Nick Cannon and Other Black Celebrities With Lupus
Nick Cannon, Toni Braxton plus more stars touched by lupus.
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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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Nick Cannon - Doctors discovered Nick Cannon’s lupus condition after the host suffered from kidney failure in January. A notorious workaholic, Cannon has since stepped down from his nationally syndicated radio show to take time to focus on his health, even creating a Web video series documenting his struggles over the past several months. Cannon celebrated his four-year anniversary with wife Mariah Carey and the birthday of their twins, Moroccan and Monroe, on April 30.(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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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)
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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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Michael Jackson - In June 2009, and just days after Michael Jackson's death, the pop icon’s friend and medical doctor Deepak Chopra confirmed Jackson’s longtime struggle with lupus and vitiligo, a skin condition that causes a loss of brown pigment from areas of skin. Chopra told People magazine that Jackson’s autoimmune disorder could have manifested itself from years of mental, physical or emotional abuse stemming from his childhood: "Michael, he was never sexually abused but according to him, he was traumatized verbally and physically in his childhood, and it was a big issue with him,” Chopra said.(Photo: MJ Kim/Getty Images)
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Tim Raines - Complaining of extreme fatigue and water retention, professional baseball player Tim Raines stepped off the field and into a doctor’s office in 1999 and learned he suffered from lupus, and that the disease was attacking his kidneys. The left fielder underwent radiation therapy and medication until his condition improved. He returned to the game in 2001, playing for the Montreal Expos, before retiring in 2002 with the Florida Marlins. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Cori Broadus - Shortly after turning 6, Cori Broadus, the daughter of rap icon Snoop Dogg, showed troubling symptoms: She was losing weight dramatically and her hair started falling out. Months later, Snoop and wife Shanté Broadus learned their daughter, now 12, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease. "She's the toughest little thing I've ever met," the rapper said of his little girl in a 2010 interview. "She's on the honor roll, playing volleyball and softball, living life. She has all this joy. In the beginning lupus was winning. But now Cori is."(Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup)