Jennifer Esposito landed her breakout role on Spin City after appearing on an episode of Law & Order in 1996. She’s starred in several hit movies and television shows in the last thirty years. Her time on CBS’s Blue Bloods was cut short after her doctor told her to rest amid ongoing health issues. The actress broke her silence on the terrifying health battle that had shocking side effects. Keep reading for all the details.
NCIS Star Breaks Silence On Health Battle, Terrifying Side Effect
Jennifer Esposito starred alongside Christina Applegate on ABC’s short-lived comedy, Samantha Who? The show was canceled after just two seasons. However, it was a memorable time for Jennifer Esposito, but not for a good reason.
She opened up to Maria Menounos on the Heal Squad podcast about how the health issue she’d been dealing with got worse while filming the ABC comedy.
“They brought me to a psychologist, like they had me on every medication. They wanted to give me shock treatment at one point because I wasn’t responding. I’m very sensitive to medication. It was a really bad time. And my mother had people pray over me,” she said about that time in her life. Electroshock treatment is for severe cases of depression. Paris Jackson recently shared her traumatic experience with the treatment.
Jennifer Esposito was suffering from undiagnosed mental and physical health issues that caused terrifying side effects. “I had hair falling out, nails falling off… a tooth fell out of my mouth, like, literally in the middle of a scene,” she shared. “Like, somebody has to help me.”
Sadly, it would take several more years and doctors before anyone helped her. The actress blasted a therapist who didn’t take her issues seriously. The therapist suggested that the issues were from stress. “Talk about gaslighting,” Esposito stated. “We don’t ever treat the actual underlying issue. We treat symptoms in this country, in America,” Jennifer Esposito vented.
She said that she tried “everything” to get her health back on track. “I went to holistic healers. I went to get my aura cleansed,” she revealed. The actress even went Vegan, but nothing helped her health issues.
Jennifer Esposito Left Blue Bloods Amid Doctor’s Orders, Will She Return To Spinoff?
Relief finally came several years after Samantha Who? Jennifer Esposito was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition celiac disease in 2011. By that point, her liver was failing after years of misdiagnoses.
She joined CBS’s Blue Bloods in 2010, a year before her diagnosis. She played Jackie Curatola on the police drama for three seasons. On the advice of her doctor, she took a step back from the show, though she guest-starred in later seasons. Blue Bloods was canceled in 2024 after 14 seasons.
Donnie Wahlberg continued the legacy of the Reagan family on Boston Blue. Several alums from Blue Bloods have made appearances on the spinoff. Jennifer Esposito hasn’t yet, but the showrunner hinted that surprises are in store for the upcoming second season.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger