Did any celebrities work in healthcare, or better yet, as nurses?
Yep!
Imagine waking up from general anesthesia in the intensive care unit (ICU) and seeing the country legend Naomi Judd at your bedside.
Gasp!
Y’all, it’s not a myth.
Celebrities who worked in healthcare are a thing.
In fact, there are stars who switched from nursing to the big stage, celebrities who became nurses after the spotlight, and those who did both!
If you’ve ever wondered, what did famous people do before fame? You may be surprised by who traded the cameras for patient care and vice versa.
Below are famous people who were nurses who made (or are still making) their mark in healthcare.
Lights, camera, action!
Naomi Judd
Those who knew Naomi Judd personally described her as a generous and loving spirit. This distinct nursing personality trait may be exactly why she was so good at her job.
In 1979, after completing her degree, Naomi began working as a registered nurse (RN) in Tennessee and quickly took on nursing roles in the intensive care unit.
That early nursing background of famous people is easy to overlook once the spotlight takes over, but it was a very real and raw part of Judd’s story.
Here’s the plot twist:
While Naomi Judd was working at Williamson County Hospital in Franklin, Tennessee, she cared for the daughter of Nashville producer Brent Maher after a car accident.
She gave Maher a homemade cassette of herself and her daughter, Wynonna, singing, recorded on a cheap tape deck in their kitchen. In turn, Maher got Naomi and Wynonna an audition for RCA Records.
Then, things took a swift turn.
Reportedly, they became official RCA recording artists just 45 minutes after the audition—and launched their incredibly successful mother-daughter country duo.
In 1990, Naomi learned she contracted hepatitis C from a needle stick injury while working as a nurse. She reportedly described her nursing years as the reason she was comfortable speaking plainly about illness in public.
She died in 2022, but remains one of the most famous country singers who were nurses at one time.
“Love can build a bridge, Between your heart and mine, Love can build a bridge, Don't you think it's time?” — lyric from Naomi’s signature song, Love Can Build a Bridge, co-written with Paul Overstreet and John Jarvis
Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Hunt worked as an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago while performing improv at night.
She co-founded An Impulsive Thing in 1984 before joining Second City. In 1988, she auditioned for Rain Man on her lunch break. After landing the role, Bonnie eventually moved to Los Angeles with Second City and gave herself 6 months to pursue acting.
She continued picking up nursing shifts between jobs, but acting ultimately became her full-time career.
"If I've learned one thing in life, it's: Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything." — Bonnie Hunt
Robin Quivers
Robin Quivers is a well-known radio personality, probably best known for her role as a radio co-host on The Howard Stern Show.
Before becoming part of the iconic duo, Robin earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Maryland in 1974.
She went on to work as a nurse in Baltimore, including at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services. She joined the United States Air Force in 1975. She entered as a second lieutenant, served as a nurse, and left in 1978 with the rank of captain.
Robin kept working as a nurse while attending the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland, then took radio news jobs in Pennsylvania and Maryland before joining The Howard Stern Show in 1981.
Among celebrities who were nurses, she is the clearest example of someone who treated her nursing license as a stable base while building another career.
“Too many people don't do things for fear of falling. You'll never get good unless you fall." — Robin Quivers
Jennifer Stone
You may know Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle in Wizards of Waverly Place. After the show ended in 2012, she earned her nursing degree in 2019 and became an emergency room nurse.
She took to the front lines in Burbank, California, at the height of COVID-19 and has spoken openly about her experience.
In a candid interview with Teen Vogue, Jennifer explained that her acting experience turned out to have some practical benefits in nursing. Primarily, the memory skills she developed as an actor helped her absorb a whirlwind of new medical information, from medications and procedures to unfamiliar diseases and terminology.
She has continued acting, including her return as Harper in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Unlike others who quit acting for nursing, Jennifer is an example of a celebrity with a second career, simply making room for another passion alongside the one she already had.
“I know what drives me and I know what I love to do, and I know what I'm capable of.” — Jennifer Stone
Kate Gosselin
Oh, the famous Jon & Kate Plus 8. If you lived in the reality TV era, you probably remember this household name.
Or, at least, the mayhem it caused on reality TV, as viewers watched in awe as one mother somehow juggled 8 children.
Imagine twins plus sextuplets!
Before rising to fame, Kate Gosselin worked as a labor and delivery nurse. She was still a nurse when she was discovered, but left her job in 2007, when the series began, to focus on raising her kids.
Years later, after stepping away from television and relocating to North Carolina, she renewed her nursing license and returned to work as an RN. She shares her experiences on Instagram and TikTok, including working 12-hour shifts as a pediatric home health nurse.
Her story makes Kate a great example of a nurse-turned-reality-tv-star, who then became a nurse again for a more stable career.
"I use my haters as my motivators." — Kate Gosselin
Alana Thompson
Alana Thompson has been in the public eye since childhood, thanks to reality television.
She is best known as “Honey Boo Boo” from the reality show Toddlers & Tiaras, as well as from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Growing up on a reality show is no easy feat, but she became known for her boisterous and bubbly personality.
She is currently enrolled as a BSN nursing student in Colorado and works as a patient care technician at a pediatric hospital while completing her studies. Alana has withdrawn from regular reality TV appearances, so she’s one on this list who may fall under the “celebrities who left Hollywood for nursing” category.
“I know every single day I'm getting a little stronger, a little smarter, and a little closer to the nurse I've always dreamed of becoming ” — Alana Thompson
Writers who were Civil War nurses
Civil War nursing took place during the 1860s, when formal nursing education and professional credentials did not yet exist in the United States. Volunteers delivered much of the care provided in military hospitals.
These individuals may not have been nurses by today’s definition, but they cared for wounded and dying soldiers in very real ways.
Imagine not having the tools you have today in a hospital and needing to assist with amputations—these volunteers did it with steady hands and an incredible amount of courage.
Here are 2 wartime volunteers whose experiences shaped some of America’s best-known writing.
Louisa May Alcott
Served as a Civil War hospital volunteer in Washington, D.C., for about 6 weeks in 1862.
Her experience became the basis for Hospital Sketches, her firsthand account of wartime hospital life. Like other authors who nursed, she captured the complexity and grit it took to be a nurse in her time.
Walt Whitman
Whitman volunteered in military hospitals, beginning in 1862, and eventually made hundreds of visits to wounded and dying soldiers.
His experiences influenced his poetry and prose, including Drum-Taps and Memoranda During the War, which explored suffering, compassion, death, and the human cost of war.
Where nursing can take you
What do nurses and celebrities have in common?
Momentum and a spirit that push them through the most challenging of times.
These celebrities, who were once nurses, understand what it’s like to be under pressure and in the spotlight—whether under stage lights or hospital lights.
If these varied life stories share a lesson, it’s that nursing pays off in different ways and doesn’t have to follow a single path.
That’s the beauty of nursing!
It’s something you can keep pursuing and advancing in or take a break from and return to years later.
Or do as Bonnie Hunt did: work as a nurse while you pursue another passion. Sign up with Nursa to pick up per diem shifts near you.
Sources:
- Guideposts: Guideposts Classics: Naomi Judd on Stepping Out in Faith
- Academy of Country Music: Naomi Judd
- U.S. Department of War: Radio Personality Robin Quivers Is Also Air Force Veteran
- Yahoo Entertainment: ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ Alum Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson Turns 21, Working on Nursing Degree
- Teen Vogue: Jennifer Stone on What It's Like to Be a Nurse Helping Fight COVID-19 and Balancing Acting After "Wizards"
- Life as a Nurse – Naomi Judd Legacy
