A chronic illness is a long-term medical condition that requires treatment and management over a long period of time, usually years. Some of them are well known, like arthritis and diabetes, but there is a whole host of others which have been given more attention in recent years because a celebrity has publicly disclosed having it. Take Lady Gaga, for example, who recently disclosed she has a condition called fibromyalgia. While it is up to the person in the public eye what they disclose about their health, there's no denying that, especially for the lesser-known conditions, having someone talking about it frankly and publicly can raise awareness, lessen stigma and be a supportive force to fans who may be struggling with something. Below are some celebrities who have publicly spoken about their chronic health conditions:
Celebrities You Probably Didn't Know Are Living With Chronic Illness
#1 Lady Gaga - Fibromyalgia​
This condition causes pain all over the body and someone suffering with it may also experience extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, trouble concentrating and problems sleeping. According to the NHS, it tends to affect women seven times more than men. There is no cure but symptoms can be relieved through medication, therapy, and lifestyle changes.
The singer has opened up about her experience with the illness for the first time in her upcoming documentary. She was also forced to cancel a concert in Brazil because she was taken to hospital with "severe pain".
#2 Toni Braxton - Lupus
Toni Michele Braxton is an R&B singer/songwriter, pianist, musician, record producer, actress, television personality, and philanthropist. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and nine Billboard Music Awards and sold over 66 million records worldwide.
She was also diagnosed with Lupus and APS at the young age of 15. Her uncle already lost his life to this vicious disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus, often abbreviated as SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body.
Childhood systemic lupus erythematosus generally presents between the ages of 3 and 15, with girls outnumbering boys 4:1. She is living proof that you can live with a chronic illness even if it means living differently.
#3 Selena Gomez - Lupus
Pop star Selena Gomez canceled her 2013 tour when she was diagnosed with lupus.
After her diagnosis, Gomez underwent a round of treatment and took a break from the public eye, she told Billboard magazine in 2015.
The chronic autoimmune disease is much more common in women than in men and is typically diagnosed when women are of childbearing age.
When a person has lupus, the body attacks its own cells as if they were harmful invaders, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. This can cause symptoms throughout the body, ranging from skin rashes and mouth ulcers to kidney problems and inflammation of various organs.
There is no cure for lupus, but there are treatments, such as corticosteroids and monoclonal antibodies, to help people with the condition manage their symptoms. For people with more serious forms of the disease, drugs that were developed to treat cancer may be used.
Other celebs, such as Nick Cannon, Lady Gaga, Toni Braxton and Seal, also have lupus.
#4 Tom Fletcher - Bipolar Disorder
McFly star Tom Fletcher has always been incredibly open about his battle with chronic mental illness bipolar disorder, admitting that there were times during his depression where he wouldn’t even want to get out of bed.
Tom later attributed part of his recovery to becoming a dad, sharing: “Having a kid has really helped me in life. It gives you a sense of needing to be stable.”
Bipolar can cause dramatic shifts in a person’s mood, suffering low and high moods known as ‘mania’ and ‘depression’.
#5 Tom Hanks – Diabetes
Back in 2013, Tom revealed that he’d been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, calling himself a “total idiot” as he admitted to ignoring previous medical advice about living a healthier lifestyle.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or when the body can’t effectively use the insulin that it produces
#6 Angelina Jolie - Genetic Variation
Right now the American actress is not having the best time, because of her recent separation from her husband, Brad Pitt. Angelina has been for a considerable length of time one the most desired woman, not only in Hollywood but around the world as well. Her beauty has captivated all viewers in movies like "Tomb Raider" few and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith".
What only a few people know is that Jolie has a genetic variation in her BRCA1 gene, which makes her prone and very sensitive to breast cancer. What a pity!
#7 Michael Phelps – ADHD.
When Michael Phelps was nine-years-old he was diagnosed with ADHD. By jumping in the pool and having a routine, it helped him steady the course to become the most successful swimmer in the world.
#8 Sinead O’Connor - Fibromyalgia
Sinead O’Connor is a controversial Irish singer-songwriter whose physical and mental health struggles have played out very publicly. One of the reasons she stepped back from the limelight in 2003 was due to the pain and exhaustion that come with suffering from fibromyalgia.
O’Connor managed to get her career back on track two years later when she said that she had found a way to manage the condition as best she could and deal with life knowing that it’s rarely perfect and lowering her expectations accordingly.
#9 Kim Kardashian-West - Psoriasis
Awareness was definitely raised about psoriasis when it was revealed one of the most photographed women in the world has it.
After initially freaking out over the skin condition - which causes crusty, red patches with silver-type flakes to appear - in an old episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, she has since adopted a more serene approach, recently saying she doesn't even try to cover it up anymore.
"I'm always hoping for a cure, of course, but in the meantime, I'm learning to just accept it as part of who I am," she wrote on her website.
#10 Michael J. Fox - Parkinson’s Disease
Perhaps the most inspiring person on our list, Michael J. Fox lives with Parkinson’s but never seems to let the disease get him down. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and disclosed his condition to the public in 1998.
Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy is one of those rare people who decided to dedicate almost all of their time and resources to an effort to find a cure to this disease, so much so that the Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet gave him a honoris causa doctorate for his work in advocating a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
But that’s not the only doctorate he received: on May 31, 2012, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The Michael J. Fox Foundation was established by the energetic actor in 2000 and has since become the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s disease research in the world.
#11 Charlie Sheen - HIV
Actor Charlie Sheen made headlines in 2015 when he announced in an interview with Matt Lauer on the NBC show "Today" that he is HIV positive.
Sheen had learned of his diagnosis about four years prior to his announcement, he said.
But HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is no longer considered a death sentence as it was decades ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV.
HIV destroys one type of immune system cell, called T cells, which makes it difficult for people with the virus to fight off infections. When HIV has wiped out a larger percentage of a person's T cells, he or she is considered to have acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS.
Today, medications known as antiretroviral therapy can help slow the progression of HIV and also protect the body's immune system, according to the CDC.
And new preventive medications called pre-exposure prophylaxis, which can be taken as a daily pill, have been shown to be highly effective in preventing infection with HIV in people who have a high risk of contracting it.
#12 Demi Lovato - Bipolar Disorder
Singer Demi Lovato has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with the depression sparking bulimia and self-harm.
She spoke out in a bid to use her celebrity status to shed light on an often misunderstood illness, encouraging fellow sufferers that it is “possible to live well.”
#13 Leonardo DiCaprio – OCD
Leonardo DiCaprio has lived with moderate OCD for the majority of his adult life but was thankfully able to have it under control with medication. However, when he took on the lead role in The Aviator – a film about OCD-sufferer Howard Hughes – Leo stopped controlling the chronic mental illness in order to do a better acting job.
He later admitted that it took him months before he was able to gain control of the illness again.
#14 Miley Cyrus – Tachycardia.
Miley Cyrus suffers from a non-fatal heart disease called tachycardia. Even though it is not life-threatening, Miley always has the thought in the back of her head, “maybe I should slow down”.
#15 Halle Berry - Diabetes
Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry only discovered she had diabetes mellitus type 1 after collapsing during filming a TV show in 1989 and falling into a coma, according to diabetes.co.uk.
The Monster’s Ball and Catwoman star has to have daily insulin injections to keep her condition under control and has to be extremely careful about diet and looking after herself.
#16 Pamela Anderson – Hepatitis C.
After contracting hepatitis C, 47-year-old Pamela Anderson recently spoke about the disease that will eventually kill her. “[I] got a good 10 years left in me, which is sad. Maybe 15, if I’m lucky”.
#17 Shakira - Toxoplasmosis
The Colombian singer is one of the many who's on top of the popularity pyramid. And there are no songs of hers that are not a hit in clubs or parties around the world. Her collaborations with singers like Pitbull, Carlos Vives, and Maluma has shown the world her immense talent in music.
Not everything is perfect for Shakira though, as she has an illness that has been diagnosed for years now called toxoplasmosis. It's said to be an infection caused by a parasite which is contracted through cats or uncooked meat. What are the symptoms? It starts with the flu and then gets serious like swollen lymph nodes. We hope it does not get too serious because we need more of her music.
#18 Gigi Hadid - Hashimoto's Disease
This condition is also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and is a thyroid disease which can cause difficulty concentrating, hair loss, fatigue, and weight gain.
Gigi said last year that the disease actually meant she struggled to put weight on.
"My metabolism actually changed like crazy this year," she told Elle. "I have Hashimoto's disease. It's a thyroid disease, and it's now been two years since taking the medication for it, so for the VS show I didn't want to lose any more weight,
#19 Sarah Hyland - Kidney Dysplasia
Kidney dysplasia is a condition from birth where the kidneys have not developed properly when the baby was in the womb. The Modern Family star told Seventeen in 2015: "I was born with so many health issues that doctors told my mother I would never have a normal life. And she said, 'You're right, she won't – but it won't be because of her health."
Hyland had a kidney transplant in 2012 at the age of 21 which was donated from her father.
Earlier this year, she hit back at people criticising her for losing weight on social media, telling them it was because of her health issues.
