It’s World Vitiligo day today. Every June 25th the world pauses for a day to talk about the incurable skin condition that is Vitiligo.

It is a day aimed at creating awareness about the condition. Vitiligo can affect anyone, and so many people across the world have been diagnosed. The condition is not limited to any race or sex, although it is more visible on those with darker skin, however, people with lighter skin are equally affected.

Check out these celebs still living their lives to the fullest unabashedly and have even gone on to empower and educate people also affected by vitiligo.

1. Ogo Maduewesi

Every year, on June 25, the world celebrates World Vitiligo Day and it’s all thanks to Nigeria’s Ogo Maduewesi, who first brought the day to life in 2011! Together with Steve Haragadon, she finalized the concept behind the World Vitiligo Day, and has secured noticeable interest from the United Nations.

Ogo is the founder of Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF), a not-for-profit organization working into vitiligo research in Nigeria.

2. Winnie Harlow

You must have come across Winnie Harlow’s images on the internet. We see her in most vitiligo treatment websites, informational catalogs, and YouTube videos. Harlow was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model (2014).

After gaining popularity on the show, Winnie has continued to champion the vitiligo movement as a supermodel. She has made the chronic skin disorder a conversation and has been featured in magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan!

3. Tamar Braxton

The popular singer and TV host has vitiligo that affects her hand. Speaking on the condition during an interview, Tamar once said this about the skin condition: “Anybody with skin issues knows that that’s a very sensitive subject and that’s why I’ve never shared that I have vitiligo because I do.

I’ve always had it, since I was a young girl. It’s not as bad as others because everybody has it differently, but I’ve certainly had mine diagnosed. That’s why I tan. People say, “You bleach your skin!” But I tan just so I can have a better tone on my skin, boo! It’s gotten worse since I’ve gotten pregnant. If you shake my hand now, to me it’s more noticeable. But when you get diagnosed with a skin disorder, it’s hard. It does weigh on your self-esteem. It really does. But I’m done defending that. I’m not bleaching my skin and if I was bleaching my skin and I felt like saying so, I would, but for the record, I am not.”

 

4. Amy Deana

Cover Girl’s first model with Vitiligo, Deana has been defying beauty standards ever since she was discovered on Instagram.

She once told PeopleStyle: “Vitiligo awareness is something that is very important to me. Being given a platform to do so means so much. I welcome all appropriate questions about vitiligo. At the end of the day I am just like everyone else, I just happen to have spots. It’s a part of my identity, but it doesn’t define who I am … I work with CoverGirl; I’m a black woman; I have vitiligo. That is empowering.”

 

5. Leleti Khumalo (Sarafina)

The award-winning actress, who shot to limelight as a teenager in the award winning movie ‘Sarafina’, has since ditched any attempts to disguise her skin condition! Leleti is also attracting attention for all the right reasons. “So many people with vitiligo are belittled, humiliated and mocked because of their pigmentation,” she once said in an interview.

“I want to send people the message that this disease doesn’t change who you are as a person. Living successfully with vitiligo means embracing and accepting who you are, without any shame.”