Stars with Diabetes

Halle Berry

Halle Berry

This beautiful Oscar-winner has type 2 diabetes. Never mind the gossip about how Berry had "weaned" herself from insulin and switched from type 1 to type 2 diabetes (not possible). First diagnosed at age 19, Halle Berry has helped raise awareness of diabetes and continues to show that diet and exercise can be powerful tools for maintaining optimal health. Halle Berry has type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by the body’s inability to produce sufficient insulin, or when cells do not react to insulin properly. Insulin—an essential hormone produced by the pancreas—helps the body control glucose in the blood. Blood sugar levels can become dangerously high if type 2 diabetes isn't treated.

Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas, the youngest member of the famed trio, The Jonas Brothers, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2005 at age 13, and went public with his diagnosis in 2007. Prior to being diagnosed, Nick experienced weight loss, was constantly thirsty, and had to go to the bathroom all the time. He went to the doctor, and was told that his blood sugar was over 700—which is dangerously high—normal blood sugar levels range from 70 to 120! Jonas was hospitalized, and once his condition stabilized, he learned how to manage his type 1 diabetes. Also called juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes to affect those under the age of 20. Today, Jonas controls his diabetes with the use of an insulin pump.

Salma Hayek (gestational Diabetes)

Salma Hayek (gestational Diabetes)

This beautiful half-Mexican, half-Lebanese Academy-Award winner had gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that only occurs during pregnancy, when expecting her daughter Valentina. Hayek has a family history of diabetes, and those at greater risk for type 2 diabetes are checked more aggressively for signs of gestational diabetes during prenatal visits. Gestational diabetes typically goes away after delivery, but it could return with a subsequent pregnancy, and also increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes later on. The good news is that Salma is better (than ever) now!

Vanessa Williams (T1)

Vanessa Williams (T1)

Vanessa Williams is famous for many things—but is perhaps most well-known for being the first African-American woman to win the Miss America pageant in 1984. She was stripped of her crown for appearing nude in Penthouse Magazine. The controversy only added intrigue, and her career is still in ascendancy. This beautiful mother of four has starred in multiple hit TV shows (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty), in movies, and as a triple-platinum musician! Diabetes certainly hasn’t slowed her down.

Sonia Sotomayor (T1)

Sonia Sotomayor (T1)

From the Bronx to Princeton to Yale Law School…to the Supreme Court! Sonia Sotomayor gets to decide the laws of the land! Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 8 years old, she has been successfully managing her condition for the last 50 years. There are few people on earth who are more accomplished than Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor, and arguably none as accomplished who suffer with diabetes.

Gary Hall Jr.

Gary Hall Jr.

This former Olympic swimmer is a beast! He represented the USA in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics–winning 10 Medals (5 gold!). Clearly his diabetes wasn’t a limitation. Also of note, He saved his sister from a shark attack by beating up the razor-toothed fish with his bare hands.

Scott Verplank

Scott Verplank

Scott Verplank is the winner of multiple PGA Tour tournaments, and in 2002 he was awarded the Ben Hogan Award, given by the Golf Writers Association of America to an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite having a physical handicap or serious illness. Diagnosed at age 9 with type 1 diabetes, after his mother found him in a diabetic coma, Verplank credits his golf success to his careful blood sugar testing and the insulin pump he uses.

Sharon Stone (T1)

Sharon Stone (T1)

Sharon Stone catapulted to international super stardom in 1992, after her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. In 1995, she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in the movie Casino. Open about having type 1 diabetes, Stone controls her blood sugar with daily insulin injections. The actress is actively involved with charity and awareness campaigns, and often does fundraisers for the Carousel for Hope, an organization that raises million of dollars each year for childhood diabetes research.

Brett Michaels

Brett Michaels

Poison's lead singer--Brett Michaels--doesn't let his diabetes get in the way of being a rock star and TV personality. He takes four insulin injections daily, along with 8 blood tests. In 2010, Michaels suffered a series of health problems, including a brain hemorrhage--but he finished and won The Celebrity Apprentice, pledging his $250,000 award to the American Diabetes Association.

Tom Hanks (T2)

Tom Hanks (T2)

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks shared that he had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes while on the David Letterman show in October 2013. Letterman commented on his newly svelte figure, and Hanks replied: "I went to the doctor and he said, ‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you’ve graduated. You’ve got type 2 diabetes, young man.'" Hanks shared that he has changed his eating and exercise habits, and that these changes have helped him keep his diabetes under control.

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore—famous actress and star of the eponymous Mary Tyler Moore show—was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 30, when she was hospitalized after suffering a miscarriage. A blood test at the hospital showed that she had a very high blood sugar level of 750 (normal range is 70 to 120). Doctors put her on insulin right away. Now in her 70s, Moore continues to be a champion for diabetes research—as she has been for a long time—and serves as the international Chairperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe was a top-ranked tennis player in the 1960's and 70's. He was the winner of three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States. Ashe was the first African-American player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to ever win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or the Australian Open. However, Arthur Ashe is famous for more than his tennis prowess and social justice work. He is remembered for having contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he was given while having quadruple bypass surgery in the 1980's. Though diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the height of his tennis career, he continued to have a very successful run as a professional athlete, and is remembered as a powerful man whose legacy lives on.

Patrick Peterson

Patrick Peterson

In 2014, Patrick Paterson, cornerback for the Cardinals, shared that he had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Prior to being diagnosed, he had been tired, overweight, sluggish, and had been eating lots of candy and drinking loads of sugar-infused drinks daily, which had plumped up his physique, turning him into an overweight cornerback. Once diagnosed, however, Peterson drastically changed his diet, cut the candy and the sugary drinks, and is now playing better than ever.

Larry King

Larry King

In 1987, Larry King suffered a heart attack and subsequently had bypass surgery.Once a heavy smoker, he quit the cigarette habit, and adopted a healthier routine. He was surprised, then, when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the mid-1990s, as he was living a more healthy life than he had previously. He got educated about the disease, and made some changes to his diet and eating habits. Today, he's healthier than ever!

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson, the former American Idol judge, learned that he had type 2 diabetes in 2001. He was obese at the time of his diagnosis, a condition that makes type 2 diabetes much more likely. Jackson was also at increased risk not only because he has a family history of the disease, but because African-Americans are at greater risk for diabetes as well. He underwent gastric bypass surgery after being diagnosed, lost 100 pounds, improved his diet, and made exercise a priority. Today, Randy Jackson is better than ever.

Patty LaBelle

Patty LaBelle

The famed diva singer has type 2 diabetes, and has a family history of the disease. Since being diagnosed, Patti LaBelle has written healthy cookbooks and has begun exercising regularly. She called herself a "divabetic" in People magazine—a perfect moniker for this divine diva diabetic.

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