Eric Dane opens up about ALS diagnosis: Remembering other stars affected by the disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, patients can experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech which can later progress into losing the ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently.

Through there is no cure for the disease, here are the celebrities who have been diagnosed with it:

Eric Dane

In April 2025, the Grey’s Anatomy alum revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS, saying that he has immense gratitude for having his loving family by his side as he navigates this next chapter.

“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to the set of Euphoria next week,” Eric told People.

As of October 2025, he vowed to fight the ALS battle “until the last breath” for his daughters.

Roberta Flack

In 2022, it was announced that Roberta had been diagnosed with ALS and her condition had worsened to the extent it had become “impossible” for her to sing.

Unfortunately, the Grammy-winner artist died at 88.

Stephen Hillenburg

The SpongeBob SquarePants creator was diagnosed with ALS in March 2017, which also happened to be the year he breathed his last at age 57.

Kim Shattuck

The lead guitarist for the punk rock band The Muffs and onetime bassist for the Pixies was diagnosed with ALS in her 50s.

Her husband, Kevin Sutherland, shared in October 2019 that Kim had died “after a two-year struggle” with the illness.

Eric Stevens

Eric, a former NFL player and later a firefighter, was diagnosed with ALS at 29, just one month after his wedding day.

"The diagnosis and subsequent education they received about the horrific disease was the worst news one could ever imagine," a description on a Facebook page set up for Eric read.

As he navigated through his life with the disease, Eric and his wife founded AXE ALS, an organisation helping to raise money for ALS research.

Rebecca Luker

Rebecca, a renowned American actress and singer who was famous for her roles in Broadway musicals like The Phantom of the Opera and The Secret Garden, revealed in 2020 that she had been diagnosed with ALS.

Just 10 months after sharing the devastating news, she died at age 59.