Montel Williams: Multiple Sclerosis

Talk show host Montel Williams suffered from symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) before being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease. When he was in the Naval Academy, Williams began experiencing vision problems, but his doctors didn’t diagnose him with the condition. His MS symptoms flared up and eased as he worked as a naval intelligence officer for more than two decades. Despite ignoring early symptoms, a burning pain in his legs drove him to seek medical attention in 1999, and an MRI scan revealed that he had relapsing-remitting MS, which is marked by cyclical worsening and easing of MS symptoms. After his diagnosis, he went public with the news, and has founded the Montel Williams MS Foundation to raise funds for research to find a cure for the disease. He also published the book, Living Well: 21 Days To Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health, and Feel Spectacular in 2008.

Chris Noth: Type II Diabetes

In 2011, Sex and the City heartthrob Christopher Noth partnered with Novo Nordisk to serve as the face of a national healthcare initiative, Ask.Screen.Know, which promotes screening and education around type II diabetes, which affects nearly 26 million Americans, more than eight percent of the population. Noth appeared in a series of national public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging Americans over the age of 45 to get themselves tested for diabetes and speak with their doctors about the risk factors for adult-onset diabetes.

While Noth does not suffer from the disease, he was drawn to the cause by a friend, and told Huffington Post that he is there to “perk people’s curiosity.” He added, “I’m not a doctor; people know me from Sex and the City and Law & Order. If I can get their attention, then so be it.”

Jennifer Garner: Flu Vaccinations

In 2007, actress Jennifer Garner partnered with the American Lung Association (ALA) to serve as a spokesperson for their “Faces of Influenza” initiative. The actress spoke with reporters about her personal interest in protecting her then-two-year-old daughter, Violet, from catching the flu. She told ABC News, “One in three children get influenza, and more than 100 children die every year from this disease - these are facts that no mother or parent wants to hear.” Garner worked with the ALA to encourage Americans to get their annual seasonal flu vaccines, joining other celebrities, such as actor Dean Cain, in raising awareness for a condition that claims more than 36,000 American lives each year.