October is known for a lot of things: fall foliage, Halloween, and pumpkin spice-flavored everything. Along with all of that, October also happens to be National Eczema Awareness Month. Those who have the skin condition, also known as atopic dermatitis, already know that it can range from uncomfortable to downright painful, causing dry, itchy skin, rashes, and sometimes other more serious complications.
According to Mayo Clinic, eczema is a chronic skin condition characterized by dry, itchy, and inflamed skin that often begins in childhood. Some people have flares that come and go, and it can be treated with certain creams and ointments.
It's quite common — as many as 1 in 10 people will develop it during their lifetime, and that includes quite a few celebrities. Stars including Jessica Simpson and Kelly Rowland have been open about their struggles with eczema, and it's definitely nothing to be afraid of.
Keep reading for celebrities who suffer from eczema. If you have this condition, too, you are certainly not alone.
Jessica Simpson
In a 2020 interview with People, Jessica Simpson shared that she'd been dealing with eczema since she was a kid, though it embarrassed her enough as a teenager that she'd tell people it was just a rash from the Texas heat. Then, after giving birth to her third child, Birdie, it came back in a way she couldn't ignore, leading her to work with the brand Eucrisa, which produces a prescription eczema ointment.
"Eric was taking pictures and I was like, 'You cannot send those to anybody. I cannot believe the bumps on my arms.' And I called my doctor immediately. He prescribed Eucrisa. And I will say that in two weeks it worked incredibly," she said. "I used it for three months and now I've noticed here and there I'll have a flare-up and I'll just put Eucrisa on for a week or two and it will be gone."
Tia Mowry
In October 2021, Tia Mowry took to Instagram to share her own eczema journey, pointing out that Black women are more likely to go undiagnosed and untreated when it comes to the health of their skin. As she told People, she herself wasn't diagnosed until she was an adult, though she knew she had symptoms as a child.
"When I was young, I had these round spots on my back and on my arms, and they were raised and they were itchy," she said. "But when my mother would take me to the pediatrician, the doctor told us they were sunspots … and that was definitely not what I had."
Kristen Bell
Actress and mom of two Kristen Bell is another celeb who has eczema, and as she told Women's Health in 2019, her eczema remained dormant from childhood until she was 39 years old. She confessed she changed her entire diet to try to help with the symptoms.
"I mean this is 100 times better than it's been," she said. "I'm still crazy itchy, and when I get hot it gets even itchier."
Adele
For British singer Adele, her eczema flared up in a way that was far more prominent after welcoming her son, Angelo, into the world.
"I am exhausted," she told reporters at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, according to Today's Parent. "That's how [motherhood] changed me. I have eczema from boiling bottles."
Kate Middleton
The Princess of Wales hasn't publicly spoken about her eczema, but according to what one of her school friends told an outlet called Celeb Now, not only did Kate Middleton have eczema, but she was also bullied by her classmates for it.
"It didn't help that she was so tall and self-conscious about her eczema," her former classmate said.
Poor Kate! If only she knew what the future held for her.
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones has admitted to having "severe" eczema as a child, and swears by Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream to soothe her skin.
"I had eczema as a kid, and my mother would use the Eight Hour Cream on my flaky skin. I still slather it on my lips, elbows, toes — pretty much everywhere," she told InStyle in 2010, via Healthista.
Brad Pitt
Women aren't the only celebrities who deal with eczema. Going all the way back to 2007, Cate Blanchett once told Scotland's Daily Record that Brad Pitt had a major flare-up because of the makeup he had to wear while they filmed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
"We were talking about what we were going to do because our skin was taking a battering," Cate said (via India Times), adding that Brad and ex-wife Angelina Jolie both tried out the moisturizing creams she brought along with her.
Kerry Washington
During a makeup tutorial video she filmed for Vogue, actress Kerry Washington shared why she's so careful when it comes to the products she uses on her skin.
"I've always had to think a lot about my skin because I have eczema," she said. "So I started going to dermatologists when I was a kid, and really paying attention to what works and what doesn't, and how the weather changes my skin. For me, it's not just about looking cute. It's also about being able to have skin that's healthy and not too itchy and cracks, and all that stuff that happens with eczema."
Olivia Cooke
House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke told Interview magazine that leaning into her eczema helped her score a role in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, where she played a cancer patient.
"I had eczema all over my face — I get it in moments of stress — and I was like, 'Great! I'll use it!' So I didn't wash my hair for three days and went into the audition with no makeup whatsoever. I looked haggard, just unwell. A lot of the girls that were auditioning were really made up. I was like, 'Why are you doing that? You're supposed to be playing a girl who has cancer!'"
Elle Fanning
The Girl From Plainville star Elle Fanning took to Instagram in 2020 to share a few photos of her eczema flare with her followers, which was all over her eyelids, leaving a lot of redness behind. "Eczema but make it eye shadow," she joked in her caption.
Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland told Allure that her favorite product to use for eczema is emu oil, though she didn't have the skin condition until after giving birth to her oldest son, Titan.
She said: "I actually never had eczema until I had Titan. I started to get it up my back and I asked my doctor, 'Why is this happening to me?' They said it was a hormonal stress thing."
