8 Famous People With Atopic Dermatitis Speak Out

Suni Lee was the individual all-around champion in women’s gymnastics at the 2020 Tokyo games. As she battles for another title at the 2024 Olympics in France, she’s opened up about health struggles she’s faced leading up to these games, including an incurable kidney disease and a lifelong battle with eczema.

“My skin was always super dry, super flaky. It was really uncomfortable because it was really itchy,” Lee said about her eczema at a panel in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company, per CBS News. “But my mom ended up taking me to the doctor and my doctor sent me to a dermatologist, and that's when we got my diagnosis and we found the right treatment plan.”

Lee revealed she’d been dealing with a flare-up shortly before the Tokyo games began. “I get the worst stress eczema flare-ups,” the 21-year-old told PS. “At the 2021 Olympics, I was having a flare-up on my neck that I thankfully got handled right before the competition. But it happens a lot when I'm stressed and I can't sleep.” (Stress is a top trigger for eczema flare-ups, according to the National Eczema Association).

Now, Lee wants to help others with a similar diagnosis. “I've had my fair share of insecurities with eczema, but it's not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about,” she told PS. “And now, I want to share my story to help inspire younger generations to be comfortable in their own skin.”

Her advice: “It can be kind of isolating when you deal with eczema and having an eczema flare-up, so I just want people to know that you are not alone and it does not define you,” according to CBS News.

The 67-year-old former Today show host was candid about her skin condition when she bravely shared a bare-faced photo of herself on Instagram revealing her latest eczema flare-up.

“Calling all sensitive skin sufferers! I’ve had eczema ever since I was a little girl, and as I've gotten older, it's started to flare up again,” Couric writes in the post. “I also deal with allergic contact dermatitis — safe to say, I have to be careful about what I put on my face.”

Couric then goes on to say, “I can’t believe I let my team post this picture. Good Lord.”

On her website, Couric opens up about dealing with eczema as a child, as well as the foul-smelling treatments her mother used.

“I used to get it in the crease of my arm and my mom would spread some kind of nasty ointment on it containing fish oil — I hated the way it smelled.”

Since then, she says she’s “tried a lot of different prescription ointments,” but has found relief with Cheryl Lee MD Sensitive Skincare.

Singer–lifestyle brand mogul Jessica Simpson is famous for speaking her truth — and that includes sharing details about her life with atopic dermatitis.

“I experienced it in junior high and high school, and after cheerleading, I would just put on my letter[man] jacket or a sweatshirt because people would hug me and be like, ‘What is that on your arm?’” she recalled in an interview with People.

Although she has lived with eczema on and off since she was a child, Simpson says she experienced severe flare-ups after giving birth to her youngest daughter in 2019, which made her so self-conscious that she was reluctant to share photos of herself with the baby.

After her doctor recommended Eucrisa (crisaborole topical), a prescription ointment for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis, Simpson saw a major improvement in her skin within two weeks. She went on to become a brand spokesperson.

Simpson also uses red light therapy (a promising but unproven eczema treatment, says the Cleveland Clinic) to treat her eczema as well as wrinkles, she told Shape.

Actress Kerry Washington has lived with eczema since she was 8 years old. “I started going to a dermatologist when I was a kid, and really paying attention to what works and what doesn’t, and how the weather changes my skin,” she confided to Vogue. (Dry indoor air can lead to flares in the winter, and sweating, outdoor allergens, and increased exposure to sunlight can cause issues in the summer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.)

“For me, it’s not just about looking cute,” she explains about her skin-care regimen. “It’s also really about having skin that’s healthy and not too itchy and [that doesn’t] crack.”

Washington has one tried-and-true rule: Hydrate — inside and out. “It’s so important to have hydration on the inside, but also find products that can really lock in moisture on the outside,” she told Glamour.

To “keep her eczema under control,” Washington told Today she swears by Neutrogena's Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream with hyaluronic acid, a natural compound that's highly effective at increasing water content in skin. (She's an ambassador for the brand.) “I think it's really effective and I love it, love it, love it,” she says, adding that she also finds it helpful to drink a lot of water and take fish oil.

Actress Elle Fanning has been open about her eczema on social media, most notably sharing selfies with visibly red eyelids on Instagram. The memorable caption: “Eczema but make it eye shadow.”

Eczema on the eyelids, also known as eyelid dermatitis, can affect anyone, but the condition is more common in people with a history of atopic dermatitis.

Fanning described her eczema flare-ups in an interview with Byrdie. “It either goes on the back of my knees or here [points to inner elbows] on my arms, and then it started to show up on my eyelids and I was like, This is new,” she says.

Fanning approaches her “really bad eczema” with grace and humor — and oatmeal baths, she told Glamour. “I have bad eczema, so I itch constantly. Like, I itch a lot, especially when I’m stressed or amped up and all that. It comes out really bad, so I do oatmeal baths. I’ll buy real oats and put them in the bath as well, which helps. I find it calms my skin.”

Tia Mowry rose to prominence on the sitcom Sister, Sister. Since then, Mowry has rebranded herself as a cookbook author and businesswoman with her own natural hair care line.

She first spoke out about her life with eczema to People, revealing that doctors initially misdiagnosed her. “When I was young I had these round spots on my arms, and they were raised and they were itchy. But when my mother would take me to the pediatrician, the doctor told us they were sunspots … and that’s definitely not what I had.”

Mowry points out that experiences like hers are not uncommon among Black patients with skin disorders. “Eczema is definitely a chronic condition within the African American community but unfortunately there’s a huge percentage of people suffering with eczema and it actually goes underdiagnosed,” she says.

According to the National Eczema Association, doctors who have been trained to identify eczema as a red rash on white skin may not know that atopic dermatitis on Black patients commonly develops as small bumps on the torso, arms, and legs. The melanin in skin of color can also affect the look of eczema, making it appear dark brown, purple, or ashen gray.

Mowry manages her atopic dermatitis by keeping her stress levels down and practicing mindfulness in her daily life. “I’ve also just started actively meditating 10 minutes in the morning and at night and it’s so amazing how it calms down the nervous system. Certain foods also trigger [eczema]; for me it’s too much alcohol on a girl’s night out. I think the key is just to listen to your body in regards to what foods you’re putting into your body,” she told Essence.

The singer, who rose to fame in Destiny’s Child, was unprepared and shocked when she first developed eczema after the birth of her son. “I started to get it up my back and I asked my doctor, ‘Why is this happening to me?’” she recalled in an interview with Allure.

As Rowland discovered, hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause atopic dermatitis flares. Approximately 20 to 40 percent of women who develop eczema while pregnant already have a history of atopic dermatitis, while the rest — like Rowland — are experiencing it for the first time.

Rowland discovered a fix for her eczema flare-ups after her youngest son also developed this issue. When asked about treatments that she uses on herself that were initially purchased for her son, she replied, “Emu oil! Noah has really bad eczema, and I was talking to another mom about it. … She told me how great it was for her babies, and it definitely helped mine.”

Talk to your doctor before using any product on your eczema, even a so-called natural one, as some can irritate skin and make atopic dermatitis symptoms worse.

Kristen Bell’s childhood eczema unexpectedly returned when she turned 39, the actor told Women’s Health; it covered her whole body except for her face with a red, itchy rash. Although kids with atopic dermatitis often seem to outgrow symptoms, the condition can come back later in life, according to the National Eczema Society.

The flare-up was part of what led Bell to develop a CBD skincare line with a company called Happy Dance, which has since shut down, according to a post on Instagram. A small study that included a few people with atopic dermatitis found that CBD ointments helped those living with inflammatory skin diseases. (Talk to your doctor before trying any new product on your eczema.)

Bell, too, is a big fan of hyaluronic acid as an ingredient in moisturizer. She told Refinery29. “I think it’s the best possible thing for my skin. … I can use it on my eczema, where I’m dry on my face during the day, and [it] just refreshes the look. It’s kind of incredible,” she says.

The Takeaway

Several celebrities including Suni Lee, Katie Couric, and Kerry Washington have openly talked about life with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema. When celebrities share their experiences with eczema, it can raise awareness about the condition and help others who are living with it.