Sam Jay

Samaria Johnson better known as Sam Jay, is an American comedian and writer. She is best known as a writer for Saturday Night Live (2017–present), her Netflix comedy special 3 in the Morning (2020), and as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO comedy series PAUSE with Sam Jay (2021–present).

Sam was diagnosed with lupus aged 20, a disease that had mother died from, she says:

“I just got really sick out the blue, and I didn't know what was going on with me., I felt like I had a flu. And then it was like I was incapacitated. I couldn't go from my bed to the bathroom without being out of breath. I couldn't shower. And then I went to the doctor”

Click here for the full interview with Sam talking about lupus and how it affects her.

Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV

Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and diplomat who is currently serving as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). Alongside his brother, Christopher, he is the owner of the New York Jets of the National Football League.

Johnson became involved in charitable organizations full-time in the 1980s. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His family has been affected by both lupus and juvenile diabetes, which motivated Johnson to take a role in raising funds to prevent, treat, and cure autoimmune diseases.

He has led efforts on Capitol Hill and at the National Institutes of Health to increase research funding for these diseases and personally contributed to causes related to diabetes, after his daughter, Casey, was diagnosed with the disease. He started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research, after his daughter Jaime was found to have lupus.

Michael B Jordan

Michael Bakari Jordan is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama Fruitvale Station, boxer Adonis Creed in the Rocky sequel film Creed and main antagonist Erik Killmonger in Black Panther.

Michael's mother, Donna, has lupus. He said:

“My mom’s always smiling even when I know she’s not feeling her best. She just moved up to Los Angeles a couple months ago, so she’s closer to me now.”

Michael is also involved in the fight to find a cure for lupus and has hosted events to raise funds for lupus research including the MBJAM event which he created in 2017..

Roy Keane

Roy Maurice Keane (Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player) has a daughter named Caragh who was diagnosed with lupus in 2021 aged 25.

Caragh says “I changed my life completely on the back of a shock Lupus diagnosis back in 2021. I went from being the Captain of the St Andrews netball team to being unable to move due to extreme joint pain and struggled with other symptoms such as severe alopecia and blistered skin. I had to rely heavily on steroids and immunosuppressants and had to turn down my dream teaching position at the time. At twenty five years old I thought that my life was over. I could not accept this fate I she started researching everything I could about health and discovered the vital link between diet, inflammation and gut microbiome”.

Jo Koy

Joseph Glenn Herbert, known professionally as Jo Koy, is an American stand-up comic. His sister, Rowena, was diagnosed with lupus and Raynaud’s phenomenon in 2013 after suffering from symptoms for 15 years.

Jo who is an Ambassador for lupus, has pledged to raise awareness and funds so researchers can identify better treatments and hopefully find a cure for the disease.

Robyn Lawley

Australian model Robyn Lawley was diagnosed with lupus in 2015, saying it was "the most 'painful' ordeal she’s ever been through".

She went on to say " “I had symptoms towards the end of the pregnancy. It started in the muscles. I couldn’t pick up things very well and I was losing the ability to walk and to talk. I have a super high pain threshold ... I delivered an 11 pound baby ... so when I couldn’t even pick up things, the doctors, at first, didn’t take me seriously.

It wasn’t until my family — my sisters and my mum came over and saw me and said ‘That’s not how Robyn is’. They wheelchaired me off to hospital and that’s when I got checked out [and diagnosed].”

In 2018 Robyn revealed via Instagram photographs that she had a seizure and fell down the stairs at her home. Full story here.

Eddie Levert (O'Jays)

Eddie Levert, the legendary lead vocalist of The O’Jays, is mourning the loss of his youngest daughter, Ryan Levert, who has passed away at the age of 22 following a lengthy battle with lupus.

This is Eddie's third child that has passed away. Gerald passed away in 2006 at just 40 years old, while Sean died in 2008 at 39.

December 2024

Kate Linder

Kate Linder is an American actress, best known for her role as Esther Valentine on The Young and the Restless, which she has played since 1982.

Her sister in law has lupus. Kate supports the Lupus Foundation of America and was Grand Marshal for their walk to end lupus in 2019.

Muni Long

Muni Long is an American singer and songwriter who was diagnosed with lupus in 2018.

Her lyrics have been sung by artists like Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Madonna, Demi Lovato, and countless others. The song Hrs and Hrs written and performed by Muni had over 169.2M video views on TikTok and 109 million views on Youtube..

“Lupus is a stress-related disease, it’s a silent, invisible struggle ’cause you can’t see it. You wake up in the morning and you look just fine, but you really feel like you got ran over by a train. There’s a lot of different things that I’ve experienced with this diagnosis, everything from hair loss to skin rashes. Being in this business is vainglorious, so that affects my output so much. When I feel good, I look good, I produce well. When I feel like crap, and I gotta go out… Even something as small as someone touching my arm, it hurts. But I gotta smile, and I gotta talk to people when I don’t feel like talking.”

Natalis

Natalis, is a multi-platinum, Two time Grammy Nominated Artist straight out of the Bronx, NY.

Davis Chris & Mr Foster reached out to her about working on an upcoming Gospel Album, the Good Fridays, the album was created to celebrate life because Natalis also battles with Lupus on a daily basis.

Kristen Renton

Kristen Louise Renton is an American actor recurring as Ima Tite on Sons of Anarchy and formerly known for portraying Morgan Hollingsworth on NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives. Kristen was diagnosed with lupus in 2010, revealing her diagnosis in 2017.

Katherine Ryan

Katherine Ryan is a Canadian comedian, writer, presenter and actress based in the UK. Katherine was diagnosed with lupus in 2008.

"While working in an office job, she said she broke out in ‘open sores on my face that were undeniable - you really couldn't look away from them. I was really ill, really run-down, really nauseous every day, I had joint pain for almost six months. I would go to these doctors and they would say, "Oh I don't know" then I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus".

Nara Smith

Nara Smith is a social media influencer best known for making food from scratch.

She explained that her journey started after her Lupus diagnosis, which required her to alter her diet and lifestyle.

David Spade

Actor David Spade revealed that his mother Judith had lupus when he  recalled the embarrassing moment he introduced her to Selena Gomez on the Tonight Show.

Both David and Selena do voiceovers for the animated film Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. So when it came time for the premiere, Spade decided to invite his family members, including his mother, his daughter Harper and his niece Bea—the daughter of the late Kate Spade.

To see the video clip click here.

SWV (Sisters with Voices)

SWV’s Cheryl “Coko” Gamble took in her late cousin Sheila Laney’s 2 children, she promised to care for her Sheila’s 12-year-old son, DJ, and daughter, Nevea, before her cousin passed away.

Coko said: “She was sick, she had lupus and we feel like she knew that she was sick already and that she wouldn’t be here much longer because she was getting things in order. We were like, ‘Of course, sure, no problem,’ and she was getting paperwork in order and everything. Shortly thereafter, she got really sick and she passed away, and so here we are today.”

Maurissa Tancharoen

Maurissa Tancharoen is an American television producer/writer, actress, singer, lyricist and dancer. She is an executive producer and writer for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and has also worked on the series Oliver Beene, Drop Dead Diva and Spartacus.

Maurissa has lupus and said "I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was fifteen years old. Over the years it has run the gamut on me - skin, joints, lungs, brain, and kidneys. I’ve survived every time thanks to advancements in lupus treatments made possible through extensive research, trials and funding".

Kazy Tauginas

Rising star Kazy Tauginas is a former restaurateur and Golden Gloves boxer turned actor.

He has appeared in numerous theatre, film and television roles including as Ari in The Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington.

After writing several short films (and starring in over 20 of them), Kazy drew inspiration from his mother, who had been diagnosed with lupus,  and his own boxing experience and wrote  "Standing Eight," a short about a boxer who is forced to retire and contend with life outside of the ring after being diagnosed with systemic lupus. 

During the spring of 2015 he oversaw two successful Kickstarter campaigns to fully fund the film. Since its completion, "Standing Eight" has won eleven festival awards including Trinity International Film Festival's Best Short Film. He hopes to release the film later on Amazon, with proceeds going to Lupus charities.

Jade Thirlwall Little Mix

Jade Thirlwall’s mother, Norma, has lupus.

On Mother’s Day during the Covid19 lockdown Jade said, “my mam has lupus making her high risk, meaning none of her loved ones can see her today. But that didn’t stop us having a wine together on FaceTime and me as usual asking for help with easy tasks in life like boiling potatoes”.