When looking at the female celebrity smoking list, some names might surprise you while others have long since been associated with the blue haze. Take for example Kate Moss, supermodel of stellar fame and member of the female celebrity smoking avant-garde. She is making a fortune and is regarded as one of the highest paid supermodels in the world. While she may be best known for being linked to the infamous cocaine use scandal, she also tops the list of female celebrity smokers by having been overheard to say that she smokes more than three packs of Marlboro Lights each and every day. While it is odd that a supermodel would use a substance that is known to cause premature ageing and yellowed nails and fingers, she is not alone and while her use – or abuse – of tobacco catapults her toward the top of the list of female celebrities who smoke, she is not alone.

Of course, some contestants on the female celebrity smokers list no longer smoke. Take for example famous model Linda Evangelista who is as famous for her constantly changing haircuts as she is for her work in AIDS advocacy. Nonetheless, she was a confirmed cigar smoker until she quit tobacco together with alcohol. While other female celebrities smoke only for the occasional photo op, like Demi Moore for the cover of Cigar Aficionado, others have raised up female celebrity smoking to a new art form.

No enumeration of female celebrity smoking names would be complete without Lucille Ball. While everyone knew the spirited redhead for her work on “I love Lucy,” others also knew her not only as a female celebrity smoker but also as the Chesterfield Girl in the ads and commercials for this cigarette brand. While the cigarette in Lucille Ball’s life was more of a habit than a trademark, for Bette Davis it was a way of being portrayed that mattered to her. Pictures of female celebrity smokers almost always feature Bette Davis and she is considered to have been one of the divas that elevated smoking to a socially acceptable and chic habit for many women.

While this kind of female celebrity smoking created a coveted image, other forms of female celebrity smoking were used to not only create a persona but to give the person an image that was not her own. Prime example of the female celebrities who smoke to maintain an image was Marlene Dietrich. Known for her sultry voice and smoky rasp, she was one of the few female celebrities that smoke for the sake of the appearance, not because she enjoyed the habit.

It is surprising to see the change the smoking female celebrities underwent as the public perception of smoking underwent its transformation and the now more politically correct notion of female celebrities smoking in private and off screen is currently demanded.