Regardless if someone is rich or poor, young or old, no one is immune from the grim reaper. Stars may live the glamorous life and seem to not have a care in the world but when tragedy suddenly struck these 15 celebrities, they learned first-hand how quickly everything could be snatched away within the blink of an eye.

WENN

Tennis star Serena Williams has dominated the courts for almost a decade but her career and life were in severe jeopardy a few years ago. Williams had to undergo emergency surgery when doctors discovered a blood clot in her lung. “I couldn’t breathe and I just thought I was out of shape, so I thought I needed to get on the treadmill or hit the gym,” the 30-time Grand Slam champion said. “It could have gotten a whole lot more serious a day or two later – it could have been really not good, possibly career-ending, but for the grace of God we caught it in time and I was able to recover.

I’ll admit, “Wife Swap” used to be one of my favorite shows like five years ago, but I’m a little iffy on resurrecting the show with celebrity families. ABC is planning to premiere a “Celebrity Wife Swap” series in January featuring the following couples (Brace):

• Gary Busey and evangelical pastor Ted Haggard
• ‘Growing Pains’ star Tracey Gold and Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson
• Flavor Flav and Twisted Sister star Dee Snider
• Pro wrestler Mick Foley and actor Antonio Sabato Jr.
• Niecy Nash and ‘Family Ties’ actress Tina Yothers

Yes, Flava Flav. I didn’t even know he was married. Like the normal people version, wives in the two celebrity families will switch lives for two weeks. During the first week, the women must follow the rules of their host family, but during the second week the visiting wives will be in charge.

No specific airdates have been announced, but the series will debut Jan. 3 at 9pm on ABC. Will you tune in?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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