Subscribe Feed (RSS)Never Keeping Secrets: Lauren Shuler Donner Has Lupus
June 15th, 2008 by A.D. Odom | Filed under Autoimmune. | 182 views
No secret is as carefully guarded as a celebrity suffering with a chronic illness, but the A-list producer wants to end this conspiracy.
Lauren Shuler Donner has lupus and she wants you to know. Not only does she have lupus, she is also one of Hollywood’s A-list producers. Over the last two decades, she has produced some of Hollywood’s most popular — and profitable — films, including “Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Dave,” “Mr. Mom,” “Free Willy” and all the “X-Men” movies and she did it all while battling the autoimmune disease lupus, as well as breast cancer.
Unfortunately, in Hollywood — or as I call it “Hollyweird” — publicly admitting you have any form of a disease (or flaw) could mean instant unemployment.
“I know there’s a stigma that has made it hard for people to acknowledge it, if they’re sick,” said Donner, who was cured of her cancer but is still living with lupus. “I didn’t tell anyone I had lupus for many, many years, and I didn’t tell anyone I had cancer.
“I was afraid no one would hire me, and I also felt it was deeply personal. It was nobody’s business. Now, of course, my feelings have changed.”
Donner has become an outspoken proponent for lupus awareness and treatment and last month, as a result of her efforts to bring awareness to the disease, she was honored by Lupus LA, a group founded by Donner’s doctor, Daniel J. Wallace, whom the producer credits with helping her cope with the chronic and potentially fatal disorder.
“I wanted to tell people you can live a full life, even if you’re not feeling well,” said Donner, who is working on seven films at the moment — including more “X-Men” movies and a screen version of “The Secret Life of Bees” — and will receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October. “You can learn how to achieve on the same level as someone who is not handicapped by their health.”
Donner was diagnosed more than 20 years ago. “When I was in my 20s, I was always sick,” Donner said, sitting comfortably on a plush couch at her Beverly Hills production company. “I was always feeling exhausted. I had a fever all the time, and no one could diagnose me.” How many of us can tell the same story?
Finally, she found Dr. Wallace, who recognized her illness and gave her the treatment necessary to live. All the while, she continued to work, making film after film in an industry that doesn’t always value female producers, let alone ones quietly battling disease. Getting through it required Donner to change the way she lived. She learned to meditate, stay on her treatment, control her stress level and eat right.
I love more women are coming out and telling their stories. It is the only way we can learn, be inspired, and find ways to overcome or at least live comfortably with our ongoing ups and downs. Donner is a breath of fresh air. Thank you.
Source: L.A. Times
