Though most of what we see in Hollywood is glitz and glamour, there's a human element
to show business that can be easy to forget.
Celebrities are still just human beings, after all, and that means some of them face the
same issues as everyone else — including, unfortunately, serious medical conditions.
Here's a look at some stars with life-threatening diseases.
Charlie Sheen
When Charlie Sheen revealed that he was HIV positive to Today host, Matt Lauer, it was
a shock — but not entirely surprising.
Sheen's well-documented descent into his self-proclaimed "winning" lifestyle full of drugs and prostitutes
placed him at high risk for contracting the disease.
But once he outed himself, Sheen continued to make headlines in regards to his treatment,
even temporarily going off of his meds at the advice of a controversial holistic doctor
who claimed to have a cure for the virus.
Once that failed to pan out, Sheen went back on his meds, and even claimed to be participating
in a federal trial for a new type of HIV medication.
Hey, he's tried new and unusual drugs for far worse reasons...
“I’m bi-winning.”
Yolanda Hadid and Avril Lavigne
After years of searching for an answer for her persistent symptoms that included fatigue,
chronic pain, and confusion, Yolanda Hadid was finally diagnosed with severe chronic
neurological lyme disease.
According to Hadid, she consulted with 105 doctors in 11 countries before specialists
in Belgium discovered the elusive disease.
That was a major relief, especially given that her castmates on The Real Housewives
of Beverly Hills had publicly debated whether she actually had Munchausen Syndrome, a mental
disorder that causes people to fake illnesses for sympathy.
She told Dr. Oz, "People started insinuating that I was crazy in the head.
So finally getting that diagnosis was just, 'Thank you God.'"
Since being diagnosed, Hadid has also reached out to help others with Lyme disease, including
her children Bella and Anwar, and singer Avril Lavigne, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease
in 2015.
“This is what they do to a lot of people that have Lyme disease, they don’t have
an answer for them, so they tell them like, they tell them like ‘You’re crazy.”
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins
In 1996, TLC frontwoman, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, revealed that she had sickle cell anemia,
which the Mayo Clinic defines as an incurable disease that causes malformation of the red
blood cells "which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body."
That year, she told MTV, "The older I get, the worse it gets.
When I'm touring I get sick a lot and have to go to the hospital.
All I can do is keep praying and stay positive."
Since then, Watkins has survived a brain tumor and become an advocate for sickle cell awareness,
hosting an annual fundraiser and even serving as the spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease
Association of America.
Michael J. Fox
When he revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis to the world in 1998, Michael J. Fox had already
been living with the disease for seven years.
According to CNN, "he noticed a 'twitch' in a finger," which ultimately led to his diagnosis.
He'd even already had brain surgery, a procedure called a thalamotomy that helped control his
symptoms before going public.
Since then, Fox has become a tireless advocate for not only raising awareness, but also funding
for research for the debilitating disease.
He founded The Michael J. Fox Organization, which has raised over $700 million in its
efforts "to speed a cure for Parkinson's disease."
And through it all, he has continued acting, earning five Emmy nominations for his role
as Louis Canning on The Good Wife.
“In another role, where I’m playing someone that doesn’t have that, I do everything
I can to suppress it.
In this instance, I just let it go.”
Montel Williams and Jack Osborne
It was only after a tabloid obtained one of his MRI scans and threatened to out him that
Montel Williams, the then host of the popular daytime talk show, The Montel Williams Show,
came forward with his multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 1998.
He originally worried that if he revealed his diagnosis he would lose his job.
But instead he became the public face of the disease, writing several inspirational books
and lobbying for the legalization of medical marijuana while also founding the Montel Williams
MS Foundation, which raises money for MS research.
He's been joined in his efforts to raise awareness by Jack Osborne, who was diagnosed with MS
in 2012 after losing vision in his right eye.
Since then, Osborne has partnered with Teva Neuroscience on You Don't Know Jack About
MS, where Osborne shares personal stories about his own struggle with the disease.
“I think there’s a huge level of gratitude that I have for everyone around me and the
position that I’m in.
I did find my disease early and I am able to treat it.”
Sarah Hyland
Modern Family star Sarah Hyland has battled kidney disease since childhood, eventually
forcing her to seek a kidney transplant in 2012.
Luckily, the perfect donor happened to be willing and ready: her own father.
To give back, Hyland became involved with The George Lopez Foundation, which is dedicated
to helping those facing kidney disease.
According to Variety, Hyland's own childhood spent dealing with the condition motivated
her to become the organization's youth ambassador.
"Once I learned about the Lopez Foundation, I knew I wanted to get involved [because they]
send kids with kidney disease away to camp so they can still experience overnight camp
with medical needs at hand."
​Selena Gomez, Toni Braxton, and Nick Cannon
Pop superstar Selena Gomez remained silent through her lupus diagnosis for almost two
years before telling the public about it.
She had checked into a rehab facility in January of 2014, at which point the tabloid world
exploded.
Reports speculated that it was everything from drug use to depression over her breakup
with Justin Bieber.
But in October of 2015, she opened up to Billboard, saying, "I was diagnosed with [autoimmune
disease] lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy.
That's what my break was really about.
I could've had a stroke."
Though she was hesitant to speak out at first, Gomez has become a prominent voice for lupus
awareness and research, partnering with the Keck School of Medicine to create The Selena
Gomez Fund for Lupus Research.
And Gomez isn't the only high profile celebrity suffering from Lupus.
Fellow musicians Toni Braxton and Nick Cannon also have lupus, and both are intimately involved
in efforts to combat the disease.
Braxton serves on the board of directors for Lupus LA, a chapter of the Lupus Research
Alliance, while Cannon created the Ncredible Health Hustle series on YouTube, which documents
his "daily life with lupus," and has also worked with The Lupus Foundation of America
on several charity initiatives.
Cannon told WebMD, "If I can be an inspiration for others with the condition or a similar
condition, then I wear that with pride and embrace the duty wholeheartedly.
Stepping up and being the face of lupus has actually helped me get through it."
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