19 Celebrities Who Have Struggled With Lyme Disease

Posted by Denette Wilford on July 18, 2017

Lyme disease is a frustrating, devastating condition that can affect anyone. The symptoms are often mistaken for other things so the Lyme can easily get misdiagnosed. But once acute Lyme becomes chronic Lyme, watch out. It becomes far more difficult to treat and recovery isn't always guaranteed.

Lyme is an inflammatory infection that spreads to humans through tick bites. Ticks pick up bacteria by biting infected animals, then pass it onto other animals (usually deer, birds, mice and other small rodents) as well as humans. So what might not seem like the flu might be something much worse.

Lyme has affected loads of celebrities as well, which is equally sad but kind of reassuring as they can bring loads of awareness to the disease. Here are some stars who have spoken out about their struggles.

  •  CP Images
    1 of 18

    Avril Lavigne

    When people assumed her absence from the public was because she was in rehab, the pop star eventually revealed she was sick, so sick that was bedridden for five months. She's since come back stronger than ever and since her diagnosis, Lavigne has been advocating for Lyme awareness, raising funds for children and young adults who suffer from the illness.

    Don't miss 10 things you can do to avoid Lyme infection here.
  •  CP Images
    2 of 18

    Shania Twain

    Twain had to retrain her voice after dysphonia, the result of her Lyme disease, affected her singing voice. It's improving but she now requires special warm-up sessions and physical therapy to do what she loves.
  •  CP Images
    3 of 18

    Yolanda Hadid

    The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star might be one of the most prominent stars advocating for Lyme disease awareness. Foster, who was diagnosed in 2012, recruited her co-stars for an Instagram campaign dubbed the "Lyme Disease Challenge" and has been outspoken about her plight. "You don't get it until you get it."
  •  CP Images
    4 of 18

    Anwar and Bella Hadid

    Two of Hadid's children also suffer from the "invisible illness," with Bella explaining how many aspects of her life have been hindered by her disease. "I know what it feels like to not want to get out of bed from bone pains and exhaustion and days on end of not wanting to socialize or be around people because the anxiety and brain fog just isn't worth it. After years of this, you begin to get used to living with the sickness, instead of getting cured and moving on with your life."
  •  CP Images
    5 of 18

    Alec Baldwin

    Baldwin, who was emcee at the Bay Area Lyme Foundation's gala LymeAid this year, revealed he thought he was going to die from Lyme. It was in 2011 that he told the New York Times he suffered from a chronic form of the condition, but look at him now, healthy, happily remarried to Hilaria Thomas, with whom he shares three children, and killing it with his Trump impersonation.
  •  CP Images
    6 of 18

    Ben Stiller

    In 2011, the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he was diagnosed with Lyme in 2010 after suffering from a lingering knee injury. "I'm symptom free now but Lyme doesn't ever leave your system," he told the magazine. "It's a really tough thing."
  •  CP Images
    7 of 18

    Kelly Osbourne

    The star remembers being bitten by a tick in 2004 at her father Ozzy's surprise 56th birthday party. She would then go on to suffer from all kinds of "simple" symptoms, like stomach pains and a sore throat before realizing the truth.

    "I've learned to advocate for myself when it comes to my health, and I trust my intuition," she wrote in her memoir, There Is No F*cking Secret: Letters From a Badass Bitch. "If I think something is wrong, I refuse to let anyone dismiss it. And sadly, I stay the f*ck away from reindeer."
  •  CP Images
    8 of 18

    Ashley Olsen

    There were reports that the reason Ashley stays out of the spotlight as much as possible is because she's been tending to her health. Magazines reported she was diagnosed in the very late stages of Lyme and is currently dealing with it.
  •  CP Images
    9 of 18

    Richard Gere

    It was 17 years ago that Gere had to postpone filming of Autumn in New York after undergoing antibiotic treatment for Lyme. Thankfully the actor was healed without chronic pain.
  •  CP Images
    10 of 18

    Jamie-Lynn Sigler

    The former Sopranos actress wrote about her experience with the illness in her memoir Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss. Thankfully she detected it early and antibiotics helped with her recovery but she was forever changed by the diagnosis. "I realized it could all be taken away in a moment."
  •  CP Images
    11 of 18

    Amy Tan

    The author of The Joy Luck Club took to the New York Times to reveal her plight with a mystery illness that caused symptoms like insomnia, head and muscle aches, nausea and exhaustion, and seizures. It wasn't until nearly four years that she was diagnosed with Lyme.

    "Three months after antibiotic treatment, I could write again," she wrote in the column, in which she called for new diagnosis and treatment standards, along with insurance coverage for Lyme. "I have my life back, but I am not cured. If I go off antibiotics, the symptoms march back. I have permanent bodily damage, including epilepsy, a consequence of 16 lesions in my brain."
  •  CP Images
    12 of 18

    Debbie Gibson

    Gibson was diagnosed with Lyme in 2013, and it really messed with her cognitive skills. "My back kept going out, I couldn't lift my head sometimes" and her boyfriend told her she was mixing up words in her texts. She's improved dramatically since, but like so many others, isn't entirely out of the woods.
  •  CP Images
    13 of 18

    Daryl Hall

    Lyme forced the musician to cancel a Hall & Oates tour in 2005, saying, "It can make you wanna die if you're not dead." He's since criticized the lack of recognition it gets and has become an outspoken advocate to the medical community's approach to Lyme.
  •  CP Images
    14 of 18

    Parker Posey

    The actress was diagnosed with Lyme in 2009 and had to drop out of a stage production at the time. She has since championed alternative treatment modalities for Lyme after a standard round of antibiotics didn't help at all.
  •  CP Images
    15 of 18

    Christy Turlington

    The model and humanitarian contracted Lyme in 2007 but detected it early enough so she was able to successfully eradicate it with antibiotics.
  •  CP Images
    16 of 18

    Ally Hilfiger

    "I was convinced that bugs were crawling in my body. I could feel them eating at my organs, my stomach and especially my brain," Hilfiger wrote in her new book, Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole My Childhood, Made Me Crazy, and Almost Killed Me. "I wasn't me anymore. I was a weakly projected image of myself on a wall, crying out for someone to help me and figure out what was wrong." Hilfiger was seven years old when she was bitten by a tick and diagnosed with Lyme.
  •  CP Images
    17 of 18

    George W. Bush

    George Dubya was reportedly diagnosed in 2006 when he first noticed a rash on the front of his lower left leg. His condition improved and the following year it was revealed the Lyme had reached "complete resolution" and was "without recurrence."
  •  Twitter
    18 of 18

    Rebecca Wells

    The author of The Divine Secrets of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood was diagnosed in 2004 — after having seen, and been misdiagnosed by, a dozen doctors.

    "Finally, I saw an environmental medicine doctor, and it turned out that I had Lyme disease — even though an infectious disease doctor in Seattle told me that it did not exist in Washington state," she told Goodreads.com. "I was diagnosed in 2004 with chronic neurological Lyme disease. It went into the neurological system because I was undiagnosed for so long."

    Don't miss 10 things you can do to avoid Lyme infection here.
  • start over
    Next Gallery

    How to Pack Like a Flight Attendant and Avoid Checked Baggage Fees

    More Galleries