These Brave Women Show Us That It’s Going To Be Okay

We all have struggles, even celebrities. Which is why the amazing new trend of strong celebrity women sharing their struggles is so great. A famous woman coming forward about her issues helps open up a dialogue in a public forum and show other women that it’s okay to have problems, and that we can stand together to get through them. Here are some incredible, inspiring stories.

Almost a year after the birth of her first son, James Knight, Jaime King took to Instagram to share her long journey of infertility.

“8 yrs of pain and undiagnosed PCOS & Endometriosis. 9 doctors until Dr. Randy Harris diagnosed me & saved my life from a severe ectopic, 5 miscarriages, 5 rounds of IVF, 26 IUI’s, most with no outcome, 4½ years of trying to conceive.”

King wants to make sure that women know they aren’t alone through this ordeal, and that they shouldn’t feel pressure to give up. After all of her attempts and struggles, she also had a very difficult birth. Immediately after, she didn’t give herself any time to recover.

“[I] worked until the day before I [gave] birth and went back after 6 weeks after,” she explained. “I was afraid of letting others down.”

Her story speaks to so many women that fear slowing down even when it would improve their own mental and physical health. King hopes that sharing her story will allow other women to feel comfortable talking about their own infertility struggles, fears, and needs.

In May of 2013, Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed in the New York Times called My Medical Choice, admitting that she had recently had a double mastectomy, or removal of the breasts, to prevent breast cancer. Because of a histroy of breast cancer in her family, she went to get tested for a gene mutation that could increase her chances.

“The truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer,” wrote Jolie in the New York Times.

She then explains the decision and process of having the mastectomy, and the importance of support. Many women fear the procedure, as well as losing their femininity. Jolie is sure to dispel that fear:

“I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can. On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.”

Jolie urges women to get tested for these telling genes, and not to fear taking preventative action. She also stresses the importance of making these tests available to women everywhere, despite income or location.

Jolie’s doctor believes that her speaking out has already begun to save people’s lives. “I’m seeing in my practice already women who are saying, ‘I was inspired by that to get gene testing,’” said Dr. Jay Orringer to the Daily News. “I think it’s going to have a tremendously lasting impact.”

You go, Angie!

Last May, Pamela Anderson announced her new charity the Pamela Anderson Foundation for human and animal rights, the environment, and “Education and Justice for the vulnerable, for all living beings on the Planet – exposing the hardships of women and children in difficult surroundings.”

Anderson took the opportunity to share her harrowing story of sexual abuse as a child. She says that the ordeal lead her to fight for animals when she stopped trusting people.

Now she’s sharing her story to help those that felt the way she did, outcast from society. She is trying to use her fame to gain attention and funding for these important causes, and we admire her for it.