Famous Women Who Smoked Cigars

Yeah, sure, cigars are manly. That, of course, doesn’t mean that only men smoke them. According to a 2017 US government study, about two percent of American adult females smoke cigars. The same study showed about eight percent of adult males were cigar aficionados. At events like Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke, it’s not the least bit unusual to see women toting their canvas bags as they trick-or-treat for their favorite smokes. The thought has commonly been that females smoke milder cigars, but I can assure you, that is usually the case only with the novices. Once they gain experience, women also move to fuller-bodied cigars.

While this list is incomplete, we thought it would be interesting to note some famous female cigar smokers, a couple not so famous, and some from the past, who have enjoyed the taste of fine cigars.

George Sand

George Sand, whose real name was Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. She was also a cigar smoker, classified by French society as a “cigar-toting sexual outlaw.” The outlaw part had to do with her numerous affairs outside her marriage, some with famous men of the day, like writer Gustave Flaubert and composer Frederic Chopin. Sand was also reportedly bisexual. She certainly loved cigars and had a club, of sorts, named after her which held cigar dinners in Southern California.

“The cigar numbs sorrow and fills the solitary hours with a million gracious images.”

–George Sand, 18th-Century French woman, writer and cigar smoker

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

This very funny Seinfeld and Veep star is among the famous women cigar smokers both on and off-screen. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was in more than one scene on Seinfeld smoking stogies. In a particularly funny one, her character, “Elaine,” and Jerry smoke Peruvian cigars. Elaine declares, “These are terrible,” but doesn’t stop puffing.

Beyonce

We shouldn’t be surprised that Beyonce, who is married to the well-known cigar aficionado Jay-Z, also enjoys cigars. She even sings about cigars, sort of, in “Drunk in Love.” “Cigars on ice, cigars on ice,” the lyric goes. “Feelin' like an animal with these cameras all in my grill. Flashin' lights, flashin' lights; You got me faded, faded, faded. Baby, I want you, na na.” Don’t ask me what it means.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is famous for so many things, it’s hard to know where to begin. Add famous female cigar smoker to the list. The comedian, actor, co-host of The View, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, loves cigars. Goldberg’s favorite brand has been reported to be Davidoff, but she has also been known to enjoy Cuban Cohibas. Goldberg would buy cigars at the no-longer-there Davidoff store in Beverly Hills in the 1990s. She kept a large humidor at her home. Her favorite way to prepare a cigar is to punch a hole in the head rather than use a cutter.

Madonna

So, unlike a virgin, Madonna is another famous female celebrity cigar smoker. The star is known to enjoy the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Hermosos No. 4 Anejados Cigar. In 1994, Madonna appeared on the Letterman show and smoked a cigar. Coming back from commercial, Letterman explains, “Madonna and I are just sittin’ around, smoking cigars and swapping the recipes.” And Madonna also famously dropped an “F” bomb during the sit-down.

Marlene Dietrich

Another famous female cigar-smoking chanteuse, who became a megastar from the 1910s to the 1980s, the German Marlene Dietrich is known to have favored more full-bodied Cuban cigars. She even appears in the Orson Welles film, A Touch of Evil, smoking a cigar. She was quoted as saying, “Cigarette is a neurosis, cigar is a friend.”

Shakira & Rihanna

In their video, “Can’t Remember to Forget You” Shakira and Rihanna – among the famous female cigar celebrities, along with Beyonce and Madonna, who go by only one name – are sporting cigars. I’m not sure any more description is necessary of what is one of my favorite music videos of all time. I’m confident it will become one of yours. Rihanna reportedly enjoys the Arturo Fuente Exquisito and the larger Cohiba Corona Minor.

Jennifer Lopez

She has been photographed numerous times smoking cigars and cigarettes. Jennifer Lopez travels with a humidor filled with large cigars, as a porter from New York City’s Peninsula Hotel once noted. It seems J-Lo likes Padrón cigars. Sure. Who doesn’t?

Heidi Klum

The German-American supermodel and TV host reportedly favors the Partagás 1845 Robusto, a cigar Heidi Klum has been photographed smoking on the streets of New York City.

Demi Moore

Demi Moore is already a famous female cigar smoker. She is particularly fond of the Cuban classic Montecristo No. 2.

Good Cigars for Women

If you know any females who want to join the star-studded ladies who flaunt their love for handmades, check out the best cigars for women. We’ve curated a list of premium cigars that are guaranteed to please.