Wendy Williams Struggles with Graves' Disease Meet 7 Other Celebrities with Thyroid Disorders

Thyroid disorders affect the lives of millions of people around the world, and among them are several celebrities.

Among those who have battled this chronic condition are talk show host Wendy Williams, iconic rapper Missy Elliot, Australian singer, Sia, actress Brooke Burke-Charvet, Olympic medalist Gail Devers, iconic Scottish singer Rod Stewart, media mogul Oprah Winfrey and deceased former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Thyroid disorders affect eight times more women than men

Wendy Williams at the launch of her book "Hold Me In Contempt" in 2014 in New York | Source: Getty Images

THAT TROUBLESOME THYROID

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ at the base of the throat that produces hormones and controls the function of practically every organ in the body.

Wendy Williams at SiriusXM in July 2019, in New York City | Source: Getty Images

WENDY WILLIAMS

In 2018, celebrity talk show host Wendy Williams took time off from her popular "Wendy Williams Show." She had been diagnosed with Graves' disease, and her doctor recommended she stop work until her condition was under control.

Within weeks, Wendy was back in her chair, and now that her condition is under control, she is restored to health. Since then Wendy has seen her work recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and her show has been renewed for 2 more years.

Oprah Winfrey at an Apple product launch event in 2019 in Cupertino, California | Source: Getty Images

OPRAH WINFREY

"I was still feeling really tired, really tired, going around from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was wrong."

Oprah Winfrey at the Ambassadors For Humanity Gala Benefiting USC Shoah Foundation honoring Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks in 2018 in Beverly Hills | Source: Getty Images

Finally, after a blood test, she was diagnosed as suffering from hypothyroidism, and condition in which her body wasn't producing enough hormones, which slowed her metabolism and induced chronic fatigue. Oprah was put on medication, and her hypothyroidism is now under control.

Missy Elliott with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2019 MTV Video Music | Source: Getty Images

MISSY ELLIOT

"I was sick and I couldn't even lift a pen. My nervous system had broken all the way down."

Missy was put on medication, which helped bring her condition under control. She supplements that with exercise, and a diet which she believes has brought her Graves' disease under control.

Sia at The Daily Front Row Fashion LA Awards 2019 in Los Angeles | Source: Getty Images

Brooke Burke at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2019 in Universal City, California | Source: Getty Images

BROOKE BURKE-CHARVET

“Thank God it’s over. I’m clean, surgery went well & I can talk. Losing My voice was my biggest fear."

After the removal of the thyroid gland, patients are put on hypothyroidism medication, to replace the hormones no longer being produced by the thyroid to regulate body functions.

GAIL DEVERS

"My hair started falling out, (...) I had always had long nails unless I cut them; they started breaking. I couldn't figure out what was going on."

Two years later she was diagnosed, and doctors treated Gail's Graves disease with radioiodine and put her on thyroid medication, and she went on to win gold in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Sir Rod Stewart at the Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in 2016 in England | Source: Getty Images

ROD STEWART

"The results of the tests indicated that the ‘something’ on my thyroid gland was a malignant growth: cancer."

Rod Stewart at DTE Energy Music Theater in 2017 in Clarkston, Michigan | Source: Getty Images

The then 55-year-old Stewart underwent surgery two days later, and doctors removed his thyroid. Luckily, the cancer did not reoccur, and the singer's voice was undamaged. Like Brooke Burke-Charvet, Stewart was put on medication.

The late Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States of America | Source: Wikimedia

BARBARA BUSH

Barbara Bush was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1988. At the time, she was the First Lady of the United States, and she was treated with medication she would be on for the rest of her life.

First Lady Barbara Bush visits patients at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., 1990 | Source: Wikimedia

Barbara would go on to suffer a relapse in her previously controlled Graves' disease in 2010, at the age of 84. Barbara Bush passed way in 2018, at the age of 92 of unrelated causes.

POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS OF THYROID DISORDERS

Thyroid disorders affect eight times more women than men, and can trigger rheumatoid arthritis, pernicious anemia, lupus, a hormonal disorder known as Addison’s disease, celiac disease, weight gain, vitiligo, and type 1 diabetes.

Some people with Graves' are even at the risk of losing their sight, if the condition is left untreated. Since Graves' accelerates the heart, it can also cause a stroke or heart failure.

There is, however, effective treatments for this condition, ranging from surgery to life-long medication which doctors recommend according to each suffered particular medical history and needs.

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