On Wednesday, October 7, Viola Davis spoke publicly for the first time about having shingles as part of an event in New York City for GSK’s “Shingles, actually” campaign, joined by Kristin Davis, India Hicks and several other advocates and public figures who shared their own experiences with the condition.
Shingles is a painful, blistering rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, and it can lie dormant in the body for decades before reactivating. About one in three people in the U.S. will get it in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the risk rises after age 50. GSK’s campaign aims to bring shingles into conversations about aging, and Davis is among those speaking out to help more people feel empowered to be proactive about their health and wellness.
Ahead, Davis talks to NewBeauty about hiding her shingles pain, why stress used to be her “engine” and what aging has taught her about being her own advocate.
Why did you decide to speak publicly about your shingles for the first time?
“I’m partnering with the GSK ‘Shingles, actually’ campaign because I’m one of the rarities who has had shingles more than once. I’ve always loved to speak my truth. It helps me grow and take a closer look at myself.
When I got shingles, it was a painful, blistering rash. It started on my stomach and wrapped around to my back. It was huge and raised. Then it went away and came back in my upper back.
The interesting part is that I didn’t know anything about shingles, and I didn’t seek help. I felt it was my job to muster through. I was the mother of a young child, my career was taking off and a lot was happening. I saw what was going on with my health as an obstacle, not a red flag to be listened to.
By the time I found out about shingles, I learned there's no shame in it. One in three people get it, and you’re more at risk at 50 and over because your immune system declines naturally with age. You can go to a doctor, but I didn’t do any of that.
That’s one of the reasons I'm speaking out. Women especially feel we’re harnessing our strength more when we squelch our voice and invite stress as a character attribute, because who we are to other people matters more than who we are to ourselves. Being a great mother and helping your child through sickness even when you’re sick, or helping your husband when he’s sick, makes you feel like a warrior. That was the first portal into understanding how much I’ve been conditioned as a woman to not feel worthy.”
You've described the pain as a nine out of 10. What was that time like, and when did you realize it was shingles?
“It was being in that level of pain and hiding it, from myself and from other people. I felt that nobody would listen and that it was a weakness. So I kept working out and putting on my workout clothes in pain. I kept going to wardrobe fittings for whatever movie I was doing. It was so painful, and so itchy.
That’s what it looked like. I was still getting up at 4 a.m. to get on the treadmill, my body physically depleted. I worked 15- and 18-hour days on set. I still ran around with my daughter.”
India Hicks said her social-media followers were the first to point out it could be shingles, and Kristin Davis said her makeup artist was the one who suggested it. Did you have a moment like that?
“Yes. A colleague said, ‘That’s shingles. I had shingles.” And I said, ‘Are you serious?’
Even then, I still didn’t do anything. It took me a minute to go to a doctor and say, ‘I know I’m at increased risk. What do I do to prevent it?’ A big reason is that shingles is also fed by stress, and at that time stress was my friend. It was the engine that got me through all of those jobs. I still drove myself to work sometimes. I continued as normal.”
Did anything change once you found out it was shingles?
“Absolutely. I know exactly when it was. I was into my fifties, and from that point I saw a doctor whenever I felt something was wrong with my body. Before that, health was a box check: a colonoscopy at 50, a mammogram every year, a pap smear, a flu shot. If you missed a flu shot, you didn’t want to bother anyone.
After that, I was okay with bothering them. I have MyChart on my phone, so I can trace my medical history. That’s when I started going for everything, the blood work, whatever was going on with my body. I bothered them to help me, and I think that’s a fair trade.”
Beyond being more proactive about your health, what other big lessons did you take from your diagnosis?
“It’s a lesson I continue to learn, and I'm proud of how far I’ve come. It’s a lesson about stress, and about what we put ourselves through to be seen as worthy. For me, burnout was a small price to pay. You burn out, you go to Hawaii for three days and you're good. That’s not good enough for me anymore, and I don’t apologize for it.
I used to think people would view me as weak for not being able to handle it. That’s how we meet each other. We share stories about how stressed out we are, and we give ourselves a thumbs-up, especially as mothers. I cooked a three-course meal, picked my daughter up from school, helped with her homework, did her hair and put her to bed. Then I read a 124-page script, learned my lines and got up at 4 a.m. to work out. And it’s like, ‘Wow, Viola, you’re awesome.’
But then you go to bed feeling miserable. That wasn’t good enough for me anymore. My relationship to myself is my most important relationship now.”
You’ve said we need to be real with each other about what aging actually looks like. What does that mean to you, outside of shingles?
“Listen, I do not feel old. I feel wonderful. I feel more capable and more aware than I've ever felt. But your body changes, and I think that’s okay. I think we’ve earned that.
Making peace with it is extremely important in caring for ourselves and our health. Your immune system is just not the same. And it’s a privilege to grow old. I know several people who weren't able to. The more we make peace with that reality, the more we can get down to the business of being our own advocates.”
How do you balance a busy career with taking care of yourself, including your body, your skin and your wellness?
“I throw all the balls against the wall. I do everything. My bathroom, especially. I'm not a closet girl. People have huge closets, and I think they’re beautiful, but I just don’t get it. I’m a bathroom girl. I have every lavender spray, every essential oil and every bath bomb. I have a vagus nerve stimulator and the cell mat. I even have an infrared sauna, a Jacuzzi and a massage chair. Everything I can to help me relax.
But you’re not going to be able to balance it all. You’re not meant to. You have to give yourself some grace. Imperfection is okay. The more I embrace the fact that I'm never going to be an A-plus at everything, the more I can embrace myself and my worth.”
