9 Celebrities Who Have Multiple Sclerosis - and What They've Said About Their Experience

Mar. 15, 2025

Jack Osbourne; Christina Applegate; Selma Blair.Photo:Charley Gallay/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; JC Olivera/Getty

Charley Gallay/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; JC Olivera/Getty

According to theNational Institute of Health, multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system — which normally protects us from viruses, bacteria, and other threats — mistakenly attacks healthy cells.Celebrities such asSelma Blair,Christina ApplegateandJamie-Lynn Siglerand more have been diagnosed with the disease and have used their platforms to create awareness around the disorder.From debilitating symptoms to learning to appreciate the simpler things in life, see what these nine celebrities had to say about living with MS.

According to theNational Institute of Health, multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system — which normally protects us from viruses, bacteria, and other threats — mistakenly attacks healthy cells.

Celebrities such asSelma Blair,Christina ApplegateandJamie-Lynn Siglerand more have been diagnosed with the disease and have used their platforms to create awareness around the disorder.

From debilitating symptoms to learning to appreciate the simpler things in life, see what these nine celebrities had to say about living with MS.

01of 09Selma BlairSelma Blair.Kevin Mazur/GettySelma Blairwas diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and theLegally Blondeactress has been very open about her experience in the years since.“There is a truth with neurogedenerative brain disease. It is uncomfortable. It is a stadium of uncontrollable anxiety at times,” she shared in anemotional Instagram postback in 2019.“Going out, being sociable holds a heavy price. My brain is on fire. I am freezing. We feel alone with it even though the loving support has been a god send and appreciated,” she continued. “People write me asking how I do it. I do my best. But I choke with the pain of what I have lost (riding) and what I dare hope for. and how challenging it is to walk around.“Now 52, Blair has been in remission since 2021. “My prognosis is great. I’m in remission. Stem cell put me in remission,” she revealed during adiscovery+ TCA panel. “It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down.”

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Selma Blair

Selma Blair.Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Selma Blairwas diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and theLegally Blondeactress has been very open about her experience in the years since.

“There is a truth with neurogedenerative brain disease. It is uncomfortable. It is a stadium of uncontrollable anxiety at times,” she shared in anemotional Instagram postback in 2019.

“Going out, being sociable holds a heavy price. My brain is on fire. I am freezing. We feel alone with it even though the loving support has been a god send and appreciated,” she continued. “People write me asking how I do it. I do my best. But I choke with the pain of what I have lost (riding) and what I dare hope for. and how challenging it is to walk around.”

Now 52, Blair has been in remission since 2021. “My prognosis is great. I’m in remission. Stem cell put me in remission,” she revealed during adiscovery+ TCA panel. “It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down.”

02of 09Christina ApplegateChristina Applegate.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicChristina Applegate’s 2021 multiple sclerosis diagnosis followed a string of health issues she had already undergone, including treatment for breast cancer.And through it all, theDead to Meleadhas been openabout the excruciating pain she goes through living with the disease.“I lay in bed screaming — like, the sharp pains, the ache, that squeezing,” she said, revealing that her symptoms have progressed during the Nov. 5 episode ofMeSsy, the podcast she cohosts withJamie-Lynn Sigler,who also has MS.TheMarried…with Childrenalum shared that depending on her pain levels, “I just lay in bed all the time. I mean, I worked for almost 50 years, so I’m like, I’m kind of okay with it.”“I put my feet on the ground and they’re hurting, like, extraordinarily bad to the touch,” said Applegate. “I was like, yep. Gonna get back in my bed and pee in my diaper because I don’t feel like walking all the way to the damn bathroom,” she said, adding quickly, “I actually don’t lay here and pee in my bed diaper. That’s just a joke.”“But it’s like it’s so freaking painful and so hard and so awkward.”

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Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Christina Applegate’s 2021 multiple sclerosis diagnosis followed a string of health issues she had already undergone, including treatment for breast cancer.

And through it all, theDead to Meleadhas been openabout the excruciating pain she goes through living with the disease.

“I lay in bed screaming — like, the sharp pains, the ache, that squeezing,” she said, revealing that her symptoms have progressed during the Nov. 5 episode ofMeSsy, the podcast she cohosts withJamie-Lynn Sigler,who also has MS.

TheMarried…with Childrenalum shared that depending on her pain levels, “I just lay in bed all the time. I mean, I worked for almost 50 years, so I’m like, I’m kind of okay with it.”

“I put my feet on the ground and they’re hurting, like, extraordinarily bad to the touch,” said Applegate. “I was like, yep. Gonna get back in my bed and pee in my diaper because I don’t feel like walking all the way to the damn bathroom,” she said, adding quickly, “I actually don’t lay here and pee in my bed diaper. That’s just a joke.”

“But it’s like it’s so freaking painful and so hard and so awkward.”

03of 09Jamie-Lynn SiglerJamie-Lynn Sigler.Astrid Stawiarz/GettyJamie-Lynn Siglertook almost 15 years before she was ready to discuss her MS diagnosis, but she now brings a lot of awareness to the disease; shetold PEOPLE in 2023she is still living as full a life as the condition allows her.Despite having trouble walking for long periods of time and not being able to run, “I can still accomplish the things that I want to do, whether it be at work or at home,” she said at the time.Recent projects like her stint on ABC seriesBig Skyhave allowed her to return to acting, as “they were able to make accommodations, have discussions prior to me getting to work and really allowed for me then to just focus and do my job and feel like anybody else.”Sigler also opened up about some adjustments she made in her personal life as she is a mom to two active boys with long days of after-school activities and sports as well.“It’s a lot of gear, it’s long walks. It’s hot in Texas,” she said. “We got a big wagon that I can push, that I can lean on and throw all of the stuff in. It’s figuring it out with my husband and my support system: How do we do this?”

03of 09

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Jamie-Lynn Sigler.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Jamie-Lynn Siglertook almost 15 years before she was ready to discuss her MS diagnosis, but she now brings a lot of awareness to the disease; shetold PEOPLE in 2023she is still living as full a life as the condition allows her.

Despite having trouble walking for long periods of time and not being able to run, “I can still accomplish the things that I want to do, whether it be at work or at home,” she said at the time.

Recent projects like her stint on ABC seriesBig Skyhave allowed her to return to acting, as “they were able to make accommodations, have discussions prior to me getting to work and really allowed for me then to just focus and do my job and feel like anybody else.”

Sigler also opened up about some adjustments she made in her personal life as she is a mom to two active boys with long days of after-school activities and sports as well.

“It’s a lot of gear, it’s long walks. It’s hot in Texas,” she said. “We got a big wagon that I can push, that I can lean on and throw all of the stuff in. It’s figuring it out with my husband and my support system: How do we do this?”

04of 09Jack OsbourneJack Osbourne.Kevin Winter/GettyDuring the July 22 episode ofThe Osbournes Podcast,Jack Osbourneopened up about how he is dealing with his MS.The media personality, who was diagnosed when he was 26 years old back in 2012, answered a listener’s question about his MS treatment, and he reported that he’s utilizing“alternative therapies.““I have had some alternative therapy treatments over the years. I do not take traditional MS medication currently,” he revealed.“I had this procedure called disc seal,” he noted before adding that it’s “not directly connected to MS, but it’s kind of where [he] always lean[s] now with any treatment or medication.”And though he said he chooses “to not go down the route of pharmaceuticals for my MS right now,” the 39-year-old said, “I do believe that there is amazing results from pharmaceuticals. I’m absolutely open to it if needed.”

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Jack Osbourne

Jack Osbourne.Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

During the July 22 episode ofThe Osbournes Podcast,Jack Osbourneopened up about how he is dealing with his MS.

The media personality, who was diagnosed when he was 26 years old back in 2012, answered a listener’s question about his MS treatment, and he reported that he’s utilizing“alternative therapies.”

“I have had some alternative therapy treatments over the years. I do not take traditional MS medication currently,” he revealed.

“I had this procedure called disc seal,” he noted before adding that it’s “not directly connected to MS, but it’s kind of where [he] always lean[s] now with any treatment or medication.”

And though he said he chooses “to not go down the route of pharmaceuticals for my MS right now,” the 39-year-old said, “I do believe that there is amazing results from pharmaceuticals. I’m absolutely open to it if needed.”

05of 09Janice DeanJanice Dean.Courtesy Janice DeanFox News MeteorologistJanice Deanhas been living with MS for 20 years and she says in some ways, the condition helped make her a “better person.““I’m still standing,” she says. “Better than standing. And I sometimes think I’m a better person because of the diagnosis, if that makes any sense. This made me realize what was important in life, like your health and your family and your support system,” sherecently told PEOPLE.Dean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was just 35 years old. At the time, she had just scored the gig at Fox News, so when symptoms started to show, she assumed it was just work taking a toll on her. That is until she found herself unable to get out of bed during a trip back home in Ottawa.“I woke up one morning and literally couldn’t get out of bed,” said Dean. “It was like nothing I had ever felt before. Like I had this weighted blanket on me. I couldn’t feel the bottoms of my feet, and I also had this weird numbness in my thighs. I was like, ‘What is wrong with me?’”“It was the shock of a lifetime,” Dean revealed. “I remember just feeling all of it was going to end: that my boyfriend was going to leave me, that I would be in a wheelchair, and I wouldn’t be able to do my job at Fox. All of my dreams kind of came crashing down.”None of her fears came to pass. She married the aforementioned boyfriend, Sean Newman, in 2007, she’s celebrating her20th year at Fox(she’s now also a contributor to Fox Weather), and new treatment options have kept her MS flare-ups mostly under control.

05of 09

Janice Dean

Janice Dean.Courtesy Janice Dean

Fox News MeteorologistJanice Deanhas been living with MS for 20 years and she says in some ways, the condition helped make her a “better person.”

“I’m still standing,” she says. “Better than standing. And I sometimes think I’m a better person because of the diagnosis, if that makes any sense. This made me realize what was important in life, like your health and your family and your support system,” sherecently told PEOPLE.

Dean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was just 35 years old. At the time, she had just scored the gig at Fox News, so when symptoms started to show, she assumed it was just work taking a toll on her. That is until she found herself unable to get out of bed during a trip back home in Ottawa.

“I woke up one morning and literally couldn’t get out of bed,” said Dean. “It was like nothing I had ever felt before. Like I had this weighted blanket on me. I couldn’t feel the bottoms of my feet, and I also had this weird numbness in my thighs. I was like, ‘What is wrong with me?’”

“It was the shock of a lifetime,” Dean revealed. “I remember just feeling all of it was going to end: that my boyfriend was going to leave me, that I would be in a wheelchair, and I wouldn’t be able to do my job at Fox. All of my dreams kind of came crashing down.”

None of her fears came to pass. She married the aforementioned boyfriend, Sean Newman, in 2007, she’s celebrating her20th year at Fox(she’s now also a contributor to Fox Weather), and new treatment options have kept her MS flare-ups mostly under control.

06of 09Emma Caulfield FordEmma Caulfield Ford.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicLike Janice Dean,Emma Caulfield Fordchalked up her initial symptoms to work and personal stress.After meeting with an acupuncturist who thought she might have Bells Palsy, Caulfield Ford then got some MRIs done and the results stunned her.“I met with my neurologist, and he did a bunch of exams. But there was no urgency at the time — so when he called me at work, I was completely shook,” shetold PEOPLE earlier this year.Her MRI results showed that Caulfield Ford had relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.“I was kind of out of my body,” she recalled. “I’d just gotten this devastating news, and they’re like, ‘We’re ready for you on-set.’ So I sucked it up and put on a good face. It was surreal.”Caulfield Ford’s symptoms have remained relatively mild. She sometimes suffers from an acute sensitivity to heat and stress, but theBuffy the Vampire Slayeralum wasn’t on any medication at the time of the interview and hadn’t experienced any of flare-ups, fatigue and muscle weakness that often come with MS.“I’m very, very fortunate,” she told PEOPLE. “But I’m also aware that, with MS, this could all change tomorrow.”

06of 09

Emma Caulfield Ford

Emma Caulfield Ford.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Like Janice Dean,Emma Caulfield Fordchalked up her initial symptoms to work and personal stress.

After meeting with an acupuncturist who thought she might have Bells Palsy, Caulfield Ford then got some MRIs done and the results stunned her.

“I met with my neurologist, and he did a bunch of exams. But there was no urgency at the time — so when he called me at work, I was completely shook,” shetold PEOPLE earlier this year.

Her MRI results showed that Caulfield Ford had relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

“I was kind of out of my body,” she recalled. “I’d just gotten this devastating news, and they’re like, ‘We’re ready for you on-set.’ So I sucked it up and put on a good face. It was surreal.”

Caulfield Ford’s symptoms have remained relatively mild. She sometimes suffers from an acute sensitivity to heat and stress, but theBuffy the Vampire Slayeralum wasn’t on any medication at the time of the interview and hadn’t experienced any of flare-ups, fatigue and muscle weakness that often come with MS.

“I’m very, very fortunate,” she told PEOPLE. “But I’m also aware that, with MS, this could all change tomorrow.”

07of 09John KingJohn King.Cheriss MayCNN’s John King was diagnosed with MS in 2008. He was covering the Republican convention in St. Paul when he suddenly began feeling sluggish.“I had a lack of sensation that started in my lower legs, and it went up to my thighs,” hetold PEOPLE in 2023. “Then all of a sudden, it came past my waist and up my torso, and I was having a hard time moving.”While in getting checked out in the medical tent at the convention center, a paramedic suggested he might have MS and advised King to see his doctor for an MRI.Not long after, King was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS.“I was petrified,” he admitted. “I immediately thought, ‘Am I not going to be able to walk or do my job? Am I not going to be able to play baseball or hike with my kids?’”King was prescribed medication that, along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, has effectively helped him manage the disease in the 15 years since then. “I have my challenges,” he told PEOPLE, “but if you look at the spectrum of what MS can do — for a lot of people it’s incredibly aggressive and horribly cruel — I’m very, very lucky.”

07of 09

John King

John King.Cheriss May

Cheriss May

CNN’s John King was diagnosed with MS in 2008. He was covering the Republican convention in St. Paul when he suddenly began feeling sluggish.

“I had a lack of sensation that started in my lower legs, and it went up to my thighs,” hetold PEOPLE in 2023. “Then all of a sudden, it came past my waist and up my torso, and I was having a hard time moving.”

While in getting checked out in the medical tent at the convention center, a paramedic suggested he might have MS and advised King to see his doctor for an MRI.

Not long after, King was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS.

“I was petrified,” he admitted. “I immediately thought, ‘Am I not going to be able to walk or do my job? Am I not going to be able to play baseball or hike with my kids?’”

King was prescribed medication that, along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, has effectively helped him manage the disease in the 15 years since then. “I have my challenges,” he told PEOPLE, “but if you look at the spectrum of what MS can do — for a lot of people it’s incredibly aggressive and horribly cruel — I’m very, very lucky.”

08of 09

Teri Garr

Teri Garr.Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Teri Garr,who died in Oct. 2024 at 79, opened up about her diagnosis in her memoir,Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood, in 2006. She initially tried to keep it quiet, but eventually decided to draw awareness to the condition.

Rumors about her diagnosis before she went public also hurt her career. “Whatever this MS was, the industry wanted no part of it,” she wrote. “At first I was outraged. Whatever was going on in my body had been going on for years. It never got in the way of my work. Then I started thinking the job offers disappeared because I stunk as an actress. It was a tough trio: mysterious symptoms, my insecurities about my acting ability, and the reality of being an ‘aging’ actress.”

Garr became a national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and national chair for the Society’s Women Against MS program. She limited the number of projects she appeared in and retired from acting in 2011.

09of 09Clay WalkerClay Walker.Stephen J. Cohen/GettyClay Walker wasdiagnosed with MSwhen he was 26 years old, right when his career was taking off.“When I was diagnosed, I thought I had a tumor pressing on my brain or something, I couldn’t see. I had double vision, I couldn’t touch my fingers together, I was dragging my leg, I had a twitch in my face and all kinds of things going on,” he shared while on the Outsider’sThe Road You Leave Behind with Marty Smith.Things only went from bad to worse when the doctors gave him his prognosis. “I had so many lesions on my brain, spinal cord and brain stem that my prognosis was that I would be in a wheelchair in a couple of years and dead in a couple more.“Thankfully for Walker, who credits his faith for having gotten him through the tough time, that wasn’t the case. Decades later,The Chain of Lovesinger is a father of five, having welcomedfour sons and one daughterwith wife Jessica Walker.

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Clay Walker

Clay Walker.Stephen J. Cohen/Getty

Stephen J. Cohen/Getty

Clay Walker wasdiagnosed with MSwhen he was 26 years old, right when his career was taking off.

“When I was diagnosed, I thought I had a tumor pressing on my brain or something, I couldn’t see. I had double vision, I couldn’t touch my fingers together, I was dragging my leg, I had a twitch in my face and all kinds of things going on,” he shared while on the Outsider’sThe Road You Leave Behind with Marty Smith.

Things only went from bad to worse when the doctors gave him his prognosis. “I had so many lesions on my brain, spinal cord and brain stem that my prognosis was that I would be in a wheelchair in a couple of years and dead in a couple more.”

Thankfully for Walker, who credits his faith for having gotten him through the tough time, that wasn’t the case. Decades later,The Chain of Lovesinger is a father of five, having welcomedfour sons and one daughterwith wife Jessica Walker.

source: people.com