Health scares in Hollywood: Celebrities who bravely battled sepsis

Instead of hiding it, celebrities now feel compelled to come forward and open up about their health battles, including some who have dealt with sepsis.

According to the Mayo Clinic, sepsis is a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection, severely affecting the function of organs.

Check out which stars have experienced sepsis:

Billy Porter

Just recently, in September 2025, Billy ended his run in Broadway’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club due a “serious case of sepsis.”

Shortly after, a statement was shared via the show’s social media account addressing the matter.

“Billy Porter must also withdraw from the production. His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule,” the statement said.

Abby Lee Miller

In the summer of 2024, the Dance Moms alum was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI), which eventually led to sepsis.

“I was at the end of my tour … and I started to have trouble with my catheter,” Abby revealed in a Daily Mail interview in September 2024.

She added, “It just needed to be changed. Every month I need to get it changed.”

Abby shared that she was brought to a nearby hospital while waiting for someone to change her catheter, only to find out that she became septic and the infection had reached her kidney.

Ashley Park

The Emily in Paris actress shared that she went into “crucial septic shock” after suffering from a severe case of tonsillitis.

“While on holiday in December into New Years, what started as tonsillitis spiraled into critical septic shock, which infected and affected several of my organs,” Ashley wrote in an Instagram post in January 2024.

Joshua Bassett

In June 2021, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum revealed that he had heart failure and went into septic shock, which he initially mistook for food poisoning.

“[I] started getting very ill, and it kept getting worse,” Joshua shared in an interview with GQ.

After experiencing "unimaginable pain,” he was admitted to the ER, where he learned he had sepsis.

Erin Bates

Last but not the least, the Bringing Up Bates alum went into septic shock in August 2023 after developing a “severe UTI and kidney infection,” shortly after giving birth to her seventh child.