Anne Hathaway‘s life certainly seems to be idyllic thanks to her successful career and happy family life. However, that doesn’t mean that the star is able to avoid all potential problems that come her way. In fact, the actress has revealed that she dealt with a health issue for years — she was legally blind in one eye for a decade.
Anne Had an Early Onset Cataract
“This is maybe too much information,” Hathaway said while sitting down for a chat on The New York Times’ Popcast podcast. She then added, “I was half blind for 10 years.”
The star explained that she had an early onset cataract from the time she was 30 years old to 40. She recalled that the issue affected her vision “so much that I was basically legally blind out of my left eye.” She also admitted that the problem caused her quite a bit of stress.
“A cataract is the result of proteins in your eye that can collect on the lens of your eye,” according to Healthline. “This clouds the lens and prevents light from getting through it, resulting in disruptions to your vision.”
“These changes typically begin to occur after you turn 40 years old as a natural part of the aging process,” Healthline points out. In fact, “[b]y the age of 80 years old, more than half of Americans either have had cataracts or have had treatment for a cataract.”
At the same time, Healthline notes, “Though cataracts are most common in people who are 60 years old or older, cataracts can and often do appear before that for many people.”
GettyWhen it comes to Hathaway, she eventually opted to address the issue.
“I wound up getting surgery,” she said during her podcast appearance. “And I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until I could finally see the full spectrum.”
“I’ve calmed down since then,” she also said. “I didn’t realize it was actually taxing my nervous system.”
“I appreciate vision because I literally feel like every day, I wake up and I get to see the way that I do, it’s a miracle,” Hathaway added. “I actually am like, ‘Oh, two generations back, that wouldn’t have been an option for someone like me.’ So, I actually do feel very connected to that kind of a miracle.”
Other Stars Have Faced Serious Eye Issues
GettyHathaway isn’t the only celebrity to deal with eye-related issues. In fact, Mila Kunis told Cosmopolitan (via The Daily Mail) “that she struggled with chronic iritis, an inflammation of the iris, for years.” She explained, “I was blind in one eye for many years, and nobody knew.”
The Mail notes that “[a]s a result of her condition she suffered blurred vision, developed a cataract and her eyes became different colours.” Just like Hathaway, Kunis decided to have the problem fixed, saying, “I was blind. I’m not blind anymore. I had surgery a couple of months ago.”
GettyEven basketball pro Stephen Curry had a serious eye problem. “For all of his career, his life even, Curry has had issues with his eyes,” The Athletic noted.
“He said he has a condition called Keratoconus, known in the ophthalmology field as KC,” The Athletic explained. “Technically, it’s an eye disorder in which the cornea, normally a circle, progressively thins and takes on a cone shape. This distortion has given Curry what is known as an astigmatism, which is a type of error in the way the light bends when entering the eye. It doesn’t distribute the light equally to the retina and leads to blurred or distorted vision.”
Then there’s Kristen Bell, who has what’s known as a lazy eye. When it comes to dealing with the issue, she told the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (via the American Academy of Ophthalmology) that when she’s on set, someone on the crew will yell “wonky” if her one eye starts to drift.
She can also make her eyes move independently of each other, which is pretty interesting to see!
