Food allergies can affect anyone—including some of the biggest names in music, movies, television, and professional sports. From Ariana Grande’s unusual tomato allergy to Sabrina Carpenter’s reactions to apples and almonds, several celebrities have publicly discussed living with allergies.
Their stories are also a reminder that allergies can develop at different stages of life. Someone may eat a particular food for years and then begin experiencing allergic reactions later.
Here are several famous celebrities with documented allergies and what they have said about them.
Ariana Grande’s Tomato Allergy
Ariana Grande is allergic to tomatoes.
The Grammy-winning singer and actress surprised fans in 2019 when she revealed that she had developed an allergy to tomatoes in her mid-20s.
Grande had been forced to postpone performances in Tampa and Orlando during her Sweetener World Tour. She later explained on Instagram that she had experienced an allergic reaction to tomatoes and that her throat had nearly closed.
The allergy was particularly unexpected because Grande said it developed after she had previously been able to eat tomatoes.
Can You Suddenly Become Allergic to Tomatoes?
Yes. Although many food allergies begin during childhood, new food allergies can develop in adulthood, including to foods that a person has eaten previously without difficulty.
Tomato can also sometimes cause pollen-food allergy syndrome, also called oral allergy syndrome. This occurs because proteins in certain fruits and vegetables resemble proteins found in pollens. However, significant throat symptoms or systemic reactions require medical evaluation rather than assuming the problem is simply oral allergy syndrome.
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Sabrina Carpenter’s Allergies: Apples, Almonds, Peaches, Animals and Nickel
Singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter has publicly discussed having several allergies.
During a WIRED interview in which she answered frequently searched questions about herself, Carpenter said she is allergic to:
- Apples
- Almonds
- Peaches
- Dogs
- Cats
- Nickel/metal
Carpenter explained that raw apples cause problems for her but that she can eat baked apples.
That difference is particularly interesting from an allergy perspective.
Why Can Someone React to Raw Apples but Eat Cooked Apples?
Some people with pollen-food allergy syndrome (oral allergy syndrome) react to proteins in raw fruits that resemble pollen proteins. Heat can alter some of these proteins, which is why certain people tolerate a cooked or baked fruit even though the raw version causes itching or other symptoms.
However, not every apple allergy is pollen-food allergy syndrome, and reactions involving significant swelling, breathing problems, widespread hives, vomiting, dizziness, or other systemic symptoms require evaluation by an allergist.
Carpenter has also discussed problems with jewelry because of her nickel sensitivity. Nickel is one of the best-known causes of allergic contact dermatitis and can cause an itchy rash where jewelry, buttons, belt buckles, or other metal-containing objects contact the skin.
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Zooey Deschanel’s Food Allergies
Actress and singer Zooey Deschanel, best known for New Girl, Elf, and the musical duo She & Him, has spoken publicly about having multiple dietary allergies or sensitivities.
She has previously described allergies involving foods including eggs and dairy, as well as difficulties with wheat, gluten, and soy at different points in her life.
Her dietary restrictions became especially well known when she tried following a vegan diet. Combining veganism with multiple food restrictions made finding enough suitable foods difficult, and she eventually stopped following the diet.
Deschanel’s experience illustrates an important issue for people avoiding several foods: eliminating multiple major food groups can make getting adequate nutrition more complicated.
Anyone who believes they have several food allergies should consider an evaluation by an allergist rather than eliminating increasingly large numbers of foods based only on screening tests.
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Drew Brees’ Peanut and Egg Allergies
Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees has discussed living with food allergies during his professional football career.
Brees, who became one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history and led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl championship, has publicly described allergies involving peanuts and eggs.
His experience is another reminder that food allergies are not limited to children. Adults—including elite athletes—may need to manage food avoidance while traveling, eating in restaurants, training, or working in environments where they have less control over food preparation.
Peanut is particularly important because peanut allergy can cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.
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Can Adults Suddenly Develop Food Allergies?
Yes.
People sometimes assume that if they ate a food throughout childhood, they cannot become allergic to it later. That is incorrect.
Food allergies can appear during adulthood. Adult-onset allergies may include reactions to shellfish, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, fruits, vegetables, and other foods.
Ariana Grande’s description of developing a tomato allergy in her 20s is a highly visible example of why a new reaction to a familiar food should not automatically be dismissed.
Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance
It is also important not to use the terms food allergy and food intolerance interchangeably.
A true food allergy involves the immune system and can potentially cause symptoms such as:
- Hives
- Lip or facial swelling
- Throat tightness
- Wheezing or difficulty breathing
- Vomiting or abdominal symptoms
- Dizziness or loss of consciousness
- Anaphylaxis
Food intolerance generally involves a different mechanism. Lactose intolerance, for example, is not the same condition as a milk allergy.
Because celebrity interviews sometimes use the word “allergy” broadly, the exact medical diagnosis cannot always be determined from a public statement alone.
What Are the Most Common Food Allergies?
In the United States, the nine foods recognized as major food allergens are:
Milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, crustacean shellfish, and sesame.
However, those are not the only foods capable of causing an allergic reaction. Many other foods—including tomatoes, apples, peaches, and numerous fruits and vegetables—can trigger reactions in susceptible people.
Think You Have a Food Allergy?
If you repeatedly develop itching, hives, swelling, coughing, wheezing, throat symptoms, vomiting, dizziness, or other symptoms after eating a particular food, an allergy evaluation can help determine whether the food is actually responsible.
Diagnosis may involve a detailed history, targeted skin testing or blood testing, and in selected cases a medically supervised oral food challenge.
Broad food allergy panels without an appropriate clinical history can produce misleading positive results, so testing should be interpreted in the context of the patient’s actual reactions.
Severe symptoms—particularly trouble breathing, throat swelling, significant dizziness, collapse, or other signs of anaphylaxis—require immediate emergency treatment.
Celebrities With Allergies Show That Allergies Can Affect Anyone
Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Zooey Deschanel, and Drew Brees have very different careers, but their publicly discussed allergy experiences highlight the same point: allergic disease can affect anyone.
Their stories also demonstrate several important aspects of allergy medicine:
- Allergies can develop in adulthood.
- Unusual foods can cause genuine allergic reactions.
- Raw and cooked versions of a food may sometimes cause different reactions.
- Food allergy and food intolerance are not the same thing.
- Allergy testing should be guided by a patient’s actual symptoms and history.
If you suspect a food or environmental allergy, an allergist can help identify the trigger and develop an appropriate treatment and emergency plan.