British singer Amy Winehouse leaves the City of Westminster Magistrates Court in central London March 17, 2009. [Photo/Agencies]

12. Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse's severe substance abuse and alcoholism were subject of much media attention, just as her talent and music were. In 2005, she experienced a period of drinking, heavy drug use and weight loss. In 2007, she was hospitalized for what was reported as an overdose of heroine, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol.

According to her physician, Winehouse quit her use of illegal substances in 2008. Around the same period, she began binge drining and went through numerous cycles of abstaining and relapsing. On July 23, 2011, one such relapse led to Winehouse's death by alcohol intoxication.