As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to ravage the world, more and more celebrities have announced they have contracted the virus. This serves as a sobering reminder that all of us are equally vulnerable when it comes to this global pandemic.
We’ve assembled this comprehensive guide to the celebrities, athletes, and politicians who have tested positive for coronavirus and the latest information on how they are doing as of this writing.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
For many people, Tom Hanks testing positive for coronavirus was a real eye-opener. If America’s most beloved actor could get this virus, then anyone could!
Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson exhibited symptoms of coronavirus, including periodic chills and a fever, while in Australia shooting a movie about Elvis Presley. They took a coronavirus test to be safe and, sadly, each one tested positive.
Both of them took on a kind of leadership role amid the pandemic, sharing advice and assurance through social media, as they self-isolated in Australia.
“Hey, folks. Two weeks after our first symptoms and we feel better,” Hanks tweeted on March 22. “Sheltering in place works like this: You don’t give it to anyone — You don’t get it from anyone. Common sense, no? Going to take awhile, but if we take care of each other, help where we can, and give up some comforts… this, too, shall pass. We can figure this out.”
Hanks’ advice as work, as he and Wilson were able to return home to the U.S. after a period of isolation. They continue to practice social distancing in America.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba has made a successful career out of playing very tough guys. That’s why it was such a shock when he (and later, his wife) tested positive for the coronavirus. He made that shocking announcement via a video that soon went viral.
Fortunately for Elba fans, he said he felt well and didn’t actually have any symptoms. To this day, he has had no symptoms. Him testing positive was a development even his Thor character Heimdall couldn’t see coming!
Debi Mazar
Debi Mazar is best known to fans starring in things like Entourage and Goodfellas. However, her struggle with the coronavirus has been more harrowing than any film or television role! She announced via Instagram that she tested positive after experiencing a high fever and intense aches.
“I’m pulling through,” Mazar said. “You have to take this virus very seriously. In a matter of hours, it can turn on you and you have to pay attention to your symptoms.” The weirdest symptom she said she experienced is losing her sense of taste and smell.
Olga Kurylenko
One of Ukraine’s most beautiful actresses, Olga Kurylenko is best known for her role in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. However, not even MI6 could keep her from testing positive for coronavirus. She broke the news via Instagram, but by Mother’s Day she announced that she had recovered completely after experiencing symptoms including a high fever and strong headache. “By the end of the second week, I felt totally fine,” she wrote.
Jason Collins
Jason Collins retired from the NBA, but he still has plenty of fans. He truly shocked those fans when he confirmed testing positive for coronavirus via Twitter.
So far, he’s experienced symptoms such as a terrible headache, high fever, and a cough. To avoid his fate, he kept his advice nice and simple: “Please stay safe and continue to social distance.” Sounds like solid advice!
Daniel Dae Kim
Lost and Hawaii Five-0 star Daniel Dae Kim returned to his home state of Hawaii after the pandemic shut down filming for his show New Amsterdam. “As the flight was close to landing,” Kim said, “I started noticing some scratchiness in my throat.… To be safe, when I got home I quarantined myself in a room in the house and tried to rest on my own. But later that night, I started feeling tightness in my chest, body aches and my temperature started to rise, so [my doctor] then told me to get tested.”
Kim got positively diagnosed for the virus and used an Instagram video to speak out against “senseless violence and prejudice against Asian people,” pointing out that he got the virus in New York City, not China.
On March 29, Kim gave an Instagram update saying he was now virus-free. Like Debi Mazar, he said that one of the bizarre symptoms he experienced was temporarily losing his sense of smell.
Colton Underwood
Some fans remember Colton Underwood from the NFL, but most remember him as a star of NBC’s The Bachelor. He announced via Instagram that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
He first noticed a problem when climbing the stairs made him out of breath. Fortunately, he’s breathing better now, but is still isolated for the safety of himself and his support network.
Kristofer Hivju
You may not recognize the name “Kristofer Hivju,” but you’ll certainly recognize his face. He played the beloved character Tormund on HBO’s Game of Thrones.
In an Instagram post on March 16, he announced he tested positive for coronavirus. He indicated he had only “mild symptoms of a cold” and urged his fans to practice responsible social isolation. He wrote this was the key to “[fighting] this virus” and avoiding widespread hospital crises.
Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is one of several NBA players who has tested positive for the virus. Despite the diagnosis, Durant said he was feeling relatively well.
Like most celebs, the Brooklyn Nets player used the opportunity to encourage responsibility and hope among his fans. “Take care of yourself and quarantine,” he said. “We’re going to get through this.”
Joe Diffie
Sadly, not every story about celebrities and the coronavirus has a happy ending. That’s the case for country music star Joe Diffie, who died of coronavirus-related complications on March 29.
Two days before his death, Diffie released a statement announcing his coronavirus diagnosis. “We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic,” the statement said.
Fans remember Diffie for cheeky country anthems like “Pickup Man” and “Honky Attitude.” While this country legend may be gone, fans will always remember him through the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Jackson Browne
As a singer and songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne has helped multiple generations rock out to awesome music. The 71-year-old recently told Rolling Stone that he tested positive for the coronavirus. “As soon as I had a small cough and a temperature, I tested [for COVID-19],” he said. “My symptoms are really pretty mild.”
In his interview, he was pretty blunt about the need for social isolation. “So many people that have it aren’t going to be tested,” he said. “They don’t have symptoms, but they might have it and might be able to pass it on. That’s what younger readers need to understand: They need to take part in the global response to stop the spread. That means not going anywhere, not getting into contact with anybody, not seeing anybody.”
Rudy Gobert
Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert drew criticism for his behavior regarding the coronavirus. During a March 9 press conference, he mocked people’s concerns about the virus and needlessly touched several microphones.
He later tested positive for the virus and issued a public apology on Instagram, correctly stating he could “make no excuses” for his actions. Luckily for Gobert, he is now cleared of coronavirus.
Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell is another Utah Jazz player who tested positive for coronavirus. And Mitchell (possibly casting shade towards Gobert) used his diagnosis to urge safe behavior from his fans.
On Instagram, he reminded fans to “behave responsibly” for both “their own health and for the well-being of those around them.” We can only guess that means not touching a bunch of microphones! Fortunately, he was also recently cleared of the virus.
Christian Wood
When it comes to a pandemic, you usually don’t want to be someone who sets a record. But Detroit Pistons player Christian Wood managed to set a very positive record indeed!
While Wood was the first non-Utah Jazz player to get diagnosed, he also became the first NBA player to be cleared of the virus. Between him and Gobert and Mitchell, we can only hope more people get to hear such good news.
Rachel Matthews
If you don’t recognize Rachel Matthews’ name, you probably recognize her voice. She played Honeymaren in Disney’s hit sequel Frozen II.
Obviously, her voice is part of how she makes a living, so she took it seriously when she had a sore throat. Other symptoms included fatigue and difficulty breathing. While she slowly improved after a few days, she decided to take things one day at a time.
Plácido Domingo
Legendary Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo, of The Three Tenors fame, announced he had tested positive for coronavirus on March 22. The 79-year-old singer was hospitalized on March 28 but released from the hospital the following day.
“I am at home and I feel good,” Domingo wrote on Facebook after being released from the hospital. “Fortunately from the first symptom I was, as always, under medical supervision, given my age and my comorbidities, so COVID-19 was immediately suspected and this helped me a lot.”
Domingo made headlines in October 2019 when he resigned as general director of LA Opera, following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. LA Opera revealed an independent investigation found the allegations credible on March 10.
Harvey Weinstein
Not long after he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex crimes including rape, Harvey Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus. He was moved into isolation at Wende Correctional Facility in New York. He had previously been held in Rikers Island Jail, which has reported multiple cases of coronavirus among both prisoners and correctional officers. As more convicts test positive, prisons may become hotbeds of infectious activity.
Although Weinstein is reportedly feeling well and not experiencing any symptoms of coronavirus, despite testing positive, he has other health issues including heart issues and “a condition that requires shots in his eyes so he does not go blind,” Fox News reported.
Prince Charles
Even royalty aren’t exempt from the coronavirus. Prince Charles is one of the most famous figures within England and throughout the world. And that’s what made it so shocking when Buckingham Palace revealed he had the coronavirus.
His symptoms have been mild and he self-isolated for seven days. Prince Charles was cleared from self-isolation on March 30. His wife the Duchess of Cornwall is remaining in isolation for the rest of the week, despite testing negative herself.
Prince Albert II
On March 19, Prince Albert II of Monaco became the first head of state to announce a coronavirus diagnosis.
The 62-year-old royal is the son of Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly. Now he is dogging allegations that he could have possibly been the person to infect Prince Charles. He had sat opposite Prince Charles at a WaterAid event in London on March 10.
“I was at a roundtable for his foundation, but I didn’t shake his hand. I was at the other end of the table, way far away,” Prince Albert said in a French interview. “We nodded hello to one another, so I don’t think I can really be accused of contaminating him.”
Rand Paul
We can only assume that things are tense in the Paul family. After all, former Texas congressman Ron Paul wrote an editorial calling the coronavirus a “hoax” on March 16. Less than a week later, his son Kentucky Republican senator Rand Paul tested positive for the virus!
Rand Paul’s office tried to downplay things by pointing out the senator did not have any symptoms. However, Paul ignited more controversy when the public found out he did not isolate while waiting for results, putting countless people in Washington, D.C. at risk.
Boris Johnson
To put it mildly, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a very controversial figure. And in an equally controversial video, he told the world he had tested positive for the coronavirus after experiencing mild symptoms. “Only a few weeks ago, he boasted of shaking the hands of coronavirus patients in hospital,” CNN wrote.
In response to his diagnosis, Johnson did what so many of us have started doing. He is working from home and only interacting with the world via electronic media.