Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a different experience for everyone with the condition — no two people experience identical symptoms or disease trajectories, even if they’re relatives. But many people with this autoimmune disease find that they share at least some similarities with others who are living with MS, such as having tough days and needing to take time to rest occasionally.

Celebrities who have the condition are no different — they experience the ups and downs of MS, and symptom flares affect them as well. Check out what nine celebrities have said about the impact that MS symptoms have had on their lives.

1. Christina Applegate

Television and film star Christina Applegate was a hit in the Netflix series “Dead to Me,” and she’s known for her roles in “The Sweetest Thing,” “Anchorman,” and “Married … With Children,” among other popular shows. Applegate was diagnosed with MS in 2021 during the filming of the final season of “Dead to Me” after her sense balance was off and she had trouble with stairs.

Applegate said the producers of “Dead to Me” were ready to stop filming. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms,’” Appplegate said in an interview with The New York Times.

It was a tough road for Applegate, especially because the final season deals with illness, she explained to Vanity Fair. “None of us knew I was going to be sick and gain 40 pounds from medication and have immobility. It was really difficult to not have my own personal feelings shadow what Jen [her character in the show] was feeling,” she said.

Read more about how MS can impact emotions and daily life.

2. Selma Blair

Movie actor Selma Blair lived for decades with undiagnosed MS that started when she was a child. By the time she was 7, her left leg, right eye, and bladder were impaired. Doctors dismissed her symptoms of juvenile MS. Blair attributes the lack of medical attention to gender bias, as she explained in British Vogue: “If you’re a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you’re a girl, you’re called ‘crazy.’”.

Despite ongoing symptoms, Blair became a celebrity for her roles in “Legally Blonde,” “Cruel Intentions,” and “Hellboy.” She was eventually diagnosed in her 40s with MS and went public with her diagnosis in 2018. In 2022, she became a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” but later withdrew.

Blair underwent a bone marrow cell transplant when other MS treatments didn’t work for her. Although her MS has since stayed in remission and she feels better than before, Blair still has a range of MS symptoms. “I really am in pain all the time. There’s a stiffness that does not leave me,” she told NBC’s Meet the Press.

3. Montel Williams

Talk show host and actor Montel Williams also had symptoms for many years before he was diagnosed with MS in 1999. In 1980, he was about to complete the U.S. Naval Academy’s officer training program. “Three months before my graduation, I went blind in my left eye, which stopped me from actually graduating with my class,” Williams told an audience at a 2019 MS event.

When his sight came back, Williams went on to become a naval officer, prior to his career in entertainment.

Williams has managed his MS with medication, diet, exercise, and mindfulness training and has maintained an active life. He’s become an outspoken advocate for the MS community. He’s also an advocate of medical marijuana for MS symptoms. “I’ve been using it for the past 10 years and will continue to do so for reducing pain in my lower extremities and mitigating spasticity when I sleep,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

4. John King

CNN correspondent John King’s 2008 diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS started with numbness in his legs that moved up his body. He struggled with movement. “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?’” he told People magazine.

More than 15 years later, he’s managing the condition with a healthy lifestyle and medical treatment. “I know I’m lucky, but MS is with me every day,” King said in an interview with NIH MedlinePlus magazine.

He’s still challenged by a lack of sensation in his legs, falling, and headaches. Daily tasks often need to be planned around his symptoms. “But I have learned how to snowboard even though I can’t really feel my feet,” he said. “And just once in 13 years since diagnosis have I had to miss a day of work because of MS.”

5. Emma Caulfield Ford

Television actor Emma Caulfield Ford hid her MS diagnosis for 10 years, sharing it only with her parents and her husband, Mark Ford. The star of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “WandaVision” finally went public with her condition in 2022 in an interview with Vanity Fair. Caulfield Ford’s symptoms started with tingling and numbness in her face, which her neurologist said could be any number of neurologic diseases, such as Bell’s palsy.

After her diagnosis, Caulfield Ford continued to work before revealing that she had MS. While shooting “WandaVision” in the summer of 2020, she found that the heat triggered her symptoms badly: “The heat was unbearable. And I was feeling every inch of that. I got really weak. … I was very, very uncomfortable and no one knew. I said nothing. And I paid the price for that.”

Now that she’s spoken out about MS as an advocate for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and other groups, she can take the precautions she needs to manage her symptoms.

6. Janice Dean

When Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean lost sensation in her feet and thighs and was overcome with fatigue in 2005, she was soon diagnosed with MS, she told Brain & Life, a publication of the American Academy of Neurology. An MRI showed lesions in her central nervous system, on her brain and spinal cord. With treatment, she went into remission and gave birth to two children, in 2009 and 2011. “I had such wonderful pregnancies, and I temporarily forgot that I even had MS,” she said.

More recently, Dean has discussed her flare-ups that cause pain and other uncomfortable sensations, such as a feeling of sunburn on her neck. She’s used her public platform and social media to raise awareness about MS and express her hope that new therapies in development may make living with MS easier.

Read more about MS ribbons, symbols, and why awareness is important.

7. Jack Osbourne

Reality TV star Jack Osbourne was diagnosed with MS in 2012, when he was 26 years old. He told Today that he was at a gas station when he noticed that his vision was impaired. Within two days, he lost 90 percent of his central vision and underwent a series of tests. An MRI showed lesions on his spine and brain, and doctors told him that he had MS.

Once Osbourne began taking medications, his vision returned, but he still has days when eye issues affect him. He told CNN that he has periods when his hands don’t grip properly and when his vision wanes. He’s also experienced depression, fear, and fatigue due to the disease.

Read more about how MS can lead to mood swings and behavior changes.

8. Teri Garr

Teri Garr is known for her work in movies like “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie,” but for years the actor lived with the secret that she had MS. She initially noticed her symptoms in 1983, when she began to trip while jogging — the higher her body temperature rose, the weaker she felt. She asked doctors about her symptoms, but no one could nail down her diagnosis until 1999, when she found out she had MS.

Garr developed a limp that sometimes prompted her to use a cane or wheelchair, and she has also discussed weakness in her right leg and arm. She once told Brain & Life that, to keep stress and anxiety at bay, she aimed to simplify her life by prioritizing which activities were the most important. She noted, too, that tries to exercise whenever possible.

Read more about leg weakness in MS.

9. Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler initially found out she had MS when she was playing Meadow Soprano on the HBO show “The Sopranos.” Then 20 years old, she kept her diagnosis quiet for 15 years, privately dealing with symptoms such as balance problems and bladder issues.

After revealing the diagnosis, she opened up about some of the symptoms that affect her, including requiring rest after walking for too long, not being able to run, and struggling to climb stairs. “When I walk, I have to think about every single step, which is annoying and frustrating,” she told People.

These are only a few of the celebrities who have publicly discussed their MS diagnosis. Others include Ann Romney, the wife of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney; Art Alexakis, frontman of the band Everclear; singers Clay Walker and David Osmond; and news anchor Neil Cavuto.

Find Your Team

On MyMSTeam, the social network for people with multiple sclerosis and their loved ones, more than 207,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with MS.

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