Lyme disease is an incapacitating condition that affects the brain and respiratory systems. Lyme disease typically causes a rash, often times it creates in a bull’s-eye pattern, and those who are infected will have flu-like symptoms. Those with Lyme disease will suffer from joint and muscle pain. Weakness in the limbs is a common symptom as well as full body fatigue.

Numerous well-known actors, athletes, and performers have been living with Lyme disease, and few of these were effectively cured, some have lingering symptoms (Alec Baldwin, Richard Gere, George W. Bush, Peter Sarsgaard, and Bella Hadid to name a few).

Justin Bieber

Recently diagnosed, a lot of comments were passed on Bieber’s appearance. In January 2020, he said in an Instagram post that people did not realize that he was suffering from Lyme disease when passing insensitive comments about his looks. Additionally, Bieber is suffering from chronic mononucleosis, which has affected his energy, skin, and health.

While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s–t, on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health. It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever NO CAP.

Justin Beiber on Lyme disease

Bieber’s documentary series on YouTube talks about his struggle with Lyme disease and mental health.

Ashley Olsen

Ashley Olsen is a former actress and a fashion icon, and she runs her own clothing line as well. Olsen suffers from the chronic stage of Lyme disease, and many suggest that it caused her to disappear from the limelight in 2012.

‘She’s really sick. It’s gotten worse. She was diagnosed in the very late stages so early detection measures weren’t options for her. She’s really going through it. When she does come to work, she looks haggard and disheveled. And she’s often moody. Ashley’s having a very rough time right now.”

Friend of Ashley Olsen

Avril Lavigne

A tick bite resulted in Lavigne contracting the Lyme disease, but the condition was not diagnosed for a few months. Fortunately, she recovered soon after the diagnosis and proper treatment, and is open about talking about her experience with the condition.

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move. I thought I was dying … I had no idea a bug bite could do this. I was bedridden for five months,”

Avril Lavigne

Yolanda Hadid

Foster became a well-known name from the reality show ‘Real Housewives’. She has spread awareness about Lyme disease through her social media platforms by uploading pictures of herself getting treated. Moreover, Foster is good friends with Avril Lavigne and helped her in going through the same thing.

I choose to live in the present because when you suffer from chronic illness, you don’t have a choice. It’s day by day, one foot in front of the other. When there is a good day, you soak up that moment. Those ‘good selfie’ moments are captured because they’re a gift.
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/yolanda-hadid-quotes

Yolanda Hadid

In an interview, Foster said that she was very proud of Lavigne for talking about her diagnosis of Lyme disease openly.

Bella Hadid

Even though Lyme disease is not a hereditary, there are several cases in which a number of family members contract the disease. One such example is of supermodel Bella Hadid who was diagnosed with Lyme disease back in 2012. Her mother, Yolanda, and brother, Anwar, suffer from Lyme disease as well. It can be the result of severe disparities in gut bacteria, which is often caused by poor dietary conditions.

“Every day I feel at least 10 of these attributes without fail… since I was probably 14 , but more aggressively when I turned 18, what we suffer daily. With no cure.”

Bella Hadid

Thus, people in a household eating the same diet may all be more likely of contracting Lyme disease. Moreover, thyroid disorders can cause Lyme disease, and thyroid-related medical issues are often genetic in nature.

Shania Twain

Twain was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2004, which she also contracted from a tick. Due to the disease, her vocal cords were severely affected, which, in turn, damaged her career as she was unable to sing for a period of time.

Lyme is very dangerous because you have a very short window to catch it and then treat it and then even when you treat it, you could still very well be left with effects, which is what happened to me

Shania Twain

Debbie Gibson

Debbie Gibson was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2013. She has been very vocal about the pain and the cognitive complications that come with Lyme. She said that there are days when she could not even lift her head and often had trouble with words. Gibson offered her support and sympathies to Lavigne when she revealed that she had Lyme.

It is an elusive disease that disguises itself as many other things, and creates a lot of pain and discomfort.

 I still go into periods of pain, neurological and food-sensitivity issues, then I have times when I can eat anything, be up late and my body’s fine. It ebbs and flows.

Debbie Gibson on Lyme disease

Neneh Cherry

Neneh Chery is a well-known musician, diagnosed with Lyme disease in 1989. At that time, not much information was available about it, so the disease was often called the “Neneh Cherry disease”. It is assumed that she has been cured of the disease, or at least successful in managing it, as she continues to give astounding performances.

Kathleen Hanna

Kathleen Hanna has become an activist for raising awareness about Lyme disease. She has struggled with the disorder since 2005. According to Hanna, her life was completely turned upside down with the Lyme diagnosis, and her career was destroyed. Hanna’s condition has grown to be severe in the past few years, and her fight with Lyme disease was described in the documentary ‘The Punk Singer’. She was the pioneer of the Lyme Disease Challenge, which was aimed at raising money for Lyme research.

Daryl Hall

Hall described his experience with Lyme disease as something that can make you suicidal. According to Hall, there needs to be much more awareness about chronic Lyme disease. He was going on a tour with his band, Hall and Oates, in 2005 when he was diagnosed with Lyme. As a result, he had to cancel the tour. Since his treatment, Hall has become a vocal critic of the medical industry’s strategy towards Lyme. He has elaborated his grieving on various platforms, such as Howard Stern’s radio show.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2000, for which he had to delay the filming of his movie. He made a full recovery without any severe symptoms. However, he said that the overall experience was traumatic, frightening, and draining. He said that over the course of the Lyme disease treatment, he was not able to perform mundane tasks and felt like his life had slowed down.

Peter Sarsgaard

Peter Sarsgaard has suffered from Lyme disease twice. In an interview, he thanked his supporters and fans for supporting him through the disease and helping him during the recovery process.

I was essentially asymptomatic the first time and as we all know the testing isn’t reliable. I’m a runner who likes to go off the beaten track so I was particularly at-risk. But Martha’s Vineyard is the bullseye for getting the [hallmark] bullseye [rash]. I was lucky that I was spared the ravages of the disease.

Peter Sarsgaard

Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin has lived with chronic Lyme disease for more than two decades.

Ben Stiller

Stiller suffered a knee injury, which turned extremely painful and prolonged. Soon, he was diagnosed with Lyme. Even though he did not have severe symptoms of Lyme, his condition was chronic. Fortunately, he was treated entirely and eventually became Lyme free.

I got it in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a couple of years ago. My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme.

Ben Stiller

Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson was misdiagnosed for a few years and was suffering from many symptoms that were never associated with a single condition. Once he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, however, Kristofferson was treated successfully.

Parker Posey

In 2009, Posey was diagnosed with Lyme, and due to the severity of her condition, she had to leave a large-scale stage production. Antibiotics proved to be ineffective and, as a result, Posey became a staunch supporter of alternative medicines and treatment plans. In later years, she made a documentary that included herself and five cancel patients. All of these patients had gotten better through alternative treatments and defeated the prognoses given by the doctors.

Kelly Osbourne

Osbourne suffered various symptoms for ten years as her condition was never diagnosed accurately. Finally, it was found that Lyme disease was responsible for her poor health, and she started her treatment.

For the first time, someone listened to me, and I got tested. The results were positive: I had stage III neurological Lyme disease. I was relieved to finally know what was going on, but I was also scared shitless. I stayed for two weeks. I was experiencing emotions and feelings again. I’d been in a diseased and doctor-approved drug-induced haze for so long that I didn’t know what it was like to be happy or sad or in pain.

Kelly Osbourne

Karen Allen

Allen became a huge supporter of alternative medicine for treating Lyme. According to her, Lyme has affected a massive number of people and caused large-scale devastation. She has worked with Parker Posey in order to promote unique treatment plans for Lyme.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

This famous actress got Lyme disease while shooting for a film. Her disease was caught in the early stages, and antibiotics were very effective in eradicating the infection. She has written about her experience with Lyme in her memoir as a “life-changing incident that could not be explained in words”.

Jane Alexander

Emmy-winning actress Jane Alexander has suffered from Lyme disease twice in her life. It is possible that she was not treated accurately in the beginning, as Lyme disease has the ability to stay dormant. She was a part of a documentary “Under Our Skin” to raise awareness about Lyme disease.

Christy Turlington

Turlington contracted Lyme disease in 2007. Fortunately, it was caught in the early stages and was effectively treated through antibiotics. She went on to be a successful Calvin Klein model. Turlington has never mentioned about the impact of the disease on her.

Jennifer Capriati

Jennifer Capriati is a professional tennis player and has won the Grand Slam three times. In 2013, she tweeted that she was suffering from Lyme disease. She added that the disease had probably gone undiagnosed for years as there were many unexplainable injuries and pains in her body. Capriati was also going through emotional upheaval as she was involved in many controversies, like drug abuse, stalking her ex, and display of intense anger on the field. She uses her Twitter account to give details about her struggle with Lyme disease, and how overwhelming exhaustion has become a huge part of her life due to Lyme.

George W. Bush

When George W. Bush was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2006, a lot more people became aware of the condition and its effects. According to the White House, the disease was caught early, and Bush was completely cured. However, the method used by Bush to treat Lyme disease was not disclosed, which resulted in a huge controversy at that time. Many people and famous publications asked the White House to release the details of his treatment. The focal point of the criticism was that insurance does not pay for the Lyme treatment after two weeks. As a result, the patient has to pay for the treatment by themselves. Therefore, if Bush was treated for more than two weeks, it would bring to light how broken the medical and insurance systems are.

Rebecca Wells

Wells contracted Lyme disease when she was at the top of her career. She suffered from sensitivity to light and sound, breathing problems, and nausea. Wells said that she went to more than ten doctors before finally getting treated for Lyme disease in 2004. Since then, she has become the best-selling author of two books about suffering through Lyme disease. Wells leads a modest and simple life and focuses all of her attention on writing. According to her, the disease has taught her to be more loving, compassionate, and kind.

Alice Walker

Alice Walker is the most unique celebrity on this list to suffer from Lyme disease. The reason is that she was not diagnosed by any medical expert, but instead diagnosed herself with the Lyme disease. She is a New York Times best-seller. On her blog, she stated that her symptoms got worse when she was going through a period of intense stress, as she had just broken up and was going through a tough phase in her career. According to her, even after all the pain, she found gratitude and happiness, and she continues to spread this message.

Amy Tan

Amy Tan is a celebrated author, diagnosed with Lyme disease in 1999. Tan is one of the very few celebrities who has spoken about the disease consistently in order to raise awareness about it. She had the severe case of Lyme, suffering from chronic depression, fatigue, body aches, and impaired cognitive functions. In an article, Tan wrote that there was a time when she could not even put her thoughts together or read a single paragraph, so writing a book never seemed possible to her.

She was treated for the Lyme disease four years after her diagnosis, but symptoms of Lyme still lingers in her body. Tan has become an outspoken critic of the medical industry’s policies and treatment plans for Lyme disease patients. According to her, even after a decade, no progress has been made and people continue to suffer due to negligence and misdiagnosis by medical experts. She has called for a complete transform.

Irene McGee

McGee is a famous reality TV star and shared her experience with Lyme disease on an MTV reality show.

Ally Hilfiger

While many celebrities prefer not to talk about Lyme disease, Ally Hilfiger has written a whole book about her prolonged battle with it. In her book, she has given vivid explanations of her struggles and laid out how the disease had wreaked her childhood, made her psychotic, and almost killed her.