# What are the most famous celebrity nurses and their inspiring stories?

Paige Thornton · August 4, 2026

> Sonya Eddy, known for playing nurse Epiphany Johnson on the soap opera "General Hospital", was a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in real life before...

Sonya Eddy, known for playing nurse Epiphany Johnson on the soap opera "General Hospital", was a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in real life before pursuing acting.

Kate Gosselin, the star of the reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8", worked as a labor and delivery nurse at a hospital until 2004 before finding fame on television.

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Tina Turner, the legendary singer, started her career as a nurse's aide in a St.

Louis hospital, using the skills she learned to care for her sick mother.

Hazel W.

Johnson-Brown was the first African-American Brigadier General of the U.S.

Army Nurse Corps, paving the way for greater diversity in military nursing leadership.

Virginia Avenel Henderson, considered the "First Lady of Nursing", developed a groundbreaking theory of nursing that became fundamental to nursing education.

Mary Seacole, a Jamaican-born nurse, gained fame during the Crimean War for her pioneering work in battlefield nursing, and was ranked #1 in an online poll of 100 Great Black Britons in 2004.

Walt Whitman, the iconic American poet, worked as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, tending to wounded soldiers and documenting their experiences in his writing.

Whoopi Goldberg, the award-winning actress and comedian, briefly worked as a nurse's aide before finding fame in Hollywood.

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music icon, started her career as a nurse's aide in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee.

Maya Angelou, the celebrated poet and civil rights activist, worked as a nurse in San Francisco during the early stages of her career.

Susan Sarandon, the acclaimed actress, received nursing training and worked as a nurse's aide before pursuing her passion for acting.

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