Vanessa Williams says she took Mounjaro while managing menopause

Vanessa Williams says she began taking Mounjaro when she entered menopause, telling Hello! Magazine that the drug was "a game-changer" ^[1]. She described a body that stopped responding the way it once had, and said the decision came around the time she turned 60 ^[1].

"My fifties were hard. I started perimenopause in my late forties but suddenly, at 51, it's crazy how your body changes," Williams said ^[1]. "You feel out of control because you're working out the same way, eating the same, and your body is not reacting the way it used to." She tied the choice to longevity as well as appearance: "When I turned 60, I was like: 'I want to be here for a long time, and I want to look my best. So what am I going to do?'" ^[1]

Several details about her use have not been reported. It has not been disclosed how long she took Mounjaro, whether she still takes it, or at what dose ^[1]. Mounjaro, a tirzepatide drug made by Eli Lilly, is approved to treat type 2 diabetes; the company's Zepbound is approved for obesity ^[1]. Williams did not describe side effects in the account ^[1].

Her disclosure joins a group of celebrity accounts that frame GLP-1 use around midlife, pregnancy or a diagnosed condition rather than appearance alone. Eric Stonestreet has said he takes Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and kept the diagnosis secret for years because he was ashamed of it; he said his doctor told him about the injectable before its May 2022 release ^[1]. Meghan Trainor said she used Mounjaro after her second pregnancy along with working with a dietitian and a trainer ^[1]. Chrissy Teigen said she turned to Ozempic after a 2020 miscarriage, at a point when she had gained about 40 pounds ^[1]. Renee Graziano said she lost 52 pounds with Mounjaro by May 2025 ^[1]. Rosie O'Donnell wrote in August 2025 that she had reached a size 12 on Mounjaro ^[1]. Serena Williams has said a GLP-1 helped her after her second child; a page on the telehealth company Ro's website says she lost 31 pounds in eight months ^[2].

Not every account is positive. Bunnie XO said in December 2025 that she had "a bout of suicidal ideation" while taking a GLP-1, describing that period as one of the darkest of her life ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Menopause is one reason people in midlife look at weight-loss medications, and the way these drugs are discussed in public has shifted as more users describe health reasons rather than cosmetic ones ^[1][2]. Celebrity accounts describe one person's experience; they do not show how a medication will work for anyone else.

None of the drugs named in these disclosures is approved to treat menopause itself. Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity ^[1]. In people with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 drugs can lower blood sugar and support weight loss, and they have been shown to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes, regardless of their effect on blood sugar ^[2].

The size of the effect varies by drug and by use. Data published in JAMA Internal Medicine show GLP-1 medications can reduce HbA1c, a marker of blood sugar, by about 0.9% within six months and produce roughly 3.3 pounds of weight loss in that period; when semaglutide is used to treat obesity, users lost an average of 12.7 kg (nearly 28 pounds) over 68 weeks compared with a placebo ^[2].

Menopause symptoms and weight changes can have several causes, and the accounts above do not address how GLP-1 drugs interact with hormone changes. How many people use these medications specifically for menopause-related weight gain has not been reported ^[1][2].

What happens next

Williams' interview did not come with new clinical data on GLP-1 use during menopause, and no trial results on that question were described ^[1][2]. Whether her disclosure changes how the drugs are discussed, or prompts more midlife-focused research, has not been announced ^[1][2].