Celebs That Share Their Health Issues to Squash Stigma – SheKnows

Megan Fox

After posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2023, Megan Fox got real about her lifelong struggle with body dysmorphia. “I have body dysmorphia — I don’t ever see myself the way other people see me,” the actress told SI. “There’s never a point in my life where I loved my body, never, ever.”

People who have this mental health condition, also known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), experience persistent, instrusive thoughts about their physical appearance. In the United States, it affects about 2.2 percent of women and 2.5 percent of men. BDD isn’t the same as low self-esteem, and it usually requires therapy or medication to treat.

Fox said her symptoms began with an “obsession” with her appearance when she was little. At 37, she now thinks her journey of self-love while living with body dysmorphia “is going to be never-ending.” We give her props for speaking so openly about her mental health.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato has struggled for years with various mental health issues. In fact, she reported feeling suicidal at the tender age of 7. She checked into rehab back in 2010 for emotional and physical issues, including bulimia, cutting, and bipolar disorder. (You can get help for bipolar and depression by contacting these helplines.)

“I wish that I had somebody when I was 13 years old and having an eating disorder and starving myself. I wanted somebody in the public eye to say that ‘Hey, this is what I’ve gone through, and you don’t have to choose that route,’” Lovato told TODAY earlier this year. ” I want [teens] to know that talking to people and asking for help is more than okay and is absolutely what you should do.”

More recently, Lovato has also spoken out about her issues with substance abuse. In 2018, the “Sober” singer nearly died after overdosing on heroin. The harrowing experience inspired her to talk about the dangers of drug addiction in her 2021 documentary Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry is a handsome royal, but his life has been far from perfect. 

Harry candidly spoke about his mental health issues that resulted from the stress of dealing with the death of his other, Princess Diana, in a very public manner when he was just 12 years old.

“I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well,” he told The Telegraph in a podcast interview.

Harry also revealed that he had “very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions” and sought professional mental health help at the urging of his brother, Prince William.

Harry’s interview with The Telegraph was part of the Heads Together initiative, which is jointly coordinated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Harry with the aim to end stigma surrounding mental health.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez has been known to take intermittent breaks from the spotlight, which led to speculation she had substance abuse problems in the past. But in October 2015, Gomez confessed that she was battling lupus — a chronic autoimmune disease — not addiction.

“That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,” she told Billboard magazine, adding that it was hard to listen to people gossip about her health. “I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re assholes.’ I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”

Hayden Panettiere

Like Brooke Shields, Hayden Panettiere also suffered from postpartum depression and actually went to rehab for it, which is, unironically, what also happened to her character on Nashville. 

However, she’s in full recovery now and thinks the best remedy is to talk openly about it. “You don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience [postpartum depression] on. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone and that it does heal,” she said on Live with Kelly and Michael.

Gabrielle Union

The actress is famous for being an open book – literally. She revealed all in her 2017 memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine, including her infertility struggles. Union shared that she has had eight or nine miscarriages, and elaborated at the 2018 BlogHer conference in New York City. “Towards the end of my fertility journey I finally got some answers, because everyone said ‘You’re a career woman, you’ve prioritized your career, you waited too long and now you’re just too old to have a kid — and that’s on you for wanting a career. The reality is I actually have adenomyosis,” she said. The condition causes the inner lining of the uterus to breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus and can lead to menstrual cramps, lower abdominal pressure, bloating, and heavy and painful periods.

“The gag is I had it in my early 20s, and instead of someone diagnosing me they were like ‘Oh you have periods that last 9 or 10 days and you’re bleeding through overnight pads? Not a mere inconvenience; perhaps there’s something more there,’” Union said. At BlogHer she recounted that even though her symptoms were obvious, doctors didn’t take her seriously. “Every doctor I saw was like, let me put you on birth control,” she said. “Note: if you are on birth control for anything other than birth control, to address or treat any sort of period issue you are not actually treating or addressing a period or reproductive issue. You are masking it,” she said. “The pill can mask all kinds of things. It is amazing at preventing pregnancy; not so great with addressing adenomyosis.” After all those miscarriages and many rounds of IVF, Union and her husband, NBA star Dwyane Wade, were able to have a baby via surrogate.

Michael Douglas

Although some celebrities deal with mental health disorders, others deal with physical ones that still come with a heavy stigma. Back in 2010, Michael Douglas was diagnosed with stage 4 tongue and throat cancer, which he developed after contracting the HPV virus. Although not his proudest moment, his public admittance of the disease’s root will likely help others get vaccinated early on in their sexual experience.

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox’s struggle with Parkinson’s disease is well-known because he made a point to speak out about it. The progressive disorder of the nervous system makes life incredibly difficult for those who suffer from it, and it becomes increasingly harder to hide. However, thanks to Fox’s advocacy and research foundation, a lot more is being done than ever before to find treatments for the disease.

Lady Gaga

In late November of 2016, Lady Gaga revealed during a visit to the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth in New York that she has suffered from PTSD since being sexually assaulted as a teenager.

“I told the kids today that I suffer from a mental illness,” Lady Gaga said in a later Today show interview. “I suffer from PTSD. I’ve never told anyone that before, so here we are. But the kindness that’s shown to me by doctors as well as my family and my friends, it’s really saved my life.”

“It’s really important to remind kids who are suffering from a traumatic experience or from abandonment, to remind them that they’re not alone and that they’re loved,” Gaga added. “We are in this together.”

For more information on PTSD, see Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Basics from The National Institute of Mental Health.

Tom Hanks

Back in 2013, Tom Hanks admitted he’s had Type 2 diabetes since he was 36, though he didn’t realize it that whole time. It just goes to show that diabetes is not reserved for only lazy or overweight people. There is a whole different side to the disease.

If you suspect you might have diabetes, you should get your blood and sugar levels checked out by your general practitioner as soon as possible. 

Robin Roberts

The Good Morning America anchor was hit with a major health scare back in 2012: She was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, thankfully, after a bone marrow transplant, she’s been on the road to recovery for the past few years and is now “the happiest and healthiest” she’s ever been. 

Brittany Snow

Although the beloved Pitch Perfect star always looks sunny, she’s been struggling with a not-so-sunny condition for many years now. Snow developed anorexia back when she was on Guiding Light when she was only 12. She said at first she started eating less to get compliments from her co-stars, and the whole situation spiraled from there. However, in 2003, her family got her the help she needed, and now she sees a therapist regularly to help her manage any negative thoughts she might have about her body. 

If you or someone you know struggles with anorexia, you can find help online here. 

Julianne Hough

Hough was 20 years old when she was first diagnosed with endometriosis, which had been giving her painful periods for as long as she could remember. She first heard about the disease from her roommate when she was 18. ““This is a terrible thing to say, but as an 18-year-old, I was like, ‘She’s just dramatic. I have those same things. That’s just you having your period,” Hough said.

Now she wants to raise awareness about the disease so people suffering and those who love them can educate themselves. She partnered with #SpeakEndo to get the conversation going.  “The more you know, the more you can do things to either help or prevent, and the earlier you can catch it, the better,” Hough said. “I’ve learned things through having endometriosis that maybe I never would’ve found out if I was trying to have kid. It could’ve been really difficult for me with having miscarriages. Now I have knowledge, and now I can actually prepare and hopefully not be let down when otherwise I could’ve been very badly.”

Brooke Shields

After going through an incredibly difficult conception process and finally giving birth to her baby girl, actress Brooke Shields suffered from a severe bout of postpartum depression. The worst part about this disease is it can sneak up on you because you’re so focused on the well-being of your baby rather than your own.

After two years, Shields started feeling better and now lends her support to Fertility Lifelines (1-866-538-7879), a free service for women going through similar issues.

Paula Deen

Paula Deen, the famous southern chef, spent years battling agoraphobia, a mental disorder that makes you afraid to leave the house. Back in 2007, she opened up about it in a New York Times expose. “Some days I could get to the supermarket, but I could never go too far inside. I learned to cook with the ingredients they kept close to the door.”

Rene Russo

Like Lovato, Rene Russo also struggles with bipolar and depression and takes medication for them. “I’m not saying medication is right for everyone, but it was right for me,” she said on Good Morning America.

“Exercise and diet are important, but if you’re clinically depressed, then exercise is like taking a bucket [of water] and throwing it on a raging fire. But in conjunction, it’s great.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Meanwhile, Michael Douglas’ wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (along with many other celebrities) was struggling with bipolar disorder and depression.

Again, bipolar disorder is often a more severe side of depression, but you can get help by contacting these helplines. 

Emma Thompson

The British actress, writer and producer said depression was always lurking around her, especially during her early years. However, working and writing helped bring her out of it. 

“The only thing I could do was write. I used to crawl from the bedroom to the computer and just sit and write, and then I was all right because I was not present. Sense and Sensibility really saved me from going under, I think, in a very nasty way,” she told the Telegraph. 

Cara Delevingne

Cara Delevingne has been battling depression since she was a teenager. At times, she was suicidal because she felt she was all alone in her mental illness. However, after years of muddling through it, she finally got help and is now spreading messages of hope to her fans. “It’s about finding people who care about you and support you,” she said in an interview. 

If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can get help by calling or messaging the National Suicide Hotline. 

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey, like so many comedians, has struggled with an ebbing and flowing depression all of his life. He turned to comedy to make his mom happy because she was always ill. He says he’s been on and off medication, but this isn’t the case for everyone. Many find medication to be the only way.

“It may have helped me out of a jam for a little bit, but people stay on it forever. I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that, you know, everything’s just OK,” he told CBS News in 2009. “There are peaks; there are valleys. But they’re all kind of carved and smoothed out, and it feels like a low level of despair you live in.”

Carrie Fisher

The late Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher dealt with manic depression, anxiety and alcoholism all of her life, so much so she wrote a book (and subsequent movie) about it. Dealing with her issues in the public light helped her stay on track, even though she recognized her problems may never completely leave her. 

“I outlasted my problems,” she once told ABC news. “I am mentally ill. I can say that. I am not ashamed of that. I survived that. I’m still surviving it. But bring it on. Better me than you.”

Padma Lakshmi

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi was one of the first celebrities to be open about her endometriosis, a reproductive disorder that can often cause uterine and ovarian cysts and extreme pain around one’s period.

Back in 2009, she started fundraising to raise endometriosis awareness. “I just thought I had a responsibility to let other young women know so they wouldn’t have to go through what I went through,” she says. “If you get tested at an early age, it’s very simple to be treated for it, and it will save you from a lifetime of pain and stress,” she told People. 

Lena Dunham

People often joke about how Lena Dunham’s character on Girls is Woody Allen-level neurotic, but what many don’t realize is how much of Hannah Horvath’s mental issues are taken from Dunham’s life. For example, just like Horvath, Dunham has been struggling with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) as well as anxiety and depression all her life. However, she’s recently found working out really helps clear her brain of all of her anxious thoughts. That’s why she shared this statement with her fans, “To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it’s mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen,” she wrote. “I’m glad I did. It ain’t about the ass, it’s about the brain.”

There are OCD helplines you can access, but sometimes just getting to the root of the problem with a psychologist is more helpful. 

Gina Rodriguez

When Rodriguez was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune condition that damages the thyroid gland and is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, she said it was “the curse of a lifetime.” Though the disease is treatable, it doesn’t have a cure, and it affects how your body uses energy. By potentially causing an underactive thyroid, Hashimoto’s symptoms can be as varied as fatigue, memory issues, weight gain, and joint pain, among others. Rodriguez was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at 19 and Hashimoto’s at 26 and gained weight that just wouldn’t come off, and admitted that she was initially in denial about the illness, and even skipped taking her medicine and ate foods she knew would make her feel badly, like dairy. “To the core of my being, I know what it’s like to feel like there is no way I can win this, so where do I even begin,” she said. But eventually, she knew she had to change her attitude. “[Hashimoto’s] affects so many aspects of your life. I’ve had it for so many years…that rebellion of not taking care of myself can’t exist anymore.”

The Jane the Virgin star took charge of her health and changed her diet, started exercising for her health instead of fitting into a certain dress size, and took her treatment seriously. As the pounds peeled off and her body changed, so did her mentality. “I went against the current by saying, ‘Hollywood has to accept me because I’m curvy, and that’s just the way it is,’” she has said. “But I wasn’t accepting me.” Along with a stronger, healthier body, Rodriguez has been open about gaining body positivity, too.