Natasha Lyonne, known for her roles in the American Pie series and Poker Face, has been candid about her struggle with addiction. In January 2026, she revealed through a tweet that she experienced a relapse following over ten years of sobriety.After nearly ten years of sobriety, Lyonne disclosed on X on January 25, 2026, that she had relapsed. She first tweeted:“Took my relapse public more to come.”The actress urged anyone battling addiction to resist guilt and maintain honesty in a follow-up tweet, emphasizing that recovery is not linear, but a lifelong process:“Recovery is a lifelong process. Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone. Grateful for love & smart feet. Gonna do it for baby Bambo. Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets. If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone, we will see how our experience may help another. Keep going, kiddos. Don’t quit before the miracle. Wallpaper your mind with love. Rest is all noise & baloney.”She explained that her decision to go public was based on accountability and openness, as she referenced her upcoming film project, Baby Bambo, which she will be writing and directing.As fans supported her transparency, Natasha Lyonne replied to one:“We need better systems and to end shame – bill the sacklers & stilettos or something but don’t @ me for getting honest.”Natasha Lyonne's early fame, beginnings with addiction and a near-death experienceStill From 'Pee Wee's Playhouse' - Source: GettyNatasha Lyonne began her career as a child actor on Pee-wee's Playhouse. Thanks to movies like American Pie, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Slums of Beverly Hills, she had become a familiar face by her late teens and early twenties.Lyonne revealed that her life behind the scenes was filled with instability and trauma. She stated that she turned to substances to cope before it spiraled into an addiction.Natasha Lyonne's life suddenly spun into public consciousness during the early 2000s. Her life was a series of runaways between run-ins: a DUI arrest in 2001, along with a series of incidents associated with harassment charges and trespassing. Her actions often made the tabloids.In 2005, she was in intensive care with a laundry list of serious health problems, which included a collapsed lung, a case of hepatitis C, and endocarditis, otherwise known as "heroin heart."Speaking to Entertainment Weekly back in 2012, Natasha Lyonne said:"Listen, I did not think I was coming back... so I didn't really care. When you go as deep into the belly of the beast as I went, there's a whole other world going on and something like show business becomes the dumbest thing on planet Earth."She added:"I was definitely as good as dead, you know? A lot of people don’t come back. That makes me feel wary, and self-conscious. I wouldn’t want to feel prideful about it."Rehab, Recovery and RebuildingIn 2006, after Natasha Lyonne's near-death experience, she entered court-appointed treatment following her legal troubles. She then started her journey of sobriety with the support of her close family, friends, and community.During this time, a close friend, actress Chloë Sevigny, was very important to her. Sevigny claimed that Lyonne "wasn't herself" during her addiction and stressed the value of empathy:"It was hard to stand by and not be able to help when it was down and dirty. I tried to forgive whatever bad behavior she displayed because she wasn't herself. She wasn't in her right mind."As Natasha Lyonne recovered, she started to rebuild her career. Chloë Sevigny encouraged her to audition for the Off-Broadway Mike Leigh play Two Thousand Years. Sevigny even vouched for her dear friend Lyonne. She claimed that the roles back then saved her:"[The play] really got me back on my feet. It all sort of happened. I was on Pee-wee's. Then I'm 16 and I'm in a Woody Allen movie. I never stopped to wonder if I knew how to act. I had to relearn it all and come by it in a much more honest fashion.""Orange Is The New Black" Final Season World Premiere - Source: GettyHer big comeback came with the show Orange Is the New Black, where she played Nicky Nichols, a character who battles heroin addiction, which mirrors her struggles at one point in time. Later on, Natasha Lyonne co-created, wrote, directed, and starred in the critically acclaimed series Russian Doll, which explores themes of existential reckoning, death, rebirth, and addiction.She joked with The Guardian once about her near-death experience after she had recovered:"Isn't everyone entitled to an existential breakdown in a lifetime?"Natasha Lyonne's transparency with her relapse is a sign of strength, honesty, and the beginning of recovery.Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.