Jess Impiazzi

Actress, Author and Reality TV star Jess Impiazzi was diagnosed with lupus in July 2023. Jess’s crippling symptoms started in January, one month after she had her breast implants replaced when one of them ruptured.

She said "My body was just completely failing me and I couldn’t get any answers. I was tired all the time, aching all over and then this angry rash appeared on my chest and face. One day I started coughing up blood, which was incredibly scary. I thought it was stomach cancer. Then I started panicking that it was multiple autoimmune."

Carrie Ann Inaba

Carrie Ann Inaba is an American television personality, dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer. She is best known for her work on ABC TV's Dancing with the Stars, as Fook Yu in Austin Powers in Goldmember, and as a current co-host of the CBS Daytime talk show, The Talk.

In September 2019 Carrie Ann said that she only recently learned sh had lupus as her doctor forgot to tell her. “It’s so weird," she said. "I was diagnosed with autoimmune six years ago, but my doctor didn’t tell me I had lupus,” she continued. “I was having a colonoscopy and I saw my chart [read] lupus and I was like, ‘This is not my chart,’ and they were like, ‘You have lupus.’”

“So my doctor had forgotten to tell me,” she added.

Read Carrie Ann’s blog the Invisible Warrior.

Michael Jackson

From CBS News ”It reveals a rare court affidavit detailing several skin conditions that Jackson treats including Jackson’s use of a powerful bleaching cream called Benoquin, because, according to his maid, “he does not like being black and he feels that blacks are not liked as much as people of other races.”

The affidavit also shows that Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and discoid lupus, which causes skin blotches”.

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.

Kristen Johnston

After months of experiencing a ‘mysterious illness’ Third Rock actor Kristen Johnston was diagnosed with lupus myelitis (a type of Lupus that afflicts the spinal cord).

It was only after her official diagnosis that the actress took to Facebook in December 2013 to share with her fans the news and breadth of her symptoms, which included 'full body muscle weakness.'  'I've been really, really sick since early September... Full body muscle weakness to the extent that just walking difficult, stairs impossible and I even need a neck brace to hold my head up,' the actress shared online.

The symptoms became so much that Kristen - who currently stars as divorce attorney Holly Franklin on the TV Land comedy The Exes - was forced to take some time off from her role.

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..

Teddi King

Teddi King (September 18, 1929 - November 18, 1977) was an American jazz and pop vocalist. In the 1960s, she opened the Playboy Club, where she often performed.

After developing lupus, she managed to make a brief comeback with a 1977 album and with two more albums recorded for Audiophile released posthumously. She died of the disease on November 18, 1977.

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.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga's Aunt Joan died of lupus complications. In an interview for the Times she was asked if she had been tested for lupus and said: “Yes. but I don’t want anyone to be worried.” She did not actually reveal if the tests were negative or positive. She has since confirmed that her test shows she has ‘borderline’ lupus in an interview with Larry King 2nd June 2010.

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.

Julian Lennon

Julian Lennon became a Patron of the Lupus Trust in December 2010. His school friend Lucy Vodden had lupus and sadly passed away in 2009 aged just 46. Lucy was the inspiration behind the Beatles classic 'Lucy in the sky with Diamonds'. 

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.”

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez

Lisa Left Eye Lopes of TLC, suffered from lupus and often supported lupus charities in the USA. She died in a car crash aged 30.

President Ferdinand Marcos

During the 1980s, Ferdinand Marcos was seriously ill and was in and out of office. He had systemic lupus erythematosus, which led to kidney failure. He was then on dialysis and later had a kidney transplant. Marcos finally died in Honolulu in 1989.

Doctors said lung and kidney failure and a widespread infection contributed to the cardiac arrest that was listed as the cause of death.

Kellie Martin

Emmy award nominated American actress, Kellie Martins sister, Heather, died of lupus in 1998 aged just 19. Kellie is most famous for her role as Lucy Knight in ER.

Marvelettes

Georgeanna Tillman (February 5, 1944 - January 6, 1980)

Georgeanna Tillman was a member of group the Marvelettes, who were Motown’s first successful girl group. They had a number of hit records such as ‘Please Mr. Postman’, ‘When you’re young and in love’ and ‘too many fish in the sea’.

By 1965, Georgeanna was battling lupus. As her health problems worsened, her doctor advised her to stop touring and she left the group for good but remained at Motown for a while as a secretary. She died in 1980 from the complications of sickle cell anaemia and lupus. The Marvelettes continued on as a trio.

Catherine McCormack

Catherine is British actress born in Alton in Hampshire. Appearing in films such as: Braveheart, Shadow of the Vampire, The Land Girls, A sound of thunder, Midnight Man and Dangerous Beauty.

Her mother died of lupus when Catherine was 6 years old.

Mary McDonough

Mary McDonaugh, best known for her role as Erin in the Waltons suffers from Lupus and when interviewed states that she thinks having breast implants in 1984 triggered the lupus as the symptoms started shortly afterwards. She played the part of a lupus sufferer having a kidney transplant in the programme ER in 1997. Mary told her story to the Lupus Trust and it has since appeared in our newsletter and on our website.