Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Celebrities and Covid-19: from Donald Trump to Cristiano Ronaldo, how 37 famous people were affected by the coronavirus pandemic

Robert Pattinson, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, US President Donald Trump, and Cristiano Ronaldo are just a handful of public figures who have been affected by Covid-19. Photo: Agence France-Presse, EPA-EFE, AP

Covid-19 has impacted millions of people around the world, and even the rich and famous have been far from unaffected. From world leaders like US President Donald Trump to Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Idris Elba, and now Portuguese football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, this far-from-complete list acts as a sobering reminder of how many high-profile figures have been affected by the coronavirus and where they stand today.

Throwback: how celebrities reacted to the coronavirus outbreak

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE

Cristiano Ronaldo – the 35-year-old Juventus striker voted the world’s top player five times – tested positive on October 13, and missed Portugal’s Nations League clash with Sweden on October 14.

President Donald Trump pulls off his protective face mask after returning from being hospitalised on October 5. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 on October 2, upending the already tense US election, but returned to campaigning in Florida on October 12 saying, “I feel so powerful.” His wife Melania and son Barron also contracted the virus and have since recovered.
 

Actor Robert Pattinson reportedly tested positive while filming for the latest Batman movie in the UK, halting the movie’s production.

 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed that his entire family had tested positive, but had all made a full recovery.

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi spent 11 days in hospital in September after being admitted with coronavirus, describing it as “perhaps the most difficult ordeal of my life”. The 83-year-old media tycoon tested positive after returning from a holiday at his luxury villa in Sardinia.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan  spent three weeks in hospital in July and August after being admitted with “mild” coronavirus symptoms and testing positive for the disease. Bachchan’s actor son Abhishek and daughter-in-law, actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, were also hospitalised.

Remember the home concert craze? How Hong Kong embraced virtual gigs

Tennis world number Novak Djokovic tested positive in June after an ill-fated Adria Tour exhibition, where there was minimal social distancing and players went nightclubbing.

Marianne Faithfull, 73, a 60s icon and celebrated singer-songwriter, was discharged from the hospital on April 22, 22 days after being admitted with coronavirus symptoms.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on BBC political programme The Andrew Marr Show on October 4, 2020. Photo: BBC/Agence France-Presse

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 55, was discharged from the hospital on April 12, where he spent a week, including three days in intensive care. After three weeks’ convalescence he is now back at work.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, as well as President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, both tested positive.

 

Queen of Pop Madonna said on May 7 that she had tested positive after falling ill during a tour of France.

Michel Barnier, who leads the EU’s negotiations with Britain on Brexit, announced on March 19 that he had the virus and returned to work in Brussels on April 14. His British counterpart David Frost was also infected.

Britain’s Prince Charles leaves the annual Commonwealth Day service in London on March 9, 2020. Photo: AP

Britain’s Prince Charles and Prince Albert II of Monaco, who both tested positive and showed mild symptoms, have now come out of quarantine.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson attend the 92nd Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California on February 9, 2020. Photo: Getty Images/Agence France-Presse

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, have recovered and returned home to Los Angeles after being quarantined for two weeks in Australia.

British actor Idris Elba , who tested positive but was asymptomatic, announced the end of his isolation on March 31.

Spanish opera star Plácido Domingo, 79, was released from the hospital on March 30.

Juventus football stars – Italian defender Daniele Rugani, French midfielder Blaise Matuidi and Argentinian attacker Paulo Dybala – were revealed to be infected in July.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he had tested positive for the virus in July 7, after consistently playing the pandemic down.

Pink, JK Rowling, Andy Cohen – other celebrities affected by coronavirus

Deceased

American jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz died on April 17 aged 92.

Bestselling exiled Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda, 70, died on April 16 at a hospital in Spain some six weeks after testing positive.

Jazz great Ellis Marsalis Jr died on April 1 aged 85.

Senegal’s Pape Diouf, 68, ex-president of French football club Olympique de Marseille, died March 31 in Dakar.

Former Republic of Congo president Jacques Joaquim Yhombi-Opango died in France on March 30, aged 81.

Veteran Afro-jazz star Manu Dibango, 86, and revered American playwright Terrence McNally, 81, both died on March 2.

British rapper Ty, who was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize, died aged 47 on May 7.

Indigenous leader Paulinho Paiakan, one of the biggest defenders of the Amazonian rainforest, died aged 65. It was announced on June 17.

World’s most expensive face mask: US$1.5m, 3,000 diamonds, still an N99 filter

 
Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada , 81, remember as the first Asian creator to break through on the Paris scene, died in the French capital on October 4.

This article originally appeared on Agence France-Presse.

Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .

Superstars like Madonna, Robert Pattinson and the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, world leaders Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, and sports celebrities Cristiano Ronaldo and tennis world number Novak Djokovic have all been affected