Actress Cheryl Hines says she once suffered a sudden allergic reaction so severe that she "looked like a casualty from Botched" after shaking hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at a public event, according to her newly released memoir. The anecdote, one of several chaotic moments described in the book, resurfaced online this week as readers circulated the story across social media.
Hines, best known for playing Cheryl David in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, recalls that she met Trump years before his presidency during a Hollywood event. The exchange, she writes, was brief and unremarkable-until hours later, when her face began to swell without warning. "I looked like a casualty from Botched," she writes, referencing the reality show centered on extreme cosmetic surgeries.
The swelling, which appeared shortly after the meeting, forced the actress to cancel her evening plans. Hines writes that she never assumed Trump was the cause, noting the reaction could have stemmed from any number of factors, but admits the incident stood out because it had never happened before-or since. "I had no idea what was happening. My face puffed up so much I could barely recognize myself," she recounts in the memoir.
The story has drawn widespread attention online, where users reacted with humor and fascination. One X (formerly Twitter) post that went viral joked that the anecdote "sounds like a metaphor," while others praised Hines for her candor and self-deprecating tone. The actress has not publicly commented further since the excerpt's publication, and neither has Trump.
Hines's memoir blends Hollywood anecdotes with reflections on fame, family, and the unpredictability of life in the public eye. Beyond the Trump story, she discusses her career across film and television-citing roles in Waitress, RV, and The Flight Attendant-and the challenges of maintaining privacy while married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose political profile often draws its own share of attention.
In one passage, Hines reflects on the unpredictability of celebrity encounters, writing that while actors can prepare for any script, "you can't prepare for breaking out in hives after a handshake." The memoir also touches on her balance between work and personal life, describing moments of glamour, absurdity, and occasional embarrassment.
