Like noncelebrities with migraine, some famous people who have the condition may worry about losing work and social opportunities because of it. They may be concerned about being seen as weak, unreliable, or “difficult” if they need to take time off or ask for accommodations for this often-disabling disease. It may seem easier to keep quiet.
But other well-known athletes, actors, singers, and TV personalities have chosen to speak publicly about their diagnosis and the impact it’s had on their lives. Many do it for the benefit of everyone living with migraine — to raise awareness and understanding of this often debilitating disease.
Here are some of the stars openly living with migraine.
Aly Raisman Feels Validated by Her Migraine Diagnosis
The gymnast Aly Raisman has had migraine attacks since her early teens, but she was diagnosed only recently, in her twenties.
She even attributed one of her migraine symptoms, scalp sensitivity, to her signature hairstyle — a tight bun — which she wore while training and competing.
Now that she knows what she’s dealing with, Raisman, who stopped competing in 2016, is focused on listening to her body and taking care of herself, including asking for help when she needs it.
She previously partnered with the pharmaceutical company AbbVie, maker of the drug Ubrelvy (ubrogepant), to raise awareness of migraine by telling her story.
Serena Williams Hid Her Migraine and ‘Toughed Out’ Practices
“If you have knee pain, it’s something that you can see, or if you’re sick and you’re coughing, people say to stay home. It’s different with migraine. People are like, ‘You have to leave work because you have a headache? It’s not that big of a deal.’ This is a horrible situation to be in when you’re doing your job,” she says in the video, adding that she often wouldn’t mention her migraine after losing a match out of fear of seeming as if she were making excuses. As a result, she often “toughed it out” at practice and during matches, feeling that a migraine attack wasn’t a valid reason to leave the court.
Williams notes that she realizes an attack is starting when she experiences light sensitivity.
Terrell Davis Played in the Super Bowl During a Migraine Attack
Having had this attack in such a public forum, Davis realized he could use his own experience with migraine to help others with the disease. Indeed, most of the fan mail he received after the game was from people thanking him for openly talking about migraine.
According to the People interview, it took Davis years to find a migraine treatment that worked for him. He now uses a combination of preventive medication, healthy diet, and CBD to keep migraine attacks at bay. (Anecdotally, CBD may be helpful for treating nausea associated with migraine, but there’s very little research supporting this or other uses of CBD in the treatment of migraine.)
Khloé Kardashian Has Had Migraine Attacks on Reality TV
Fans of the TV series Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Kardashians have witnessed Khloé Kardashian discuss her experience with grueling, intensely painful migraine attacks that make her sensitive to light and nauseated to the point of vomiting. She was previously a spokesperson for the migraine medication Nurtec ODT (rimegepant).
"I vividly remember how I felt, but mainly I remember how everyone told me that I wasn't feeling what I felt. People would always say, 'Oh, it's just a headache,” she said in the interview. “That's the stigma with migraines, that it's just a headache.”
Her migraine attacks got much worse at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she added. She was unsure if the cause for the increase in migraine days was stress or getting less physical activity, and noted that her triggers are generally unpredictable. ”I wish there was more of a pattern,” she said.
Kristin Chenoweth Gets Botox Injections for Migraine
Chenoweth was eventually diagnosed with vestibular migraine as well as Ménière’s disease, which causes vertigo, tinnitus, and aural fullness, or a “clogged” feeling in the ears. Her migraine is chronic, meaning it occurs on 15 or more days per month.
As Chenoweth told Brain & Life, a combination of an injectable triptan medication for acute symptoms and a calcium channel blocker to prevent attacks helped to reduce the frequency and severity of her migraines. But what really helped — and allowed her to continue her career as a performer — were Botox injections every five or six months.
Chenoweth has spoken publicly about having migraine many times over the years to offer support to others who live with the disease and let them know they’re not alone.
Ben Affleck Had to Leave a Film Set Because of a Migraine Attack
In 2006, the actor and director Ben Affleck had to leave the set and go to the emergency room to be treated for a severe migraine attack while he was directing his first feature film, Gone Baby Gone.
Stress management strategies such as regular physical exercise, breathing exercises, and calming music may help lower the likelihood of a stress-related migraine attack.
Whoopi Goldberg Finally Found Effective Migraine Treatment in Her Sixties
Like many people with migraine, the comedian, actor, and television personality Whoopi Goldberg, 69, lived with the disease for much of her life with no effective treatment.
Goldberg has migraine with aura, and she says she knows a migraine attack is starting when she sees what she describes as a spinning silver wind-chime-like object, in her peripheral vision. Once the attack is underway, she says, she wants nothing more than to curl up in a ball on the floor.
Things started to change for Goldberg in July 2020, when Khloé Kardashian appeared on The View, the daytime TV talk show Goldberg cohosts. Kardashian was there as a spokesperson for the acute migraine drug Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) — and she was convincing enough that Goldberg asked her own doctor if she could give it a try. Goldberg also found that Nurtec ODT stopped her migraine attack symptoms quickly, and she’s also since served as a spokesperson for the drug.
Janet Jackson Has Vestibular Migraine
The star herself has never spoken publicly about having migraine.
Marcia Cross Had Her First Migraine Attack as a Teenager
Cross said she spent a lot of time during her adolescence lying in bed coping with the pain and sensitivity to light brought on by her migraine attacks. She was diagnosed with migraine with aura.
Cross once began having symptoms on set and had to be rushed to the emergency room to be treated for migraine, she told Brain & Life. Later in her career, the actress was a spokesperson for the migraine medication Imitrex (sumatriptan).
Jordin Sparks Says Migraine Runs in Her Family
In an appearance on the TV show The Doctors in 2015, Sparks said her migraine attacks start with dull head pain that intensifies and a perception of light on the outer edge of her visual field, followed by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. She noted that floral-scented perfumes are a migraine trigger, and that she finds relief by lying in a darkened room once the attack starts.
Freddie Ljungberg’s Attacks Can Be Triggered by Low Blood Sugar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Had Surgery That Cured His Decades-Long Migraine Disease
Abdul-Jabbar, who was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player a record-breaking six times from 1971 to 1980 — a record that still stands — spent the entirety of his college years and NBA career playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers while experiencing debilitating migraine attacks that at times affected his performance or caused him to miss games altogether. During the 1984 NBA Championships, he had six migraine attacks in nine days.
Jessica Baity, MD
Medical Reviewer
Jessica Baity, MD, is a board-certified neurologist practicing in southern Louisiana. She cares for a variety of patients in all fields of neurology, including epilepsy, headache, dementia, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.
She received a bachelor's degree in international studies and history from the University of Miami and a master's in international relations from American University. She graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where she also did her internship in internal medicine and her residency in neurology.
Prior to practicing medicine, she worked in international relations and owned a foreign language instruction and translation company.
