5 celebs with vitiligo, from Michael Jackson and Winnie Harlow to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, and how they dealt with their changing skin colour
- Indian billionaire Gautam Singhania and Winnie Harlow, a Victoria’s Secret model and America’s Next Top Model finalist, have spoken up against stigma
- Mad Men’s Jon Hamm noticed white blotches when he was first cast as Don Draper, while Michael Jackson got candid in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in the 1990s
They’ve been ridiculed and subjected to frustrating questions, but along the way have become proud ambassadors for their condition.
These five celebs have vitiligo, which results in white patches on the skin. Here’s how it has affected them, and how they found the courage to speak up about it.
What is vitiligo?
The Mayo Clinic describes vitiligo as a disease that causes loss of skin colour, generally in patches. It says skin colour is determined by melanin, and vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin stop working. Vitiligo is not contagious or life-threatening, but can result in social stigma.
Winnie Harlow
The model has become known as the modern face of vitiligo. She has proudly embraced the changes in her body, widely quoted as saying that it’s just “another difference, like freckles and big hair”. Harlow, who walked the runway at the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, told Health Insight that although she is in the beauty industry where certain standards are pushed on people, she believes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Harlow found fame after being a finalist on America’s Next Top Model in 2014. In an interview with Fashion Week Daily, the model said that although she is proud to have vitiligo, she didn’t want it to define her. She said she can’t be private about her skin, because it’s on show, but she wanted people to know she is more than that.