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Famous people with ADHD

aCalmOasis October 11th

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As we continue on our celebration of ADHD Awareness Month, did you know that there are people from all industries and walks of life who have ADHD? I have compiled a list of all the famous people I could find and put them in their respective categories. Do you see any of your favorites on this list? If I missed anyone you want to include, add them in the comments. I am sure there are many, many more out there who haven't been open with their diagnosis or are currently underway to getting one.


Some of my favorites include: Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel, Johnny Depp, Kurt Cobain, Simon Sinek, Leo DaVinci & Thom Hartmann.


 Music/Film/TV/Entertainment:

Justin Timberlake (Musician)

Paris Hilton (Business & Arts)

Ryan Gosling (Actor)

Jamie Oliver (Chef)

Will.i.am (Musician)

Solange Knowles (Musician)

Channing Tatum (Actor)

Adam Levine (Musician)

Howie Mandel (TV)

Zooey Deschanel (Actress)

Glenn Beck (Radio, TV)

Ty Pennington (TV)

Trevor Noah (Comedian)

Johnny Depp (Actor)

Russell Brand (Actor)

Woody Harrelson (Actor)

Michelle Rodriguez (Actress)

Brittany Spears (Musician)

Kurt Cobain (Musician)

Ozzy Osbourne (Musician)

Doja Cat (Musician)

Lily Allen (Musician)

Nelly Furtado (Musician)

Mel B (Musician & TV)

Jessie J (Musician)

 

Authors:

Simon Sinek (Business & Leadership books)

Thom Hartmann (Books on ADHD, Politics, Spirituality)

Mel Robbins (Self-improvement & Lifestyle hack books)

Seth Godin (Marketing strategy books)

Katherine Ellison (Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author)

 

Entrepreneurs:

Ingvar Kamprad (Creator of IKEA)

David Neeleman (Aviation)

Charles Schwab (Finance)

Heston Blumenthal (Chef)

Cameron Herold (Company growth specialist)

Dean Kamed (Inventor)

 

Athletes/Sports:

Michael Phelps (28 Olympic Medals)

Terry Bradshaw (Football)

Simone Biles (11 Olympic Medals)

Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)

Ashley McKenzie (Judo)

Cammi Granato (Woman’s Olympic Hockey)

Josh Freeman (Football)

Greg Le Mond (Tour de France)

Louis Smith (Olympic Gymnast)

 

Posthumous people suspected to have had ADHD:

Albert Einstein (Scientist)

Leonardo DaVinci (Inventor, Painter)

Pablo Picasso (Painter)

Salvador Dali (Painter)

Vincent Van Gogh (Painter)

Thomas Edison (Inventor)

Walt Disney (Film &TV)

John F. Kennedy (Politician)


*EDITS ADDED*

Amelia Earhart (Pilot, Explorer)

Benjamin Franklin (American Polymath)

Sir Richard Francis Burton (British Explorer)

Ernest Hemingway (American Novelist)

Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Essayist, Philosopher)

6

@aCalmOasis Wow, thank you for sharing such a comprehensive list. I especially liked that you also included posthumous people suspected to have ADHD.

I find it to be such an intricate detail and I admire this post. I also see Mel Robbins, and appreciate that you included her in your list. 💓

Heather225 October 14th

@aCalmOasis

omg a ton of these are extremely enlightening. thank you so much for collecting this list!

aCalmOasis OP October 19th

@aCalmOasis

*EDIT:

Upon almost fully completing the book I recommended for this month called 'ADHD: A hunter in a farmers world', it had a chapter on famous figures in history who exhibited all the typical traits of ADHD leading the author to suspect that they all had the condition. So as an edit to my post I would like to add these names to the list.

Amelia Earhart (American Pilot, Explorer)

Benjamin Franklin (American Polymath, Business, Founding Father)

Sir Richard Francis Burton (British Explorer)

Ernest Hemingway (American Novelist)

Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Essayist, Philosopher) 



MarianTheSiren October 20th

I want to add Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers. She's a huge creative inspiration and I recently found out she and I are the same age and she has ADHD. 

It's so important to see ADHD represented in successful people. I had an instructor with 2 master's degrees and she was pretty candid one day about the reality of ADHD and how much medication has helped her. I really looked up to her and aspire to be as successful as she is. Not only is she a woman in a male dominated field (STEM) but she has ADHD and is still doing great. Women like her are my heroes. 

1 reply
aCalmOasis OP October 20th

@MarianTheSiren

Just this year I discovered Amyl and the Sniffers, they are a fun band to listen to. Amyl is without a doubt the energetic nucleus of the band. I love a good female lead. I think of all the industries we see many people with ADHD join the arts. It makes perfect sense really. I fronted my own band for a year and a half. It was an exhilarating experience performing live which satisfied my creative, impulsivity and excitement needs.

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kenzolena 2 days ago

@aCalmOasis

Thank you so much for creating this awesome pawesome post and for giving us a list of quite some people who also have adhd 💜