The Boys has kicked off its final season and Erin Moriarty is once again a huge part of the series as Starlight.
Reviews have been positive for The Boys season five, with the final season sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Leading the underground rebellion against Homelander, Starlight is a core part of the new episodes, something that is sure to create renewed interest around Erin Moriarty herself.
The 31-year-old has struggled with health battles in the past, speaking out publicly on Instagram about how she had been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease.
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Graves’ Disease is an auto-immune disorder but is commonly mistaken for other symptoms and issues.
Moriarty took to Instagram where she stated that after receiving treatment for the disorder she felt the ‘light coming back on’.
What is Graves’ Disease and how does it effect someone?
The disorder is fairly rare, affecting 1% of people in the US with slightly higher rates in women than men. Women are as much as ten times more likely to have the auto-immune disorder.
It occurs when your thyroid, a gland in your neck, produces too much thyroid hormone due to antibodies mistakenly attacking the thyroid.
This causes hyperthyroidism, where the processes of your body are sped up and your metabolism is increased.
This can affect many organs in your body and can lead to someone losing weight, suffering from anxiety, a rapid heart rate, or a ‘goiter’ which is where there neck becomes swollen.
What did Erin Moriarty mistake Graves’ Disease's symptoms for?
Erin Moriarty posted on Instagram about her diagnosis, saying: “Autoimmune disease manifests differently in everybody/every body. Your experience will be different from mine. My experience will be different from yours.
“One thing I can say: if I hadn’t chalked it all up to stress and fatigue, I would’ve caught this sooner.”
Moriarty stated that her light had felt as if it was ‘dimming’ but reiterated that she had mistaken it for stress and burnout, adding: “If yours is dimming, even slightly, go get checked. Don’t ‘suck it up’ and transcend suffering; you deserve to be comfy. Sh*t’s hard enough as is.”
What has Moriarty said about life with Graves’ Disease and how seriously it affected her?
The actor best known for The Boys also spoke about her condition on the Grave Conversations podcast, where she was asked by fellow actor and host David Desmalchian about her relationship with mortality.
She said: “I didn't really have a relationship with my own mortality until this past year in May when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Graves’ disease.
“This past year when I was sick, it made me realize I never want to exist in a prolonged state in my body where I'm in severe discomfort, but also made me question things.”
Moriarty stated that by the time she was diagnosed she could ‘barely walk’, adding: “It was so severe. David, it's something that like to this day to put myself back into that state or like really go there mentally is hard for me.
“The day revolves around you [as a lead actor]. The day needs Erin to be at 100%. She's not only just an actor, she's playing a superhero.”
She stated that it got so bad she ended up planning who would look after her dog if she died, stating: “I thought I was dead.”
If you think you may suffer from the symptoms discussed in this article, read more from the NHS about when to contact your GP here.
Topics: The Boys, Health, TV and Film, TV, Celebrity
Michael Slavin