Nick Cannon and Other Black Celebrities With Lupus

Nick Cannon, Toni Braxton plus more stars touched by lupus.

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that attacks the body's own healthy tissues and organs. There is no known cause for lupus, but researchers have found Black women to be particularly at risk (as much as three times more likely to develop the condition than white women). BET.com looks back at seven notable African-Americans who have struggled with the disease. —Britt Middleton(Photo: Detroit Free Press/MCT/LANDOV)
Nick Cannon - @NickCannon: We will miss you #DonnaSummer ow.ly/aYOue. #RIP to the #QueenOfDisco.(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Toni Braxton - In 2011, Toni Braxton used her family’s reality show Braxton Family Values to reveal her lupus diagnosis. The six-time Grammy winner has since been active in raising awareness of the disease. She was briefly hospitalized in January after a “flare up,” but assured fans she would be “totally fine” thanks to her family’s support.  (Photo: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images)Seal - The scars on Seal’s cheeks are due to a form of lupus that attacks the skin and causes extreme inflammation, especially in sun-exposed areas. The “Kiss from a Rose” singer has said in interviews that he was diagnosed with the condition as a teen. The disease also affected his scalp and caused hair loss.(Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

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The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that attacks the body's own healthy tissues and organs. There is no known cause for lupus, but researchers have found Black women to be particularly at risk (as much as three times more likely to develop the condition than white women). BET.com looks back at seven notable African-Americans who have struggled with the disease. —Britt Middleton(Photo: Detroit Free Press/MCT/LANDOV)

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