20 Famous People & Celebrities with Crohn’s Disease

20 Famous People & Celebrities with Crohn’s Disease

Living with a health condition such as Crohn’s disease is no easy feat. This type of inflammatory bowel disease is characterized by the swelling of tissues in the digestive tract, which then may cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue. The symptoms will often range from mild to severe. While there’s no known cure for Crohn’s disease, medication therapy and at times surgery have been known to alleviate the pain and help a patient cope better while living with it.

Recognizing the apparent difficulty faced by people diagnosed with this condition, it is encouraging to see notable people such as Pete Davidson, Cynthia McFadden, and Ben Morrison, who also suffer from Crohn’s disease come out to speak openly about their struggle and how they cope. Here’s a list of 20 famous people and celebrities who have not shied away from the challenges of living with this condition. Their stories serve to show that it’s possible to rise above it and still lead a meaningful life.

Read more on: 15 Famous People with Synesthesia.

Famous sportspersons with Crohn’s disease

1. David Garrard

Garrard is a former American footballer, playing as quarterback for NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. He shared with Guideposts magazine in 2010 that his early Crohn’s attack was ‘excruciating’ and that he ‘had never felt anything like the pain that ripped through his gut.’  He cited the pain of being hit on the pitch as nothing compared to the pain he experienced due to the condition. He however underwent surgery in 2005, and a part of his intestine was removed.

2. Carrie Johnson

Before her diagnosis in 2003, Carrie had experienced severe weight loss and exhaustion for a while, which forced her to temporarily halt her training. Nevertheless, with the prescribed medication and managing the symptoms, she soon got better and continued with her training, qualifying twice for the Olympics. Some of the challenges she has had to face include having to reject a spot at the 2003 Canoe World Championships when she got diagnosed. She has however fought on, and her strength in coping with the condition while still pursuing her career goals is indeed encouraging.

3. Kevin Dineen

Kevin Dineen is a former hockey pro and coach. For Kevin, Crohn’s diagnosis hit him when he was just beginning his career in hockey with the National Hockey League. Terming it an ‘eye-opening experience’, he shared with USA Hockey Magazine that it is a ‘chronic, debilitating disease that’s with you for life’. Dineen also intimated that it took him several years to come to terms with this reality. Fortunately, he had a successful hockey career, the hospitalizations, and pain notwithstanding. He was an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks for four years since 2014.

Read more on: 10 Famous People with PTSD.

4. Larry Lance Jr.

 Larry Lance Jr.  is an American professional basketball player. He plays for NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. Larry was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 16. He has been open about his struggle with medications, including steroids, Remicade, and prednisone to manage the condition, and intimated that he was in remission at age 24. He continues to hold the position that one should never let it hold them back or limit their life in any way.

5. Kathleen Baker

Kathleen Baker by JD Lasica. Wikimedia Commons.

Baker is an Olympian swimmer whose Crohn’s diagnosis came at the tender age of 12. She was only starting her swimming career, and a promising one too. Refusing to quit in the face of such a challenging health condition, and with the support of her medical team, Baker went on to swim while managing the symptoms. She bagged a gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics for the 4×100-meter medley. Speaking to Swimming World Magazine, she shared that she ‘wanted something positive to come up when people google ‘athletes with Crohn’s disease‘. Quite inspiring.

6. Ariel Hull

Ariel Hull (2019) by Tabercil. Wikimedia Commons.

Popularly known by the name Big Swole, Ariel is an independent wrestler. She shared on her Twitter page in 2021 about her struggle with Crohn’s disease during the lockdown. In part, she expressed that ‘Crohn’s attacks the body as a whole, so on top of my intestines issues, different body parts would lock up and become incapable of bending at the joints.’ She has faced challenges in her wrestling career due to her condition but continues to forge forward in strength.

Famous Comedians

7. Pete Davidson

Pete is a stand-up comedian and a cast member of the sketch series, Saturday Night Live. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 17 and has shared his experience with weight loss at some point in his life due to difficulty in eating. Pete has also intimated in several published interviews that medical marijuana helped him cope with the symptoms. He told High Times in 2016 that ‘weed was the only thing that would help me eat’, and that he wouldn’t be able to perform on Saturday Night Live without having some. 

8. Ben Morrison

Very few people make fun of the difficult patches in life, and Ben Morrison is one of them.  He is an American stand-up comedian and TV personality. Ben was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 19. He took his experience with Crohn’s disease in college, the awkwardness and pain that came with it to create a one-man show, ‘Pain in the Butt: a Touching Tale about a Touchy Tail.’

Check out 15 Inspiring Famous People with Multiple Sclerosis.

Famous Musicians

9. Stu Mackenzie

Stu Mackenzie by Paul Hudson. Wikimedia Commons.

Stu is an Australian musician, and frontman of the rock band ‘King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizzard’. In 2022, he revealed his Crohn’s diagnosis and announced the unfortunate cancellation of the remainder of the band’s European Summer Tour since he had to undergo treatment.

10. Yoni Wolf

Yoni Wolf (2010) by SanderSpek. Wikimedia Commons.

Wolf is an American indie rock  musician. He lives with Crohn’s disease and has shared his experience on various platforms. In a 2017 interview with Bryan Kalbrosky of Vice magazine, he shared about how he cooks for himself everywhere when he’s on the road. He also spoke about his healthy diet and how he’s been in good shape in the last few years. He also cited that the state of his physical body has also made him review his spiritual life. He has undergone surgery as well.

11. Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas)

Perfume Genius (2019) by Levi Manchak. Wikimedia Commons.

Mike Hadreas is an American singer and songwriter. He has battled Crohn’s disease for a decade and has been candid about her experience, both in interviews and in his songs as well. In 2017, he shared with The Fader that ‘It’s not a cute disease. I’m essentially just bleeding. I have lots of open wounds in my intestines. It’s just your body betraying you.’ He also shared how the disease got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic with SF Weekly. His 2020 album, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately is about healing, and he talks about his experience with the disease in several songs featured across his five albums.

12. Mike McCready

Mike McCready (2009) by Craig Carper. Wikimedia Commons.

Mike is a founding member of Pearl Jam and a rock musician. He was only 21 years old when he started experiencing symptoms such as abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements before being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Following the diagnosis, he took a short break from music to adjust and learn to cope with his health condition. Mike and his wife raised over $281,000 for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Northwest Chapter in 2018.

Have a look at 45 famous People with Tourette Syndrome.

13. Anastacia Newkirk

Image by Mark Kent. Wikimedia Commons.

Anastacia is an American singer and songwriter. She first experienced symptoms of the disease at 13, when she discovered an abnormal mass in her abdomen. She was soon diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and underwent surgery. The medication prescribed led to weight gain, and in addition to the surgical scar, these things made her struggle with her esteem. While she is managing the symptoms well now, Anastacia has intimated that living with the condition has played a hand in her self-realization and realignment of priorities in her life.

14. Jon Landau

Jon Landau is an American rock critic and record producer, best known for his work as manager and producer for Bruce Springsteen. He has written for Rolling Stone as a music critic and headed the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Landau has dealt with Crohn’s disease and managed to stay on his career path despite the devastating Crohn’s attacks.

15. Beth Orton

Image by Paul Hudson. Wikimedia Commons.

Orton is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Trailer Park did quite well in the media, and in 2000, she won Best Female Artist at the BRIT Awards. Orton was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 17 and has since tried to cope with the symptoms by maintaining a strict healthy diet and lifestyle.

 YouTuber

16. Mr. Beast

Mr. Beast by Fidias. Wikimedia Commons.

Popularly known as Mr. Beast, Jimmy Donaldson has been open about living with Crohn’s disease, especially on his YouTube channel. He has shared about his diet and managing symptoms, and challenges such as losing weight and severe stomach pain when he goes out with friends sometimes. His channel has over 90 million subscribers, and the awareness about Crohn’s disease reaches a significant audience. He has also spoken about using immunosuppressive drugs such as Remicade in managing the symptoms.

Famous Actresses

17. Shannon Doherty

Image by Watchwithkristin. Wikimedia Commons.

Shannon is an actress known for her role as Brenda Walsh in ‘Beverly Hills; and Prue in the 1990s version of ‘Charmed”. She revealed that she had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1999 in an interview with Star magazine. Shannon has  shared the challenge that women suffering from Crohn’s disease face in keeping up with societal standards of beauty and sex appeal. Her openness serves to deconstruct the stigma and shame associated with women living with the condition.

18. Chelsea Halfpenny

Image by Dmsp. Wikimedia Commons.

Chelsea is an English actress best known for her role as Amy  Wyatt in the ITV soap series Emmerdale. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 22 and for 8 years, she has navigated her career while managing the symptoms. She has shared her reaction when she first visited the doctor and got the diagnosis, stating on her Instagram that ‘it felt like a devastating blow’ and that ‘a lifelong incurable illness was an extremely scary concept at my age, and…It left me feeling incredibly lonely.’  She also shared how it ultimately taught her to appreciate her body, reconsider her choices for her physical and mental health, and reminded her to always be kind to others.

Have a look the 10 Famous People with Epilepsy.

Journalist

19. Cynthia McFadden

Cynthia is an American journalist whose experience with Crohn’s disease began at an early age, even before she was medically diagnosed. She has shared that she would have a lot of abdominal pain, and it was only when she joined college that she was diagnosed. She then had surgery two years later and a portion of her intestine was removed. Cynthia has also shared the guilt she felt when a doctor told her that her Type A personality had caused the disease until she discovered that the sentiment was false. She has worked to raise awareness, alongside Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Magician

20. Dynamo

Image by Walterlan Papetti. Wikimedia Commons.

Steven Frayne is an illusionist who goes by the name Dynamo. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in his teenage years, and at 17, he had a section of his stomach removed in surgery. To manage the symptoms, he observes a strict diet and takes prescribed medication. Dynamo was hospitalized in 2018, forcing him to take a short break off screens.

Indeed, living with Crohn’s disease is not a walk in the park, but with the requisite medical care, a good support system and the resolve to keep going, one can still lead a meaningful life.