by Lynette Alice

Created on: December 16, 2009

For many people herpes is a fact of life, albeit not a pretty one. No one is immune to at least the possibility of contracting herpes, and that includes celebrities. Some celebrities have been very open about living with herpes while others have tried to completely avoid the issue until faced with the reality in court because they failed to disclose that information to their partner.

Speculation as to what celebrities may have herpes is always rampant and is sometimes used to try to tear down or smear a celebrities reputation. With that in mind the celebrities discussed here have been confirmed to have herpes in one form or another. The purpose of discussing these people is not merely for the purpose of gossip, but with the hopes that they serve as a reminder that when it comes to herpes or STD's in general everyone is susceptible regardless to what they have achieved or who they are.

Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles was sued in 2006 by a former sexual partner, Sonya Elliot, while he was still a member of the Atlanta Falcons. The suit claimed Vick gave Ms. Elliot herpes after the couple had unprotected sex in 2003. To Vick's credit rather than trying to deny it he apologized and settled the case.

Ann Heche freely disclosed she has genital herpes in her 2001 autobiography "Call Me Crazy" which she said she contracted when still a child due to the tragic molestation she suffered at the hands of her father.

Eighties rock icon Billy Idol was not at all bashful about admitting he has quite a sexual history. Part of what comes with having many partners however is the possibility of contracting many different diseases. As Idol related in a Rolling Stone Magazine interview:

"AIDS f*ed up everything. What did you have to worry about til then? Gonorrhea you could get rid of. Herpes was the worst."

Idol then clarified that a bit admitting he definitely had Herpes and summed his sentiment at the time up by saying, "Yeah! Let's give it to each other and get on with it."

David and Victoria Beckham for all their money and fame are living with herpes. Whether one gave it to the other is unknown, but hardly relevant either.

Paris Hilton was long rumored to have herpes but it wasn't until she failed to pay the rent on her storage unit that the rumors were confirmed when the contents contained a patient education medical slip with her name and address on it concerning the use of Valtrex which is used to treat herpes and the bottle that the prescription was contained in.

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