Celebrities With Migraines: 13 Famous Faces With The Misunderstood Condition

Thirty-six million Americans suffer from migraines, a very painful type of headache that is often characterized by a throbbing pain in one side of the head, sensitivity to light and sound, and even nausea and vomiting. While the exact mechanism behind migraines is still debated, those who suffer can often identify headache triggers, such as hormonal changes (migraines are three times more common in women than men), foods, stress and changes in sleep pattern, reports the Mayo Clinic.

And this painful condition is more common than you'd think. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, more than 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from migraines -- nearly one in four households has someone with the condition.

Among those one in 10 are, inevitably, famous faces, including Janet Jackson, Cindy McCain and Troy Aikman. And for a condition that still battles a sharp stigma (one 2010 study, for instance, found that people with migraines report feeling more rejected and ridiculed than people with other neurological conditions, such as stroke or Parkinson's), these voices are bringing awareness to an all-too-common, yet misunderstood, condition. Read on, then tell us your migraine story in the comments below.

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• Marcia Cross

  The "Desperate Housewives" actress has been suffering from migraines since she was 14. <br><br> "You become very isolated," she told <em>People</em> magazine about <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20144626,00.html" target="_hplink">how the pain affected her relationships</a>. "You feel underwater and out of touch." <br><br> But educating herself through the years has allowed her to gain control over the problem. <br><br> "I've learned a lot about migraines," <a href="http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/migraine/articles/marcia_cross_migraine_relief.aspx" target="_hplink">she told LifeScript.com</a>, "like what things trigger mine and how to avoid them." <br><br> She has also identified <a href="http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/migraine/articles/marcia_cross_migraine_relief.aspx" target="_hplink">food triggers</a> (like red wine and oranges) to avoid and de-stresses with exercise, such as yoga and hiking. <br><br> "In the past, it was a 'go home, shut the blinds, and you lost the day' thing," <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411052,00.html" target="_hplink">she told <em>Health</em> magazine</a> a few years ago. "But I've found that if you don't eat that chocolate bar or have that red wine, you can really reduce them."

• Lisa Kudrow

  As a child, the "Friends" star suffered from excruciating migraines -- when the California family traveled to Disneyland, for instance, "a day of excitement and eating would always end in a horrible headache," Kudrow <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20142390,00.html" target="_hplink">once told <em>People</em> magazine.</a> <br><br> According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-headache/DS00120/DSECTION=risk-factors" target="_hplink">90 percent of people</a> with migraines have a family history of the condition. Kudrow's father, Dr. Lee Kudrow, suffered from cluster headaches and, <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20142390,00.html" target="_hplink">according to <em>People</em></a>, actually devoted much of his medical career to being a headache specialist.

• Cindy McCain

  As the wife of Arizona senator and one-time presidential candidate John McCain, Cindy McCain has lived, by all accounts, a public life. But <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/09/21/090921ta_talk_collins" target="_hplink">she told <em>The New Yorker</em></a> in 2009 that she has long suffered what she calls "a silent struggle" with migraines. <br><br> "I've missed part of my life. I've missed my children in many ways," <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/09/21/090921ta_talk_collins" target="_hplink">she told the publication</a>. "I've made every important event, but there're times I've been throwing up out the car window." <br><br> After years of being dismissed by doctors as just another "neurotic" woman, McCain told <em>Neurology Now</em> that <a href="http://patients.aan.com/resources/neurologynow/?event=home.articlePDF&id=ovid.com:/bib/ovftdb/01222928-201006030-00009" target="_hplink">she wasn't accurately diagnosed</a> until age 40. <br><br> Now she is speaking out about the condition in hopes of raising awareness and securing funding for future research. "This is a legitimate problem and a legitimate disability for us," she said at a <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7008553" target="_hplink">2009 conference of the American Headache Society</a>, according to an ABC report. <br><br> <em>The New Yorker</em> reports that McCain has identified headache triggers, and tried <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/09/21/090921ta_talk_collins" target="_hplink">numerous treatments options</a> such as acupuncture, massage, biofeedback and medication to stave off attacks.

• Ben Affleck

  While <a href="http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/migraine.cfm#i" target="_hplink">three out of four migraine sufferers</a> in the United States are women, there are still millions of men who can count themselves as migraineurs -- including Ben Affleck. <br><br> According to news reports, the actor <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1199021,00.html" target="_hplink">was treated for a migraine headache</a> in a Boston-area emergency room on Memorial Day 2006. <br><br> And in 2010, the <em>New York Post</em> reported that <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/ben_headache_rRjRz0rb7Kuq3OHwHcxf7K" target="_hplink">a migraine sidelined Affleck</a> from participating in the World Series of Poker "Ante Up for Africa" tournament in Las Vegas.

• Kristin Chenoweth

  In 2009, after winning an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, Chenoweth had to put the celebration on hold to cope with a migraine attack, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/21/kristin-chenoweths-migrai_n_293072.html" target="_hplink">HuffPost reported at the time</a>. <br><br> Earlier this year, the actress told <em>Prevention</em> magazine that <a href="http://www.prevention.com/health/emotional-health/kristin-chenoweth-exclusive-interview-prevention" target="_hplink">she gets Botox to cope with the pain</a>. "When I was 35, I was having debilitating migraines about once a week," she said in the interview. Hesitant to try the treatment at first, her doctor convinced her that it could help. "So I let her do it, and I haven't had a full-blown headache since." <br><br> A report published in April found that the main ingredient in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/botox-migraine-chronic-headache_n_1450512.html" target="_hplink">Botox might provide some relief</a> for people with chronic migraines, according to Reuters. But the study's lead researcher told Reuters Health that the effect, while it exists, is still "really, really modest."

• Janet Jackson

  In 2008, Jackson's publicists revealed in a statement that the singer suffers from a "rare form of migraine called vestibular migraine or migraine-associated vertigo," <a href="http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20081015/janet-jacksons-vestibular-migraines-faq" target="_hplink">WebMD reported</a>. A particularly bad bout kept her from touring <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/janet-jackson-to-resume-tour-after-bout-with-migraines-20081015" target="_hplink">for three weeks</a>, according to <em>Rolling Stone</em>. <br><br> Vestibular migraines are a type of migraine where dizziness is the main symptom, instead of head pain, <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-are-vestibular-migraines" target="_hplink">Scientific American explains</a>. Symtoms can include a sensation of spinning, vomiting, ear ringing and loss of coordination, <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=93428" target="_hplink">MedicineNet.com reports</a>.

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  The 7'2" basketball star <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084882,00.html" target="_hplink">told <em>People</em> magazine</a> that he suffered his first migraine attack at age 15 -- the pain continued on and off every few years, returning first in college and then again when he joined the pros. <br><br> Through the years, Abdul-Jabbar <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084882,00.html" target="_hplink">said he has tried</a> acupuncture, yoga, various diet changes and biofeedback to help control his migraines. <br><br> "Fortunately, in my 14-year pro career I've only missed two or three games during the regular season due to migraines, and I've never missed a play-off game," <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084882,00.html" target="_hplink">he told <em>People</em> in 1983</a>. <br><br> <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1985-05-10/sports/sp-18261_1_migraine-attack" target="_hplink">In a 1985 interview with the <em>Los Angeles Times</em></a>, Abdul-Jabbar shared that he suffered six migraines in nine days during the previous season's championship series. <br><br> "What makes it so difficult is that people think you are just having a regular headache," he told the <em>LA Times</em>. "You just can't explain them to someone who doesn't have them."

• Michele Bachmann

  Last July, the then presidential hopeful's migraines started a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-schocker/michele-bachmann-migrane_b_904141.html" target="_hplink">media firestorm</a>, with critics questioning whether the condition could incapacitate her from carrying out the stressful duties of a presidency. <br><br> "Let me be abundantly clear -- my ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines and will not affect my ability to serve as commander in chief," Bachmann said in a statement released by her campaign, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/michele-bachmann-migraine-headaches_n_903797.html" target="_hplink">HuffPost reported at the time</a>.

• Loretta Lynn

  The performer <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=HbIgGj1dMZUC&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=Loretta+Lynn+migraines&source=bl&ots=vO0mO30Tw6&sig=-eEN7wOYAVfDKwZY9Sx0Jfbckgs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tV2gT6urNary0gHLjfmvAg&ved=0CGoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Loretta Lynn migraines&f=false" target="_hplink">revealed in her book</a> <em>"Coal Miner's Daughter"</em> that she's suffered from migraines since age 17. She wrote: <br><br> <blockquote>Some people believe migraines are caused by tensions in your job or in your marriage. But I feel like mine are just a family weakness. I remember my Daddy had 'em. He'd pace the floor just holding his head and sobbing. Now it was starting to catch up with me. I could feel this ache coming on, and unless I'd lie own and sleep, it would turn into this headache that would make me just pass out.</blockquote>

• Serena Williams

  It took <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/05/09/it-s-one-of-the-worst-things.html" target="_hplink">five years after her first attack</a> at age 18 for the tennis star to be diagnosed with menstrual migraines. <br><br> "I'd never heard of them before," <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/05/09/it-s-one-of-the-worst-things.html" target="_hplink">she told <em>Newsweek</em> in 2005</a>. "All this time, I thought it was a regular migraine." <br><br> Between 60 and 70 percent of female migraine sufferers find that attacks are timed to their menstrual cycles, <a href="http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/hormones-headaches" target="_hplink">according to WebMD</a>, earning these headaches the name of menstrual migraines. And in 2005, <em>Newsweek</em> reported that Williams <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/05/09/it-s-one-of-the-worst-things.html" target="_hplink">joined the newly formed National Menstrual Migraine Coalition</a> (part of the <a href="http://www.headaches.org/" target="_hplink">National Headache Foundation</a>) as a spokesperson. <br><br> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/05/09/it-s-one-of-the-worst-things.html" target="_hplink">To keep her headaches under control</a>, Williams takes medication, tries to avoid salt and stays away from bright lights when an attack is coming on.

• Carly Simon

  In 2009, the singer <a href="http://www.aan.com/elibrary/neurologynow/?event=home.showArticle&id=ovid.com:/bib/ovftdb/01222928-200905060-00012" target="_hplink">opened up to <em>Neurology Now</em></a> about her struggle with migraines, sharing that she tries to avoid alcohol, which seems to trigger attacks.

• Jeff Tweedy

  Lead singer and guitarist for the band Wilco, <a href="http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/shaking-it-off/" target="_hplink">Tweedy told <em>The New York Times</em></a> that he's suffered from headaches his whole life -- and so did his mother and sister. <br><br> "My own theory is that, in my case, my migraines were connected to my mood disorders," he told the publication in 2008. <br><br> And he's come to understand the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/16/migraine-stigma_n_862255.html" target="_hplink">stigma of migraines</a> firsthand. <br><br> "Even being a migraine sufferer I understand that instinct to not believe it when someone says, 'I have a migraine,'"<a href="http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/shaking-it-off/" target="_hplink"> he told the <em>Times</em></a>. "Obviously I have a ton of compassion but its such a strange thing to try to communicate."

• Troy Aikman

  The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has suffered from migraines since childhood -- and he believes his father's smoking was likely a trigger, the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060501977.html" target="_hplink">Washington Post</a></em> reported. (His sister also had migraines.) <br><br> In 2007, <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pro-football-legend-troy-aikman-puts-a-new-face-on-migraines-58096872.html" target="_hplink">he partnered with the migraine drug Imitrex</a> as a spokesperson, hoping to raise awareness that migraine isn't just a "women's disease."

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Comments

[kadibo]

05:35 PM on 05/04/2012

I use to get miagrains so severe I had to be carried into the ER and couldn't leave the bed for 3 days. Then I had a stressful job & high blood pressure & my Dr put me on a low dose blood pressure pill, Atenelol. the miagrains stopped instantly!!! Then when my bp improved i wanted to stop taking the bp pills & my Dr. wanted me to stay on it for years longer bc it worked so well for my miagrains. I always thought it was nice Troy Aikman did try to make the public more aware that men do get them too. Even I had a long standing belief that it was a woman's issue & was told repeatedly it was due to hormone. I think he was trying to reach out to men to get medical help & not think they had to tough it out as just a headache. I was very grateful for Atenelol!!!! Miagrains really were a huge speed bump to my life & I do not miss them one bit!

[Mona Manzano]

08:56 PM on 05/03/2012

I've had migraines since I was a kid. It was awful. I'd get them several times a year. I'm not a fan of taking pills and eventually the over the counter medication I have been taking to ease my migraines started not to work. I thought I was fated to suffer the rest of my life. Then I started working for a chiropractor and getting regular adjustments. I haven't had a migraine in almost 4 years.

[bluespagan]

12:36 PM on 05/03/2012

I have had migraines since I was a teenager. But my major migraine that has set the tone for recent ones was when I was 19. I was staying in a hotel room on Keelser AFB when I woke up late one night and the alarm clock light felt like it was sending needles into my eyes and head. Any sound many the back bottom portion of my head feel like I was being hit with a hammer. I stumbled to the bathroom and became violently ill. I called my now ex husband who was in training there at the time to come pick me and take me to the hospital. I honeslty thought I was very ill and was about to die. I could barely move an inch with becoming overwhelmingly nauseous and vomitting up everything in my stomach. When I arrived at the hospital I almost passed out from the lights, sounds and the pain that followed them. They were finally able to get my pain under control with morphine and my nauseau under control with IV phenergan. Now I am happy to know when I am about to have a migraine, I can feel it coming on, and I take Toradol and Phenergan to head it off. Sadly, I don't know my trigger.

[Laura Kelley Stapleton]

11:17 AM on 05/03/2012

"In 2007, he partnered with the migraine drug Imitrex as a spokesperson, hoping to raise awareness that migraine isn't just a "women's disease."

Are you KIDDING me? If there was a disease potentially affecting half the world's population, what part of it would be 'just'? Morons.

[marylandtravelinman]

08:43 AM on 05/03/2012

Mine started at Disney's Gay Day in 1995. Had no idea what was happening but I was totally sidelined. But after many years, trials and medication I do the following. I thought there was no way I could live a life with THAT pain, I was wrong. The pain is managable.
Take a baby asprin everyday
Go to accupunture twice a month
Elliminated, banannas, MSG, chocolate, nuts
And take Maxalt if I "see" one coming.

[LuxorLava]

06:06 AM on 05/03/2012

They all have really big foreheads... maybe there's a connection? ;-)

[marylandtravelinman]

08:44 AM on 05/03/2012

Interesting, I have a big forehead too. As a suffer no connection is too bazar!

[Tasser]

10:29 PM on 05/02/2012

Until you've spent an entire day throwing up water, Gatorade, and the meds you've tried to take to combat this, you might not understand. When that migraine goes away it is like being reborn. Utter relief.

[Humming Bird]

09:58 PM on 05/02/2012

I used to get debilitating migraines (I guess they all are) until I moved to Los Angeles. Now I may get a mild one now and then, but I can usually head it off with something a simple as a caffeinated soda.

I never could get rid of them when I was living on the East Coast. I still don't know what caused them. I'm just glad I don't get them any more. My heart goes out to anyone who does.

[Bev Freeman]

06:51 PM on 05/02/2012

Important for all sufferers to consider trigger point injections. There are credible pain centers in the US that provide this treatment; one is Arnold Pain Clinic at BI Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

[nephos9]

10:34 PM on 05/07/2013

I live in Boston ~ thank you for this info!

[DrCarolynDean]

03:45 PM on 05/02/2012

Here is an excerpt from the Miracle of Magnesium showing the successful treatment of migraines with magnesium.

The following biochemical events involving low magnesium have been identified in migraine sufferers and may set the stage for a migraine attack.4

• In nonmenopausal women, estrogen rises before the period, causing a shift of blood magnesium into bone and muscles. As a result, magnesium levels in the brain are lowered.
• When magnesium is low, it is unable to do its job to counteract the clotting action of calcium on the blood. Tiny blood clots are said to clog up tiny brain blood vessels, leading to migraines. Several other substances that help create blood clots are increased when magnesium is too low.
• Low brain magnesium promotes neurotransmitter hyperactivity and nerve excitation that can lead to headaches.

Several conditions that trigger migraines are also associated with magnesium deficiency, including pregnancy, alcohol intake, usage of some diuretic drugs, stress, and menstruation.

• Magnesium relaxes blood vessels and allows them to dilate, reducing the spasms and constrictions that can cause migraines.
• Magnesium regulates the action of brain neurotransmitters and inflammatory substances, which may play a role in migraines when unbalanced.
• Magnesium inhibits excess platelet aggregation, preventing the formation of tiny clots that can block blood vessels and cause pain.
• Magnesium relaxes muscles and prevents the buildup of lactic acid, which, along with muscle tension, can worsen head pain.

[GeirBjorklund]

12:55 AM on 05/03/2012

Learn more about magnesium: http://tinyurl.com/magnesium-info
..... on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/Perspectives-Mg and http://tinyurl.com/Fundamentals-Mg

[marylandtravelinman]

08:46 AM on 05/03/2012

Interesting. Thank you for the theory, One of my triggers is bananas making it hard to get magnesium into my diet.

[Thomas Murphy]

03:14 PM on 05/02/2012

They give ME migraines!

[CPAwADD]

02:34 PM on 05/02/2012

Uhhh, no. Michelle Bachmann gives them.

[Hayley Wielgus]

02:09 PM on 05/02/2012

I've had migraines since I was a young child, even though I didn't know it at the time. Imitrex changed my life! For me, it almost always relieves the pain quickly and completely. But I suffered for many years before I was finally diagnosed with migraines and prescribed Imitrex.

Even then, I was still getting migraines pretty frequently, but I'm now on a preventative medication. I take a pretty high dose (150 mg) of Toprol XL. It took awhile to find that's the regimen that works for me. Before that, I used to get migraines that seemed random without easily identifiable triggers. Now I rarely get a "random" migraine that I can't pinpoint the trigger.

For me, triggers are some types of alcohol, stress, lack of sleep, missing meals, hormone changes and strangely, running or strenuous exercise close to the time I wake up.

Migraines are such a tough condition to treat and even more tough to explain to others who don't have them.

[No1 ILoveLucyFan]

01:02 PM on 05/02/2012

I get migraines a few times a year. Silence, dark and stillness are the only things that remotely help...and a chewable baby-aspirin. Unfortuntely, with a household to run and maintain, I don't get silence nor stillness. I also - lucky me - get cluster headaches - a nice throbbing skill for a few hours a day for days on end. My record that I just set last month, was 3 weeks. They suck just as bad.

[marylandtravelinman]

08:50 AM on 05/03/2012

If you only get them a few times a year, try these idea,
Have a little bit of caffine (caffine for some is a trigger though)
Take a HOT shower while standing in Cold water, sounds odd I know, but it REALLY works.

[No1 ILoveLucyFan]

12:13 AM on 05/05/2012

I'll keep that in mind next time I get one...thanks for the advice! Fanned & Faved! :D

[ihateliars]

01:02 PM on 05/02/2012

If you are starting to get these, or just think that you are, DO NOT WAIT to see a specialist, and NOT your family physician. If you delay, they get progressively worse. I get clusters, and 5 of the 7 types of migraines, starting in 1987- I had all of 4 that 1st year; now, I have a "status" migraine (always there) for nearly a decade, and waves of others, on average, 8 times a day. I have been totally disabled since 1999. I am stressing this as a warning to those on the 'cusp'. I have been everywhere, tried everything, 4 specialty hospitals, countless meds, trials, 5 sinus surgeries, biofeedback, acupuncture, special diets, self-hypnosis, etc. Almost everyone that I talk to about these all say they progressed, and that they waited to get the specialized help needed. I'm sure your GP is a great person- they simply are not equipped to handle these; even the 'specialists' are fairly weak, in terms of keeping up with new trends and treatments; do your homework, and check the major headache sites, such as the national headache foundation (http://www.headaches.org/) , cluster headache worldwide support group (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/) and many others. Sign up for Doctor's Guide, and I recommend the BBC ("Health") , as a start. Start a journal, keep track of who you see, what you take, what are your triggers, etc. It's your life; take charge of your situation, and never stop.

[marylandtravelinman]

08:52 AM on 05/03/2012

Thank you for the words of wisdom, and the link. Journal is a great idea.

[ihateliars]

05:23 PM on 05/03/2012

Best of luck on your journey. Reach out to the migraine community, and you'll find lots of help. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help guide you on your path. Keep searching!