11 Celebrities With Lupus

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.

Symptoms vary from person to person and can include fatigue, joint pain, swelling, rashes, and fever. And since no two cases present exactly alike, lupus is notoriously misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, a virus, or something else. The condition can harm the skin, kidneys, heart, nervous system, blood cells, and more.

Despite being a disease, doctors often miss lupus is actually quite common. About 1.5 million people in the United States have it—including these 10 celebrities (and one celebrity dog):

1. Selena Gomez
2. Nick Cannon
3. Lady Gaga
4. Toni Braxton
5. Seal
6. Cori Broadus
7. Tim Raines
8. Charles Kuralt
9. J Dilla
10. Flannery O'Connor
11. Barbara and George Bush's dog Millie

Selena Gomez

In 2014, Selena Gomez took some time out of the spotlight, and tabloids widely reported that she had been in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. In fact, she had been undergoing treatment for lupus. "I was diagnosed with lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy. That's what my break was really about. I could've had a stroke," she told Billboard in an October 2015 interview. "I wanted so badly to say, 'You guys have no idea. I'm in chemotherapy.'"

Though chemotherapy is best-known as a cancer treatment, it can also be used in rheumatology. The drugs (which are typically given at a lower dose) slow cell reproduction to control inflammation.

Nick Cannon

In January 2012, the TV personality and entertainer was hospitalized for kidney failure, and just a few weeks later was treated for life-threatening blood clots in his lungs. Doctors diagnosed him with lupus, and since then, he has been outspoken about living with the condition. He served as the Grand Marshal for the Lupus Foundation of America's Walk to End Lupus Now in Washington, DC, in 2014. "I have lupus, but lupus doesn't have me," he said in an interview with the Lupus Foundation. I'm one of those people who wants to wave the flag and say, you can win this fight."

Lady Gaga

In 2010, Lady Gaga told Larry King that she tested "borderline positive" for lupus. But to be diagnosed with lupus, a person must have certain symptoms and a positive blood test for self-attacking antibodies.

A positive test, which Lady Gaga might have been talking about, doesn't mean you have lupus—you need to have symptoms, too. (And the pop diva told Larry she didn't.) One in five women test positive for lupus-associated antibodies, but only about 10% have the autoimmune disease.

Toni Braxton

Women of color are two to three times more likely than white women to develop lupus, says Dawn Isherwood, a health educator with the Lupus Foundation of America.

Braxton, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2008, tweeted in November 2011: "Lupus medication actually causes most women to gain weight. But we're still fabulous! I'm going to work it on out."

Corticosteroids—one of the mainstays of lupus treatment—can indeed promote weight gain. Still, exercise can help people with lupus manage their weight and will also improve their quality of life, Isherwood says.

Seal

The scars on the singer's face are the result of discoid lupus erythematosus, a type of lupus involving only the skin. Discoid lupus typically causes sores on the face and scalp but can affect the skin anywhere on the body. It can also cause hair loss. People with discoid lupus are often sensitive to ultraviolet light, and need to be careful about sun exposure.

Ten percent of people with discoid lupus will go on to develop systemic lupus, Isherwood says, although it's possible these individuals already had the illness but just weren't diagnosed.

Cori Broadus

Even though lupus most often strikes women during their childbearing years, from 15 to 44, "anybody at any age can develop lupus, and has," says Isherwood.

Rapper Snoop Dogg's daughter, Cori Broadus, first showed symptoms of lupus—lightening of her skin, hair loss, and dramatic weight loss—at age six, in 2005.

In a September 2022 BET article, Cori noted that she didn't allow her diagnosis to break her confidence: "It's up to me to decide what I'm going to do with it. So just living in your truth and finding the beauty in it."

The Broadus family also released a line of headscarves to support the lupus community, according to the article.

Tim Raines

When playing left field for the Oakland Athletics in 1999, Raines sought medical attention for extreme fatigue. He had swelling in his knees and ankles and was 15 pounds heavier than normal, suggesting he was retaining water; his doctor ordered a kidney biopsy, and diagnosed lupus.

The disease was attacking Raines' kidneys, throwing off the normal balance of water and salt in his body. His case was severe, but he improved with radiation therapy and medication. Raines even went back to baseball, joining the Montreal Expos in 2001 and retiring in 2002 with the Florida Marlins.

Charles Kuralt

The broadcast journalist died of heart disease, a common complication of lupus, at age 62, just weeks after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease. Still, he could have had lupus for a far longer time. Men may be more likely to be diagnosed later in the course of disease, Isherwood says, both because they are less likely to seek medical care in general, and because doctors may not consider lupus in their male patients.

About nine out of every 10 people with lupus is female, she explains, so it's not surprising that "it's sometimes thought of as a 'women's disease.' "

J Dilla

James Yancey, known famously as J Dilla or Jay Dee, was a rapper hip hop producer who died at the age of 32 in 2006 after having dealt with lupus for three years. J Dilla was known for working with artists such as Busta Rhymes, Common, Janet Jackson, and Erykah Badu.

According to a Rolling Stones article from February 2006, J Dilla had been using a wheelchair during his time having lupus. Though the article did not mention why, it is possible that he may have been experiencing some of the pain-related symptoms of lupus requiring the use of the chair. For example, one of the main effects of lupus is muscle and joint pain with or without swelling in areas such as the neck, thighs, or upper body according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Flannery O'Connor

The great Southern novelist and short-story writer had her first attack of lupus in 1950, at age 25. In 1964, possibly due to the stress of surgery to remove a fibroid tumor, O'Connor's lupus, which had been in remission, became active again. She died within months.

The writer's father also had lupus. Close relatives of people with lupus have about a 5% risk of developing the disease themselves, a risk many times higher than for the general population. (An estimated 0.5% of the general population in the U.S. has lupus.) The tendency to develop lupus is carried in the genes, notes Isherwood, but other factors trigger the body's autoimmune attack. Potential culprits include cigarette smoke, sunlight, stress, and certain infections.

Barbara and George Bush's dog Millie

The former first dog, springer spaniel, Millie, may be the most famous animal with lupus. The disease in canines is very similar to the human version, having the same symptoms, such as fatigue, hair loss, joint pain, and skin problems. Like people, dogs are tested for autoantibodies to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of lupus. And like humans, dogs can lead healthy lives with lupus if they receive effective treatment to quell their overactive immune systems. (Millie lived to be 12.)