Celebrities Who Won the War against Vitiligo
For many, Vitiligo could be a devastating blow to self-confidence. This skin condition drastically changes your skin pigments leading to discoloured skin patches. These patches occur when melanocytes, the pigment cells of our human skin, are destroyed. It is still unknown to this day what causes this auto-immune disorder.
With the world becoming increasingly superficial, people with Vitiligo often face hard times to come to terms with their different appearance. While some attempted to hide their imperfections –others learned to live with their skin. They’ve owned their condition with pride, embraced the imperfect beauty and won hearts worldwide.
Here are some celebrities with Vitiligo who won this war and reigned supreme –
- Jon Hamm
Best known for the portrayal of Dapper Don in Mad Men, this Emmy-award winner Jon Hamm suffers from Vitiligo. For years he has managed to conquer it after some initial setbacks. He continues to appear in popular shows and is all set to step into the larger screen too.
2. Michael Jackson
Perhaps one of the most-famed celebrities suffering from Vitiligo was Michael Jackson. However, the former pop icon went to great lengths to hide his disorder in his initial career. But, later on, he learned to embrace his flaw and quietened his critics. Later on, he even sang songs on conquering Vitiligo and called out to his fans to embrace it.
3. Rasheed Wallace
This American professional athlete has been in the top-league of National Basketball Association. Rasheed Wallace made quite a history in the basketball world when he almost single-handedly propelled his team into the finals. Wallace was among numerous famous celebrities with Vitiligo. Although he underwent several surgeries to overcome his illness, he never fully got cured of it. That’s when he decided to live with it and encouraged others to do the same .
4. Ninu Galot
A British Indian entrepreneur and a raging fitness model – Ninu Galot is one of many Indian celebrities with Vitiligo condition. She has been diagnosed with this skin disease for far too long. But, she braved all odds and made efforts to bring in awareness. She became the spokesperson for ‘Vitiligo Society of London’ and even created a website and a YouTube channel dedicated to this purpose. Ninu is now a role model for thousands of Vitiligo sufferers.
5. Sisqo
Mark Andreas, aka The Sisqo, is a famous R&B singer and an actor in Hollywood. He is best known for his song ‘Thong Song’ back in the 90s. He was the victim of mistreatment. At first, he was diagnosed with eczema, but later on, he was found to be suffering from Vitiligo. According to the doctors, he got this condition from excessive stress. However, this didn’t stop him from spearheading this career ahead.
6. Lee Thomas
Lee Thomas is a famous journalist and playwright who won 4 Emmy awards as the top TV broadcaster. Working as an entertainment reporter and as anchor-man for the Fox Broadcasting Agency, Lee was diagnosed with Vitiligo at an early age of 25.
Among several celebrities with Vitiligo, Lee Thomas had the strangest case of the disease. He first noticed it after he got a haircut. At first, he took it as a cut but later on found that he had several discoloured spots on his head. While Lee battled with this illness, he wrote an autobiography recounting his experiences with Vitiligo. He encouraged his readers never to succumb to this disease, instead strive to overcome it.
Numerous celebrities are suffering from Vitiligo, yet they’ve emerged victorious from the prevalent social stigma against it. So, if you’re one of the many Vitiligo patients, you are not alone! Fight it and set an example out of it.