“I kept thinking I was going to go downtown and get a license, and I just never did.”
Getting a driver’s license is a right of passage for most teenagers — but for some celebs, they’re a little too busy to sign up for driver’s ed.
While driving may seem like a necessity to get around town, there are quite a few stars who just don’t drive. Whether it’s because they don’t have the time to get their license, have a fear of getting behind the wheel or are lucky enough to have a chauffeur, these celebs have admitted that they have no plans to hit the road anytime soon.
Find out why these celebrities don’t drive…
1. Cardi B
Following the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Driver’s License” in 2021, Cardi B revealed that she actually doesn’t drive — despite owning numerous fancy vehicles.
“Just like that girl wrote a song about getting her drivers license Imma write a song about the struggle of not having a driver’s license. I really wanted my McDonald’s at 4am last night instead of today but I couldn’t so I [fell] asleep hungry,” Cardi shared on social media.
During an episode of Carpool Karaoke, Cardi explained that she owns so many cars despite not driving because she enjoys taking pictures with them. Host James Corden later tried to give Cardi a driving lesson but it didn’t go very well.
2. Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale has made attempts to get her license on several occasions but has failed every time. Instead, she relies on Uber or her daughter Lily, who actually got her license before her mom.
“Yeah, it really is true. It’s become embarrassing. It used to be kind of a cute thing that I haven’t really got around to doing and now it’s become like, ‘That’s quite weird with you being so old. There must be something wrong with you,'” Kate told KCTV5.
3. Bella Thorne
Bella Thorne has chosen not to get her driver’s license because of her fear of driving. After turning 18, Bella actually bought her own car but quickly realized she had no desire to drive it.
“I have a fear of driving and so I still don’t drive, so that is probably one of my phobias. I don’t have a permit,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. “I’m best friends with my mom, so she kind of just takes me everywhere. She was like, ‘Bella, get a car and once you get a car you’ll want to drive and want to drive your car.’ So I get a car [but] I’m perfectly content in the passenger seat watching her drive it.”
As of 2022, Bella says she still doesn’t drive.
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4. Tina Fey
Tina Fey didn’t drive for a majority of her life. Back in 2014, she revealed she didn’t have her driver’s license during an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. But sometime after the show wrapped, Tina finally gave in and during the pandemic, she decided she had to buy her first car ever.
“I’m a big, like, subway, bus b–ch,” Tina joked on The Tonight Show in 2020. “I never used to drive. I had a license that I never used and then, during quarantine, when…the subway wasn’t open, I was just, like, ‘I want to have some agency.'”
5. Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand used to drive frequently, but in 2018, she revealed that she had recently decided to take herself off the road. When she had to renew her driver’s license, she failed the test three times. Then, when she was finally allowed on the road, she had a mishap that made her question her driving abilities.
“I’ve been driving for a long time but I haven’t driven recently because my mind is twirling and sometimes — well, not anymore on the phone but it used to be — when I would talk, think, write and I found myself turning into an up-ramp of a highway and the cars were coming down and I thought, ‘That’s it, I’m not driving anymore,'” Barbra said on an episode of Carpool Karaoke.
6. Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais revealed that he didn’t drive amid rumors that he was going to take over hosting duties for a car show called Top Gear. While shutting down the rumors, Ricky explained that he wouldn’t be a great fit for the series because he couldn’t actually drive.
“I cannot even drive and I very rarely wear a jacket with jeans and brogues. So, I wouldn’t fit in,” he told The Mirror in 2015.
7. Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem says her choice to not learn to drive was a “gradual” decision. Throughout her life, she thought she would go get her license but it just never happened — and she never really needed it living in New York City.
“I kept thinking I was going to go downtown and get a license, and I just never did, because I just never needed to drive. We live in New York, where it’s possible to get by without driving. And when I travel I’m always being greeted and driven by folks or the organizing committee or something,” Gloria told Harper’s Bazaar.
8. Teddi Mellencamp
Teddi Mellencamp has such bad driving anxiety that she avoids hitting the road at all costs. While she joked that she would love to have a full time chauffeur one day, for now, she only occasionally drives to places within her comfort zone.
“When I moved to L.A. at 17, Waze didn’t exist…Wasn’t long til my first fender bender, and since then the anxiety [has] existed,” Teddi shared on Instagram. “Sometimes it goes away inexplicably, but more often than not I can only drive to my ‘comfort zones,’ meaning places I’ve been to a million times. I’ve spent many years crying behind my steering wheel. But instead of concealing it, I’m sharing with the world; because while I may have a fear of driving, the fear is never going to drive me.”
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9. J.K. Rowling
Author J.K. Rowling revealed she can’t drive when shutting down a rumor from a Harry Potter related tour in England. When a tour guide claimed that there was a parking spot in Edinburgh where J.K. used to park while writing one of the books, she said that simply wasn’t true.
“I can’t drive. Never used a parking meter in my life,” she wrote on X, later adding, “I have no spatial awareness, can’t work machinery & have a tenuous grasp on reality. It’s really best for everyone I don’t drive.”
10. Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher has given up on driving after failing his driver’s test on several occasions. While he does own quite a few fancy vehicles, he’s never the one driving them.
“I do like cars. Got a few cars, but I can’t drive any of them…I think I’d be involved in a road rage incident within an hour of passing my test,” Noel shared during an appearance on Radio X. “I’ve got [a] chauffeur.”
11. Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem has never gotten his driver’s license, despite having to drive in some of his films. While he says he is “frightened of cars more than planes,” he was forced to take a driving lesson for his role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
“If you see this movie, you’ll see me driving one of the nicest cars I’ve ever seen. It took me hours just to learn to drive one little trip from here to there, but I finally did it. I don’t have a driver’s license. I don’t like cars,” he told Time.
12. Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan says she is an “excellent” driver but has been unable to pass her driver’s test in England. Through the years, she’s failed the test five times but was easily able to pass when she was in America.
“It’s way harder in England! Over there I failed. Here, it’s easy. I did it here — it was a piece of cake. You literally drive around the block and they give you a license,” she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, adding, “It’s a pressure thing. I am an excellent driver. Then I get in a test environment, someone has a clipboard, and my mind explodes. I cannot do anything and I make mistakes.”
