Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is different for everyone. No two people experience identical symptoms or disease trajectories, even if they’re relatives. However, many people with this autoimmune disease share some common challenges. Shared experiences among people with MS may include having tough days when rest is needed, as well as periods of symptom flare-ups.

Celebrities with MS face these challenges too. Here’s what eight celebrities have said about how MS symptoms affect their lives.

1. Christina Applegate

Television and film star Christina Applegate is known for her role in the Netflix series “Dead to Me,” the films “The Sweetest Thing” and “Anchorman,” and the sitcom “Married … With Children,” among other popular shows. Applegate was diagnosed with MS in 2021 while filming the final season of “Dead to Me.” She noticed her sense of balance was off and she found it difficult to climb stairs.

Applegate shared that the producers of “Dead to Me” offered to stop filming after her diagnosis. “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,’” Applegate told The New York Times.

It was a tough road for Applegate, especially because the final season deals with illness, something Applegate could relate to at the time. “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 told Vanity Fair.

In March 2024, Applegate began co-hosting the weekly podcast “MeSsy” with another well-known celebrity with MS, Jamie-Lynn Sigler. In a November 2024 episode of “MeSsy,” Applegate shared how her worsening pain symptoms keep her awake at night and often keep her in bed during the day. “​​I just lay in bed all the time. I mean, I worked for almost 50 years, so I’m kind of OK with it,” she said.

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

2. Selma Blair

Actor Selma Blair lived for decades with undiagnosed MS that started when she was a child. By the time she was 7, she had symptoms affecting her left leg, right eye, and bladder. Doctors dismissed her symptoms of juvenile MS. Blair believes gender bias played a role in her delayed diagnosis, 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.’”

“I really am in pain all the time. There’s a stiffness that does not leave me.”

— Actor Selma Blair

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

When other MS treatments didn’t work for her, Blair underwent a bone marrow cell transplant. Since then, her MS has stayed in remission, and she feels better than before. However, Blair still experiences various 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 MS symptoms for years before being diagnosed in 1999. In 1980, while completing the U.S. Naval Academy’s officer training program, Williams went blind in his left eye just three months before graduation. “It 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, before pursuing a career in entertainment.

Williams manages his MS with a combination of medication, diet, exercise, and mindfulness practices. He has maintained an active life and is a strong advocate for the MS community. He also supports the use 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 was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2008. His symptoms began with numbness in his legs that moved up his body, affecting his ability to move. “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.

"Just once in 13 years since diagnosis have I had to miss a day of work because of MS.”

— CNN correspondent John King

More than 15 years later, King is managing his MS 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 still faces challenges, including 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 kept her MS diagnosis private for 10 years, sharing it only with her parents and her husband, Mark Ford. Known for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “WandaVision,” Caulfield Ford publicly revealed her condition in 2022 in an interview with Vanity Fair. Her symptoms started with tingling and numbness in her face, which her neurologist initially thought could be caused by various neurologic diseases, such as Bell’s palsy.

After her diagnosis, Caulfield Ford continued to work, but in the summer of 2020, while shooting “WandaVision,” she noticed 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, as an advocate for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and other groups, she takes precautions to manage her symptoms.

In a March 2024 interview with People magazine, Caulfield Ford shared that her symptoms are mild and MRIs have not shown any disease progression. “I’m very, very fortunate. But I’m also aware that, with MS, this could all change tomorrow. I’m stable — and I’ve made it a huge priority to do things so I stay that way.”

6. Janice Dean

In 2005, Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean lost sensation in her feet and thighs and was overcome with fatigue. 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 later 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.

Recently, Dean has shared more about her flare-ups, which cause pain and other uncomfortable sensations, such as a feeling of sunburn on her neck. She has used her public platform and social media to raise awareness about MS and express hope for new therapies in development that could make living with MS easier.

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 first 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 diagnosed him with MS.

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

8. 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.” At the time, she was just 20 years old. She kept her diagnosis private for 15 years, silently dealing with symptoms such as balance problems and bladder issues.

"When I walk, I have to think about every single step, which is annoying and frustrating.”

— Actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler

After revealing her diagnosis, Sigler opened up about some of the symptoms she faces, including needing to 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.

In March 2024, Sigler started the weekly podcast “MeSsy” with Applegate. The podcast covers a range of topics related to “the messiness of life,” with candid conversations about living with MS.

These are only a few of the celebrities who have publicly discussed their MS diagnosis. Others include Ann Romney, the wife of U.S. Senator 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 217,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with MS.

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