Eric Dane, Stephen Hawking, and More Stars Who Faced ALS — Inside Their Courageous Battles

ALS has been part of the public conversation for a long time — from Lou Gehrig putting a name to it back in 1939 to Eric Dane sharing his diagnosis in 2025. It keeps intersecting with entertainment, sports, and pop culture in ways that are both inspiring and gutting. There have been medical advances that slow symptoms for some people, but there is still no cure. That part hasn’t changed, which is brutal.

Quick refresher: what ALS actually does

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a terminal neurodegenerative disorder. It strips away voluntary muscle control over time. It can start small — stiffness, twitches — and eventually takes the ability to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. Some people progress fast, some very slowly, but the destination is the same. Treatments can help manage symptoms and slow things down a bit, but that’s as far as medicine can go right now.

Eric Dane put a face on it for Hollywood — and worked as long as he could

Eric Dane — Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, Cal Jacobs on Euphoria — revealed in April 2025 that he’d been diagnosed with ALS at 52. His statement to People was candid and calm in the way he tended to do things.

"I have been diagnosed with ALS. I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter."

"I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time."

Less than a year later, in February 2026, his rep confirmed Dane had died at 53. A hard, fast progression — and a harsh reminder of how unpredictable this disease can be.

People you know who have faced ALS

• Stephen Hawking — Theoretical physicist and pop-culture icon for anyone who ever owned a black hole poster in college. He started showing symptoms in 1963, was initially given two years to live, and then lived and worked for decades with a slow-progressing form of ALS. He died in 2018 at 76.

• Brooke Eby — After a 2022 diagnosis, she turned her experience into clear-eyed, funny, and deeply useful social posts and quickly became a major voice in the ALS community. As of April 2025, she has more than 220,000 Instagram followers. She has lost the use of both legs and uses a wheelchair, and her arm function is beginning to slow — updates she’s shared in real time.

• Catfish Hunter — Hall of Fame pitcher and, for baseball history nerds, the sport’s first modern free agent. Diagnosed in 1997; died two years later at 53.

• John Driskell Hopkins — Founding member of the Zac Brown Band. Diagnosed in 2021 and went public in May 2022. As of April 2025, he’s still playing music and raising research dollars through his foundation, Hop on a Cure. His 2024 line to CBS said it all: "I am going to sing through it."

• Sarah Langs — Beloved MLB.com writer who started experiencing symptoms in 2019 and was diagnosed in 2021. She kept working, ran three marathons while symptomatic, and now uses a wheelchair. Teams across the league have rallied around her on Lou Gehrig Day, observed every June 2.

• Aaron Lazar — Actor seen in The Wolf of Wall Street and J. Edgar. In January 2024, he revealed he had been diagnosed two years earlier.

• Pete Frates — Former college baseball player who helped make the Ice Bucket Challenge go massively viral in 2014, pulling millions into ALS fundraising. Diagnosed in 2012; died in 2019 at 34.

• Stephen Hillenburg — The animator and voice actor who created SpongeBob SquarePants. Diagnosed in 2017; died in 2018 at 57. The 2020 film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is dedicated to him.

• Roberta Flack — Five-time Grammy winner best known for 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' and 'Killing Me Softly With His Song.' She retired in 2022 when ALS took away her ability to keep singing. Flack died in February 2025 at 88.

• Steve Gleason — New Orleans Saints safety from 2000 to 2007. He received his diagnosis just weeks before he and his wife learned they were expecting their first child, son Rivers. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019 for his advocacy and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs in 2024.

• Mike Porcaro — Toto’s bassist. Retired from the band in 2007 as muscle weakness made playing impossible, went public with his diagnosis in 2010, and died in 2015 at 59.

• Kim Shattuck — Ferocious lead singer and guitarist of punk band The Muffs. She kept working right up to the end; the band’s final album dropped 16 days after her death in 2019 at 56.

• Kenneth Mitchell — Actor best known for CBS’ Jericho. He revealed his diagnosis in February 2020, kept acting, and even incorporated his wheelchair into Star Trek: Discovery. He died in 2024 at 49.

• Joe Bonsall — Member of The Oak Ridge Boys. He retired in January 2024 due to a neuromuscular disorder that was only revealed to be ALS after his death that July at 76.

• Tanea Brooks — AEW wrestling star who announced in May 2026 that she has terminal ALS at 47. She was frank about what comes next and grateful for the support.

  "There is not a lot of research behind ALS, and we don’t know how long I have. It explains why I have trouble walking and talking [and] all my functions will soon decline. But now, we can prepare for the future and what is to come."

  "I want to say thank you to [AEW founder] Tony Khan and AEW for supporting me on this medical journey. It has been a blessing that is unheard of and, from the bottom of my heart, thank you and thank you to all of you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for a peaceful journey and a peaceful passing."

The long arc, from Gehrig to now

Lou Gehrig’s 1939 farewell — and his death in 1941 — put a spotlight on this disease. Stephen Hawking kept it there for decades. Eric Dane brought it home again for TV fans in 2025 and 2026. Different generations, same fight. Until there’s a cure, the best we can do is pay attention, support the folks pushing research forward, and keep telling these stories clearly and honestly.