Like Johnson, other celebrities have lent their names and celebrity statuses to causes that have hit close to home for them. Among the celebrities who have become outspoken health advocates:
Katie Couric: Colon Cancer
In 1997, Katie Couric and her husband Jay Monahan received the devastating news that he had developed colon cancer. His personal battle with the disease ended nine months later, when he passed away at the age of 42. However, Couric’s battle with the disease was just getting started. Since her husband’s death, she has become a tireless advocate for the colon cancer screening, early detection, and prevention to spare others the loss she herself experienced. In 2000, Couric underwent a colonoscopy that was shown on NBC’s Today Show as part of a weeklong series promoting colorectal cancer awareness and screening.
Following her show, colonoscopies increased nearly 20 percent nationally. In addition, Couric co-founded the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance in 2000, and helped launch the Jay Monahan Center For Gastrointestinal Health At New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 2004. Her efforts have raised millions for cancer research and awareness. Sadly, cancer struck her family again in 2001, when Couric’s older sister, Emily, died of pancreatic cancer.
Celiac Disease: Elisabeth Hasselback
Hasselback is best known for her quirky personality on ABC’s “The View,” but this actress has lived for more than a decade with a mysterious series of symptoms - which, according to Everyday Health, included bloating, sharp stomach pains, and exhaustion. Initially diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and prescribed medications that did little to help, Hasselback had a revelation after filming “Survivor” in 2001.
During her time on the show, when she was exposed to minimal amounts of wheat and gluten, her symptoms had eased significantly. After researching her symptoms, Hasselback diagnosed herself with celiac disease. Following this realization, she went on a gluten-free diet and wrote the book, The G-Free Diet, for those who have celiac disease or who want to explore this healthy diet.
Maria Shriver: Alzheimer’s Disease
The former First Lady of California and award-winning journalist, Maria Shriver, has been a spokeswoman for Alzheimer’s awareness and research for more than a decade. Her crusade began when her father, Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed with the disease. She has continued her work with The Maria Shriver’s Wipe Out Alzheimer’s Challenge, which aims to mobilize American women to stop this disease that affects more than 5 million Americans. Shriver focuses on raising awareness about the disease, while raising funds for research aimed at wiping out the disease and studying why women are stricken at a rate nearly twice that of men. She also focuses on the toll that Alzheimer’s takes on the caregivers who put their own lives on hold to take care of ailing loved ones.
Melissa Etheridge: Breast Cancer
Acclaimed rock singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. After a lumpectomy and multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, the singer found herself in remission, and with a cause: she joined the board of the Noreen Fraser Foundation and took part in “1 a Minute LIVE,” a film that broadcast in theaters in 2010 to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Etheridge made her return to the stage at the 2005 Grammy Awards, still bald from chemotherapy, and sang the song “Piece of My Heart.” The singer later came under fire when, in 2013, she criticized actress Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a double mastectomy, calling it a “fearful” decision, rather than a brave one.
Brooke Shields: Postpartum Depression
After the birth of her first child in 2003, model/actress Brooke Shields began a struggle with postpartum depression. Shields has spoken candidly about feeling depressed and even suicidal as she struggled with the condition that affects up to 15 percent of new mothers. She chronicled her battle in the memoir, Down Came The Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression.
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.