When did Wendy Williams last appear on screen? Details explored as actor is diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia

Wendy Williams, the famed American media personality and writer, has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and aphasia, as per recent reports. The daytime talk show legend is currently 59 years old. This is the same disorder that was diagnosed in veteran actor and screen legend Bruce Willis last year.

According to the press release from her team, she was first diagnosed a year earlier. The press release, which dropped on Thursday from Wendy Williams' team, read,

"Wendy would not have received confirmation of these diagnoses were it not for the diligence of her current care team, who she chose, and the extraordinary work of the specialists at Weill Cornell Medicine. Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires."

FTD is an umbrella term for a group of brain diseases. This disease is also accompanied by aphasia, a disease that affects how you communicate. Bruce Willis also got both diseases and retired from acting.

Since the diagnosis, Wendy Williams has not featured anywhere. The last time she appeared on screen was in 2021.

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Wendy Williams' last appearance on screen

Wendy Williams' past few years have been quite turbulent. With her The Wendy Williams Show wrapping up in 2021, the host appeared in a Lifetime documentary in 2021 titled Wendy Williams: What a Mess!

This phase of her career was filled with personal and professional struggles, which included a divorce and her being placed under financial guardianship.

She will appear again in Lifetime's documentary Where is Wendy Williams?, which premieres on Lifetime this Saturday and Sunday, February 24 and 25, 2024.

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What is frontotemporal dementia?

FTD is a brain disease or a group of brain diseases that directly affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain are responsible for personality, behavior, and language, making it extremely difficult for people to function after getting the disorder.

The symptoms of the disease vary significantly depending on which part of the brain is affected. Some of the symptoms are:

• Inappropriate or improper social behavior and cognition
• Loss of interpersonal skills, empathy, and understanding of basic social norms
• Lack of judgment and inhibition
• Apathy
• Compulsive behavior that may be classified as abnormal
• Trouble with speaking and understanding speech, communication, and loss of sentence formation

All these symptoms for frontotemporal dementia are a general bunch, but the disease runs far deeper and produces extremely varying symptoms for different individuals.

The description of the disease by the Mayo Clinic reads,

"Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain are associated with personality, behavior and language."

It continues,

"In frontotemporal dementia, parts of these lobes shrink, known as atrophy. Symptoms depend on which part of the brain is affected. Some people with frontotemporal dementia have changes in their personalities. They become socially inappropriate and may be impulsive or emotionally indifferent. Others lose the ability to properly use language."

FTP has often been misdiagnosed in the past as Alzheimer's disease.

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Is frontotemporal dementia curable?

While many factors play a role in this question, frontotemporal dementia cannot be cured. The disease can be slowed and managed over time but inevitably progresses.

As it is caused by the shrinkage of frontal and temporal lobes in the brain, it is irreversible and incurable. Only the symptoms of the disease can be managed.