When celebrities represent pharmaceutical companies for medical issues they have, like Lady Gaga or Serena Williams’ migraines, it feels genuine because they have a connection to the condition. I appreciate that they’re raising awareness while getting paid. This is the case for Viola Davis and shingles, sadly. She’s partnering with GSK, the makers of the Shingrix vaccine, for their “Shingles, Actually” campaign. Viola told People Magazine that she had shingles about 15 years ago and that the pain and rash were so bad she thought she’d been bitten by a poisonous spider.
Shingles was never on Viola Davis‘ radar until she was left with “debilitating pain” one day. After dealing with the viral infection more than once, the EGOT winner, 61, is opening up to PEOPLE about her “unusual case” of shingles and how it completely changed her approach to aging.
“I was a new mom. I had just adopted my daughter. I was riding off of my Oscar nomination after The Help. So I was working, working, working, running myself into the ground,” she recalls.
“And then all of a sudden, I woke up with flu-like symptoms and an extraordinarily painful rash,” she tells PEOPLE. “I mean, I would put it a nine out of 10. It started on my stomach and it wrapped around to my back. It went away and then it came back with three blisters on my upper back. I was surprised how much pain it was. Hard to lay down, hard to get up, hard to walk. Nerve pain, all of that.”
Davis says she initially thought she was bitten by a poisonous spider because of how bad the pain was, and being diagnosed with shingles was “the surprise of my life.”
“I knew absolutely nothing about shingles,” she admits.
Shingles is a “painful rash illness” that people can get when the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which causes chickenpox, “reactivates in their bodies,” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It causes a “painful, itchy, or tingly” rash around one side of the body and can lead to long-term nerve damage. The risk of shingles, which impacts 1 in 3 people, increases at age 50.
Davis says her diagnosis was eye-opening and after going through such a difficult experience, she thought that maybe she needed to make some lifestyle changes. With such a busy acting career, she thought essentially being unstoppable was the key to longevity, and it eventually caught up to her.
“I felt that I sort of was immune to any disease at that point because I worked out, I ate right. I felt that I was healthy because I did all the right things. And then all of a sudden, I have shingles,” she says. “I felt like I was a soldier and the more that I could muster through, the stronger I was. I didn’t know that that’s not what strength is about. Strength is about sort of loving on your body and experiencing good health as you age.”
That realization is why she is now partnering with GSK for their “Shingles, Actually” campaign, an initiative aimed at encouraging candid conversations about aging and helping adults 50 and older better understand their risk of shingles and ask their doctor about prevention.
“I just felt like I was the perfect spokesperson for it because it woke me up to listening to my body, which I didn’t before that time,” Davis explains. “I felt like listening to your body was a weakness. It was gonna stop you. It was like a speed bump and I needed to keep my speed going.”
The actress continues, “But you gotta feel like you are important enough, that life is not supposed to be lived with anything that causes you debilitating pain. You gotta go to your doctor. You gotta go to your healthcare provider.”
I’ve heard similar stories from other people who have had shingles and it just sounds awful. I’m over 50 and I had chicken pox as a child. Unfortunately I’m allergic to the ingredients in Shingrix or I would get it. (Zostavax is safe for me but that’s only available in Europe after being discontinued in the US in 2020.) This is just a reminder to get the shingles vaccine if you can! You can definitely get shingles if you’re under 50 too. Viola and her husband adopted Genesis in 2011 so Viola was 46 at the time. The Bachelorette’s Ali Fedotowsky-Manno got shingles when she was just 37. A 9/10 on the pain scale is no joke. (Especially when it’s coming from a woman.) Also I had no idea that 1/3 people get shingles! Those are terrible odds.
After I wrote up this story I saw this clip from Viola’s interview on Today with Jenna and Sheinelle. She is going to inspire so many people to get the shingles vaccine.
Photos credit: Avalon.red and Cover Images
Get the shots.
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I had shingles on my neck and shoulders four years ago and it was awful! It felt like hundreds of hot glass needles constantly piercing my skin. I got the Shingrix vax after it cleared up. Never want to repeat that experience again.
I got the shingles shot 2 years ago. I had chickenpox as a teenager and I still have scars from it.
Same. Having the chicken pox after going through puberty was excruciating. I was within 24 hours of being hospitalized because I had them in my throat and couldn’t eat or drink anything. Once my fever broke, they decided I was going to be OK, even if all I could swallow was lukewarm tea with honey.
My younger sister (who had given it to me in the first place) had three or four pox marks on her back and no fever.
Mom had shingles about 25 or 30 years ago and compared the pain to the bilateral mastectomy she’d had a few years earlier. As soon as I was eligible to get the vaccine, I was there.
I got shingles in my mouth at 40. The entire side of my face swelled up and was so tender I felt like I’d been hit in the face. I was able to get medication early into the outbreak but I still had nerve pain for months after.
Also, I learned that shingles virus is contagious (I think it’s when the blisters have happened, but don’t quote me), and can give someone chickenpox if they’ve never had it before. The shot is worth it.
It can spread to someone who has never had chickenpox. They will develop chickenpox, not shingles. I have taken care of many patients with shingles and it’s awful! I’m vaccinated!
I’ve had shingles, at 23, and been bit by a spider, brown recluse at 18. Shingles was awful and was days of pain. Get the vaccine!
But the spider was worse. I was in the hospital on an IV because I had blood poisoning and had started to hallucinate.
Neither was fun. Get vaccinated and avoid brown recluse spiders.
I have never had shingles but a number of people in my family have. Can confirm it is incredibly debilitating and, depending on location, it lasts weeks or longer. If eligible, see your pharmacist. TODAY.
My grandfather had been shot in the war and had had 2 heart-attacks before getting shingles and still described shingles as the worst pain he had ever suffered. And a neighbor is blind in one eye from shingles. Scary stuff indeed.
Three years ago, when I was in the middle of chemo and taking care of my mother 24/7, I got Covid and shingles at the same time. At first, I thought I was having an allergic reaction to Paxlovid, but no. It was a miserable month because none of the pain medication worked.
I keep meaning to get the shingles vaccine. And have it on my list of vaccines to get this fall. Just got the flu vaccine last week, was planning to get a Covid vaccine this weekend … but this is making me think I should get the shingles vaccine this weekend instead. is it still a two-part one?
Two of my siblings and one of my good friends had it and it seemed absolutely awful. I don’t know why I kept putting it off, so thanks for this post. That’s gonna get me to just do it!
I got my first Shingles vax in 2020 when I turned 50…the 1st of the 2 shot series is the ONLY time a vax shot affected me to the point that I thought I was going to pass out walking from the CVS counter to the car & I did feel flu like symptoms afterwards 2nd shot 2 weeks later had no affect on me like the MANY vaccinations before & after…however I STILL got a bout of Shingles on my upper left arm only in 2021 because I was going through autoimmune HELL 🔥 & I was taking Chantix where Shingles could be a side-effect……but it was a relatively mild case & didn’t spread from upper arm to all over my body like it did my Mama who hadn’t had the vax…
Also a recent large scale study came out earlier this year saying those who took the Shingrix vax had a SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF DEVELOPING DEMENTIA & ALZHEIMERS! That info ALONE is reason enough for me!
The Shingrix shots hurt like a mother* and I had swelling at the site that lasted for several days, both times. But I was so glad to experience that rather than shingles. Offering dementia protection makes it a slam dunk. Get vaccinated folks!
Last week my psychiatrist noted that I’m officially his patient with the least amount of side effects from meds. I’m the same way with vaccines–nothing bothers me. Except for the shingles vaccine. It was brutal.
My grandma got shingles on her face and it messed up a nerve ending in her ear. Thats definitely when I first learned about it. Being 40 and having had chickenpox, definitely gonna look into Shingrix cuz all the stories I hear are also horrible and not something I want to experience.
I got the Shingrix vaccine two years ago. The first shot had no side effects but the second one was insane with fever and serious chills.
I had a terrible case of shingles last year and just got the Shingrix vaccine earlier this year since I never want to go through that excruciating experience again. The rash started on the left side of my abdomen and continued around my hip and back. I was very fortunate not to have permanent nerve damage as a result. The first dose was fine and I had some reaction to the second. I would urge anyone to get the vaccine, you never want to go through such an experience like this.
For me, shingles was more painful than the C section I had to deliver my daughter. That is no joke. Get the vaccines now (there are 2 you have to get).
I had shingles about 10 years ago. It was 4 weeks of terrible pain and not being able to function. I’ve had the 2 Shingrex vaccines since then. A few months ago I had some red marks on my arms that were very itchy. I thought they were bug bites at first. Then I realized I had shingles again. It was an itchy but not terrible and only lasted a few days. The Shingrex vaccine works and saved me. GET THE SHOTS.
I had a relatively mild case of shingles and it was still terrible. I have never been that tired to where I would just drop like someone had removed my battery.
It can get really bad. A friend of a friend partially lost her vision from it.
And the rate for women in their 40’s is going up. We’re right in the sweet spot — too old for the chickenpox vaccine so we all got chickenpox and too young for the shingles vaccine.
I know I should get the vaccine because I had a moderate case of Chicken Pox at 18. But I have strange allergies. I’m basically allergic to all over the counter pain medication and fever reducers, so if I get a fever or bad pain from the shot I’m out of luck. When I say allergic, I mean my reaction to these medications can put me in the hospital. My sister-in-law who is a doctor herself got the shot and had a horrible reaction. So I am have been sitting on the fence about it for years now. It’s not a fun place to be but there are no good options.
I had shingles when I was 30 and it was some of the worst pain I’ve ever felt—and I have a really high pain threshold. I could barely move because my back hurt so much. Went to a bunch of docs but it took an ER visit after the rash broke out for a doc to finally diagnose me with shingles. Get the shot!
I’ve known several people who have gotten shingles including my brother when he was in his teens!! It is no joke! Get the shot if you’re over 50. I am and I did!
Years ago my ex got shingles during our divorce, he was 28. He said it was so painful that he wouldn’t even wish it on me. LOL
An old boss of mine had a flare of Shingles on his face. He looked like he got swarmed by a thousand bees and stung. His face was so red and swollen. He was so miserable.
I got the Shingles vax in 2022 so far so good. I wouldn’t wish that on most (not all) of my worst enemies. Only annoying part was you have to do the shots in two stages. But I don’t remember any real side effects.
A coworker had shingles on his face. He was out of the office for two months and came back with scars. He said the pain was off the charts. Get the vaccine!
I had Shingles in my 40’s on my face and head. Initially, I thought it was a makeup allergy because I get those a lot and I had changed my primer brand that week. But the rash kept getting worse and the pain was unbelievable. I’d have random flashes of pain that felt like I was being jabbed with a thousand needles. The duration was short, but then my body was flooded with adrenaline and I’d have to walk it off. And nothing could touch my head. No hair brushes. No water spray from my shower nozzle. If I fell asleep and rolled over so the right side of my head touched my pillow, I was screaming with pain and out of bed again. And I had to go to the ophthalmologist to make sure the virus hadn’t spread to my right eye as it can cause blindness.
My rash lasted almost 3 months, the flashes of blinding pain were 6 months, and I have permanent nerve damage in my forehead.
I’ve had the vaccine shots to try to make sure I never ever get it again.