A few days ago, millions of fans worldwide became worried when the 30 year-old Canadian singer, Justin Beiber, shared a video on his Instagram.
In the video, the singer shared with his fans that he got diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Because of the syndrome, one side of his face got paralyzed, so he had to cancel his Justice World Tour.
(For those who want to know more about Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, you can go to Mayoclinic’s page on Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.)
Though the singer is undergoing treatment and recovering, it isn’t the first time in Hollywood that a celebrity’s face got paralyzed.
Many famous people in Hollywood had facial paralysis at one point in their life.
Here, we will be going through a few of them.
Sylvester Stallone
The first name on the list is the veteran actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter, Sylvester Stallone.
While Beiber suffered from facial paralysis in his late twenties and is recovering, Stallone was born with partial facial paralysis due to defects during birth and still experiences some of its effects on his face.
Along with the facial paralysis, the doctors also told the Rocky series famed actor that his brain was dormant, so to overcome these conditions, he started bodybuilding.
Katie Holmes
Another celebrity who also suffered from facial paralysis is the former wife of Tom Cruis, Katie Holmes. Holmes is the actress from the hit movies like Ocean’s 8, Batman Begins, etc., known for her mesmerizing beauty and signature smirk.
There are rumors that the signature smirk of the actress is the after-effect of the facial paralysis she suffered in the early days of her career. It could be Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
Pierce Brosman
The list continues with Pierce Brosman, an actor who became the fifth James Bond. Like the above celebrities, the king from the Cinderella movie also lost all senses in his facial muscles and lost movement on the right side of his face.
He had paralysis on the right side of his face for a while. He later recovered from it after taking steroids for weeks.
George Clooney
Another name on the list is the two-time Oscars-winning actor George Clooney.
Clooney also had temporary facial paralysis at the early age of thirteen because of the damage to his cranial nerve.
Though the paralysis went away with time, it brought a lot of bullying.
But, on the bright side, the paralysis and the bullying shaped him to develop a charming personality and also humor in life. Clooney shared that during this time, he got determined to take life lightly and do his best to compensate for his condition.
Noah Harpster
There are various causes behind facial paralysis. Some celebrities like Stallone got it because of defects during birth, while others like Beiber got it because of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
Similarly, many other celebrities also got facial paralysis because of Bell’s palsy. The condition has troubled many in Hollywood, including Noah Harpster.
The writer of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and the actor of For All Mankind Harpster lost the movement on the left side of his face to Bell’s palsy and needed 5,000 USD for his treatment.
He was not getting much work because of his condition, so he reached out to his fans and raised funds from a fund raging page for his treatment.
Terrence Howard
Like Harpster, Terrence Howard is also one of the celebrities who suffered from facial paralysis due to Bell’s Palsy.
The Empire actor got Palsy when he was still in high school and had only a five percent chance of recovery. His young age and low chances of recovery made him go extreme to get back senses on his face.
He electrocuted himself with the wires of the electric razor. He shocked his face with one end of the wire by plugging another one in a fuse box. He did this regularly for five months and stopped after feeling a little twitch on his face.
Angelina Jolie
The last one on the list is Maleficent herself, Angelina Jolie, who also suffered from Bell’s Palsy like Harpster and Howard.
The gorgeous actress is known for her beautiful facial structure, but in 2016, she could not move the muscles of her face due to Palsy.
She then went through numerous sessions of acupuncture and finally made her recovery.
All the celebrities on the list and many more have become inspirations after overcoming their facial paralysis. While some took the help of bodybuilding like Stallone, others developed their personality to overcome their condition. They proved that with the proper mindset and dedication, one could even overcome shortcomings and achieve success.
