Many know Claudia Winkleman as the co-host of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. The 52-year-old is also the host of Traitors and The Piano. Thanks to her career, Winkleman has amassed quite the fortune. Claudia was born on January 15th, 1972. She was raised in Hampstead, London and hasn’t moved very far.
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She now lives near Westminster with her family. Claudia is married to film producer Kris Thykier. The couple has three children, Jake, Matilda and Arthur. Both Claudia and Kris prefer to keep their family life private and don’t often speak about their children or their home life.
Despite keeping her family life private, Claudia Winkleman has opened up about her health struggles, mainly an eye condition that has greatly impacted her day-to-day life as well as her job as a TV host.
Claudia Winkleman suffers from intractable myopia
As reported by Gloucestershire Live, Claudia Winkleman suffers from intractable myopia, an eye condition she was born with. Claudia revealed that the eye condition is so severe she sometimes struggles to read the autocue at work and has even ‘banged into walls’.
The Strictly host explained on the How To Fail podcast that she has ‘always had terrible eyesight’ and she has had several operations to try and correct the issue. She told the podcast:
I've always had terrible eyesight. Which is going back to the blurriness of the paintings I like and the blurriness of how I really like life to be.
I've had a couple of operations since then because I was just banging into walls. But now I wear lenses or glasses or whatever.
In fact, Claudia’s eyesight is so bad she cannot see her face properly, she explained, as per Hello!:
I was born, I think with minus 15, so I've never really been able to see my face. It's all guesswork.
Despite the struggles that come with poor eyesight, Claudia revealed she doesn’t mind that everything is ‘a vague idea’ as that is ‘how she'd like to live’. She also adds that she likes ‘irregular and ramshackle and messy’, which is noticeable to her through her makeup choices.
Everything is ish, it's just a vague idea which is how I'd like to live. I don't want to live in a perfect land. I want to live in fuzzy world.
Adding:
I like irregular and ramshackle and messy. Just look at the way I do my eye makeup. I've always had terrible eyesight
What is myopia?
As reported by Hello!, myopia is a common eye condition, however, it is very rare to have myopia of the same degree as Claudia Winkleman. Doctor Samer Hameda explained:
In the UK, severe myopia like Claudia’s with -15 is relatively uncommon but its prevalence is gradually increasing, particularly among younger generations.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, another term for myopia is nearsightedness. It is an eye condition that causes distant objects to appear blurry but close-up objects remain clear.
It is believed that by 2050, ‘nearly half the people in the world will have nearsightedness’. Doctor Samer Hameda told Hello! that currently ‘about 30% of the world’ suffers from myopia but that number will likely increase in the following years:
About 30 per cent of the world is currently myopic and that is expected to rise to 50 per cent (approximately 5 billion people) by 2050.
As per the American Academy of Ophthalmology, myopia symptoms include eyestrain, headaches, squinting to see properly, and difficulty seeing objects far away, such as road signs or a blackboard at school.
Nearsightedness can develop at any time, some people are born with the condition, for others, it can present later in life.
Myopia can be corrected through surgery, however, for some people, like Claudia Winkleman, the surgery doesn’t change much. Doctor Samer Hameda explained:
Surgery outcomes for severe myopia can vary. While many see a significant improvement, achieving perfect vision isn’t guaranteed. Factors such as severity, anatomy and underlying conditions play a role.
Then speaking about Claudia’s case, he added that for some, it isn’t uncommon to still require glasses following surgery:
In Claudia’s case, despite two surgeries, there may be residual refractive error or other issues affecting her vision such as degenerative changes on the retina due to the high level of myopia.
It is not uncommon that despite multiple surgeries, someone with very high myopia will still need glasses or contact lenses to see.
Other celebrities have myopia
Considering myopia is such a common eye condition, it isn’t surprising to know that many other celebrities also suffer from nearsightedness. According to All About Vision, here are some other celebrities who reportedly suffer from myopia.
Taylor Swift
Pop fans may not know that Taylor Swift suffers from nearsightedness. The singer used to wear contact lenses, but in 2019, she decided to have LASIK to correct her vision. Indeed, Swifties may remember an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Late Night Show, where he showed a video of Taylor shortly after her surgery, which her mother had sent.
Tiger Woods
In the world of sports, Tiger Woods is also a sufferer of myopia. According to All About Vision, he suffered from severe myopia and was legally blind without glasses or contact lenses. The golfer had his first surgery in 1999.
Woods then had a follow-up procedure in 2007 as his ‘vision started slipping’. Since his second surgery, Tiger Woods went on to win several golf tournaments.
Zendaya
According to All About Vision, actress Zendaya also suffers from myopia. The former Disney Channel star often uses her position to remind fans that imperfections are normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
She regularly posts herself wearing glasses on her social media to remind fans she is a regular person. One of her posts of her wearing glasses has the caption ‘Guess who needed glasses.’ Moreover, in 2019, the Spiderman actress wore glasses while presenting the award for best directing in a limited series at the Emmys.
Kylie Jenner
During an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2020, Kylie Jenner revealed that her eyesight was affected by pregnancy. Indeed, she explained that her vision had become progressively blurrier when she was pregnant with her daughter Stormi.
Following her daughter’s birth, Kylie needed glasses to drive, watch TV and perform other daily tasks, as per All About Vision. Eventually, when her eyesight deteriorated to the point she couldn’t see Stormi’s face without glasses, Kylie had LASIK.
Read more:
Zoe Ball reveals she suffers from TMJ as she steps down from hosting BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show
Elton John reveals he has 'lost his eyesight' following infection
Chris McCausland reveals what it was like to go blind 20 years ago: ‘It was scary and embarrassing’
Sources used:
Heart: ‘Claudia Winkleman facts: Strictly presenter's age, husband, children and other TV shows revealed’
Gloucestershire Live: ‘BBC Strictly Claudia Winkleman's lifelong health condition saw her 'bang into walls'
Hello!: ‘Claudia Winkleman's 'severe' health condition that impacts her style’
The American Academy of Ophthalmology: ‘Nearsightedness: What Is Myopia?’
All About Vision: ‘What celebrities have myopia?’
