This article was originally published on Constative.com
We like to think of celebrities as spoiled and self-centered, with their extravagant mansions and over the top dresses, but how much do you know about their charity work? It’s easy to ignore it when celebrities put their power to good use, but truth is, many celebrities put their wealth to good use and give back to the world. Some of them are more open about their philanthropy, while others try not to brag about it, but once in a while they all deserve recognition for their admirable charity work. While we often get blinded by their extravagant outfits and mansions, this time we decided to take a look at the most influential and inspiring acts of charity performed by our favorite celebrities in the past decade.
48. Joaquin Phoenix
Acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix has been the most prominent name in Hollywood since his memorable performance in Joker, for which he won his first and much-deserved Academy Award, but what most people don’t know is that Phoenix isn’t just an incredibly talented actor, but also a devoted philanthropist. Phoenix always goes the extra mile in his roles, and he does so in his charity endeavors as well.
The accomplished actor is a social activist, and ever since he accumulated fame and fortune, he uses his status to promote the causes he supports, including different social issues, humanitarian organizations and human rights and different projects for children in developing countries. However, Phoenix is most known for his animal rights activism, a topic that is particularly close to the actor, who’s been a vegan since childhood. He supports animal rights organizations by advocating, publicly addressing the issue of animal cruelty and attending events and protests. He even mentioned this topic as part of his controversial Academy Award acceptance speech.