Ally Hilfiger is an author, artist, designer and the daughter of fashion mogul and entrepreneur Tommy Hilfiger.
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Ally Hilfiger
Lyme Disease Advocate & Entrepreneur
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Bio
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Ally Hilfiger is an author, artist, designer and the daughter of fashion mogul and entrepreneur Tommy Hilfiger. She chronicled her lifelong battle with Lyme disease in her moving memoir, Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole my Childhood, Made Me Crazy and Almost Killed Me, considered to be one of the most frank and courageous accounts of the disease.
Hilfiger’s battle with chronic Lyme Disease began as a child and went undiagnosed for more than a decade. She remembers her mother removing a black tick when she was seven years old. Years of chronic fatigue, joint pain, night sweats, memory loss, depression and anxiety followed. So did a string of misdiagnoses, as top medical experts claimed her symptoms were everything from rheumatoid arthritis to fibromyalgia.
While only in high school, Hilfiger sold MTV on the idea for the reality show Rich Girls. But while cameras chronicled a glamorous lifestyle traveling around the world, she was secretly suffering in pain and silence. “I zipped my lips because I didn’t want to come across as a complainer,” she says. As her health deteriorated, Hilfiger self-medicated to ease the physical and emotional pain. Following a public breakdown, her family thought Hilfiger needed to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Finally, at the age of 18, she was correctly diagnosed with Lyme and began her journey to recovery.
Now an active advocate for Lyme disease awareness and education, Hilfiger has become a champion of empowerment as both a patient and a woman and a mentor and resource for others who are dealing with Lyme. She sits on the board of Project Lyme, a global advocacy organization focused on prevention and early detection, and the Global Lyme Alliance. In addition to creating and starring in the docu-series Rich Girls for MTV, she designed and spearheaded the women’s clothing line NAHM that was featured in the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s.
Hilfiger hopes that by sharing her own ordeal, she can encourage others to trust their own instincts and persevere through obstacles. In doing so, she emphasizes the critical importance of having a mental, emotional and spiritual connection to recovery and healing, including stress management, meditation, clean eating and nutrition. She delivers talks that both educate and inspire. Ally recounts her experience battling misdiagnosis and a debilitating tormentor with a humor and power that can inspire us all. She gives a voice to others who are struggling and helps others (along with their families and healthcare providers) navigate their own journeys to healing, health and most of all, learning to love yourself.
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Topics
Topics
Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole My Childhood, Made Me Crazy & Almost Killed Me
Becoming an Empowered Patient and a More Patient-Centric Provider
Becoming Stronger: The Power of a Positive Mindset
Videos
Videos
Ally Hilfiger on Lyme Disease
Ally Hilfiger on Battling Lyme Disease While Filming MTV's Rich Girls | Where Are They Now | OWN
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