Daisy Ridley has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease

Last Updated on August 12, 2024

Daisy Ridley has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease while speaking with Women’s Health.

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that leads to an overactive thyroid gland. The Star Wars actress said that she was diagnosed last September after experiencing some strange symptoms during the production of Magpie, a psychological thriller about a married couple who find their lives turned upside down.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ve just played a really stressful role; presumably that’s why I feel poorly,’” said Ridley. After experiencing symptoms which included a racing heart rate, weight loss, fatigue, and hand tremors, Ridley was encouraged to see an endocrinologist, who said that Graves’ can make one feel “tired but wired.” Ridley realized that she had also been feeling super irritable among her other symptoms. “It was funny, I was like ‘Oh, I just thought I was annoyed at the world,’” she said, “but it turns out everything is functioning so quickly, you can’t chill out.“

Since the diagnosis, Ridley has followed a routine of daily medication and a changed diet. While she’s been vegan for years, she has now decided to go gluten-free, as it is said to help with inflammation. “I am not super strict about it, but generally cutting down on gluten makes me feel better,” she said.

Ridley will soon be returning to the Star Wars franchise for a new movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The film takes place fifteen years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and finds Rey attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has previously teased the movie: “The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos — there’s even a question of how many exist anymore — and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the training that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.” The movie will launch the next chapter of the franchise, with Ridley even saying that it will take it in a “different direction.“