Celebrities Who Have Been Diagnosed with ALS Alexandra Schonfeld, Stephanie SengweMon, May 18, 2026 at 9:43 PM UTC 0 Russell AndrewsCredit: CNN/Youtube Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5,000 people in the U.S. are told they have the disease each year, though exact numbers are unknown.
Celebrities Who Have Been Diagnosed with ALS
Alexandra Schonfeld, Stephanie SengweMon, May 18, 2026 at 9:43 PM UTC
0
Russell Andrews
Credit: CNN/Youtube
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5,000 people in the U.S. are told they have the disease each year, though exact numbers are unknown.Initially, patients can experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech which can later progress into losing the ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently, per the Mayo Clinic.People usually live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, though some can live decades. There is no cure for the disease.ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease for the famed New York Yankees player who raised awareness for the disease after his diagnosis, with his memorable speech declaring himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth," does not have an exact known cause. It has affected thousands over the years, including notable names such as jazz musician Charles Mingus, former NFL player Steve Gleason, guitarist John Driskell Hopkins, actor Eric Dane and most recently, Russell Andrews, many of whom have shared their experience.
Read on to learn more about their stories.
Related: Ice Bucket Challenge Raises Over $100 Million for ALS Research
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Russell Andrews
A. Russell Andrews
Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty
Actor Russell Andrews revealed he was diagnosed with ALS during a May 16 appearance on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
"I am a person living with ALS. I was diagnosed in the late fall of last year," Andrews, who was accompanied by fiancé Erica Tazel, stated.
The actor went on to commend the community he has found with the nonprofit, ALS Network saying, "It's been humbling but there's… Elex, there's also something in the fact that I walked into a family of very caring people I did not know a year ago — the cliché family, but they have not let us miss a step in terms of care, the attention, the awareness and the ability to get me here today.”
Speaking about his symptoms, Andrews revealed that he initially thought he suffered a stroke during the COVID pandemic. "There were moments, there were twitches. There were things, I thought I was having pinched nerves in my neck and they were quite frequent," he stated. "But then I was not able to do things that I would normally do. I was dropping cups and glasses. At night, it felt like things were running up and down my arm at different times and it was the nerves.”
Though he lost his insurance while he wasn't working during the pandemic and then the 2023 writers' strikes, the actor went to see his doctor as soon as he got his insurance back. That doctor suggested he see a neurologist.
"[There] was not a sigh of relief, but some understanding of what was happening,” Tazel recalled of the diagnosis. “And I looked at him across the room and I said, ‘At least now we know what it is, and I still want to be your wife.' ”
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Eric Dane
Eric Dane in 2022.
Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic
In April 2025, Eric Dane told PEOPLE exclusively that he had been diagnosed with ALS, stating, “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week,” the Grey's Anatomy alum continued. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
Unfortunately, Dane's disease progressed rapidly, and on Feb. 19, 2026, Dane's family announced that he had died. "With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS," they said in a statement. "He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world."
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Aaron Lazar
Aaron Lazar.
Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty
Broadway actor Aaron Lazar revealed in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with ALS.
After sharing his diagnosis, Lazar released a debut album, titled Impossible Dream, where he was joined by the likes of Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr., Kelli O'Hara, Kate Baldwin, Norm Lewis, Kristin Chenoweth, Lin-Manuel Miranda and many more. The album also featured a duet with fellow Broadway actor Rebecca Luker, who died in 2020 just 10 months after receiving her own ALS diagnosis.
Proceeds from the album, which was later nominated for a Grammy, also raised money to benefit the ALS Network.
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Eric Stevens
Eric Stevens.
Credit: Amanda Stevens/Instagram
Eric Stevens, a former NFL player who later became a firefighter, was diagnosed with ALS at 29 — just one month after his wedding day to his longtime love, Amanda.
"The diagnosis and subsequent education they received about the horrific disease was the worst news one could ever imagine," a description on a Facebook page set up for Stevens reads.
A year later, the couple shared that they were expecting their first child together.
"It was just the good news that we've been waiting for and what we really needed," Amanda told PEOPLE. "It gives us something to look forward to… We want her to come tomorrow!"
Their daughter, Peyton James, was born January 5, 2021.
Eric and Amanda founded AXE ALS, an organization helping to raise money for ALS research. Per AXE ALS's website, Stevens "can still sing to his two year old daughter Peyton, read her books, and teach her about animals, birds, sports and the many other things he loves."
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John Driskell Hopkins
John Driskell Hopkins.
Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty for Live Nation
Founding member and bassist for Zac Brown Band, John Driskell Hopkins, shared his diagnosis in 2022 through a video message to fans.
"Over the past several years, I've noticed some balance issues and some stiffness in my hands. After careful analysis by some of the country's top neurologists, I have been diagnosed with ALS. Because my symptoms have been slow progressing from the start, we believe they will continue to be slow progressing going forward," Hopkins, then 51, shared.
"God willing, I plan to be rocking with these amazing people for many years to come," he continued.
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Joe Bonsall
Joe Bonsall in 2020.
Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty
In January 2024, Joe Bonsall, The Oak Ridge Boys' Joe Bonsall shared that he was retiring from touring after "battling a slow onset (over four years now) of a neuromuscular disorder. "
In July of that year, Bonsall died at 76 due to ALS complications and though he opted not to have a funeral, asked for donations to be made to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center.
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Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack in 2012.
Credit: Shahar Azran/WireImage
In 2022, it was announced that Roberta Flack had been diagnosed with ALS and that it had become "impossible" for her to sing.
"It will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon," a spokesperson for the singer-songwriter told PEOPLE at the time. "Miss Flack plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits. Her fortitude and joyful embrace of music that lifted her from modest circumstances to the international spotlight remain vibrant and inspired."
In February 2025, the Grammy-winner died at 88.
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Kenneth Mitchell
Kenneth Mitchell in 2022.
Credit: Araya Doheny/FilmMagic
Kenneth Mitchell was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, and shared the news publicly with PEOPLE in 2020.
"I'm just getting more comfortable with what's happening with me," he said at the time. "I think there's something I can offer and I want to be a part of that. A lot of people helped me along the way, through my actions, or if I can inspire one person that would mean a lot to me."
In February 2024, five years after being diagnosed, Mitchell died at 49.
“For five and a half years Ken faced a series of awful challenges from ALS," his family said in a statement. "And in truest Ken fashion, he managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment.”
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Stephen Hillenburg
Stephen Hillenburg in 2015.
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg was diagnosed with ALS in March 2017. He died the following year at age 57.
“Steve imbued SpongeBob SquarePants with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere," a statement from Nickelodeon said at the time. "His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”
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Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker.
Credit: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic
Rebecca Luker made her Broadway debut in 1988 when she joined the cast of Phantom of the Opera, ultimately taking over the lead role of Christine in 1989.
She was first nominated for a Tony in 1995 for her role as Magnolia in Show Boat and was later nominated for her leading role in The Music Man in 2000, and again in 2007 for Mary Poppins.
In February 2020, Luker revealed that she had been diagnosed with ALS, writing, "Hello friends. I have some tough news. Late last year I was diagnosed with ALS. I have the best medical care in the world and the greatest support," thanking in particular her “dear husband” Danny Burstein.
Just 10 months after sharing the news, Luker died. She was 59.
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Kim Shattuck
Kim Shattuck.
Credit: Jim Dyson/Redferns/Getty
Kim Shattuck, lead guitarist for the punk rock band The Muffs and onetime bassist for the Pixies, was diagnosed with ALS in her 50s. In October 2019, her husband Kevin Sutherland shared that she had died "after a two-year struggle" with the illness.
“I am the man I am today because of her," he wrote in part in a post that was re-shared by Shattuck’s former bandmate and good friend Melanie Vammen. "She will live with all of us through her music, our shared memories and in her fierce creative spirit. I love you always my Kimmy. Thank you for sharing your life with me.”
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Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking.
Credit: Eleanor Bentall/Corbis/Getty
Stephen Hawking was a 21-year-old student at Cambridge University when he was diagnosed with ALS. He went on to become a famous physicist who would change how the world thought about cosmology.
His 1988 bestselling book, A Brief History of Time, featured a "theory of everything," which later inspired an Oscar-winning film by the same name.
Hawking died on March 14, 2018. He was 76.
"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years," a statement from his family read. "His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world."
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Source: Entertainment
Published: May 19, 2026 at 01:09AM on Source: MORNING MAG
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