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From Bella Hadid to Justin Bieber to his wife Hailey and her uncle Alec Baldwin ... many A-listers suffer from this disease
Lyme disease impacts hundreds of thousands of people every year but it’s often misunderstood.
The tick-borne disease is unfortunately frequently misdiagnosed, with wide ranging symptoms like body pains, severe headaches, dizziness, and even facial palsy. Those that suffer often spend months or even years trying to determine the root of their ailments -- and when Lyme disease is left untreated, it can cause long-lasting health issues.
That’s why many celebrities who have dealt with Lyme disease have come forward to share their story. Stars like Bella Hadid and Avril Lavigne have spoken out in the hopes of helping others who are struggling.
Read on to find out what these celebs said about Lyme disease…
1. Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid has long been open about her battle with Lyme disease and how it’s impacted her life. Back in 2016 at the Global Lyme Alliance, Bella spoke out about losing her ability to horseback ride because of the disease and spending days not wanting to get out of bed due to “bone pains and exhaustion.” She admitted that after years of struggle, she had simply gotten used to “living with the sickness” instead of continuing to look for a cure.
But in 2023, that all changed for Bella. After 15 years of dealing with Lyme disease, Bella found a treatment that worked for her and said she was finally feeling healthy for the first time in years.
“The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself,” she shared on Instagram. “Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain. To be that sad and sick with the most blessings/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever.”
She continued, “I have so much gratitude for and perspective on life, this 100+ days of Lyme, chronic disease, [co-infection] treatment, almost 15 years of invisible suffering, was all worth it if I’m able to, God willing, have a lifetime of spreading love from a full cup, and being able to truly be myself, For the first time ever.”
Bella’s mother Yolanda Hadid also struggled with Lyme disease. After being diagnosed in 2012, she traveled around the world in the hopes of finding a treatment that would be a cure -- some of which was documented on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” While she was able to achieve remission after years of treatment, she learned she was facing another flare up in 2018, around the time she released her book, “Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.”
“I honestly don’t have the proper words in my vocabulary to describe to you the darkness, the pain, and the unknown hell I’ve lived these past years,” she said in a speech in 2015. “I actually did not live. I just existed in a jail of my own paralyzed brain. This disease has brought me to my knees. Many nights I wish to die. I pray that I will just wash away into heaven, where there will be no pain.”
In 2021, Yolanda shared that she was in remission once again and was feeling better than she’d “been in a long time.”
In early 2020, Justin Bieber revealed that he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease after struggling with health issues for several years. In an Instagram post, he explained that while many people thought he was on drugs, he was actually dealing with the disease as well as a serious case of chronic mono that affected his “skin, brain function, energy and overall health.”
“It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever,” Justin wrote.
In 2021, Justin was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which caused partial facial paralysis. Several months later, he decided to postpone his tour in order to focus on his health.
While Justin’s wife Hailey Bieber was discussing her husband’s diagnosis, she revealed that she had once dealt with Lyme disease as well. Although she did not go into detail about her experience, she shared the importance of dealing with health issues.
“Lyme disease is an interesting thing because a lot of people don't believe it's real, and a lot of people think it's BS. But I've had it before, I've dealt with it," she said on the Women's Health UK podcast “Going for Goal,” adding, “My husband has it and deals with it very deeply. I think it's about finding the right doctors who believe in getting to the bottom of any health issues that you might have.”
Avril Lavigne was forced to leave the spotlight for years while dealing with Lyme disease. After being bitten by a tick in 2014, she began to struggle with symptoms and spent months trying to get a diagnosis. When it was finally discovered she had Lyme disease, Avril says she was in “bed for f--king two years” recovering.
“I had accepted that I was dying,” she told Billboard. “And I felt in that moment like I was underwater and drowning, and I was trying to come up to gasp for air. And literally under my breath, I was like, ‘God, help me keep my head above the water?’”
That moment was the inspiration for Avril’s song “Head Above Water,” which she released after her two-year hiatus. She now advocates for others with the disease and raises funds through the Avril Lavigne Foundation.
6. Riley Keough
In 2023, Riley Keough revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. While she didn’t go into detail about how it had affected her, she shared that it was one of the reasons she chose surrogacy to welcome her daughter. Riley added that during some time off from acting, she had checked into a holistic treatment center in Sweden to help her deal with symptoms.
“I have Lyme disease,” she shared with Vanity Fair. “I used this little break that I have to come and try and see if I can alleviate it a bit. It’s a holistic treatment center and offers all kinds of things that you can’t really do in America yet, like cleaning your blood.”
7. Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2020. In an Instagram post, she revealed that she was undergoing treatment but had potentially had the disease for years before getting diagnosed.
“I have maybe had it for years,” she wrote to fans. “Any advice? I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called lyme-2. Please comment or text me on my number in my bio. I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”
Shania Twain has been dealing with Lyme disease since 2003 after getting bit by a tick while horseback riding. She immediately began to experience symptoms, but it took seven years to truly figure out why her vocals were changing and fading. Shania was finally diagnosed with dysphonia, a neurological disorder of the vocal cords, which she attributes to Lyme disease.
“My symptoms were quite scary because before I was diagnosed, I was on stage very dizzy. I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was gonna fall off the stage. I was having these very, very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly, every minute or every 30 seconds,” she said in her documentary, “Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl," adding that she thought she’d lost her voice “forever.”
But after two open-throat surgeries and much physical therapy, Shania was able to regain her voice -- and has since released new music and began a Las Vegas residency.
In March 2020, “Real Housewife” Ramona Singer revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. She shared that things had luckily been caught early and she was able to receive treatment right away.
“You must get tested once a year, especially if you’re in an area where there are deer,” she told E! News. “But, we caught it early and I’m very lucky and very blessed.”
10. Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller opened up about his Lyme disease diagnosis in 2010, explaining that he had been dealing with the disease for several years. While he shared he was “symptom-free” at the time, he noted that Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system.
“I got it in Nantucket, Mass., a couple of years ago,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme. I’m symptom-free now, but Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. It’s a really tough thing.”
11. Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne had Lyme disease for years before she received a diagnosis. She explained that in 2004, she was bitten by a tick at a reindeer sanctuary in her family’s backyard. She began to experience symptoms but doctors kept prescribing her medication -- even though she suspected she was suffering from Lyme disease. It wasn’t until she went to an alternative medicine specialist that she was tested for Lyme. She then received stem cell treatment in Germany.
“The doctors kept changing my prescription, trying to get the dosage right, and it turned me into a zombie. You know in movies where a mental patient sits in a rocking chair in a cardigan and nightgown and stares at a wall all day? That was me,” she wrote in her book “There Is No F*cking Secret: Letters From a Badass Bitch.”
She continued, “I had started entering my symptoms into online quizzes, and the results kept coming back Lyme disease. I got tested. The results were positive: I had stage III neurological Lyme disease. I was relieved to finally know what was going on, but I was also scared s--tless.”
12. Mark Ruffalo
In 2017, Mark Ruffalo revealed that he had Lyme disease, warning others about the upcoming tick season. While he hasn’t shared much about his treatment, he did later encourage his followers to watch the documentary, “The Quiet Epidemic,” which he called a powerful “exposé about the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease and our for-profit healthcare system.”
“From personal experience, Lyme disease can be brutal, persistent, and misdiagnosed. The healthcare industry is way behind on this disease,” Mark wrote.
13. Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin first opened up about his Lyme disease diagnosis in 2011, but didn’t mention it again for several years. It wasn’t until 2017 that he explained that he had been bitten twice by ticks nearly two decades prior. He shared that he began to experience debilitating symptoms and at one point, thought he was going to die.
“I got the classic Lyme disease [symptoms] for each successive summer, for five years, every August, like this black lung, flu-like symptoms, sweating to death in my bed,” Alec shared during the Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s LymeAid benefit.
He continued, “The first round [was the worst], and then it diminished, at least that’s how I perceived it. I really thought this is it, I’m not going to live. I was alone, I wasn’t married at the time, I was divorced from my first wife. I was lying in bed saying, ‘I’m going to die of Lyme disease’ in my bed and ‘I hope someone finds me and I'm not here for too long.’”
Now that Alec is doing better, he says he remains very vigilant in making sure his children are not bitten by ticks.
