2. Millions of people throughout North America are living with
potentially life-threatening food allergies every day. But
have you ever wondered if a member of your favorite sports
team, or someone in a movie you just watched shared the
same allergy? You’re in luck! We’ve compiled a dandy list of
celebrities with different food allergies and sensitivities to
take out the guess work.
We didn’t leave celeb food-allergy parents out of the mix,
you’ll find them here too.
Read on, learn and enjoy!
THE ‘A’ LIST
4. DANIEL BRYAN
WWE SUPERSTAR
Image:
mywweuniverse.com
The wildly popular superstar
was a vegan due to health
issues up until 2009, when
he gave up the diet. Why?
He developed a soy allergy.
In an interview with the
Brisbane Times he explains
that “being a vegan without
soy is very, very difficult”.
Indeed. Does Daniel
Bryan prove you can
succeed no matter what
your allergies are?
Yes! Yes! Yes!
5. ZOOEY DESCHANEL
ACTRESS
Zooey Deschanel’s
stunning eyes aren’t all
that sets her apart from
the crowd. She reportedly
has sensitivities to dairy,
eggs and wheat. She is
also sensitive to the
feelings of others and
has special meals
delivered directly to
her trailer so as not to
inconvenience anyone
else.
6. DREW BREES
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
The New Orleans Saints starting
Quarterback is known for
throwing touchdown passes and
being a leader on the field. He’s
also a great advocate for food
allergies as he and his wife
Brittany have sensitivities to
dairy and gluten. Drew is also
allergic to tree nuts. In 2012, the
Brees’ joined the So Delicious®
Dairy Free Team, as well as
partnering with the company
to found
The Brees Dream Foundation
7. JENNIFER ESPOSITO
ACTRESS
Jennifer Esposito has celiac
disease, a condition which affects
1 in 133 Americans and 330,000
Canadians. Jennifer is doing her
part to raise awareness and offer
help to the celiac community by
founding the Jennifer’s Way
Foundation for Celiac Education
and the Jennifer’s Way Bakery in
New York City.
8. BILLY BOB THORNTON
There’ll be no milk
and cookies for this
‘Bad Santa’ on
Christmas Eve. The
actor is reportedly
allergic to dairy, eggs
and wheat!
ACTOR
Image:
episode39.it
9. SERENA WILLIAMS
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
Are you allergic to
peanuts? If so, you
and tennis star
Serena Williams
have something in
common!
Image courtesy of The Washington Post
10. KENTON DUTY
ACTOR, SINGER & DANCER
Kenton is a triple
threat, he can act,
he can sing and he
can dance. But
what threatens
him are his
allergies to
chocolate, wheat
and, as a child,
dairy. He is a great
role model for
food-allergic
children and does
his part to
contribute to the
community. He
recently joined
forces with FAAN
on Capitol Hill to encourage US Congress to support the
School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act.
11. HALLE BERRY
ACTRESS
The former Bond girl is
allergic to shellfish,
specifically shrimp. While
this hasn’t been officially
confirmed, if she is
shellfish-allergic, she
certainly won’t be alone.
Shellfish and Fish allergies
are thought to currently
affect over ½ million
Canadians and 7 million
Americans.
12. Former Pittsburgh Steelers
halfback Jerome Bettis knows
that the best defense is a good
offense, which is why he
advocates for
Auvi-Q, The new epinephrine
auto-injector that speaks to
you, introduced in January of
last year. ‘The Bus’ has
recently teamed up with Food
Network’s Robin Miller and
Sanofi US to provide education
about food allergies and
information regarding
preventative measures to
avoid anaphylaxis.
JEROME BETTIS
FORMER PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
13. MILEY CYRUS
ACTRESS/SINGER
The former Disney star and
current Queen of NSFW
announced via Twitter that
she has sensitivities to
gluten and lactose (a sugar
found in milk). The singer
also had a severe allergic
reaction to a medicine
prescribed to her after
experiencing flu-like
symptoms. The reaction
that occurred this past April
landed her in the hospital
delaying her current
‘Bangerz’ tour.
Image:
styleandsubstances.wordpress.com
14. A similar situation befell
Joshua Jackson. The
‘Fringe’ star was hospitalized
in 2011 following an allergic
reaction to nuts. Peanuts
get a lot of attention but
besides the fact that
they aren’t actually
nuts (they are in fact
a legume) tree nuts
can be just as life-
threatening in an
allergic individual.
JOSHUA JACKSON
ACTOR
Image:
Superb
Wallpapers
15. BUSY PHILLIPS
ACTRESS
It’s a good thing for this
Cougar Town co-star that the
show’s main source of
indulgence is wine and not
soy milk. According to
Living Without magazine, the
former model is allergic to
soy, and also has sensitivities
to wheat and gluten.
Image courtesy of wallpaperzoo.com
16. CLAY AIKEN
SINGER/SONGWRITER
The former American Idol
contestant, current singer/
songwriter and daddy to an
adorable little boy, is
reportedly allergic to coffee,
chocolate, mint, shellfish,
tree nuts and mushrooms!
Whew…
17. JO FROST
THE ‘SUPERNANNY’
The Supernanny is
super careful when
she goes on the road
to travel America
helping families,
because of her
allergies to shellfish,
peanuts and tree nuts!
She was
quoted by Fox News
as saying
“Being able to be
prepared, that’s what’s
really important.”
Words to live by!
Image
courtesy
of
the
Daily
Mail
18. TOM POTI
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
Being from
Massachusetts,
the former
Washington Capitals
defenseman
could’ve easily
focused on baseball.
Due to his allergies to
peanuts and nuts, it’s a
good thing he focused
on hockey instead!
Image:
www.zimbio.com
19. Suze Orman can give
you some great advice
on how to build a nest
egg, but don’t feed her
any! The personal
financial guru is
allergic to eggs.
SUZE ORMAN
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER,
FINANCE GURU & TV HOST
Image:
oprah.com
20. Well apparently
‘Real Men Don’t
Wear Plaid’ and
Steve Martin don’t
eat shellfish. Poor
grammar aside,
no shrimp, lobster
or clams at the
Golden Globes
after party for this
guy!
STEVE MARTIN
COMEDIAN/ACTOR
Image:
hollywoodchics.com
21. KELIS
SINGER
Her milkshake
might bring all the
boys to the yard,
but make sure it’s
peanut-free! The
singer has an
allergy to peanuts
and was
reportedly rushed
to a hospital in
Germany due to a
reaction in 2004.
Image:
musicwalls.org
22. ADRIAN PETERSON
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE
The Minnesota Vikings’ star
Running Back is used to
making headlines for his
outstanding efforts on the field,
but he’s recently made some
for his efforts in raising
awareness about food
allergies. He gave everyone a
“pretty good scare” after a
severe allergic reaction to
seafood (seafood gumbo to be
exact, his favorite food) in 2012.
‘All Day’ is a prime example of
how you can excel and
achieve greatness while living
with food allergies.
23. Well, we aren’t sure if they have food allergies or not but I
told ya’ we didn’t forget good ol’ mom and dad! Corny jokes
aside, food allergy parents are some of the strongest, most
organized people on the planet. You have to be when you
not only have to remember the soccer uniform and
homework for the next day, but the epi-pens, antihistamines
and allergy safe snacks/lunches too.
These celebrity parents are no different, they worry, stress
out and advocate just like the rest of us.
Here are some sterling examples of food-allergy parenting
at its best!
THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS…
25. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
HOST, ACTIVIST & LAWYER
Probably best known for
being the son of former
US Senator Robert
‘Bobby’ Kennedy Sr. and
nephew of John F.
Kennedy. What you may
not know about him is
that his son, Conor is
severely allergic to nuts.
According to the New
York Post, the young
man had a nasty
reaction just after
Christmas last year.
26. HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE
ACTRESS
This mama is no stranger to food
allergies. All FOUR of her children have
been diagnosed with them! She
understands the need to be proactive
and prepared and spoke to that and
other things in her interview with
POPSUGAR back in 2011.
The article also touches on the sensitive
issue of accomodation for food-allergic
children.
Holly points out that she has never
expected other parents to accommodate
her food-allergic children, but rather she
always comes prepared with snacks and
Epi-Pens® wherever she goes.
Good work Ms. Peete!
Image:
lipsAckalley.com
27. TRACE ADKINS
SINGER
The country music
singer is father to a 6
year-old daughter
named Brianna, who is
severely allergic to
peanuts, tree nuts, dairy
and eggs. She had a
near-fatal reaction at 9
months old due to
licking a peanut butter
lid. Scary stuff, but since
then Trace has been an
advocate for food
allergies, working hard
to raise awareness.
28. KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN
TV PERSONALITY
Kourtney’s son Mason
has an allergy to
peanuts, which caused
a trip to the hospital in
2010, when Mason had
an allergic reaction to
peanut butter at 11
months old. She wrote
about the incident
in her blog, stating that
he was a good boy the
whole time and even
enjoyed riding in the
ambulance!
29. MING TSAI
CHEF/TV HOST
The ‘Simply Ming’ host’s son,
David was diagnosed with
several food allergies as an
infant. Ming is a great
advocate for the food
allergy community, he is a
National Spokesperson for
FAAN and was a driving
force behind the
Massachusetts law
governing allergy
guidelines in restaurants.
'Living Without' magazine
spoke with him in greater
detail about his family and
advocacy efforts in their
Sept 2010 issue.
Image
courtesy
of
CNN.com
30. JULIE BOWEN
ACTRESS
Julie has admitted that before she
became an allergy mom, she was
skeptical about the severity of food
allergies and thought that some
parents were overreacting.
Ever since the Modern Family star
learned of her son, Oliver’s
life-threatening allergy to peanuts
she has been an advocate for food
allergies and making sure schools
throughout the United States are
aware of the dangers that
food-allergic kids face on a daily basis.
She is one of the driving forces behind the
“Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis” Campaign
and recently interviewed with
Allergic Living magazine about the initiative
and what it’s like for her as the parent of a
31. BILL & HILLARY CLINTON
42ND U.S. PRESIDENT
LAWYER/FORMER U.S. SENATOR
Another presidential pop to add
to the list, and his lovely wife of
course. This power couple has
had their troubles in the past, but
are stronger than ever. As is their
daughter, Chelsea who has a
gluten sensitivity! Chelsea is
adamant about maintaining a
gluten=free lifestyle and showed
it with pride at her wedding to
Marc Mezvinsky, which featured a
nine tier, 4 foot tall, 500 pound
gluten-free cake!
32. GWYNETH PALTROW
ACTRESS
The Iron Man 3 star came
under fire last year for what
people thought was an overly
strict diet she was allegedly
forcing upon her children. Not
so, as this mom was simply
accommodating her son
Moses’ food allergies. Moses,
now 7, has a gluten sensitivity
and a dairy sensitivity.
34. THE HONOREES
CELIACS GALORE!
Susie Essman
Sarah Vowell
Keith Olbermann
Emmy Rossum
Elizabeth Hasselbeck
THAT’S (PEA)NUTS!
Ray Romano
Alex Kopranos (Franz Ferdinand)
THE NOT-SO-COMMON
Jessica Simpson –
Cheese, tomato, wheat
Drew Barrymore –
Coffee, garlic
35. THERE YOU HAVE IT!
DID WE MISS ANYBODY?
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