How Naomi Campbell Overcame Her Cocaine Addiction

In 2010, Naomi Campbell opened up about her battle with cocaine addiction on The Oprah Show.

Hear Naomi describe her downfall and subsequent recovery in her own words.

WINFREY: Naomi Campbell had reached model superstardom,but off the runway, no one knew she had a recreationaldrug habit that turned into a dangerous cocaine addiction.Naomi says her lowest point was showing up ata photo shoot so wasted she collapsed on her knees in wildand desperate sobs.

In 1999, Naomi checked into rehab.After two years of living as a recovering addict,Naomi was exposed when a tabloid printed a photoof her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.WINFREY: Naomi sued the tabloid for invasionof privacy and actually won.

Bravo to you.[APPLAUSE]WINFREY: Bravo to you.We all would sue a lot more often,but it takes so much time and energy to sue.Ms. CAMPBELL: It took three years.WINFREY: Yeah.

To use up your life to do that.Let's talk about the cocaine addiction.How did you first get introduced to the drug?Was it just a part of the lifestyle?Ms. CAMPBELL: No, because actually,first I picked up cocaine at 24 years old,so I had been modeling a while, and I'd always been against it.And I found myself, like, doing three jobs a day,and I never ever had to have a dealer, as you call them.It was always very easy to get handed to you whenever you wanted it,but at the end, it was a destroyer.

I mean, it's really a devil's drug.WINFREY: When did you realize you had a problem?Ms. CAMPBELL: After Gianni died, after Gianni Versace died becausein 1997, it was, "Okay.

I'm not going to touch this because,you know, I've lost Gianni, and now I'm not going to do it anymore,"and then that year, so many other friends passed away,and I felt like I couldn't keep up with the grief,so I just started replacing it with drugs.

And it's awful, just ...WINFREY: You couldn't keep up with the grief,so you started replacing it with the drugs.It's pretty profound.

Yeah, and what brought you out of it?Ms. CAMPBELL: My physical condition.Like, I showed up to do a job and basically collapsed.Just like you said, I couldn't--I mean, I could not stand.And a friend of mine who's now become a counselor herself,a great lady who's from Norway, brought me to her house in Italy.I was in Italy when it happened, and she put down the number of a doctor,and she just said, "Look.

I'm not going to force you.You're a grown woman.

If you want to call him, the number is there,"and she walked away, and about 10 minutes after she walked away,I went, and I picked up the number, and I called him.WINFREY: Mm-hmm.

How long have you been sober now?Ms. CAMPBELL: I've been sober from drugs, like, six yearsand sober from alcohol a year and a half.WINFREY: Yeah.Ms. CAMPBELL: What happened when I went to rehab, they said,"You have to stop everything, drink and drugs,"but I'm like, "Well, I'm not an alcoholic.

I can drink.I don't have a problem with alcohol."But what does end up happening--and it truly does--is thatwhen you don't surrender to both, you will pick up the alcohol,even if you never drank before in your life.You can stop the drugs, but then you'll pick up alcoholand drink that more than you ever did.