Viola Davis

Viola Davis began experiencing hair loss from alopecia areata at 28 years old. After she learned that her balding was from stress, she internalized the struggle until she learned to embrace her hair for what it was. "I woke up one day, and it looked like I had a Mohawk. Big splash of bald on the top of my head," Davis told Vulture. "I was like, What is this? Until I found out it was stress related. That's how I internalized it. I don't do that anymore. My favorite saying in the world is, 'The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.' I am telling you, I have spent so much of my life not feeling comfortable in my skin. I am just so not there anymore."

Because she was embarrassed by her hair, Davis got into the habit of wearing wigs wherever she went. It wasn't until she was older that wigs, which she still wears, became an option, not something to hide behind.

"I wore a wig in the Jacuzzi. I had a wig I wore around the house. I had a wig that I wore to events. I had a wig that I wore when I worked out. I never showed my natural hair," Davis said. "It was a crutch, not an enhancement. I was so desperate for people to think that I was beautiful. I had to be liberated from that [feeling] to a certain extent."