Celebrities with links to Lupus
Joy Rose, lead singer Housewives on Prozac. Fifteen years ago, Joy Rose was a stay-at-home mum with 4 children.
Ten days after her youngest was born, she was diagnosed with Lupus, which in her case was life-threatening.
Seven years, multiple hospital stays and one kidney transplant later, Joy made a commitment to do as much as she could to empower herself and other women to lead better lives. So she became a rock star!
Film producer Lauren Schuler Donner announced that she has lupus. But that won’t keep her from continuing her success as one of the most successful female producers in Hollywood.
Her first feature film was the hit comedy Mr. Mom and she followed that up with two of the most popular “Brat Pack” movies of the 1980s: Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire. In the 1990s, Schuler Donner oversaw production on all three Free Willy films, Dave, You’ve Got Mail” and “X-men”.
Questions about his facial scares still persist. The scars were caused by a disease called lupus which Seal suffered from when he was a child. The particular strain of lupus Seal deals with causes blistering especially around the facial area, which when ruptured cause deep scarring. When questioned about his scares, Seal had often eluded to mystical or spiritual causes. In the late 80's, Seal began singing with various bands and on his own - eventually meeting producer, Adamski. Seal and Adamski collaborated on the track "Killer" which shot to number 1 in England”.
Terri Seymour is a British entertainment reporter and actress. She joined the American entertainment news show Extra as a correspondent in 2004.
She revealed that she was diagnosed as a teenager but felt that the condition had made her appreciate her life even more.
Teri said: "When I was an 18-year-old model, I developed lupus. I was in terrible pain and had to be put on a cocktail of drugs. I have been in remission for years. It's made me much more aware of my own mortality.
Teri was was honored at the 14th Annual Hollywood Bag Ladies Luncheon benefiting Lupus LA.
She has one daughter, Coco, born 9 March 2016
Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith are big supporters. Jada's high school friend and cousin have both been diagnosed with lupus. Her aunt, Karen Evans, almost died from complications of lupus.
Snoop Dogg has credited his daughter Cori's battle with lupus with bringing the rapper closer to his wife Shante, insisting the life-threatening illness helped to save their faltering marriage. Snoop admits the turning point in their relationship came when young Cori was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder in 2005 - and her subsequent health battle made the hip-hop star and his wife realize they had to stay "together forever".
But he's in awe of how strong Cori, now 11, has been throughout the health crisis - despite struggling with the side effects lupus, which caused her hair to fall out and affected her weight. Snoop explains, "My daughter is the love of my life. When she'd lay in bed saying, 'My brain hurts', it bothered me so much. I felt helpless... (But) she's the toughest little thing I've ever met, even with the needles."
And Cori has managed to keep her lupus under control to enjoy a normal childhood. Her proud father adds, "She's on the honor roll, playing volleyball and softball, living life. She has all this joy. In the beginning lupus was winning. But now Cori is."
Actor David Spade revealed that his mother Judith had lupus when he recalled the embarrassing moment he introduced her to Selena Gomez on the Tonight Show.
Both David and Selena do voiceovers for the animated film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. So when it came time for the premiere, Spade decided to invite his family members, including his mother, his daughter Harper and his niece Bea—the daughter of the late Kate Spade.
To see the video clip click here.
Sharon Stones sister Kelly has lupus (pictured with Sharon and Melanie Griffiths). Sharon and Kelly Stone have been major supporters since Kelly was diagnosed some years ago.
SWV’s Cheryl “Coko” Gamble took in her late cousin Sheila Laney’s 2 children, she promised to care for her Sheila’s 12-year-old son, DJ, and daughter, Nevea, before her cousin passed away.
Coko said: “She was sick, she had lupus and we feel like she knew that she was sick already and that she wouldn’t be here much longer because she was getting things in order. We were like, ‘Of course, sure, no problem,’ and she was getting paperwork in order and everything. Shortly thereafter, she got really sick and she passed away, and so here we are today.”
Rising star Kazy Tauginas is a former restaurateur and Golden Gloves boxer turned actor.
He has appeared in numerous theatre, film and television roles including as Ari in The Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington.
After writing several short films (and starring in over 20 of them), Kazy drew inspiration from his mother, who had been diagnosed with lupus, and his own boxing experience and wrote "Standing Eight," a short about a boxer who is forced to retire and contend with life outside of the ring after being diagnosed with systemic lupus.
During the spring of 2015 he oversaw two successful Kickstarter campaigns to fully fund the film. Since its completion, "Standing Eight" has won eleven festival awards including Trinity International Film Festival's Best Short Film. He hopes to release the film later on Amazon, with proceeds going to Lupus charities.
Model, Pietra Thornton former Playboy model, previously married to Billy Bob Thornton also has lupus.
American Rapper Trick Daddy had been fighting a secret battle with discoid lupus since 1998, after going to the doctor seeking treatment for severe dry skin that had begun to appear spotted and discolored. The Miami, Florida star, real name Maurice Young, finally revealed his health struggle during a radio interview in March 2009.
He has refused to take any medication for lupus but encourages others to do so saying, “it gets so serious to that point, with the needles and doctor visits, I know it discourages people and I just need to encourage them to do whatever they need to do to make themselves better.”
Ted Turner is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. He famously married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, they divorced in 2001.
When he was a teenager, his younger sister Mary Jane aged contracted a form of lupus, and suffered terribly before dying a relatively short while later aged just 17.
In 2001 the Turner Foundation gave $1 million to lupus research in the USA. He said “Lupus is a serious and sometimes deadly challenge affecting young people and their families. The Turner Foundation is pleased to help combat this terrible disease by making a contribution to research directed at a better understanding of the cause and treatment of this disease in children and teens.”
Blair Underwood. Actor, appeared in LA Law as Jonathan Rollins, Dirty Sexy money as Simon Elder and as Dr Robert Leeds in Sex in the City. Voted one of People's ‘50 Most Beautiful People’.
“My uncle has suffered from Lupus for many years, and the pain that it unleashes is inhumane".
Actor Ray Walston lost a 6 year battle with lupus and died just after his 86th Birthday in 2001. He appeared in films such as, Paint your Wagon, South Pacific, Buck Rogers and The Sting and regularly on various TV programmes such as My Favourite Martian in the 1960’s and Star Trek the Next Generation & Voyager.
Michael Wayne, the eldest son of late actor John Wayne who helped produce several of his father's films, died aged 68 of heart failure following complications from lupus.
Randall Winston (pictured with Dick Van Dyke). Producer for the hit series, Scrubs and Cougar Town, donated a kidney to sister Karen after she developed lupus-related kidney disease, which caused her own kidneys to fail.
Morgan Woolard, runner up to Miss USA. Morgan caused a massive uproar when she said she had been ‘cured of lupus’, people went so far as to raise petitions to get her to withdraw her comments.
Some statements she made seemed to indicate that she actually had drug induced lupus, which can usually be reversed by stopping the medication that causes the condition.
ABC's Extreme Home Makeover landscaper Eduardo's sister has Lupus.
He helped his sister relax and relieve stress by creating a garden oasis designed with sun sensitivity in mind.
American fashion model and actress Mercedes Yvette was a finalist on America's Next Top model. During the show she revealed that she had lupus.
She is now a spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America.
