'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
From Tom Hanks to Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid, a list of 12 celebrities with chronic illnesses explored
1) Selena Gomez - Lupus
The 30-year-old singer and actor Selena Gomez was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disease lupus in 2014. In this chronic inflammatory illness, an individual's immune system attacks its own tissues.
In Selena Gomez's situation, the disease seriously harmed her kidneys, for which she had to undergo a kidney transplant in 2017. Actress Francia Raisa, who is also Gomez's close friend, volunteered to donate one of her kidneys to the singer.
At the Breaking Through Gala of Lupus Research Alliance in New York City, Selena Gomez took the platform to open up about her disease. She said:
"Maybe I wasn't necessarily really good at knowing what that meant so it actually got to a point where it was life-or-death,...Thankfully, one of my best friends (Francia Raisa) gave me her kidney and it was the ultimate gift of life. And I am doing quite well now."
2) Zoe Saldana - Hashimoto's thyroiditis
The 44-year-old renowned actress Zoe Saldana suffers from a chronic illness called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. From a young age, the actress was developing Hashimoto's disease, which is an autoimmune disorder. In this disease, an individual's thyroid is inflamed and attacked by antibodies.
The actor's mother and two sisters also suffer from Hashimoto's disease. Zoe Saldana started showing signs of a hyperactive thyroid at the age of 17. In a 2016 interview with Porter magazine, the Avatar actress spoke about her condition, where she said:
"I had a great time in my twenties,...Then your doctor says you're losing calcium in your bones....I would hear those conversations with my mom and grandma, thinking I'd never get there. I'm going to live forever! But all of a sudden it hits you; it's from night to day."
