Patrick Swayze to Rihanna:15 kindest celebrities in showbiz and their secret acts of kindness revealed

How inspiring!

Premium Content Editor

November 11, 2022Nov 11, 2022, 8:50 AM GMT

The great and the good of the showbiz world have lifted the lid on who the kindest celebrity they have met and why.

We have been wowed by the celebrities who have shown incredible kindness this year, whether that's by showing support for the Ukrainian cause or raising awareness for charities or carrying out personal acts of kindness.

In the words of our favourite stars, here are the kindest celebrities and why...

The Princess of Wales

Kate Silverton: "When I think of kindness right now I'm thinking of people who are in service to others and so I would say The Princess of Wales for the work she's doing in children's mental health. As someone who, when she speaks, the world listens, she's doing an amazing amount.

"And I know that she's kind, I know that [for certain]! But I would also add, they might not be in the public eye but all those people who work in service, social workers, health care staff, teachers, people who working with children day-to-day, anyone working in that field gets my vote."

The Queen

Saira Khan: "She may not be in the public eye anymore but she will be forever in our hearts, is Queen Elizabeth. To give up your life for service, to be the head of your country, to put your life on such public display, that really is kindness.

I was really saddened when she left but I feel like her legacy of kindness will stay on. And you could see how it brought people from diverse backgrounds together, she'll always be, for me, the biggest symbol of kindness in our country, from the past and for the future."

Julia Roberts

Millie Mackintosh: "I was doing this event for Lancome and I was in Monaco and they did this big global gala and they had Julia Roberts there. She's one of my favourite actresses.

"She's just so beautiful. But I had a really quick moment where I accidentally bumped into her and said 'Sorry!' and she was so nice and I was like 'Oh my god I just bumped into Julia Roberts' and I was really embarrassed, so starstruck and she could see that I was really nervous but she just had this really amazing smile and she was really lovely about it.

"I think it comes across you know when someone is a good person, a nice person, it does come across that she's got that incredible smile and it's obviously from that place. She's a good person."

Patrick Swayze

Martine McCutcheon: "The kindest celebrity I've ever met was Patrick Swayze. I worked with him on a movie in Austria, and he was without a doubt the most gracious, most polite, most kind man that I've met apart from my husband.

"He just had this essence about him, that you couldn't help but love him, he was so lovable. He was so great to everybody, let everybody go before him, to the location truck, to the food, and we became really good friends.

"Sometimes they say, 'the bigger the star the smaller the ego,' and that was definitely the case with him. He was amazing."

Sandra Bullock

Richard Armitage: "You know who was really, really kind to me was Sandra Bullock. I went to work on Ocean's 8 and I kind of came into the story at the very last minute. She was so sweet to me.

"She gave me her phone number and her email - aside from the work things - she just kind of looked after me on set and introduced me to her kids. I was really surprised because sometimes people just pass you and say, 'Hi,' and you go to work and then it's all over. But she was really sweet. She's one of the good ones."

Chris Evans

Louise Minchin: "The kindest celebrity I've ever met is Chris Evans. He is one of those people who is like a radiator in your life. I met him many, many years ago now, maybe 12 years ago when we worked on The One Show together and he just adopted me into his team and made me feel like a part of his family.

"I know that if I’ve ever got a problem - he doesn't have a telephone so I have to get hold of him - I know that at whatever time, day or night, I can always reach out to him. (how does she get hold of him then?)

"With what he's done for BBC Children in Need, he's been immensely generous with his time and his advice.

"I remember having a conversation with him this summer and he goes, 'How are you?' and I say, 'Ah I'm fine, I'm fine,' and he goes 'How are you?' He's one of those people who actually takes time to listen and support others. And I think that's a wonderful skill and I love being able to count on him as one of my friends."

Frank Skinner, Eamonn Holmes and more

Davina McCall: "Do you know there are a few people that I would recognise as having gone out of their way, I had a really dark moment in telly once, and I got two letters of support from people I didn't really know.

"One was from Frank Skinner, saying: 'Don't worry, keep your head down, it's all going to be alright.' And the other one was from Eamonn Holmes, and the other person when I met her in the flesh, she said the same thing to me, was Ester Ransom, so, they really gave me a bit of hope when everything felt quite dark career-wise, but it was very welcomed."

Oti Mabuse

Vick Hope: "I'm going to say Oti Mabuse. She is such an amazing person who makes you feel so good, she uplifts everyone around her. I met her on Strictly in 2018 and ever since then we've been friends, and every time I was feeling a bit nervous she always was there for everyone, she's amazing and she's just so great.

"Oti is the sweetest, kindest person. It's all about lifting other people up. It's not that it's rare, it's just that you don't always expect that in this industry, and actually, she is such a champion of other women, especially other black women.

"Oti started a WhatsApp group – me and AJ's in it and Judi Love and Motsi's in it, Alison Hammond, Alex Scott, Rochelle, all the black women in the industry, just so we can all support each other when it hasn't always been easy. That was Oti's idea to be there for one another because you sometimes feel a bit lonely. It's a lot. Every time anyone achieves anything everyone else bigs them up. It's about uplifting and supporting one another."

Katie Piper

Emily Andre: "Katie Piper, I think is really kind. She's such a kind person. I've only met her once, but I really admired her before I met her, the work she does raising awareness is really inspirational, I just think, absolutely amazing. She came across as such a kind person."

The Loose Women panel

Frankie Bridge: "I would say, for me, it was coming into Loose Women. [Working] with women who had been there for 20-odd years, it was really daunting and I was really afraid.

"And I think, if you believe everything that you've read in the media about it then it seems scary, but actually, they've all been really kind, really welcoming and really encouraging, especially Kaye, giving me tips and making sure I speak on the programme and that I don't keep quiet."

Emma Willis

Rochelle Humes: "I think Emma Willis is really kind, she's a good one. I think in this industry you meet different sorts of people but I'm really lucky that she's someone that I see as a friend, too."

Patrick Hutchinson

Anita Rani: "Whenever I think of kindness I think about the classic shot during the Black Lives Matter movement, and there was a photograph of a statuesque Black man [Patrick Hutchinson] carrying a white racist out of the crowds. That to me is the ultimate act of kindness and forgiveness, there's so much in that photograph, that's the thing that comes to mind."

Kelly Hoppen

Lisa Snowdon: "I'm lucky to know lots of kind ladies. Kelly Hoppen is really kind, she's a really lovely friend. She's sort of like an enabler, you know some women want you to connect with other women? She's that person, she's a real connector and she'll do anything she can to help me as well, which I think is unbelievably generous."

Amanda Holden

Lisa Faulkner: "One of the kindest people I know is Amanda Holden. She is extraordinarily kind. We've been friends for years and years and years. She is always so thoughtful and just the kindest. She is so good-hearted and generous. With her emotions too. She's super fun, she's so kind.

"We have a big WhatsApp group and if someone is having a bit of a hard time, like through Covid, she was like, 'Right let's get everyone together and we can do a Zoom' or she'd send over some flowers. She's always inclusive. She's a joy.

"During Covid, we hadn’t met up for ages and she said 'let's meet,' and I said, 'Why don’t we meet in Regent's Park and you could come from Heart?' It was when we could have eight of us outside. I said, 'I can bring some food.’ She said, 'No no no, I can sort out the picnic.' The picnic was not just a picnic, she'd bought blankets as well. And then we all had umbrellas and it was so lovely. One day we met and walked in the rain just so we could spend time together."

Rihanna

Love Island 2022 winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu: "I met her backstage in the O2 with my mum. We won this pass or something and I couldn’t believe how down-to-earth this woman was.