Celebs Who Have Saved Lives

Many people seem to believe that modern day celebrities are egocentric, self-entitled narcissists with little to no regard for us regular folk. In some cases, that's most definitely true — who can forget the time Christian Bale verbally abused Terminator Salvation director of photography Shane Hurlbut for nearly four straight minutes after he accidentally ruined a take? There's no denying the fact that some celebs can be complete jerks in real life, but that's not always the case. 

Sometimes, the rich and the famous are surprisingly humble IRL, going out of their way to sign autographs and pose for selfies. Taking time out of their often busy schedules to interact with fans is indeed commendable, however there's a select group of celebrities that have gone above and beyond to help others. From TV doctors who became real life saviors to Hollywood A-listers who performed daring rescues, the following stars have all saved lives.

T.I.'s past is more colorful than his wardrobe, but he isn't such a bad guy — in fact, he has a habit of saving lives. In 2010, the rapper-turned-actor was on his way to a video shoot when he heard that a man planned to jump from a nearby building. "Something in me just said, 'Man, you gotta try and help," T.I. said (via Rolling Stone). He recorded a video message that police played for the would-be jumper, and it convinced him to come in from the ledge. T.I. also saved the life of Creed frontman Scott Stapp in remarkably similar circumstances.

Stapp was severely injured after a 20-foot fall from a hotel balcony following a multi-day drug binge. Exactly how that fall occurred is a bit in dispute, as Stapp described it in his memoir, Sinner's Creed, as an accident, while T.I. later told GQ  that the rocker was attempting "to jump." Regardless, Stapp, who had life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, allowed T.I. to call for help. The "Higher" singer later told TMZ that he "loves" his unlikely savior, describing the rapper as someone who has "a good heart" and "does good things." 

Speaking of jerks who aren't really jerks, next up we have Simon Cowell. The reality TV mogul is well-known for not holding back with his appraisals of would-be singers, and it turns out this approach actually did one X Factor contestant a huge favor. In 2007, a hopeful named Jacqui Gray auditioned on the UK version of the show, and Cowell told her that her voice sounded very strange. Fellow judge Sharon Osbourne picked up on this as well, and both she and Cowell urged Gray to see a doctor, which she did. It turned out she had a potentially fatal lung infection.

"I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis and told if I had not got it seen to, it could have killed me," the mother-of-two told The Mirror. "I want to thank them both. I may not have got through X Factor but they gave me something much more important than that ... they really did save my life." Cowell admits to having mellowed out since becoming a father, but his bluntness was actually a blessing in disguise in this case.

Jack Osbourne and Lisa Stelly's Hawaii wedding went off without a hitch in 2012, but drama is almost guaranteed when it comes to the Osbourne clan. According to his then-wife, Jack (son of fellow life-saver Sharon Osbourne and rock icon Ozzy Osbourne) saved a woman after she got into difficulty in the water. "Really proud of Jack and his friend Tyler who saved a woman on the beach yesterday who'd had a heart attack and drown," Stelly tweeted, adding, "They resuscitated her until the ambulance came."

Some controversy ensued when it transpired that several other people had helped the woman before Osbourne got to her, but if he hadn't chipped in with some "chest compressions" there's no telling if she would have made it. "As soon as the EMTs arrived, I backed away and let them take over," Osbourne said in a statement posted to Facebook. "The last thing I want to do is take all of the credit when in fact there were a few people who helped save her life." Osbourne and Stelly divorced in 2019, citing irreconcilable differences.

Back in 1997, little-known actor Gerard Butler saved a young boy from drowning. Butler and his mother were enjoying a picnic next to the River Tay when they saw 14-year-old Daniel Smith in real trouble. In true action-hero fashion, the Scot dived in and dragged the limp teen onto the riverbank, where a Spanish tourist took over with artificial respiration. "I wouldn't call myself a hero," a humble Butler said at the time (via Daily Record). "I just acted instinctively. When I brought him out he was lifeless. I'm just glad he's alright now."

20 years after he saved his life, the Hollywood star spoke at Smith's wedding via video. "I said, 'I feel like I've been there at all the most important moments of your life: I was there the day you almost drowned and now I'm here for your wedding,'" Butler revealed while promoting 2017's Geostorm. "It was lovely and kind of taking things full circle, to do that for his wedding."

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't just play the action hero in his movies. Back in 2004, the sitting governor of California and his family took a week-long break in Maui (what is it about Hawaii and celebrity rescues?) when he spotted someone in trouble approximately 100 yards off shore. Undaunted by the distance, Schwarzenegger sprang into action and swam out to the man, who had cramped up and was in real danger of drowning. 

"He saw a man in distress in the water and brought him back to the shore," an aide to the former Mr. Universe said (via The Sydney Morning Herald). "The man was hanging onto a boogie board and the governor knew there was something wrong and asked the guy if he was okay." Schwarzenegger, who was 56 years old at the time, told the man to hang on and towed him back to land. The Terminator star advised the shaken civilian to sit for half an hour, which he did. The man recovered, and there was no need for a chopper.

Jennifer Lawrence has her critics, but we've got irrefutable proof that she's actually a pretty decent person. The actress made her debut as Katniss Everdeen in 2012, and the training she underwent to play the heroine of The Hunger Games franchise apparently rubbed off on her. That same year, she jumped into action when she witnessed a young woman collapse outside of her Santa Monica home. She and another bystander attempted to revive her, but when she didn't come to, they called the authorities.

"Jennifer Lawrence and some other locals helped a juvenile female who appeared to have been drinking and was outside an apartment building," Sergeant Richard Lewis of the Santa Monica Police told Us Weekly. "Miss Lawrence and several others waited beside the female until the police and paramedics arrived." While this isn't the most daring rescue on this list, Lawrence still deserves kudos for her actions. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately "88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes" in the U.S. every year, and this young woman could have easily become another statistic had it not been for J-Law and her quick-thinking neighbors.

When Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005, Sean Penn was there, attempting to pull people out of the toxic sludge that inundated the city. He offered his services in the face of another natural disaster in 2010. After an earthquake devastated Haiti, Penn quickly arrived on the scene to lend a hand. An eyewitness told TMZ that the actor personally saved a woman and an orphan child. After pulling them from a pile of rubble, he reportedly drove the pair to a makeshift hospital and then took them back to his place to recuperate.

Penn was at it again in 2012, when he visited the flood-hit region of Badin in Pakistan as part of an eight-member delegation of United States diplomats. According to The Express Tribune, the two-time Oscar winner handed out blankets, food, and other items to those that had been affected by massive floods the previous year.

He's known for playing "the mean Chicano dude with tattoos" in the movies, but in real life, Danny Trejo has a heart of gold. The actor had a troubled upbringing, growing up in the California prison system. Trejo later spent time in San Quentin where, in a round-about way, he learned how to act. "Knowing that there's a riot coming, you're absolutely scared to death with every fiber of your body," he told NPR. "You have to stand there and make everybody think you like it." Today, he's an actor, a drug counselor, and a genuine hero.

In 2019, Trejo witnessed a road accident that left one of the two vehicles involved overturned. When he realized that a baby was trapped inside the rolled car he jumped into action, crawling in through a broken window. With the help of another bystander, the Machete star managed to free the child and pull him to safety. Speaking to a photographer on the scene (via CNN), Trejo was incredibly humble about his act of heroism. "The only thing that saved the little kid was his car seat," he insisted.