Celebrities Who Have Psoriasis
Kim Kardashian West
The entrepreneur and reality TV star is candid about her condition on her show and on social media. She got her diagnosis on camera at age 30. She often posts about her ups and downs with psoriasis, reaching out to followers for advice and sharing the results of different treatments.
Kris Jenner
Psoriasis tends to run in families, and Kardashian West shares the disease with her famous mother. Jenner called her first outbreak in her late 20s "life-changing." Medication and light therapy eventually brought it under control, but she says she still has flare-ups.
Cara Delevingne
Stress triggers outbreaks of psoriasis for many people, including this model and actress. She had her first serious flare in the high pressure of Paris Fashion Week when she was 20. She says it’s one of the reasons she’s stepped back from the runway.
Cyndi Lauper
Her psoriasis didn’t appear until she was in her late 50s, but it came on with a vengeance. The award-winning singer and songwriter says it was so bad at times, she couldn’t get out of bed. Stress management is a big part of her treatment program, along with an immune-altering drug. She also avoids alcohol and certain foods that seem to trigger her flare-ups.
Phil Mickelson
Many people with psoriasis also get the painful joint disease psoriatic arthritis. This pro golfer is one of them. He says he suddenly started having severe pain while he was practicing for the 2010 U.S. Open. He’s had success managing the condition with an immune-altering drug.
LeAnn Rimes
This country singer was diagnosed earlier than most people -- when she was just 2 years old. At its worst, psoriasis covered 80% of her body. She says her self-confidence was low during her childhood and teen years, even as she was becoming a star. Rimes went through aggressive treatments and covered her skin for performances and public appearances. Now she tries to stay healthy and keep her stress under control.
Stacy London
This fashion expert has scars, both physical and emotional, from dealing with the disease as a tween. The former host of the TV show What Not to Wear says classmates bullied her in the years after her first full-body outbreak at age 11. Aggressive steroid treatment cleared her psoriasis but damaged her skin even more. She says her experience made her want to help women define and transform themselves through fashion.
Art Garfunkel
He was half of one of the most popular folk groups in the late 1960s: Simon and Garfunkel. In his autobiography, the singer and songwriter wrote a poem about his treatment for psoriasis at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And he told an interviewer that he tried soaking in the salty water of the Dead Sea during a concert tour to Israel, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
Jon Lovitz
Humor helps this comedian deal with his condition. The former Saturday Night Live star had his first psoriasis outbreak in his early 40s. He kept it covered during stand-up performances and tried many different treatments until he found a biologic drug that has helped. Lovitz recorded a music video parody and a comedy skit to raise awareness of the disease.
Jerry Mathers
He was the child star of the classic sitcom Leave It to Beaver, but his experience with psoriasis has turned him into an advocate for health care access and patients’ rights. Mathers says his condition started in college and he still gets outbreaks when he’s under stress. A healthy lifestyle helps him manage his symptoms.
Dara Torres
This five-time Olympic swimmer first noticed her skin becoming rashy and irritated while she was training for the 1992 Barcelona Games. Psoriasis is hard to hide when you’re always in a swimsuit, and Torres says it caused her a lot of embarrassment and anxiety. She speaks out about her condition to share emotional support and encouragement with others who have it.
John Updike
Psoriasis influenced where this late author lived, what he did for a living, and who he married. He wrote a famous short story for The New Yorker that described the emotional effects of the disease. The sun gave Updike temporary relief, and he took part in early trials of UV light therapy in the 1970s.
CariDee English
English has had the disease since she was 5 years old, but it didn't keep her from a successful career in modeling. When she was 21, she found an immune-altering drug that helped her, and she won the 2006 season of the reality TV competition America’s Next Top Model.
Eli Roth
This director and actor says he had an outbreak in his early 20s that left his legs cracked and bleeding. That, plus an unrelated skin infection, gave him the idea for his 2002 movie Cabin Fever, in which a group of friends fall victim to a flesh-eating disease.
Sources Medically Reviewed on 08/06/2021 Reviewed by Debra Jaliman, MD on August 06, 2021
IMAGES PROVIDED BY:
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SOURCES:
National Psoriasis Foundation: “Kim Kardashian has psoriasis,” “Causes and Triggers,” “Cyndi Lauper and ‘the heartbreak’ of psoriasis,” “About Psoriasis,” “Early Diagnosis Could Keep Mickelson’s Psoriatic Arthritis at Bay,” “Country star LeAnn Rimes talks about her psoriasis struggle,” “Jon Lovitz is Serious about Psoriasis,” “Interview: Jon Lovitz Talks About His Psoriasis.”
People.com: “Kim Kardashian Says Psoriasis Has ‘Taken Over My Body’: ‘I’ve Never Seen It Like this Before.’” “Cyndi Lauper’s Secret Struggle: ‘I felt like the Elephant Man,’” “Dara Torres on Her Psoriasis Struggle - and Surprising Favorite Olympics Moment.”
American Academy of Dermatology: “Psoriasis: Who gets it and causes,” “Cyndi Lauper discusses how she manages her psoriasis,” “When does a person get psoriasis?” “Psoriasis video library: ‘Psoriasis: A guide for patients.’”
Jenner, K. Kris Jenner … and all things Kardashian, Gallery Books, 2011.
WMagazine.com: “Cara Delevingne: Style Rebel,” “Cara Delevingne Just Made a Triumphant Return to the Runway at Christopher Bailey’s Last Burberry Show.”
ABCNews.com: “Phil Mickelson Campaigns for Psoriatic Arthritis.”
London, S. The Truth About Style, Penguin Group, 2012.
Garfunkel, A. What is it all but luminous: notes from an underground man, Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.
artgarfunkel.com: “Art Garfunkel’s Feelin’ Groovy Again.”
HuffPost.com: “Seriously, I Have Psoriasis!”
TheHill.com: “Here’s a health care reform: Leave it to patients first.”
Health.com: “Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres on Her Psoriasis: “At First, I was Horribly Embarrassed,” “CariDee English: Psoriasis Nearly Ruined My Modeling Career.”
Updike, J. Self-consciousness, Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.
caridee.com.
BBC.com: “Eli Roth: Cabin Fever.”
Reviewed by Debra Jaliman, MD on August 06, 2021
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