stranger things

25 Famous Women on Their Strangest Habits

“I will look through all of your stuff if I go in your house. Period.” — Amy Poehler

Humans are creatures of habit. (Tove Lo can attest to that.) Sometimes our habits get, well, a little weird.

Below, 25 famous women — from Shailene Woodley to Yoko Ono — divulge the strangest habits they’ve picked up over the years, whether it’s licking the seasoning off of Doritos or sunbathing one’s genitals to absorb an extra dose of vitamin D. I mean, stranger things have happened, right?

Michelle Williams
“I like to do weird things in the shower, like drink my coffee, brush my teeth and drink a smoothie. You don’t have to spend time sitting down to eat breakfast. It’s good time management.” —People, January 2011

Emma Stone
“I sucked my thumb until I was 11 years old. It’s still so soothing to do it, it feels so good. The roof of my mouth is so high-pitched that I had this huge overbite and I got this gate when I was in second grade that came down. I had braces and then they put a gate and it was like this and I would lift the gate, I would take the gate down and suck my thumb underneath the mouth appliance. Because I was totally ignoring the rule to not suck your thumb while you’re trying to straighten out your teeth. But, I gotta do what I gotta do, you know?” —W Magazine, February 2017

Shailene Woodley
“Another thing I like to do is give my vagina a little vitamin D. [Laughs] I was reading an article written by an herbalist I studied about yeast infections and other genital issues. She said there’s nothing better than vitamin D. If you’re feeling depleted, go in the sun for an hour and see how much energy you get. Or, if you live in a place that has heavy winters, when the sun finally comes out, spread your legs and get some sunshine. [Laughs.]” —Into the Gloss, March 2014

Helen Mirren
“Not answering phone calls. I think it’s because I’ve a slight phone phobia.” —The Guardian, December 2008

Diane Keaton
On her Pinterest boards: “I’m not thinking about what people experience when they see my boards. I’m not thinking about what they want. I’m thinking about what I want. Everyday millions of people share their insights, their vision, their flair, and their longings on Pinterest. Just this morning I found myself on Louise Bilodeau’s profile. Inside her ‘restaurant/bar’ board I pinned ‘Pizza With No name in Reykjavik, Iceland’ to my ‘Breakfast of Champions’ board. Who is Louise Bilodeau? Where does she live? Is she French? I’ll never know, but one thing I do know … Louise has given me a pizza place I love, and that’s enough for me.” —Pinterest blog, June 2014

Amy Poehler
“I will look through all of your stuff if I go in your house. Period. End of sentence. I would never steal, but I like to look through people’s things. [Laughs.] And, um, it makes me a terrible houseguest.” —The Ellen DeGeneres Show, December 2014

“I was a world-class snooper — and still am, unfortunately, which is why I need to stay away from the internet because it’s no good for me … It’s not — it’s not appropriate to look through people’s stuff … I will agree with you that it’s terrible behavior. But I’m also going to say that I can’t help myself most of the time. I always liked to know where I stood. I’m a person that would much rather know what you think about me than live in some blissful state of denial. That being said, it’s not good to read people’s journals; that being said, I will read your journal if you leave it near me.” —“Fresh Air,” October 2014

Anna Kendrick
“This is kind of gross, but I keep a bottle of lotion from every movie I’ve ever done. It’s usually some cheap bottle of lotion or shampoo that I picked up at a drug store, and then I’ll keep it in a closet somewhere so if I smell it, it totally takes me back. So I’ve got a little drawer of body butters, shampoos, and stuff that I was just using for one movie … I don’t know the brand, but there was a mango body butter that I used during Up in the Air and if I smell it, it completely takes me back even to this day.” —Elle, June 2013

Heidi Klum
On her most unappealing habit: “Falling asleep at 8 pm.” —The Guardian, April 2016

Gigi Hadid
“I used to eat salt out of the palm of my hand as a kid.” —British Vogue, February 2017

Adriana Lima
“My favorite thing is applying mascara. I love mascara on the eyes. I like it to be very black, and I like when you just apply lots of layers. So on my days off, I just apply over and over and over. When I shower, the mascara runs over my skin, I wipe it off, and I apply it on top again. I absolutely love it.” —InStyle, September 2017

Yoko Ono
“My secret to eternal youth is to take an ice-cold bath once a day.” —Us Weekly, February 2016

“I like the way sunglasses look. I even wear them in the theater. My son [singer Sean Lennon] always thought that was weird!” —Us Weekly, February 2016

Erykah Badu
“I have a teepee where I put myself in time-out.” —Us Weekly, November 2015

Carrie Brownstein
“There is this kind of interdependent relationship where I can’t tell if what I’m doing is from a sketch or that the characters I’m portraying are seeping into my real life. I definitely do a lot of inadvertent oversharing; or I don’t bring a reusable grocery bag to the store. I find myself broadcasting, at a high volume, my current excuse, or trying to get the cashier to vouch for me that I brought it last time — as if I’m on trial. It’s so easy to fall into these patterns of feeling guilty for things that we may not necessarily need to feel guilty for.” —The Bay Bridged, January 2013

Chrissy Teigen
On eating Doritos: “I lick off the nacho cheese seasoning and put the chips back in the bag. You still get all the flavor, not all the carbs!” —Delish, May 2017

Chelsea Handler
On her weirdest phone habit: “I take my phone in the sauna with me a lot, which is probably not good for it. When it shuts off because of heat, you know it’s probably a bad situation.”—Marie Claire, April 2017

Rebel Wilson
“Up until the age of 12, I went to dog shows every weekend. Mum showed beagles. It’s a really competitive and eclectic world filled with characters who wear interesting outfits — similar to Toddlers & Tiaras, but with dogs.” —The Daily Telegraph, November 2011

Emily Weiss
On breakfast food: “This is a weird quirk: I really like eating sausage with maple syrup on it.” —Grub Street, October 2015

Jessica Simpson
On chewing Nicorette gum even though she never smoked: “I am addicted to Nicorette gum … Never in my life have I smoked. The first time I ever chewed a piece of Nicorette gum one of my close friend’s mother gave it to me. I think she thought she was giving me a piece of regular gum. I was chewing it and it was like a party in my mouth. It was like fireworks and ‘Oh my god, I’m talking a million miles per hour and I love this gum and what kind of gum is this? I have to have this gum!’” —The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, May 2010

Kristen Stewart
“I used to buy shoes that were too small for me because I thought they looked better. And I just convinced myself that I was like a 6.5/7, but I’m genuinely a 7/7.5. I had to throw away like 50 pairs of shoes because I was like, Kristen, you’re hurting yourself. You have to stop.”—T Magazine, August 2016

Marie Kondo
On tidying: “Giving sincere thanks to an item will significantly reduce or even eliminate any guilt you may feel when you decide that you will no longer have it in your home. I understand that for some people it may seem strange to thank items, but if you try it you’ll be surprised by its effectiveness.” —The Guardian, January 2017

Mary-Louise Parker
“I eat a lot of candy and I especially like Smarties. The only other person I know who likes Smarties is Jenji Kohan who sorts them into piles by color, which is awesome.” —her Reddit AMA, February 2014

Betty White
“Having been around for as long as I have, there are no secrets left. I am an avid crossword puzzle addict, and although I am known for my animal-health and welfare work, people might be surprised to hear I am a nature nut as well!” —Guinness World Records, September 2013

Margaret Atwood

“I don’t know whether it’s a habit or an affectation. I usually start writing books in longhand. I guess that’s a habit. I usually like to write with an implement that flows. A Rollerball or a pen with ink in it. It’s the way it moves across the page, that interests me.” —The Daily Beast, October 2013

“I never talk about books I’m writing.” —The Daily Beast, October 2013

Adele
“I’d like to stop picking my nose. It’s a really bad habit that I have. You know when you pick one, put it in your hand, roll them and flick them …Anyone saying, ‘Eww’ — you are lying. You have to do something with the bogeys … The best thing is I pick my own kid’s bogeys, roll them in my hand and then flick those ones.” —at her concert in Chicago, The Sun, July 2016

Kate Winslet
“I’m a little bit obsessive about my feet. I pick at my feet. [Laughs] I’m sure that’s what everyone wants to know!” —Good Housekeeping, February 2007

25 Famous Women on Their Strangest Habits