Endometriosis celebrities. Celebrities With Endometriosis: A Comprehensive Overview

03.08.202322.06.2023 by alexxlab

What celebrities have been diagnosed with endometriosis. Discover the stories and struggles of famous individuals dealing with this chronic and often debilitating condition.

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Celebrities Sharing Their Endometriosis Journeys

Endometriosis is a chronic and painful condition that affects millions of women worldwide. While it is often overlooked and misunderstood, a growing number of celebrities have come forward to share their personal experiences with this debilitating disease. By shedding light on their struggles, these influential figures are helping to raise awareness and encourage others to seek the medical attention they deserve.

Lena Dunham: Seeking Relief Through Surgery

The creator and star of the HBO series “Girls,” Lena Dunham has been dealing with endometriosis pain for more than a decade. Despite undergoing eight surgeries and trying various treatments, including acupuncture and pelvic floor therapy, Dunham made a controversial choice in early 2018 at the age of 31 – she had a hysterectomy. In a deeply personal essay for Vogue, Dunham candidly discussed her decision and the challenges she faced in finding adequate relief for her condition.

Padma Lakshmi: Decades of Misdiagnosis

It took 23 years for doctors to take this food writer, actress, and model seriously and diagnose her with endometriosis. Lakshmi has shared that she experienced “so much heavy bleeding, cramps, nausea, backaches and digestive issues” that she was often bedridden for a week each month during her period. In 2009, Lakshmi founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America, an advocacy group, and the following year, she gave birth to a daughter.

Susan Sarandon: Advocating for Endometriosis Awareness

Actress Susan Sarandon was given what she calls an “incomplete diagnosis” after dealing with fainting and bleeding for years. Her doctors initially put her on birth control pills and painkillers, but Sarandon went on to have three children and considers herself “one of the lucky ones.” Sarandon has been vocal in her advocacy, telling women to listen to their bodies and not accept endometriosis as a normal part of being a woman.

Whoopi Goldberg: Turning Personal Experience into Action

Actress and television host Whoopi Goldberg had endometriosis about 40 years ago, but was fortunate to have good doctors who caught it early and alleviated her symptoms. Partly as a result of her experience, Goldberg created Whoopi & Maya, a line of cannabis products designed to relieve menstrual pain.

Jillian Michaels: Navigating Endometriosis and Fertility Challenges

Jillian Michaels, a personal trainer and television personality best known for her role on “The Biggest Loser,” learned early on that she had endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, which could pose challenges for having children. Despite these obstacles, Michaels adopted a daughter in 2012, and her then-fiancÃ©e Heidi Rhoades gave birth to their son the same year.

Emma Bunton: Overcoming Endometriosis and Conceiving Children

Singer-songwriter and member of the Spice Girls (known as “Baby Spice”), Emma Bunton was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 25. Despite being told that only 50% of women with endometriosis go on to have children, Bunton defied the odds and gave birth to two sons.

Endometriosis and Fertility Struggles

Many celebrities with endometriosis have also faced challenges with fertility. Grammy-winning recording artist Cyndi Lauper struggled with infertility in her 30s, before seeing a fertility doctor who gave her acupuncture, which helped her give birth to her son Declyn at age 44. Similarly, Tamera Mowry, best known for her starring role on the ’90s sitcom “Sister, Sister,” has had two surgeries and follows an anti-inflammatory diet to control her endometriosis, while also grappling with fertility issues.

The Ongoing Fight for Endometriosis Awareness

Celebrities like Halsey, Adrienne Bailon, and Toni King have also been open about their endometriosis journeys, using their platforms to raise awareness and encourage women to advocate for their health. Despite the progress made, there is still a long way to go in ensuring that endometriosis is properly understood and treated.

By sharing their stories, these influential figures are not only shedding light on their own struggles but also helping to destigmatize a condition that has long been misunderstood and underdiagnosed. Their bravery and advocacy are invaluable in the ongoing fight to improve the lives of those affected by endometriosis.

Celebrities with Endometriosis

Medically Reviewed by Nivin Todd, MD on November 12, 2022

The creator and star of the HBO series Girls has been dealing with endometriosis pain for more than a decade. She’s had eight surgeries and tried many other treatments, including acupuncture and pelvic floor therapy, before making a controversial choice. In early 2018, at the age of 31, Dunham had a hysterectomy. She wrote a deeply personal essay for Vogue about her decision.

It took 23 years for doctors to take this food writer, actress, and model seriously and diagnose her with endometriosis. She said at a fundraiser this year that she had “so much heavy bleeding, cramps, nausea, backaches and digestive issues that I was stuck in bed one week out of every month when my period came.”

In 2009, she founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America, an advocacy group. The next year, she gave birth to a daughter.

This actress was given what she calls an incomplete diagnosis after dealing with fainting and bleeding for years. Her doctors put her on birth control pills and painkillers. She went on to have three children and says she’s “one of the lucky ones.”

Sarandon tells women to listen to their bodies and act on what they feel.

“This isn’t part of being a woman,” she said at an Endometriosis Foundation event in 2016. “Something can be done.”

This actress and television host had endometriosis about 40 years ago but was lucky enough to have good doctors who caught it early and cleared up her symptoms. Partly as a result of her experience, she created Whoopi & Maya, a line of cannabis products designed to relieve menstrual pain.

Michaels, a personal trainer and television personality best known for her role on The Biggest Loser, learned early on that she had endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, and that having a child could be a problem for her.

Michaels adopted a daughter in 2012, and her then-fiancée Heidi Rhoades gave birth to their son the same year.

A singer-songwriter and member of the Spice Girls (she’s “Baby Spice”), Bunton was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 25.

“I remember the doctor saying at the time, ‘Fifty percent of women with endometriosis go on to have children.’ I thought, ‘Only 50 percent?’ It scared the life out of me,” she told the Daily Mail. She went on to give birth to two sons.

This Grammy-winning recording artist had endometriosis in her 30s. “I would do an album and go to hospital, then do another album and go to hospital,” she told The Independent. She struggled with infertility as a result. After seeing a fertility doctor who gave her acupuncture, Lauper gave birth to her son Declyn at age 44.

This Dancing with the Stars champ ignored her pain for years. Then in 2008, she doubled over from abdominal pain that, she told People, “felt like a knife was being stabbed in me.” So she agreed to go to the hospital. She had surgery to remove an ovary her appendix, and scar tissue on her bladder and fallopian tubes.

She has had some of her eggs frozen in hopes of having a family one day.

Best known for her starring role on the ’90s sitcom Sister, Sister, Mowry has had two surgeries and follows an anti-inflammatory diet to control her endometriosis. She has struggled with fertility issues but went on to have a son, Cree, in 2011, and a daughter, Cairo, in 2018.

In June 2017, this R&B singer revealed to her Instagram followers that she had an 8-hour surgery to remove cysts, fibroids, and a hernia caused by endometriosis. She didn’t know she had the condition until a couple of weeks before the surgery. Follow-up surgery in 2021 left her hospitalized for several days.

Monica told People that her doctors diagnosed her after she sought treatment for migraine. She is a mother of three.

Halsey, a singer, has been open about her endometriosis on social media, using the hashtag #endowarrior. She has endured multiple surgeries and had a miscarriage at 20 years old.

“It can feel like a direct attack on your womanhood,” Halsey said at a 2018 fundraiser for the Endometriosis Foundation of America. But, she adds, she now knows she can “overcome anything.” She had her first child, a son, in 2021.

King, a model and actress, keeps healthy with yoga and an anti-inflammatory diet. But life with endometriosis hasn’t been easy. She had five miscarriages before giving birth to her first son in 2013.

“It’s detrimental that women don’t talk about these things, because when you go through it, you feel like you’re suffering in silence by yourself,” she told Fit Pregnancy.

King gave birth to her second son in 2015.

In an open letter on Facebook titled “Getting Real About My Health,” Real Housewives star and entrepreneur Frankel revealed her struggles with endometriosis, including heavy bleeding, trips to the hospital, second opinions, and scary surgeries.

Her daughter Bryn was born in 2010.

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U. S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health: “Endometriosis.”

Vogue: “In Her Own Words: Lena Dunham on Her Decision to Have a Hysterectomy at 31.”

Variety: “Padma Lakshmi: ‘I Was Being Penalized Because I Have a Uterus.’ ”

Extra: “Jillian Michaels Clears Air on Pregnancy Remarks.”

Daily Mail: “Who loves ya, Baby?”

The Independent: “The girl still wants to have fun.”

People: “Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough: ‘I Was Really Scared,’ ” “Why Monica Spoke Out About Endometriosis: I Want Women to ‘Know They’re Not Alone.’ ”

E! News: “How Julianne Hough’s Husband Brooks Laich Helps Her With Painful Endometriosis.”

Women’s Health: “Tia Mowry Says Endometriosis Made It Hard For Her To Get Pregnant.”

Essence: “Tia Mowry-Hardrict Was ‘In Denial’ About Being Pregnant After Struggling With Endometriosis.”

Health: “Jaime King on Her Struggle With Endometriosis, How She’s Living a Healthy Life, and Habits She’s Teaching Her Kids. ”

Fit Pregnancy: “Jaime King on Fertility Struggle: ‘I Felt Broken.’ ”

The Hollywood Reporter: “Lena Dunham, Susan Sarandon Talk Endometriosis.”

Top Picks

Top Celebrities With Endometriosis | Everyday Health

1 in 10 women live with endometriosis, and many famous women are using their public platform to build awareness of this misunderstood disease.

Medically Reviewed

Chrissy Teigen, Mandy Moore, and Tia Mowry-Hardrict advocate for women with endometriosis.

Shutterstock; Getty Images; AP Photo

Celebrities often keep quiet about their health problems, but in the case of endometriosis, a number of women have spoken out loudly — and even proudly — about this silent condition. Endometriosis, which occurs when tissue like the endometrial tissue that lines the womb grows outside the uterus, often goes undiagnosed. And so women like Amy Schumer, Padma Lakshmi, and Lena Dunham have been raising awareness so that other women don’t have to suffer in silence.

RELATED: How to Find an Endometriosis Specialist

Endometriosis is often correlated with an increased amount of estrogen circulating in a woman’s body. Researchers still aren’t sure whether the increased estrogen is a cause or effect of endometriosis, but it’s thought that genetics may be a factor in the onset of endometriosis.

According to the World Health Organization, about 10 percent of women worldwide have the condition, and the experience is different for everyone.

Some women with endometriosis don’t experience any symptoms, while others have pelvic pain so severe that it interferes with bowel movements, urination, and sexual intercourse. This pain often gets worse during menstruation.

While there’s currently no cure for endometriosis, the pain and other symptoms can be reduced through: surgery to remove painful tissue; hormone therapy, such as oral contraception; pain medication, such as NSAIDs; and GnRH therapies, like elagolix (Orilissa) and leuprolide (Lupron).

RELATED: How a Delayed Endometriosis Diagnosis Helped One Woman Find Her Voice

Complementary approaches include exercise, herbal enemas, acupuncture, and dietary changes, such as eating less red meat and more fresh fruit and vegetables.

If you have pelvic or lower abdominal pain or heavy periods, talk to your doctor right away. And if you live with endometriosis, you can learn how to thrive from these outspoken celebrities.

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Amy Schumer

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The comedian and Trainwreck star Amy Schumer is hilarious, but she’s not joking around about endometriosis. In a 2019 episode of Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast, she spoke frankly about why she needed a C-section to deliver her son, Gene.

“I was throwing up through the first hour of my C-section. It’s supposed to take about an hour and a half — mine took over three hours because of my endometriosis,” revealed Schumer, “and that was really scary.”

In an Instagram post while she was still pregnant, Schumer criticized how little funding endometriosis gets. “Amy is still pregnant and puking because money rarely goes to medical studies for women such as [on] hyperemesis [gravidarum] or endometriosis and instead goes to things like dicks not getting hard enough or old guys who want harder dicks. ”

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Tia Mowry-Hardrict

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After more than a decade of painful symptoms and multiple surgeries, actress and YouTube star Tia Mowry-Hardrict penned an essay for Women’s Health to shine a light on her experience — particularly what it’s like to be a Black woman living with endo.

“I thought I was alone because no one I knew personally had dealt with this. And then I realized: I’d never really seen someone African American in the public eye talking about endometriosis or their struggles with infertility,” she wrote. “And when you don’t know or see anyone else who looks like you talking about what you’re going through, you feel alone and suffer in silence.”

The cookbook author is also active on her Instagram account bringing awareness about the inequitable treatment Black women receive when faced with this disease — and sending messages of hope. “After some dietary changes, and focusing on my health and wellness, I was able to make becoming a mother a reality for me. Not just once, but twice. So here’s to all my endo sisters — continue to hope and continue to heal!” she wrote in a post highlighting her pregnancy.

RELATED: Essential Fertility Facts for Women and Men

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Lena Dunham

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In early 2018, the Girls creator and star penned an article for Vogue describing her decision to have a hysterectomy at age 31 to relieve excruciating symptoms caused by endometriosis. Dunham had lived with the disease for a decade and had gone through eight surgical procedures to treat it.

Explaining her decision to make the drastic surgical choice, she writes: “I know that a hysterectomy isn’t the right choice for everyone … that it’s not a guarantee that this pain will disappear, and that you are performing it due to your deeply held, essential and — to my mind — feminist belief that women should be able to make a choice about how they want to spend their childbearing years. ”

RELATED: Hysterectomy: Do You Really Need It?

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Padma Lakshmi

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From early adolescence, Padma Lakshmi, the Emmy-nominated actress and Top Chef host, suffered intense pain, cramping, nausea, backache, fatigue, and excessive blood flow that debilitated her for a week every single month. It took more than 20 years for her to get a diagnosis, even though she had good health insurance and access to the best doctors.

Her experience led her to cofound the Endometriosis Foundation of America in 2009, becoming the first celebrity to bring this condition into the spotlight. She teamed up with the doctor who finally diagnosed her, Tamer Seckin, MD. “I didn’t want the next generation of women to go through what I went through, to feel betrayed by their own bodies or to feel alone,” she says on the organization’s website.

RELATED: Doctors Often Overlook Fatigue When Treating Women With Endometriosis

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Chrissy Teigen

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Cravings cookbook author Chrissy Teigen bravely took to Twitter in February 2021 to share that four months after suffering a pregnancy loss, she was having surgery to treat endometriosis. And she did what any advocate does best: She asked fellow endo warriors for their recovery tips.

“I truly feel kicks in my belly, but it’s not phantom. I have surgery for endometriosis tomorrow … but the period feeling this month is exactly like baby kicks. Sigh,” she wrote on Twitter.

Right before laparoscopic excision surgery, she shared a hospital selfie in her Instagram stories and wrote, “Endometriosis surgery please endo this pain lol lol lol.”

The Lip Sync Battle cohost candidly shared that it was a difficult healing process, “whole belly’s got numbed … It makes it hard, every little cough and stuff … But it is truly still better than the contractions and the pain of endo.”

She also shared a post-surgery photo on Twitter of her bandaged abdomen and later her scars. Many endometriosis patients replied to Teigen’s tweets sharing that they too had surgery for endometriosis and offered advice for finding comfort as the incisions heal.

RELATED: 18 Celebrities Who Spoke Out About Their Miscarriages

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Mandy Moore

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Mandy Moore, the This Is Us star, opened up about how she almost underwent surgery for endometriosis before discovering that she was pregnant.

“Because of the issue with my uterus, I was very hesitant to believe it and put any stock in it,” Moore told Romper in 2021.

Moore explains that after trying for a baby for a while, she consulted with a fertility specialist who suspected that she may have endometriosis. The doctor recommended that she have surgery before carrying a child.

“I was fully prepared to go have surgery and fix my uterus and hopefully get rid of the endometriosis, if it was there,” she said in the interview.

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Alexa Chung

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Last July, the model and designer Alexa Chung shared a picture of herself on Instagram that was a little less glamorous than some of her others: She was standing in a hospital corridor. Giving a double thumbs-up, she shared, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member, but here I am. #endometriosisclub #lifelongmembership #sorryifyouhaveittooitsucks #endometriosisawareness”

The post, which has more than 65,000 likes, sparked an outpouring of support from women with the same condition.

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Julianne Hough

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When Julianne Hough was a teenager, several doctors wrote off her concerns that her heavy and painful periods were a medical problem. “They all said what I was experiencing was normal,” says Hough, a professional dancer, former Dancing With the Stars performer, and judge on America’s Got Talent. “I just thought, ‘This is what it’s like to be a woman.’ Everyone talked about bad cramps. I didn’t realize at the time that mine were worse.”

After finally getting a diagnosis years — and two laparoscopic surgeries — later, Hough sticks to the basics when her severe abdominal pain flares up. “As simple as this may sound, I soak in the bathtub with Epsom salts. It’s a psychological thing, too, because I put energy and love in the area that hurts,” she says.

In 2018, Hough froze some of her eggs, aware that endometriosis can make it more difficult to conceive naturally.

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Halsey

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Ashley Nicolette Frangipane — the 25-year-old Grammy-nominated singer known professionally as Halsey — has boldly taken to Twitter to share her experience with the disease. In 2019, in a since deleted Twitter post, she revealed that she’s had three miscarriages, four surgeries, and pain pretty much every day of her life. “I’ve donated/raised upwards of $300,000 in the name of research and support [to endometriosis]. I’m not trying to be quirky. Or different. I’m just trying to normalize an underdiscussed illness.”

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Whoopi Goldberg

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The actress, comedian, and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg was diagnosed with endometriosis nearly 40 years ago, and she considers herself very lucky to have found a doctor who diagnosed her and helped treat it. So she was surprised when she discovered how few women had even heard of the disease, including her own daughter.

At the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s Blossom Ball in 2009, Goldberg said, “There is nothing dirty about it. No religious group is going to be pissed if you discuss this. Because if you don’t discuss it, many more women are going to find themselves unable to have children, or find themselves close to dying because [the disease has] led to something else. ”

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Susan Sarandon

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Speaking in a video for the Endometriosis Foundation of America, the actress and activist Susan Sarandon said that she spent years suffering with the condition and “thinking of myself as someone who was weak and somewhat hysterical.” She imagined that the pain was just part of being a woman, and there was nothing to be done about it. Sarandon also acknowledged in her characteristically candid way that it affected not just the way she saw herself but her relationships as well. “Endometriosis was definitely another character in any relationship that I had,” she said.

RELATED: What Is Silent Endometriosis?

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Daisy Ridley

Vianney Le Caer/AP Photo

The Star Wars actress was diagnosed when she was just 15, and her symptoms flared in 2015 because of the stress of rising stardom following her performance in the hit movie franchise. “I was in my flat going nuts, and then my skin got really bad with the stress of it all, and I hadn’t been well,” she told ELLE Australia.

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Ridley had this message for her followers: “Any of you who are suffering with anything, go to a doctor; pay for a specialist; get your hormones tested, get allergy testing; keep on top of how your body is feeling, and don’t worry about sounding like a hypochondriac. From your head to the tips of your toes we only have one body, let us all make sure ours are working in tip top condition, and take help if it’s needed.”

RELATED: Speaking Endometriosis: A Glossary of Terms Used to Describe Symptoms, Tests, Treatments, and More

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Alaia Baldwin Aronow

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The daughter of Stephen Baldwin and sister of Hailey Bieber was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2016, according to the Endometriosis Foundation of America. Since then, Aronow has been been posting about her battle with endometriosis on Instagram to help educate others and create a community of support. In March 2019, she shared a photo of her surgical scars with her followers as a “way to bring a small glimpse of the reality of living with this disease. ”

Aronow also serves as a junior board member of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and was one of the honored guests at the 10th Annual Blossom Ball, which raises money for the endometriosis community.

RELATED: Model and Advocate Alaia Baldwin Aronow Opens Up About Her Endometriosis

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Molly Qerim

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ESPN host Molly Qerim had never heard of endometriosis before she was diagnosed with the painful condition eight years ago and was told that it had spread throughout her body. “The endometriosis was not just in my reproductive organs, it was everywhere,” Querim told the ABC News anchor Amy Robach on Good Morning America in 2018. “It had all compiled into a cyst, which burst,” she said. “And then the toxins were all in my body.”

Qerim, who has stage 4 endometriosis, has often had to hide her fatigue, pelvic pain, and bloating while appearing on live television. She manages her disease by practicing self-care. “I have to really be diligent about getting my sleep, getting eight hours a night, limiting alcohol and sugar, and getting acupuncture once a week,” Qerim told the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s blog The Blossom in a 2018 interview.

Health Open: 7 celebrities with endometriosis

Which star tells about his illness?

Endometriosis is a pathological process characterized by the growth and migration of cells from the inner layer of the uterine wall to various tissues and organs. Not every woman will talk openly about this disease. But not these 7 celebrities with endometriosis who talk about it without hesitation.

Halsey

The singer speaks openly about this serious illness without missing any details. She showed subscribers the scars on her stomach and urged to take health more seriously. Just days before the Grammys, singer Halsey underwent a second operation to remove endometriosis.

“The last time I attended the Grammys was in 2017 and it was 3 days after my first endometriosis surgery. I walked along the carpet with stitches. For the first time in years, I’m attending the Grammys. As luck would have it, I had surgery again (you guessed it) 3 days ago.”0014,” Halsey shared on Instagram.

Alexa Chung

Writer Alexa Chung was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2019. Since then, she has not missed the opportunity to talk about her diagnosis. So, Alexa hopes that she can help many women.

Susan Sarandon

At 36, the Oscar-winning actress was diagnosed with endometriosis. The doctors made a disappointing diagnosis and said that Susan would never be able to have children. However, she did not give up. Sarandon was treated for a long time and eventually became the mother of three children. With her story, she wants to inspire and support women with endometriosis.

Gabrielle Union

Actress Gabrielle Union suffers from adenomyosis, which is a form of endometriosis. She was repeatedly told that she missed her chance for motherhood by building a career. However, only people close to the actress knew the true reason. After what she went through, Gabrielle made it her goal to be open about her illness. And she did it.