Hives aren’t exactly the sexiest topic of discussion, but that’s so often the case for some of the most important conversations of all—skin cancer and mental health being a couple more. What do these all have in common? Celebrities have joined the conversation, bringing awareness to each condition and helping others feel a little less alone.
And alone no one should feel. Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU)—hives with no identifiable trigger that last six weeks or longer—affects roughly one percent of the United States, per up-to-date stats from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), which may sound low but actually accounts for millions of people. And that’s just the chronic version. There’s also physical urticaria, triggered by things like friction, pressure, cold or sun exposure—and stress hives, which develop when an overactive nervous system floods the skin with histamine.
Ahead, meet five celebrities who’ve gotten candid about their own hives, from Vanessa Lachey’s lifelong battle with CSU to Chrissy Teigen’s stress-triggered breakouts before red carpets.
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Chrissy Teigen
The model and cookbook author has been open about her body’s physical response to stress over the years. In an April 2024 Instagram Story, she shared a photo of a red rash spreading across her chest on her way to a red-carpet premiere, captioning it simply: “Anxiety hives before every event.”
Getty Images / Olivia Wong
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Anne Hathaway
Even an Oscar-winner isn't immune to nerves or the stress hives that come with them. In a 2023 interview with PEOPLE, Hathaway admitted that press tours can sometimes trigger what she calls “talk-show hives.”
Getty Images / Brianna Bryson
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Vanessa Lachey
The Love Is Blind co-host has battled hives since childhood. In a 2022 conversation with The Healthy by Reader’s Digest, she described flare-ups as feeling “like having a bite on your ankle, but all over your body.”
She continued: “It can go from annoying to uncomfortable, to honestly, painful. I specifically have two very core memories of crying tears: one when I was eight, and one after Camden was born in October of 2021.”
Around the same time she spoke with the outlet, she became a spokesperson for Allegra Hives, an allergy medication that brings her relief from the itching and reduces the hives themselves.
Getty Images / Marleen Moise
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Ashley Benson
The Pretty Little Liars alum has been refreshingly candid about how anxiety shows up on her skin. In a 2022 TikTok video, Benson revealed one way stress affects her body: full-blown hives across her arms, chest, neck and chin.
“My anxiety takes over my whole body,” she wrote over the clip. Unsurprisingly, the post struck a chord with fans, many of whom told her they’d experienced the same thing.
Frankie Batista
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Vicki Lawrence
In conversation with NewBeauty in 2021, Lawrence said she was diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) after weeks of struggling to identify the cause of her itching.
“Did I change a cosmetic? Am I eating something weird that I don’t know about? Did I use a new shampoo or detergent? I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong,” she said, reflecting on her diagnosis journey. Relief came with an allergist familiar with the condition, who helped her get it under control.
Read more in our interview with Lawrence.
