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‘, the 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 under gone 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 some famous celebrities who just love Scuba Diving-
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 where 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 have won him accolades as well as earned him more than just bread & butter, with movies like The Abyss, Titanic, Into the Blue, Terminator or 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
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
For Sandra Bullock Scuba diving wasn’t just for the love of the ocean, it was to overcome one of her biggest fears, being under water. 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 which she can experience together with husband Tom Cruise who loves Scuba diving. Tom’s ex the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz also loves her scuba diving when she’s on vacation and 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.
Retired Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, Castaway star Tom Hanks, super models Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford, former Spice girl Geri Halliwell, actors Gene Hackman, Kevin Costner, 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 is 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 simple 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)
