Celebrities with Endometriosis
Jillian Michaels
Former trainer for The Biggest Loser, Jillian Micheals kept her diagnosis of endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) to herself for years, worried that it would damage her "beacon of health" reputation. The conditions can cause pain—in endometriosis, cells from the uterine lining can grow on other organs and tissue in the body; PCOS indicates a hormonal imbalance that leads to irregular menstrual cycles and small cysts in the ovaries. Michaels came forward about the conditions after a reporter’s questions about her plans to adopt prompted her to say she wouldn’t put herself through the physical challenge of pregnancy. She later clarified that since her condition can cause infertility and pregnancy may require her to have surgical procedures, she felt more comfortable adopting. She has said that while she used to suffer from debilitating abdominal pain, she found that eating a diet that includes, among other things, organic foods and non-processed soy and exercising regularly have helped alleviate her symptoms.
Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton was diagnosed with endometriosis at 25 in when she had pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix. "I remember the doctor saying at the time, '50% of women with endometriosis go on to have children.' I thought, 'Only 50%...' It scared the life out of me. I was frightened," Emma admitted at the time. She admitted that the Endometriosis didn't affect her fertility and Emma went on to have baby Beau in 2007 and Tate in 2011.
Elisabeth Oas
Known best for her role in Save the last dance, spent many years in pain due to Endometriosis. She says "I found myself working as a patient advocate, and thus created 5 yrs ago the Internationally known blogtalk radio show “The Pelvic Messenger.”
Ada Nicodemou
Ada struggled to conceive naturally, that's when she went to the Genea fertility clinic for IVF treatment.
See more about Ada's story about IVF here.
See more about Ada's story about IVF here.
Jaime King
After giving birth to her first son James Knight in 2013, King opened up about her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and five miscarriages that meant she struggled for 7 years before finally becoming pregnant.
Bethenny Frankel
Frankel told ET that her "whole life," she had been experiencing heavy bleeding and cramps due to her endometriosis. In her 30s, she had a laparoscopic procedure that "seemed to calm [the bleeding] down." She was even able to get pregnant.
Daisy Ridley
Daisy opened up about her PCOS and Endometriosis on Instagram explaining that she struggles with pain and bad skin.
Halsey
"Finding out that I had endo was the most bittersweet moment because it meant I wasn't crazy!" Halsey wrote. "I wasn't a 'baby!' I had every right to be feeling like the world was caving in. But it was terrifying to find out." Read the rest on Teen Vogue here.
Padma Lakshmi
See Padma's story on the Endometriosis Foundation of America's website here.
Susan Sarandon
“I knew that something was wrong when I was in sixth grade”. “I knew what I had was not normal”. “I felt like someone hit me with a hammer”. “The bleeding was really, really heavy”.” After the bleeding did not stop my parents took me to the doctor”. “The really weird misdiagnoses began”. “Years and years after suffering with this and thinking of myself as someone who was, I do not know, weak and someone hysterical”. “It seemed like my mom was the only one who actually believed me. I ended up harboring a lot of resentment”. “I was extremely depressed, I was suicidal because I did not see an end to it”. “I did not find out I had endometriosis until I was 36 years old, a full 23 years after I first got my period”. Read the rest here.
Julianne Hough
In 2008, “Dancing With the Stars” Julianne Hough announced she had been diagnosed with endometriosis and even underwent surgery to remove an ovarian cyst (which was affected by the disease) as her case was more advanced.
Whoopi Goldberg
You can get Whoopi's cannabis products here, but they are only available in California.
She has known about her Endometriosis for a long time but has only started with her work with cannabis and The Endometriosis Association of America.
She has known about her Endometriosis for a long time but has only started with her work with cannabis and The Endometriosis Association of America.
Tia Mowry
Actress Tia Mowry has publicly shared that she struggles with endometriosis for some time now. Read a blog post published about her struggles with endometriosis. She also wrote the book 'Whole New You'..
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn never had any children. She tried numerous times, and became pregnant numerous times, but all her pregnancies ended in miscarriage, due to her severe endometriosis. This was one of the great sorrows of Monroe's life. She adored children, and always made friends with the children on the sets of her movies, who adored her in return, but the fact that she could never have any children of her own haunted her for her entire life.
Queen Victoria
Found in a diary were entries of her daily pain in her abdomen. Queen Victoria had 9 children simply because it would temperately stop her periods. It is also recorded that the Queen used cannabis to treat her Endometriosis symptoms.
Cyndi Lauper
An American singer, song-writer and actress. She had her son, Declyn, at 44. Her memoir tells that "she became famous, then gravely ill with endometriosis".
Dolly Parton
An American singer-songwriter, actress and author. It was during a 35 date tour of the US and Canada in 1982 that she was taken in to hospital (aged 36) to have a partial hysterectomy due to endometriosis. She later faced a period of depression and suicidal thoughts from not being able to have children.
Hilary Clinton
The 67th United States Secretary of State. She had trouble conceiving her only child, Chelsea, born in 1980, due to endometriosis.
Kirsten Storms
An American actress. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2011 while playing the role of Maxie in the TV series General Hospital. She had to take a year off from the show and returned in 2012.
Emily Robison
An American singer, songwriter and a founding member of the female country band the Dixie Chicks. After six months of trying to conceive, Emily went through various tests. Another year passed without success and Emily underwent a laparoscopy which is when she was diagnosed with mild endometriosis. After two years and four rounds of IVF, her son, Augustus Charles, was born in 2002. After another 2 rounds of IVF, Emily fell pregnant with twins, Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin, who were born in 2005.
Melissa Holliday
An American actress, singer and model. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1995 and was put on to a course of Zolodex. The drug did not relieve any pain for her and although she asked numerous times, the doctors maintained the treatment while she felt her condition was worsening. After being referred on to another hospital she says, "they’d given me so many drugs, I didn’t know if I was coming or going". She was effectively driven out of her mind through chemical bombardment, and was told she would need electric shock therapy - she was told that if she didn’t consent, she would simply be locked up and not permitted to leave. Finally, at the end of 44 days, 9 shock treatments later, Melissa ran out of cover on her medical insurance and was released from hospital. She was unable to leave her house for 6 months, was unable to drive and effectively lost her career. She went back home to live with relatives and started claiming disability payments. In October 1996, Melissa filed a much-publicised lawsuit against the hospital and doctors whom she feels ended her career through their gross negligence and total mistreatment of endometriosis. Eventually, she received the medical care she needed and obtained some relief from the disease - which should have come much sooner.
Lena Dunham
An American Actress best known for her role in the HBO series 'girls'. She recently posted on social media that she would be taking some time off from the promotion of the new season to rest. She wrote: "I just wanted to let you know that, while I am so excited for Girls to return on Feb 21, I won't be out and about doing press for the new season. As many of you know I have endometriosis, a chronic condition that affects approximately 1 in 10 women's reproductive health. I am currently going through a rough patch with the illness and my body (along with my amazing doctors) let me know, in no uncertain terms, that it's time to rest. That's a hard thing to do, but I'm trying, because all I want is to make season 6 of Girls the best one yet. I'm lucky enough to have support and backup from Jenni, Judd and the whole Girls gang. So many women with this disease literally don't have the option of time off and I won't take it for granted. "
Meg Cabot
An American author. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2007 and talks about her stuggles with the disease in her online diary.
Pamela Anderson
A Canadian model and actress. While filming Barb Wire, Pamela collapsed on set and was rushed to hospital. She had suffered a miscarriage, and had to undergo treatment for endometriosis. She has two sons, Brandon and Dylan.
Lacey Schwimmer
An American competitive ballroom dancer and singer. She was starring in Dancing with the Stars in 2008, alongside Julianne Hough, when, because of Julianne's diagnosis, went for a check up. It was discovered that she also had endometriosis but at that point surgery was not necessary. Lacey is on medication to treat the disease.
Karen Duffy
An American model, television personality and actress. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1998. Karen says the cramps ''felt like a boa constrictor wrapped around my abdomen". She now controls her endometriosis with Lupron and reports no side effects from the drug. ''I have more energy now, and maybe it's because I have less pain'' she says.
Chaz Bono
Born to Sonny and Cher Bono, as Chastity, struggled with painkiller dependency while she battled with Endometriosis.
Monica
Monica was diagnosed with endometriosis after being hospitalized numerous times with debilitating migraines and acute abdominal pain. Just two weeks later, the singer had undergone an eight-hour procedure to remove a hernia along with endometriosis cysts and fibroids.In an Instagram post, Monica took the time to thank her doctors and healthcare team. She also asked that women don’t ignore uterine pain and reassured her fans that if they’re experiencing pain, they’re not alone and there are things that can be done to help.
Brenda Strong
Long known for her commitment to supporting women’s education about infertility, lodeplus.com turned to Emmy nominated actress, Brenda Strong, to discuss yoga and its potential role in pain management for endometriosis. Best known for her role as Mary Alice Young on Desperate Housewives, Ms. Strong is also a certified yoga instructor and creator of the Strong Yoga4Fertility program as well as National Spokesperson for The American Fertility Association.
Says Strong, “I remember as a young girl my mother suffering with intense pain brought on by endometriosis, which eventually concluded in a hysterectomy. In addition to extreme discomfort, it can be a deterrent to conception and brings the emotional pain of infertility to the already excruciating physical pain of this condition. There are a few natural things that can be done to relieve the muscle tension in the abdomen and pelvic region brought on by endometriosis. Yoga, the ancient science of balancing the body through breathing and physical postures called asanas can have a detoxifying and rejuvenating affect on the organs. This can also help to bring more balance to the bodies hormonal and circulatory systems, in addition to promoting the relaxation response and lowering a person’s stress reaction triggered by pain. Studies have shown that individuals who practice yoga have a higher pain threshold because of their ability to breathe through discomfort and not react to it, a term popularized in yoga called “equanimity”.
Says Strong, “I remember as a young girl my mother suffering with intense pain brought on by endometriosis, which eventually concluded in a hysterectomy. In addition to extreme discomfort, it can be a deterrent to conception and brings the emotional pain of infertility to the already excruciating physical pain of this condition. There are a few natural things that can be done to relieve the muscle tension in the abdomen and pelvic region brought on by endometriosis. Yoga, the ancient science of balancing the body through breathing and physical postures called asanas can have a detoxifying and rejuvenating affect on the organs. This can also help to bring more balance to the bodies hormonal and circulatory systems, in addition to promoting the relaxation response and lowering a person’s stress reaction triggered by pain. Studies have shown that individuals who practice yoga have a higher pain threshold because of their ability to breathe through discomfort and not react to it, a term popularized in yoga called “equanimity”.
Deidre Hall
Best known for her work on the long-running Soap Opera, Days of Our Lives. In an attempt to battle her Endometriosis-related infertility, Hall was subjected to hormone treatments that "left her hips a mass of bruises and induced a moody mix of premenstrual angst and menopausal blues." None of her IVF treatments took - and one actually put her into a brief coma.
Sophie Rhys-Jones
Countess of Wessex. She is rumored to have endometriosis which caused her to suffer an ectopic pregnancy in 2001, though there is nothing online to confirm this. She has two children, Louise, born in 2003, and James, born in 2007.
Jenny McCarthy
American model, television host, comedian, actress, author, screen writer and anti-vaccine activist. Her son, Evan Joseph Asher, was born in 2002. There is little online regarding her having endometriosis other than a post on her Twitter in 2014 stating that she was in a lot of pain due to the disease.
Rumored to have Endometriosis
Sharon Stone
An American actress, film producer and former fashion model. She is rumored to have endometriosis after having suffered repeated miscarriages.
Celine Dion
A Canadian singer. She is rumored to have endometriosis though there is nothing on line to confirm this. Celine did, however, undergo two small operations in 2010 to improve her chances of conceiving, after deciding to use IVF treatment after years of failed attempts to get pregnant. Celine gave birth to twins, Eddy and Nelson in 2010.
Neve Campbell
A Canadian actress. She is rumoured to have endometriosis though there is nothing on line to confirm this. Her son, Caspian, was born in 2012.
Nicole Kidman
An Australian actress, singer and film producer. She is rumored to have endometriosis though there is nothing on line to confirm this. She has an adopted daughter, Isabella, born in 1992, and son, Connor, born in 1995, from her first marriage. She also suffered an ectopic pregnancy during this time. She has two daughters from her second marriage. Nicole gave birth to Sunday in 2008 and Faith was born in 2010 through a surrogate.
Khloe Kardashian
An American socialite, television personality, business woman, fashion designer, author, actress and presenter. She is rumored to have endometriosis but there is nothing on line to confirm this. She has struggled for several years to try to conceive and had tried IVF but is no longer trying as she is not with her husband anymore. After changing her lifestyle- eating right and working out she was able to become pregnant. In 2018, Khole gave birth to a baby girl.
For a full list of celebrities with Endometriosis click here.
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