Celebrities with links to Lupus
During the 1980s, Ferdinand Marcos was seriously ill and was in and out of office. He had systemic lupus erythematosus, which led to kidney failure. He was then on dialysis and later had a kidney transplant. Marcos finally died in Honolulu in 1989.
Doctors said lung and kidney failure and a widespread infection contributed to the cardiac arrest that was listed as the cause of death.
Emmy award nominated American actress, Kellie Martins sister, Heather, died of lupus in 1998 aged just 19. Kellie is most famous for her role as Lucy Knight in ER.
Georgeanna Tillman (February 5, 1944 - January 6, 1980)
Georgeanna Tillman was a member of group the Marvelettes, who were Motown’s first successful girl group. They had a number of hit records such as ‘Please Mr. Postman’, ‘When you’re young and in love’ and ‘too many fish in the sea’.
By 1965, Georgeanna was battling lupus. As her health problems worsened, her doctor advised her to stop touring and she left the group for good but remained at Motown for a while as a secretary. She died in 1980 from the complications of sickle cell anaemia and lupus. The Marvelettes continued on as a trio.
Catherine is British actress born in Alton in Hampshire. Appearing in films such as: Braveheart, Shadow of the Vampire, The Land Girls, A sound of thunder, Midnight Man and Dangerous Beauty.
Her mother died of lupus when Catherine was 6 years old.
Mary McDonaugh, best known for her role as Erin in the Waltons suffers from Lupus and when interviewed states that she thinks having breast implants in 1984 triggered the lupus as the symptoms started shortly afterwards. She played the part of a lupus sufferer having a kidney transplant in the programme ER in 1997. Mary told her story to the Lupus Trust and it has since appeared in our newsletter and on our website.
Righteous Brother Bill Medley still fundraises for lupus after the other half of the Righteous Brothers, the late Bobby Hatfield’s wife Linda battled lupus. Bobby tirelessly worked to help increase awareness and raise funds for patient services and research.
“When I was a child, my parents had a friend, the son of my Godparents, who had a form of lupus. He'd lost all the skin around his face, couldn't shut his eyes, he was going blind. It was horrendous to look at”.
Natalis, is a multi-platinum, Two time Grammy Nominated Artist straight out of the Bronx, NY.
Davis Chris & Mr Foster reached out to her about working on an upcoming Gospel Album, the Good Fridays, the album was created to celebrate life because Natalis also battles with Lupus on a daily basis.
American singer and entertainer Wayne Newton’s sister-in-law, Tricia McCrone, was diagnosed with lupus in 2001 aged 30. Wayne calls Tricia "very courageous" adding "She has held her integrity and never let the disease stop her from doing anything she wanted to accomplish"
The famous American author, Flannery O’Connor, was born on March 25, 1925. Her father, Edward, died from lupus complications in 1941, when O’Connor was 15.
It was during this time that she wrote more than two dozen short stories and two novels. She died at age 39 from lupus complications.
Actress Victoria Principal. Her father suffers from arthritis and her mother from lupus, and a number of years ago said she was beginning to suffer trace symptoms of both.
Richard Dreyfuss’ first wife, Jeramie Rain has systemic lupus. Her pregnancy exacerbated her lupus, which was so painful that at one point she couldn’t hold her daughter.
Kristen Louise Renton is an American actor recurring as Ima Tite on Sons of Anarchy and formerly known for portraying Morgan Hollingsworth on NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives. Kristen was diagnosed with lupus in 2010, revealing her diagnosis in 2017.
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!
Katherine Ryan is a Canadian comedian, writer, presenter and actress based in the UK. Katherine was diagnosed with lupus in 2008.
"While working in an office job, she said she broke out in ‘open sores on my face that were undeniable - you really couldn't look away from them. I was really ill, really run-down, really nauseous every day, I had joint pain for almost six months. I would go to these doctors and they would say, "Oh I don't know" then I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus".
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
Nara Smith is a social media influencer best known for making food from scratch.
She explained that her journey started after her Lupus diagnosis, which required her to alter her diet and lifestyle.
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.
