In a series of tweets this week, actress Christina Applegate informed her fans and followers that she had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. However, she is far from the only celebrity living with the condition.
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Some common symptoms can be difficulty with walking, balance, or coordination, fatigue, muscle weakness, or bouts of dizziness or vertigo. However, there are different types of MS, which then require different types of medication when it comes to handling the condition.
Although medication can help, there is no known cure for MS. Through medical advancements, it is possible to live comfortably with MS, and as these stars have shown us, have very fruitful lives and careers.
While not particularly common, there are an estimated 2.8 million people living with MS. Here are just five of them who also happen to be celebrities.
Christina Applegate
The Dead to Me and Anchorman star announced her diagnosis at 49-years-old.
“Hi friends, a few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey,” she admitted to her fans in August 2021.
“But I have been so supported by the people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road, but as we all know, the road keeps going.
“Unless some a**hole blocks it,” the actress joked.
She asked for privacy while she went through ‘this thing’.
Selma Blair
Actress Selma Blair is the same age as Christina Applegate, and was diagnosed with MS in 2018.
She had been unwell for quite some time, but had chalked it up to a series of minor illnesses, giving her symptoms such as occasional falls, dropping things, a foggy mind and issues on the left side of her body. Her MS journey has also involved a bout of chemotherapy as part of treatment.
The Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde star decided to speak publicly about her MS in order to raise awareness.
“My neurologist told me, ‘No, this will bring a lot of awareness because no one has the energy to talk when they’re in a flare up,” she explained on Good Morning America.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on The Sopranos, Jamie-Lynn Sigler is another American actress working with an MS diagnosis.
Now 40, Jamie-Lynn was diagnosed with MS at 20, and has had a busy and fulfilling career in the time that has elapsed since her diagnosis.
“When I was diagnosed [at age 20], my doctor said, ‘I don’t want you to think you can’t do anything that you don’t want to do in this life.’,” she told Glamour.
“MS is part of me, but it’s not who I am.”
Jack Osbourne
The TV-star son of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, was diagnosed with MS in 2012 when he was just 26 years old.
It began with loss of vision in his right eye, which led to a series of other specialist visits before his final diagnosis.
“I felt a weird obligation, I’m in the public eye, and I thought it would really benefit people,” he said of his decision to share his diagnosis.
“MS is very common and a lot more common than people think,” he said.
Noah “40” Shebib
40, whose real name is Noah Shebib, is a Canadian record producer who works very closely with Drake, who often has ’40’ wound into his lyrics as a nod to his friend. 40 also happens to have MS.
Just like Jamie-Lynn and Jack, he was diagnosed quite young, at only 22 years old. While touring with Drake for about a decade, 40 burnt out, and had to decide to step back a little in order to have time to visit the doctor and care for himself. He’s going strong now at 38 years old.
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