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Louise Redknapp rose to prominence as a member of girl group Eternal before marrying England midfielder Jamie Redknapp in the 1990s. However, at the peak of her career, she struggled with a skin condition that medical professionals described as the "worst they've seen in a long time". Louise, who celebrates her 51st birthday today, reveals she was diagnosed with hyperpigmentation during childhood. The condition occurs when certain areas of the skin become darker due to increased melanin production. It can cause dark patches or circles to appear on the body. Louise explains her hyperpigmentation reached its most severe point in her twenties, shortly after welcoming her eldest son Charley, whom she shares with former husband Jamie. She recalls experiencing significant self-esteem problems whenever the condition would worsen. Speaking to the ECHO, Louise recalled: "I said that I looked like I had the world map on my face. "The pigmentation that I suffered with after having my first child saw one dermatologist say it was the worst they had seen in a really long time. And it really affected my confidence, because on one hand, I was so happy having this gorgeous baby, and on the other hand, I didn't know what I was going to do with my face." The mother-of-two explained that confidence struggles meant she found it difficult to be present in the moment. She continued: "There's been lots of times in life that maybe being worried about how I looked has held me back from really living in the moment and enjoying things. "Every moment being on the beach, worrying that somebody might take a picture of you from an unflattering angle. I spent most of my holidays lying flat in the hope that no one would spot me." Louise encouraged anyone else dealing with hyperpigmentation to try and stay positive. She explained that whilst people may notice the flare ups, others may not, reports the Mirror. She added: "The things that we think are terrible - blemishes on our face, pigment on our face - people might notice it, but it's not the first thing they judge you on, and if it is, you don't want to know them anyway. "Trying to keep a positive mental attitude is really tough but just remember that everybody's fighting their own battles and believe you me, whatever you're fighting at that time will not beat the forefront of their mind." Louise 'desperately' attempting to 'survive' The Let's Go Round Again singer has previously spoken openly about a period in her life when she was "struggling" and attempting to keep her "head above water". On Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, Louise disclosed she had been taking antidepressants to get her "head above the ground". However, she discovered they caused her to put on weight, which left her "hating" how she looked in photographs. "I always remember like going to...I think it was the BRITS or somewhere, and they'd made me put weight on, and it was the lesser of two evils," she explained. She went on to say: "For some reason, I put weight on. I was unconfident in how it looked to my body, yet at the same time, I was trying to keep my head above water. I was trying to desperately just survive in the world that we live in." Louise expressed her desire to "come out" and discuss her struggles. She confessed to Fearne that she wanted to apologise for not being "wasn't perfect". A 'really bad' health struggle after achieving fame Louise has also opened up about her battle with OCD during her time in Eternal. During an emotional interview on This Morning in 2020, she revealed that it felt like the "the only thing I could control in my life". Louise stated: "For many years I suffered from OCD in a really big way, looking back I think it most probably came from it being the only thing I could control in my life. "Going on you do work and start to understand the illness a bit more, but I hope people out there that suffer might realise they're not alone. I had it really badly. It used to take me 20 minutes to go to bed at night. I've come a long way since those days. And it has helped me to write it all down." While Louise acknowledges she was "really lucky" to be part of the band, she now feels she "could have dealt with things" differently and "maybe not worried so much," according to MailOnline. She was a part of Eternal, alongside Easther and Vernie Bennett as well as Kéllé Bryan. Their debut album as a quartet, Always and Forever, climbed to number two in the UK chart, selling over four million copies worldwide. Louise's latest studio album, Confessions, secured the eighth spot in the UK chart. Her 2000 single, 2 Faced, reached its peak at number three in the chart.
