River Phoenix was a vegan actor

Lived: August 23, 1970

River Phoenix is an American movie actor. He first rose to fame as a teen actor in the movie Stand By Me. Phoenix has appeared in numerous movies including The Mosquito Coast, Little Nikita, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Harrison Ford, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, My Own Private Idaho co-starring Keanu Reeves, and Running on Empty for which he was nominated for the Oscar and the Golden Globe award.

River Phoenix's last completed film was This Thing Called Love, where he co-starred with actress Samatha Mathis who became his girlfriend in real life. Phoenix had also dated actress Martha Plimpton.

River Phoenix was born in to a peace-loving vegetarian family that often lived in intentional communes. As children, the Phoenix members enjoyed music and performed on streets. River Phoenix continued playing the guitar and writing songs on side even when he was a popular actor. He was known to have contributed his earnings to preserving rain forests in Central America. Phoenix was also a outspoken vegan and animal rights activist. He had rallied for causes on behalf of PETA.

Phoenix died in 1993 from a drug overdose accident just outside the Viper Room club in Hollywood, California. His brother, Joaquin Phoenix, was by his side.