Pinkett Smith has been outspoken about her hair loss battle, describing it as a “terrifying” experience. She spoke about it in May 2018 during an episode of her Facebook series, Red Table Talks.

But the actress isn’t the only Hollywood star who has suffered from hair loss. These A-listers have also battled alopecia over the years – here are their stories.

1. Tyra Banks

Banks spoke about her stress levels and how eating for her was considered “chilling”. She also said she knew she wasn’t in a healthy space and saw the impact on her hair. “How can I say this without tearing up? I got a little alopecia from the stress,” she told the publication.

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2. Jesy Nelson from Little Mix

She may have luscious locks now, but as a teen, the singer struggled with alopecia because of what she described as bullying. BBC reports the star said she was ridiculed because she dressed differently and never fitted in at school. She also said the stress led her to start losing her hair at 13, but the support of friends helped her realise she was stronger than the bullying she had endured.

3. Matt Lucas

The Doctor Who actor suffered from complete hair loss due to alopecia when he was six years old. In an interview with Mirror, he said he was knocked down by a car while on a family holiday and the stress of the incident resulted in him losing his hair. He has openly spoken about the insecurities his hair loss caused, telling Mirror he went through life “disguising himself”. In February 2021, he said he had grown his first ever moustache at the age of 46, boasting on Instagram that he has never had eyebrows, so the moustache was a big win on his part.

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4. Viola Davis

Davis said she used to wear wigs as a crutch because she was so desperate for people to think she was beautiful. But revealing herself – bald patches at all – has resulted in Davis having a feeling of “liberation”.

5. Selma Blair

The star told People magazine she started experiencing hair loss three months after giving birth to her son Arthur Saint in 2011. Blair said she is not one for extensions and had to accept that this was now her look. She said the hair loss was so severe she had to take longer showers so she could spend time gathering the hair that had gathered near the drain.

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6. Naomi Campbell

The model usually never has a hair out of place, but pictures in 2010 show a receding hairline and patches of baldness. She revealed she has traction alopecia – a hair loss condition caused by extensions.

In an interview with Evening Standard, Campbell said “years of extensions” had caused damage. She said she became more careful with her hair care and, as a result, her hair grew back.

7. Kristin Davis

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8. Christina Milian

The actress experienced post-partum hair loss after giving birth to her second child Isaiah in January 2020. In an interview with People, she said her hair would come out in “clumps” and that she was emotional because she feared her hair would never grow back. She was so embarrassed that she even tried to keep it from her boyfriend Matt Pokora. She also said it affected her confidence and that she looked everywhere for help on what to do.

9. Ricki Lake

The Hairspray star was diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia and opened up about her hair loss battle in an Instagram post in 2020. She said she has dealt with hair loss for much of her adult life and described it as a “painful, depressing and debilitating” experience.

She said she tried every remedy, including steroid shots, and then finally shaved her hair off. But she eventually found a hair line that worked for her and has now seen results.

10. Gail Porter

Scottish TV presenter Gail Porter was first diagnosed with alopecia in 2005, with the star’s TV work drying up soon after because she refused to wear wigs. She eventually found herself homeless.

Porter previously told the Sacrifice and Success podcast: “My personality took a bit of a knock. Jobs just stopped, because you don’t look the same. ‘Would you wear a wig, would you mind wearing a wig?’ No, I don’t want to wear a wig. This is how it is.”
Earlier this year, she jokingly describing herself on Twitter as looking like the moon after her condition worsened: “Damn. Eyelashes and eyebrows have all decided to leave me. Hey ho.”