku was born to Philip R. Dushku and Judith on December 30, 1980 in Watertown, Massachusetts, U.S. She graduated from Watertown High School.  She is best known for her performance as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. She has performed in numerous films and has won many awards. She abstains from drinking and is on the list of teetotalers.

9.  Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings
Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings was born to Ellen Judith Litwack and Gerald J. Litwack on June 13, 1986 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. She became famous after her performance in HBO series Sex and the City. She has appeared in many films including, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma’s House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House Bunny, and Thor. She feels affiliated with Judaism more on account of ethnicity and culture rather than religion. She is a teetotaler and told Black Book magazine ‘I don’t drink and I don’t smoke and I don’t like being around people who do’.

10. Barbara Bach

Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach

Barbara Bach was born to Marjorie and Howard I. Goldbach on August 27, 1947 in Rosedale, Queens, New York, U.S. She is known as the Bond Girl, on account of her role as Anya Amasova from the James Bond Film, The Spy Who Loved Me. After performing this role in 1977, she commented that Bond is ‘a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets.’ Both Bach and her husband Ringo Starr attended a detox clinic for six weeks in 1988. Since then she has abstained from drinking alcohol.

Conclusion

Abstinence from anything bad invariably culminates into something good. The least benefit of abstaining from drinking is the wellness of body, mind and soul. Will-power is the keyword to abstain from drinking and get rid of the associated complications. Where there is a will, there is a way. Uganda is considered the leading consumer of alcoholic drinks, but it is interesting to note that alcohol is brewed there, almost always, by teetotalers. Denzel Washington, the American film actor, said ‘I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me – spiritually and financially’.

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