Forget the awards and the fame - these celebrities will leave behind a legacy of charity and good deeds

Stories about the lifestyles of the rich and famous often focus on the glitz and the glamour - and, sure, we love that.

Who doesn't love jaw-dropping red carpet fashion or enviable jewelry moments? But every now and then there's nothing nicer than reading about people being nice.

In a world full of depressing news and tragedy, celebrities using their platform to give back and inspire positive change can make all the difference.

Of course, so many celebrities will give back in their own way, and this isn't a definitive list. It's more of a snapshot into moments stars have inspired others with notable and personal acts of charity.

These celebrities will leave behind a legacy of charity and good deeds

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton may be working 9 to 5, but her charitable contributions work around the clock. Truth be told, Dolly has set up so many foundations and initiatives to give back, she could take up numerous spots on this list.

She is perhaps best known for her Imagination Library, which works to give free books to children up to the age of five all across the United States and other countries in the world. Dolly was inspired to do this because her father never learnt to read. To date, over 270 million books have been given away.

Dolly has other foundations, including the Dollywood Foundation, which put one million dollars towards COVID vaccine research, and through her Dollywood theme park, she has helped employ local communities around the Pigeon Forge area in Tennessee. The theme park created over 23,000 jobs and, notably, as a benefit, pays for 100% of tuition, fees, and books for employees who want to pursue higher education.

Angelina Jolie

From her Oscar-winning film work to her showstopping red carpet moments, Angelina Jolie exudes classic movie star power. However, the Girl, Interrupted star has always made charity work a priority in her life.

Angelina dedicated over 20 years of service to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She served as a Goodwill Ambassador from 2001 to 2012 and as Special Envoy from 2012 to 2022.

The Oscar winner also co-founded the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP) - named after one of her children, shared with ex Brad Pitt - and has donated millions to a wide range of other causes.

Oprah Winfrey

From a production assistant to TV host to ‘Queen of all Media,’ the only thing more impressive than Oprah Winfrey’s meteoric rise to fame is her constant commitment to giving back.

According to many sources and reports, Oprah has thought to have donated at least $400 million through her foundation over the years, helping out with everything from disaster relief to funding museums and working to protect children.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is known for many things – acting, singing, her flawless red carpet style. But the multi-talented star has always put her money where her mouth is when it comes to giving back.

Among Jennifer’s charity work, the Hustlers actress set up the Lopez Family Foundation with her sisters, working to increase the availability of quality health care and health education for women and children.

She has also donated generously to causes, including a recent reported massive donation to give meals to those struggling in Palestine.

Sir Elton John

After losing two friends to AIDS in the space of one year, Sir Elton John was inspired to establish the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992.

Famous for annual fundraisers like his Oscars After Party which raises money for the charity, Sir Elton's charity has raised over a reported $600 million over the years to support HIV-related programs in 55 countries.

Madonna

From being one of the few high-profile figures to support the AIDS crisis from the beginning to setting up her own foundations, the Queen of Pop has always been a philanthropic queen, too.

During her first-ever international tour, the Who's That Girl World Tour in 1987, Madge raised $400,000 for amfAR with a Madison Square Garden concert. It became one of the first AIDS benefits given by a celebrity and helped challenge the taboo on the crisis.

In later years, Madonna founded her own charities, including the Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006.

Raising Malawi has worked to help poverty and hardship impacting orphans across the African country. The charity has helped build schools and health care units.

George and Amal Clooney

Separately, George Clooney and Amal Clooney were renowned for their charitable work and good deeds. Amal's career as a human rights lawyer focuses on advocacy for refugees and marginalised groups, and George was known to support several charities and causes.

Together, they upped the ante, establishing the the Clooney Foundation, which works to provide free legal aid in defence of free speech and women's rights in over 40 countries.

David and Victoria Beckham

Together and separately, the Beckhams have put their global star power to good use over the years.

When David joined the French football club Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, he donated his entire salary each month to a French children’s charity.

As for Victoria, the former Spice Girl received an OBE for her services to charity and fashion in 2017, most notably for her work with the likes of UNAIDS and Save the Children.

Paul Newman

He was one of the most dashing stars of Classic Hollywood, but the late Paul Newman might be best remembered for his enormous act of giving back.

As well as his work in films like Cool Hand Luke, Paul co-founded Newman’s Own, a food company that includes his well-known salad dressings. Impressively, all profits from the company go towards charities to help children. Per Forbes, the foundation has donated over half a billion dollars (and counting!).

Miley Cyrus

Sure, she’s had some wilder moments in the headlines, but through it all, Miley Cyrus has always used her platform to give back and raise awareness, too.

She has her own initiative, The Happy Hippie Foundation, founded in 2014 to support homeless youth, LGBTQ youth, and other vulnerable populations through support services, education, and employment opportunities. In 2024, she renamed the initiative to The Miley Cyrus Foundation.

Lady Gaga

In 2011, along with her mother who serves as president, Lady Gaga created the Born This Way Foundation, an organisation helping disadvantaged youths find strength in kindness and offering support for those struggling with their mental health.

They’ve supported over a thousand causes and, per the 2024 report, helped give away over five million dollars to various mental health and other youth charities in one year alone.

Anna Wintour

Despite her reputation in some circles as being a feared figure, Anna Wintour proves that, even if the Devil Wears Prada, they can still do saintly acts.

As part of her work as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she has helped raise over $250 million to continue the work of the Costume Institute.

Anna was also an early advocate for HIV and AIDS activism, raising millions in the late 80s and 90s through initiatives like the Seventh on Sale, which sold designer clothes to raise funds for research.

Rihanna

Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation - established in 2012 and named in honour of her grandparents - funds ground=breaking education and emergency preparedness and response programs around the world.

Matt Damon

Matt Damon helped co-found Water.org in 2009, and, per the website, the foundation has helped more than 50 million people around the world access better, safer water and sanitation.

The Ocean's Eleven actor told TIME that a trip to Zambia in 2006 inspired his mission to help. Of meeting a young girl, he said, "She was talking about her future, and what she was going to do, and I really connected because I remember being a teenager and the way Ben [Affleck] and I talked about how we were going to move to New York or L.A. to become actors and that real excitement of that age.

"And it wasn't until I left that I realised that had it not been for the foresight of someone to drill a well a mile from her home, she wouldn't have been in school, and she wouldn't have had dreams of moving to the big city someday and becoming a nurse."

JK Rowling

Through foundations the Harry Potter author set up, including Lumos and the Volant Charitable Trust, JK Rowling has given away hundreds of millions.

Sources like Forbes estimate the author has donated more than $250 million over the years, and she has given away so much money, she once knocked herself off Britain’s Billionaires’ List in 2012.

Other charitable acts include donating the royalties of her book, The Ickabog, to benefit charities helping vulnerable women and children during the Covid pandemic.

Bette Midler

Beaches star Bette Midler set up the New York Restoration Project in 1995, a non-profit organisation that has planted trees, renovated gardens, restored parks, and transformed open spaces across the city for all to use and enjoy.

As part of the charity, she throws a celebrity-filled fundraiser each year called Hulaween.

The multi-Grammy winner also been a lifelong advocate for HIV and AIDS research, working hard to support LGBTQ charities and fund research.

Barbra Streisand

Since its founding, Barbra's specially created charity, the Streisand Foundation, has made grants totalling over $25 million to more than 800 organisations.

Barbra is also passionate about raising awareness about heart disease in women after discovering the disease can disproportionately affect women but there wasn't enough research going into it. She helped found the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Meryl Streep

According to several sources, Meryl Streep is known to donate large amounts of money to various charities each year.

The bulk of Meryl's giving nature comes via her own foundation, the Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts. which has helped support several organisations, and the Oscar winning icon is known to donate to causes like the National Women’s History Museum and donating to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio might be best known for his performances in films like Titanic and The Revenant, but the Oscar winner has silently become a major force for good when it comes to environmental charity work.

In 2021, Leonardo was a leading figure who pledged $43 million (£30.4m) towards conserving the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. The money will go to Re:Wild, an organization founded earlier in the year by DiCaprio and a team of conservation specialists, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, Island Conservation, and local communities.

It may sound niche, but the project aims to rebalance over 50 threatened species.

Elsewhere, Leo founded The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. which has awarded more than $80 million (£57.5m) in grants since 2010, funding work across 50 countries.

Beyonce

Who run the world? Girls. And girls who want to make the world a better place, while they're at it, like Beyoncé.

Beyoncé's primary charity initiative is the BeyGOOD Foundation, a public charity she founded in 2013 that supports programs and organizations focusing on education, health, housing, disaster relief, and economic equity globally.

Through the foundation, she has donated to families following hurricane damage, helped set up fresh water supplies in places like Flint, Michigan, set up free Covid testing sites when they were needed and offered scholarships and grants to students and small businesses.

Mackenzie Scott

Mackenzie Scott is the former wife of Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and, as such, she still owns a chunk of the company, as well as taking a large payout when she divorced him in 2019.

With such wealth - Bezos is often cited as one of the world's richest men, after all - Mackenzie became one of the world's richest people too. However, she has decided to give most of it away.

In May 2019, she signed the Giving Pledge, a charitable-giving campaign in which she undertook to give away most of her wealth to charity over her lifetime or in her will.

In early 2025, reports indicated she had donated over $19 billion to more than 2000 non-profits, focusing on areas such as economic mobility, racial equity, public health and climate change.

Eva Longoria

The Desperate Housewives actress has worked hard to help her community in areas where, historically, they may have been under-represented.

The Eva Longoria Foundation was created in 2011 to support the Latinx community through educational and entrepreneurial initiatives.

Her work includes mentorship programs, STEM extracurricular activities, and parental support as the main action points.

Ozzy Osbourne

The late Ozzy Osbourne might have been known as the Prince of Darkness, but his heart was far from dark. In fact, touchingly, as one of his last deeds before passing away in 2025, Ozzy helped front what has become the highest-grossing charitable concert ever.

Ozzy and Black Sabbath held their farewell concert on July 5, 2025, at Villa Park in Birmingham, where they raised a reported $190 million for charities including Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Acorn Children's Hospice.

Karlie Kloss

Model and TV host Karlie Kloss's charity endeavours are notable as it provides more day-to-day skills and benefits for women who may have been shut out of certain industries.

Her foundation, Kode with Klossy, encourages young women to learn to code by providing them with resources, classes and scholarships, giving them the chance to break into the tech industry.

Warren Buffett

Consistently ranked as one of the richest people in the world, Warren Buffett has been worth billions long before the Tesla or the tech bros joined the party.

With such wealth, Warren has become a consistent charitable figure. In 2022 alone, per the Gates Foundation, he gave away $36 billion.

Then, in the summer of 2025, Warren Buffett donated $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to five charities.

Chris Martin and Coldplay

Chris Martin, along with his Coldplay bandmates, have been giving back from the very start.

Since their formation, the band has donated 10% of their profits to charitable organizations.

The band also weaves their beliefs and philosophy into their work. Their Music of the Spheres world tour was designed to be as sustainable as possible, featuring kinetic dance floors and power bikes that allow the audience to help generate electricity for the show.

Audrey Hepburn

She's forever etched into people's minds as the glamorous Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's or the Givenchy-glad protagonist of Sabrina, but Audrey Hepburn spent more years of her life devoted to charity.

Spending decades of her later life as a humanitarian, Audrey worked as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, traveling to advocate for children in disadvantaged communities and helping launch UNICEF's State of the World's Children reports.

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were behind one of the biggest charitable concerts ever staged, Live Aid.

First held on July 13, 1985, to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, the event featured two simultaneous concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.

It was reported that around 1.9 billion people across 150 countries watched the likes of Madonna, Queen and Tina Turner perform.

Bethenny Frankel

Never judge a book by its cover, or a celebrity for how they got their start. While a reality star might not seem like the immediate choice to become a force for good, Real Housewives of New York's Bethenny Frankel launched her own foundation, BGood, which works with disaster relief.

From hurricane relief, giving cash cards to thousands of families in need and even raising tens of millions for Ukraine, Bethenny's foundation continues to impact countless lives.

Elizabeth Taylor

Two Oscars. Seven husbands. Eight marriages.

Elizabeth Taylor's life might be reduced to figures occasionally, but that should really include the millions she helped raise for AIDS research and relief, and the thousands of lives she changed.

As well as establishing the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation and helping to co-found amfAR in 1985, Elizabeth's unapologetic passion for speaking out about AIDS at a time when few dared to has often been hailed as changing the conversation on a global scale.

She pushed for a wider acceptance of the US government and high-profile individuals to speak out on the crisis, and many scholars have suggested it was Elizabeth's friendship with President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan that eventually forced the Conservative president to confront the crisis.

Elizabeth spoke often about finding a new purpose thanks to her work with AIDS. She has been quoted often as stating, "I resented my fame, until I realized I could use it."

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres always gave back during her 19 year tenure as one of the most popular talk show hosts.

While she may have taken a step back from the public eye, her charitable giving cannot be overlooked.

Key moments included her iconic Oscars selfie in 2014, where she and Samsung donated a dollar to a cause of her choice each time the picture was retweeted. She split the $2.5 million (£1.5m) raised between a children's hospital and an animal charity.

George Michael

The late George Michael is considered one of the most giving celebrities, who was celebrated for helping out with large-scale charities and organisations as well as reaching out and doing small, private gestures.

Some key examples include his donating all the royalties from Wham!'s timeless Christmas classic, Last Christmas, to famine relief.

After his death, more stories emerged, like one TV show contestant in the UK revealing George privately donated the money she needed for IVF, after appearing on a game show.

Homeless charities also came forward after his death and said the Wham! singer would quietly donate his time and money regularly.