Alex Smith has had a lot of ups and downs throughout his professional football career. From a rocky first six seasons to being undefeated to struggling with injuries. While his NFL has been a rollercoaster, he's been and still is being paid handsomely for his services. After playing high school football at Helix High School alongside Reggie Bush, Smith took his talents to the University of Utah from 2002-2004. While he only played in two games his freshman year, Smith led the Utah Utes victories in the 2003 Liberty Bowl and 2005 Fiesta Bowl and a 21-1 record as a starter.
Alex Smith was drafted 1st overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers where he played the first seven seasons of his NFL career. Though he struggled with injuries, in 2011, Smith led the 49ers to their first playoff victory since 2002. The following season, Smith was replaced by Colin Kaepernick as the starting quarterback after suffering a concussion. Smith racked up $76 million in contract money with the 49ers, in five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Smith was paid $63.4 million from the organization. In 2018, Smith signed a four-year contract with the Washington Redskins worth $94 million. Unfortunately, Smith suffered a spiral compound fracture to his right leg in week eleven of the 2018 season that has left his career in jeopardy.
They may be beautiful, rich and famous, but celebrities are human too, and that means they're just as prone to getting sick as the rest of us. And just like us, some celebs even live with chronic conditions that can take a toll on their day-to-day lives. But eczema – also referred to as dermatitis – is a common dry skin condition. Symptoms include dry, itchy, red and scaly skin. In more extreme cases, the skin can crust and bleed. According to the National Eczema Association, 1 in 10 individuals will develop eczema in their lifetime. And given these statistics, it’s hardly a surprise there are a few celebrities out there who have eczema too.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, 37, suffered from eczema in her teens. Kate was bullied heavily whilst attending Downe House girls’ boarding school, according to the Duchess’s friend Jessica Hay. According Hay, Middleton’s bullies made fun of her eczema. ‘It didn’t help that she was so tall and self-conscious about her eczema,’ Hay told CelebNow. Studies have shown children with moderate and extreme atopic dermatitis are more likely to suffer from conditions like anxiety and low self-esteem, which has a knock-on effect on their school work and ability to make friends.
Although Brad Pitt, 55, has not spoken about the issue himself, his co-star Cate Blanchett disclosed that Pitt was suffering from eczema during filming of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In an interview with Scotland’s Daily Record, the actress said, ‘We went through three weeks of make-up tests and he was covered in eczema from it all.’ Blanchett sweetly loaned Pitt her skin cream to deal with the dermatitis, that had developed due to the use of prosthetic makeup worn during filming. Prosthetic make-up isn’t the hugest concern for us non-Hollywood folk, nevertheless, what is a concern, is how makeup can trigger eczema flair up. Unless makeup brushes are constantly washed (let’s be real, they’re not), they become a breeding ground for bacteria. This can lead to clogged pores and irritated sensitive skin.
Adele, 31, stated that her eczema flared up when she became a new mom. During a press conference in 2013 after her Golden Globe win for Best Original Song for the Bond film Sykfall, the singer said: ‘I am exhausted. That’s how [motherhood] changed me. I have eczema from boiling bottles.’ Research carried out by the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) has revealed that contact dermatitis has the potential to have ‘detrimental’ impact and in the worst case scenarios can even threaten some sufferers ability to work.