Holly Brisley has coeliac disease..

[dnp52td]

Not sure if this was well known but I just came across this website which has an interview with Holly about having coeliac disease

Holly coeliac article

I feel like a different person!

Special feature

Holly Brisley from Dancing With The Stars and Home And Away was diagnosed with coeliac diseasein 2000. “Whilst doing a photo shoot I realised that it hurt to pull in my stomach when the photographer asked me to. I had always suffered from stomach problems so finally decided to have itchecked. The results of the endoscopy revealed that I had coeliac disease.” Holly believes that a gluten free diet can be a really healthy way of living. “I try to eat balanced meals and exercise regularly. It can get tough with my busy schedule but I seem to be doing OK. One of the benefits is the knowledge that you gain about food in general. I feel that I’m much more aware about what is in each product that I’m eating and tend to feel more in control with my health. “I feel like a different person since going on the gluten free diet. I have so much more energy and feel better all round. “Some of the downsides are the fact you have to be far more organised and alert with every meal that you eat and also the difficulties with eating out.” But what about socialising and going to celebrity events? “I don’t get a chance to go to many events these days as they take up too much time. However, I always contact the organiser/chef etc in advance if it’s a dinner event or I eat beforehand if it’s only finger food.” Holly’s acting career began at the age of 15 when she landed support roles in two different American television movies filmed at Warner Bros Studios on the Gold Coast. Since then Holly has starred in American films such as Scooby Doo and Nowhere To Land. Her biggest movie role to date is playing Geraldine in the Australian comedy, The Cop, for which she recently received a Best Actress gong from the New York International Independent

The Australian Coeliac Film and Video Awards. Holly will be seen later this year in Behind The Scenes of Dynasty, a tele- movie produced by ABC America. She has played a myriad of cameo roles in

Australian series such as All Saints, Home and Away, Mermaids and BeastMaster. Versatile is certainly a word you could use with regard to Holly. Along with her many movie and television movie roles she has worked extensively as a television host/presenter. However you will probably remember her best in Dancing With The Stars. Holly and her dance partner, Mark Hodge were voted to within one show of the final, only beaten by finalists, Tom Williams (champion) and Ian Roberts and their partners. “We had heaps of fun filming Dancing With The Stars but it was a lot of hard work too! I think my most embarrassing moment was when Mark and I were supposed to do this really amazing lift at the end of one of our routines but instead I went flying and fell down his back. Not the most glamorous of endings! “Dancing With The Stars was really positive for my career. It was a fantastic experience for me, I loved it!”

2004 has been a busy and exciting year for Holly. Between filming segments as a regular host for World’s Craziest Videos for Network Seven, there were the long and exhausting hours involved in Dancing With The Stars in addition to her role in Home And Away. As well, Holly along with Tammin Sursok and Sonny Bill Williams are now the new faces of Pepsi. On location for Home and Away “I have so much more energy and feel better all round” where Holly plays drama teacher Amanda Vale, they always cater for Holly’s gluten free diet. However when filming in the studio she takes her own breakfast, lunch etc. “On Dancing with the Stars I used to get my salads brought in for me, so I felt very special.” Holly has about 15 months to go on the Channel Seven soapie, Home And Away. She tells us that her character, Amanda Vale, is very naughty but a lot of fun to play. When Holly recently visited the Coeliac Society Centre at Chatswood, we found her to be charming and beautiful but what was most endearing to us was how down-to-earth she was.

She was interested in what we do and excited to see all the gluten free products on display, spying a number of products she did not know about. Holly’s hints for the newly diagnosed – “Take one day at a time, don’t get down on yourself if you make a mistake and keep at it. It takes time to adjust to a new diet but you’ll feel so much better for it! It is no more difficult being a celebrity with coeliac disease than for anyone. I think it can be tough for us all.” On her recent overseas trip, Holly commented, “It was difficult but having the society ID cards in various languages really helped. I managed to enjoy plenty of gluten free meals and had a great time away.” Eating was not all that Holly had on her mind whilst overseas. In a romantic setting in Venice, Holly’s boyfriend Paul Ford popped the big question, and without hesitation Holly answered “yes”. So Holly is now sporting a stunning engagement ring. Of Paul, a handsome 35 year old marketing executive, Holly says, “Paul is amazing!! He even cooks gluten free meals for me now. I’m very lucky to

have him.” We asked Holly whether her wedding would be fully gluten free, “I haven’t given it too much thought yet but I know my meal will be and the wedding cake too!! Yum Yum!!” You can check out more about Holly on her website www.hollybrisley.com.

[Tamxxx]

Tammin Surok has colieac disease also and she has dairy allergys

[chichi0719]

I'd never heard of that before! Thanks for posting, that was really intersting.

[c120701]

My grandma has it, apparently it most commonly develops with people in their 40's but I don't know anyone in their 40's who has it.

[Emily11]

OMG I have coeliac disease too so thats really interesting to know, thanks