17 Celebrities Who Got Refreshingly Real About Periods

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I remember the shock of getting my first period, and my mom reassuring me at the time by telling me that pretty much every woman you see walking down the street experiences periods, too. But, being the pop culture-obsessed pre-teen I was, my mind went straight to my favorite celebrities: 'Wow, they get periods too!'
And well, I was right. Even the most famous women in the world experience periods, hormones, and all the ups and downs that come with having a uterus.
So, without further ado, here's a roundup of some celebs who've been refreshingly honest about their periods — because, as these ladies prove, it's really nothing to be ashamed of!
Bella Hadid
Speaking to British Vogue in May, Bella, who has endometriosis, got real about the difficulties of working on her period. 'You're shooting Victoria's Secret on your period, with endo,' she said. 'That should be illegal,' she continued. 'I'm going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.' Honestly, I agree. The week before my period is HELL.
Kate Winslet
We all know the struggle of getting your period when you're meant to be getting in a pool — now imagine you're getting into that pool with Leonardo DiCaprio and filming Titanic. 'I'm not saying it was all happy-clappy. There were days when you'd just think, 'Oh, my God, I've got my period and I can't get in that freezing-cold water today,'' Kate told Rolling Stone in 1998. 'I remember standing up and saying to everyone, 'Listen, if it suddenly looks like Jaws, the movie, it's my fault.''
Emma Chamberlain
Emma has talked openly about her experience with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and how getting treatment for the condition 'changed [her] life.' 'My periods are so much more chill, my skin is so much more predictable,' she said during a Vogue video. 'My hair is getting thicker. It's just feeling like I'm coming back to myself in a way.' Prior to this, Emma said she'd been struggling with 'irregular periods, cystic acne, anxiety, depression, and a slew of other issues.'
Lena Dunham
After years of painful periods, Lena was diagnosed with endometriosis in her late 20s. "As my teen years progressed, my periods became more and more painful until it started to really disrupt my daily life," she told Cosmopolitan in 2020. In 2018, after enduring more excruciating periods, she chose to have a hysterectomy, which is a pretty uncommon treatment for endometriosis. You can read more about the procedure here.
Dakota Johnson
Your monthly cycle is a wild ride, and Dakota knows the struggle. In 2019, she told InStyle that her hormonal changes throughout her cycle are so 'traumatic' that it's 'ruining [her] life.' 'Every month. It's unbelievable. It's really fucking amazing. I can't get a grip on it,' she said.
Aly Raisman
Aly is a gymnast with six Olympic medals and knows a thing or two about getting her period at the worst time — but it's not something that she feels the need to hide. 'When you're really nervous, you have butterflies in your stomach, and you have your period — it's just not a good combination,' she shared in 2017. 'You just kind of have to just keep going …You can't tell the judges you want to compete tomorrow or wait a few days.' As for whether she'd ever free-bleed like other athletes have in the past, she said: 'I don't know if I'd have the confidence to do that,' which, IMO, is totally fair enough.
Florence Pugh
Florence is another female celeb who's talked openly about being diagnosed with PCOS in her 20s. Notably, she said in 2024 that she thought her PCOS symptoms, which involve irregular periods and weight fluctuation, were just 'part of being a woman.' '[I] didn't think that it was something that is common,' she said on the SHE MD podcast. 'I really just thought that it was something that you'd feel and that you'd know you had and that it wasn't really a worry.'
Demi Lovato
Demi told People in 2015 that her mom and sister were so excited when she got her first period that they threw a mini celebration. "My sister folded a poster board in half and made a card out of it, and drew pictures, and it said, 'Happy Period Day!' And she drew stick figures and kisses, and she used red markers," she said. "I have a pretty good sense of humor, so on one hand, I was totally embarrassed, and on the other, I thought it was awesome." How's that for some period positivity?
Kourtney Kardashian
In 2019, Kourtney posted a photo on Instagram of herself and her friend Stephanie Shepherd lying on a beach in bikinis. Giving some insight into their conversation when the pic was taken, she captioned it:' 'Is my tampon string showing?' @steph_shep whispered to me. The source of life shouldn't be embarrassing or hard to talk about. Mothers, teach your sons too.' Preach it, Kourt.
Mindy Kaling
Ironically, Mindy felt like her first period couldn't come fast enough. "I started menstruating in ninth grade," she wrote in a 2013 essay published in Rookie: Yearbook Two. "I spent all of eighth grade faking that I had my period, down to sticking Kotex in my underwear in case anyone needed proof."
Miley Cyrus
Memorably, Miley said she got her first period on the set of Hannah Montana. "It was so embarrassing, but I couldn't leave," she told Marie Claire in 2015. "And I was crying, begging my mom, 'You're going to have to put the tampon in. I have to be on set.'"
Jennifer Lawrence
We all know the pain of having to scrap the cute outfit you had planned in your mind because of your period — now imagine that with red carpet looks. In 2016, J.Law revealed that her dress for the Golden Globes that year was actually her second choice. "That was my plan-B dress," she told Harper's Bazaar. "Plan A was a dress that I couldn't wear because awards season is synced with my menstrual cycle, and it has been for years. [The dress I wore] was loose at the front. And I didn't have to worry about sucking anything in. The other dress was really tight, and I'm not going to suck in my uterus. I don't have to do that." On your period, it's gotta be comfort over style every time!
Kim Kardashian
Kim remembers her first period to the very day, which is kind of iconic. 'I got my period seeing the movie Batman for your birthday,' she previously told her sister Khloé. 'June 27th.'
Charli xcx
We know Charli is never afraid to speak her mind, and earlier this year, the singer candidly told fans at her Brat tour that she'd literally just come on her period. "Sometimes you're standing on stage and you get your period right before the show and you're wearing tiny little hot pants," she sang during the "Girl, so confusing" intro. "Is my tampon string gonna stick out? Or is it gonna be OK?"
Dove Cameron
Dove told Seventeen that she used to be so shy about discussing her period that she'd buy tampons with her allowance to avoid awkward conversations. "I think I didn't even tell my mom when I started my first period, because I was shy," she said in 2018. "I just didn't want to talk to anybody about my body...If I could go back and tell myself that it was okay, I would go back and tell myself that was okay."
Sophie Turner
In 2018, photographs of Sophie crying on an outing with her then-fiancé, Joe Jonas, caused a stir online. At the time, the Game of Thrones star was quick to provide some context. "Lol. Thank god I have a loving fiancé. Periods are a bitch," she wrote on Twitter (now X). When someone questioned the tears, Sophie hit back, writing: "Girl…. you've never had cramps?" Relatable.
Madison Beer
Madison's story about her period leaking at a Justin Bieber concert might just be the most quintessential 2010s teenage experience... ever? "In front of like 30 girls, this one girl was like, 'You're bleeding, are you okay?'" she told Seventeen. "So I look down, and I was in these little black shorts, and I looked at my mom and I literally started crying and I ran to the bathroom." Fortunately, the "sweetest old woman" was there to save the day with a pad. What a queen.