Rhea Seehorn has become the latest star to admit taking beta blockers to get through a stressful awards show. As she accepted the award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2026 Emmy Awards on Monday evening, she told the audience she had used the blood pressure-lowering medication.
"This is me on a beta blocker. It's pretty bad," Seehorn joked on stage as she struggled to hold back her emotions.
The medication, which is said to stop adrenaline, slow down heart rate and lower blood pressure, has been sweeping Hollywood for years. Seehorn is far from the only star who has admitted to using it to stay cool, calm and collected during intense events, with several A-listers bringing up the drug during acceptance speeches and press interviews.
In 2024, while accepting his Golden Globe award for best supporting actor, Robert Downey Jr admitted he had taken a beta blocker beforehand. "I took a beta-blocker so this will be a breeze," he said at the time.
At the 2025 Oscars, actress Rachel Sennott admitted to taking the medication on the red carpet. Khloe Kardashian, Katy Perry, Kristen Bell, Shawn Mendes and Whitney Cummings have also mentioned using it in the past.
What beta blockers actually do
Dr Cooper Stone, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Daily Mail that beta blockers are a class of blood pressure medications that reduce blood pressure by slowing the heart rate and by reducing how forcefully the heart muscle contracts with each beat, blocking the adrenaline-generating chemicals produced in response to physical and emotional stress.
He said the drugs have been around for half a century but have taken "center stage in recent years" due to social media and what he called clever psychometric marketing by large telehealth platforms. The most commonly used and best-studied beta blocker for performance, he said, is propranolol. He added that while beta blockers like propranolol are commonly used for performance anxiety, they are not approved by the FDA for that purpose.
Blocking the physical signs of anxiety
Dr James J Chao, a California-based plastic surgeon and the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of VedaNu Wellness, told the Daily Mail that the pill can block the adrenaline that comes with anxiety. He said some people with severe anxiety symptoms get so jittery or nervous that they sweat profusely, have shaky hands, and their heart begins to pump faster and harder, all caused by an excessive level of circulating adrenaline.
Beta blockers act much like an antidote for adrenaline, Chao said, blocking its actions by binding to beta receptors, which lowers blood pressure and decreases heart rate and pulse. He said the drugs also counter adrenaline's slowing of stomach emptying, the knotted-stomach feeling that comes with anxiety.
He explained that instead of turning to a tranquilizer or a benzodiazepine, many people opt for beta blockers, which simply ease the physical manifestations of anxiety. Chao said the medication needs to be taken just before whatever may cause the anxiety, since an oral dose peaks within one to four hours and wears off within hours.
Chao added that the drug's effects are not always guaranteed, and that it is not an antidepressant and does not cure underlying mood disorders.
Risks and side effects
Both doctors warned of serious side effects if the medication is not taken properly. Dr Stone said that if blood pressure becomes too low, there is a risk of fainting, an effect that can be worsened if a person is taking other medicines that also affect blood pressure.
Dr Chao warned of side effects including headache, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain or weakness. He said that stopping the drug abruptly after taking it for an extended period increases the risk of heart palpitations and a fast heart rate, because the body builds more beta receptors, and more sensitive ones, to compensate for the blockade. This can lead to an exaggerated response to normal levels of circulating adrenaline when the medication is stopped, due to a rebound effect of the receptors, potentially leading to dangerous cardiovascular events.
Patients should check with their doctors before taking the medication, as people with conditions such as asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease face a higher risk of certain side effects and complications.
