Celebrities with Lupus

This weekend, Hollywood celebrates the movie industry when it delivers the 80th Annual Academy Awards – the Oscars. To mark the occasion, I thought I’d resurrect an early post that probably wasn’t seen by too many people.

It talked a bit about how anyone can get lupus. And several lupus sufferers have made a name for themselves in the world of entertainment.

The most famous lupus sufferer is probably Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, and constant tabloid subject. He was diagnosed with the disease in 1984, shortly after his hit album, Thriller was tearing up the charts.

Another singer, Seal, real name Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, battled discoid lupus when he was a child. His trademark facial scarring is a result of the disease.

The famous American author Flannery O’Connor had lupus. It ran in the family. Her father had died of the disease. She was diagnosed in 1951 and died in 1964.

Then there’s Millie, former president George H. Bush’s dog. She had lupus, as did one of her owners: Barbara Bush.

Other famous lupus patients:

• Ray “My Favorite Martian” Walston
• Baseball player Tim Raines
• Ferdinand Marcos
• Famous CBS journalist Charles Kuralt
• Leslie “American Idol” Hunt