For years, Hollywood has adopted the sport of Scuba Diving and glamorized it into huge films like the Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey starer ‘Fools Gold,’ Cuba Gooding Jr. hit ‘Men of Honor,’ James Cameron’s 1989 classic ‘The Abyss’ and so many more. (See more: Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood). It’s no wonder that many actors and actresses Scuba dive, having undergone training to act in such films, but many of these famous names from Hollywood and other fields have been roped in by the fascination of the underwater world like many of us and have taken up the sport with a passion.
Here’s a look at Celebrity Scuba Divers
James Cameron
The three-time Oscar-winning director James Cameron of the worldwide box office hit “Titanic” clearly shows his love for Scuba diving and the ocean through his work. With over 3,000 hours logged underwater, Cameron has been an avid diver since 1969, when he grew up near Niagara Falls, and recalls begging his father at age 16 for scuba diving lessons. The combination of his two greatest passions- Scuba diving and filmmaking has won him accolades and earned him more than just bread & butter, with movies like The Abyss, Titanic, Into the Blue, Terminator, and Aliens.
“I learned to scuba dive in a pool. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I ever even scuba dived in the ocean. But I just loved it. I loved this idea that there was this alien atmosphere right here on planet earth. I knew that I was never going to be an astronaut and visit another star system or land on another planet, but I knew I could explore an alien world right here.”
– James Cameron
Jessica Alba
Hollywood hottie and a regular on the People’s magazine 50 Most Beautiful People list, Jessica Alba is a Scuba diver at heart. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and this PADI-certified scuba diver’s skills were made to good use a number of times in her work, from the popular TV series Flipper to the movie Into the Blue. Jessica makes Scuba diving look sexy.
“When I was thirteen I learned to dive for a TV show I did called “The New Adventures of Flipper” I grew up in CA where the water is so cold that diving isn’t something you do if you’re a regular teenage girl. But I loved it immediately, I was fearless.”
– Jessica Alba
Sandra Bullock
For Sandra Bullock, Scuba diving wasn’t just for the love of the ocean; it was to overcome one of her biggest fears, being underwater. Having conquered the fear with Scuba lessons, Sandra found that she just loved the peacefulness underwater and was hooked. As for Katie Homles, let’s just say she followed suit when she took up diving as an activity that she could experience together with her husband, Tom Cruise, who loves Scuba diving. Tom’s ex, the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, also loves scuba diving when she’s on vacation, not to mention her good friend, the Mexican beauty Salma Hayek, has been Scuba diving since she was 12. Then there is Metallica Drummer Lars Ulrich who is an avid scuba diver, to the extent that he has been known to read Scuba diving magazines during solo breaks between songs while on tour with Metallica.
More Celebrity Scuba Divers
Retired Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, Castaway star Tom Hanks, supermodels Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, actors Gene Hackman and Kevin Costner, and actresses Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson all have the Celebrity Scuba Diver badge in common. And by the looks of it, hotel heiress Paris Hilton may join the ranks as she was spotted taking Scuba lessons with her boyfriend in Maui last summer.
Worth a special mention in the Celebrity list of Scuba Divers is Golf Pro- Tiger Woods who has been seriously diving the World over since he took up the sport a few years back. A NAUI divemaster member, Tiger is also a specialized cave diver. When asked about his love of Scuba diving, He simply states, “The fish don’t know who I am.”
“The waters are incredible! I have been diving in many places and Belize is definitely top notch. The Blue Hole is spectacular. The water was so clear everywhere we went.” “I have never done anything like that in my life. It was awesome!”
–Tiger Woods (on Diving the Blue Hole and Shark-Ray Alley in Belize)
