Spotlight on Brec Bassinger This World Diabetes Day

For World Diabetes Day, we’re shining a bright, unwavering light on the strength, resilience, and voices of the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community — and few embody that strength more powerfully than Brec Bassinger.

I had the privilege of working with Brec when she was the star of Bella and the Bulldogs, serving as her on-set teacher. Even then, I watched the extraordinary effort she and her mother put into managing her diabetes while she balanced the intense demands of being a young working actor. The careful planning around food, the constant choices she had to make, the blood sugar checks between scenes, the insulin management that followed her everywhere — she handled it all with remarkable professionalism and resilience.

As Brec has often shared, T1D doesn’t pause for school, for filming, or for childhood. In her words: “There are no days off from diabetes. It’s with me every second of every day. But I will never let it stop me from living my life fully – At times, it might just take a little more preparing and a little more bravery.”

This year, Brec joins Ryan McCartan and other extraordinary individuals in partnership with Outfront Media to illuminate Times Square and show the world what it truly means to See T1D. And this visibility is happening at a moment when representation is expanding in powerful ways — including the release of the first-ever Barbie with type 1 diabetes, a milestone that has meant so much to so many families.

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It’s important to remember that T1D can strike anyone, at any age, at any time — though it often affects children and young adults. It is not caused by diet or lifestyle. It’s an autoimmune condition that requires constant, often invisible work: carb counting, monitoring, planning, adrenaline management, and responding to highs and lows that can appear without warning.

In the midst of that, community support and reliable resources can make an enormous difference. That’s one of the reasons I value the work of Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) so deeply. They are committed not only to driving research toward cures but also to improving everyday life for those who live with T1D right now.

Breakthrough T1D offers resources for newly diagnosed families, adults navigating T1D at different life stages, and caregivers who shoulder much of the unseen emotional load. They share updates on research progress, provide guidance on technologies like CGMs and pumps, and offer community programs that remind people — especially kids and teens — that they are not alone. Their advocacy work has helped secure critical funding for science that has already led to major breakthroughs in care.

For families trying to understand the early days of diagnosis, for young people wondering how T1D will fit into their lives and dreams, and for adults managing a lifelong autoimmune condition, these resources can be grounding, empowering, and sometimes life-changing.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: Shelly Bassinger and Brec Bassinger attend The Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) 2025 Promise Gala at Waldorf Astoria Hotel on November 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Breakthrough T1D)

For World Diabetes Day, I’m proud to spotlight Brec’s courage and advocacy, and to honor everyone — children, teens, adults, and families — who navigate T1D with strength, creativity, and determination. Every story deserves to be seen. Every person deserves the tools, visibility, and support to thrive. And organizations like Breakthrough T1D help make that possible.

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MAKE A DONATION:

The past year brought major developments in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Gifts during National Diabetes Awareness Month will be 5x-matched thanks to the generosity of the Speer Dream Foundation. Your gift provides crucial funding needed to advance treatments, improve the quality of life for those living with T1D, and drive toward cures.All donations to Breakthrough T1D are being matched x5 until December 31, 2025.

“The State of T1D” Takeaways:

• Most people with T1D are between the ages of 45 and 65.
• Demographic research shows that most people living with T1D in the U.S. are Non-Hispanic White (68%), followed by African American (16%), Hispanic (13%) and all other races (3%).
• The prevalence of T1D is increasing across all populations, most significantly among Hispanic youth.
• Of the approximately 1.5 million Americans living with T1D, almost 200,000 are children under 20.

About Breakthrough T1D, Formerly JDRF

As the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. We do this by investing in the most promising research, advocating for progress by working with government to address issues that impact the T1D community, and helping educate and empower individuals facing this condition.

About Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) T1D is an autoimmune condition that causes the pancreas to make very little insulin or none at all. This leads to dependence on insulin therapy and the risk of short and long-term complications, which can include highs and lows in blood sugar; damage to the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and heart; and even death. Globally, it impacts over 9 million people. Many believe T1D is only diagnosed in childhood and adolescence, but diagnosis in adulthood is common and accounts for nearly 50% of all T1D diagnoses. The onset of T1D has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. There is currently no cure for T1D.

Brec making her dreams come true:

Brec Bassinger in Tanzania with G Adventures

Do You Want Your Candy Dreams To Come True?

Becoming a cartoon! When Brec Bassinger from Bella and The Bulldogs on Nickelodeon met Michelle Khare from Buzzfeed.