‘Star Wars’ actor Daisy Ridley reveals health diagnosis
Since breaking out into the mainstream via her role as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Daisy Ridley has taken on a deluge of diverse, challenging and engaging roles. However, since the release of Magpie earlier this year, Ridley has been suffering from a particularly debilitating disease.
Ridley’s career has gone into overdrive in the past couple of years, starring in multiple projects per year and working tirelessly to perfect her roles. In Magpie, for instance, she plays the role of Anette, a dedicated wife and mother whose husband falls in love with another woman. It was during the production of this film that Ridley was first alerted to her medical issues.
During a recent interview with Women’s Health, Ridley revealed that she has been suffering from Graves’ disease. “It’s the first time I’ve shared that [Graves’],” she said, although initially she thought the health problems came as a result of her role in Magpie. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve just played a really stressful role; presumably that’s why I feel poorly,’” the actor shared.
Graves’ disease is an immune system condition that mainly affects the thyroid gland, predominantly in women.
Symptoms of the disease can include, but are not limited to, weight loss, hand tremors, hot flushes, bulging eyes, irregular heartbeat, and changes in the menstrual cycle. Strangely, the disease often causes a feeling of fatigue, which contrasts with an irregular or quickened heartbeat.
“It was funny,” Ridley shared, “I was like, ‘Oh, I just thought I was annoyed at the world,’ but turns out everything is functioning so quickly, you can’t chill out.” The disease is fairly common in women, affecting more than three million people in the United States alone. However, the condition often goes undiagnosed.
Speaking on this issue, Ridley said, “We all read the stats about women being undiagnosed or underdiagnosed and sort of coming to terms with saying, ‘I really, actually don’t feel good’ and not going, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.’ It’s just normalised to not feel good.”
The actor then added, “Even if you can deal with it, you shouldn’t have to. If there’s a problem, you shouldn’t have to just [suffer through it].”
Ridley’s struggles with Graves’ have certainly not stopped her productivity in the film industry. At the time of writing, the actor has two projects in the stages of post-production, in the form of the action thriller Cleaner, and the survival film We Bury the Dead – neither of which have set a release date, as of yet.
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