Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bret Michaels: 10 Celebrities Who Are Living With Diabetes
Life can seem like a daily struggle when you're living with a chronic illness - especially one that requires constant management and medication. Diabetes mellitus is one of those diseases, but it certainly doesn't have to take over your life. Stars from Tom Hanks to Halle Berry struggle with it in one form or another, but managing it gets easier with time.
Here are 10 celebrities that live with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes:
Tom Hanks - This Hollywood superstar revealed on 'The Late Late Show with David Letterman' in 2013 that he was living with Type 2 diabetes. He confessed that he'd had high blood sugar since he was 36, and his illness probably came as a result of excessive weight loss and weight gain for various film roles in his career; dropping up to 35 pounds at a time for 'Philadelphia' and 'Cast Away' and packing on the weight for 'A League Of Their Own'.
Anthony Anderson - 'Black-ish' star Anthony Anderson was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 31-years-old and uses his position to raise awareness about the disease among minority groups in inner city areas. 'Every African-American child born today has an almost 50% chance of being diagnosed as a diabetic before they turn 20', he said in an interview with Parade. His character in 'Black-ish' also has the disease.
Nick Jonas - At 13-years-old, Nick was told that he had Type 1 diabetes with blood sugar levels of up to 700, and would require daily doses of insulin. Since his career began, he has been a huge advocate of raising awareness through his own charity the Change for the Children Foundation and others like Bayer Diabetes Care. He has previously said that his condition needs constant monitoring, and the effects of the illness changes constantly as he gets older.
Sherri Shepherd - After having high blood sugar levels for years, the 'Precious' actress was eventually informed that she had Type 2 diabetes. It ran in her family, with her mother having passed from complications relating to it at 41-years-old, but even so it was something she ignored for a long time until her symptoms - numbness in her feet, blurred vision and excessive thirst - grew worse and she was forced to seek treatment.
Randy Jackson - This 'American Idol' judge's eating habits led him to undergo gastric bypass surgery in 2003, but despite losing 114 pounds, he still developed type 2 diabetes - something that was also hereditary. These days he manages his condition with a combination of healthy eating and exercise.
Halle Berry - When Halle Berry was told she had type 2 diabetes when she was 19, she was initially terrified. But since then she's cut out the majority of sugar in her diet, lives as healthily as possible, and the awareness of her health has enabled her to take care of what her children are eating too.
BRET MICHAELS - Poison's lead singer has been living with type 1 diabetes since he was just 6-years-old. Managing his condition requires four insulin injections a day and at least eight blood tests. After winning 'The Celebrity Apprentice' in 2010, he donated his $250,000 winnings to the American Diabetes Association.
Vanessa Williams - In her 2012 memoirs 'You Have No Idea', Vanessa opened up about life with type 1 diabetes. She has spent her life donating to causes that raise awareness and fund research for the disease and she also wrote a book about it for children entitled 'Healthy Child'.
More: Tom Hanks talks about his diabetes diagnosis
Chaka Khan - The Queen of Funk adopted a vegan diet to help her lose weight, tackle her high blood pressure and keep her type 2 diabetes in check. The diagnosis encouraged her to lose 75 pounds of the course of the year as she also renounced white flour and high-carb foods. She even took a liquid-only diet for a year.
Theresa May - The British Prime Minister was diagnosed with the illness in 2012. She'd been suffering from dehydration and lost weight, eventually going to see a doctor for a bad cold. She was shocked to be told the symptoms of what she thought was stress was actually type 1 diabetes. It certainly didn't inhibit her political career in any way.