Take Action - Famous People With Mental Illness
"People with Mental Illness Enrich Our Lives"
Information about famous people throughout history who have been diagnosed with, or thought to have a serious mental illness or mood disorder.
Lionel Aldridge, Football Player
A defensive end for Vince Lombardi's legendary Green Bay Packers of the 1960's, Aldridge played in two Super Bowls. In the 1970's, he suffered from schizophrenia and was homeless for two and a half years. Until his death in 1998, he gave inspirational talks on his battle against paranoid schizophrenia. His story is the story of numerous newspaper articles.
Diane Arbus, Photographer
Depression
Daniel Boorstin, Former Presidential Advisor
Bipolar disorder
Art Buchwald, Columnist
Depression
Drew Carey, Actor
Depression
Winston Churchill
"Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all the odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgment might well have concluded that we were finished," wrote Anthony Storr about Churchill's bipolar disorder in Churchill's Black Dog, Kafka's Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind.
Honore de Balzac, Writer
Bipolar disorder
Charles Dickens, Writer
One of the greatest authors in the English language suffered from clinical depression, as documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb, and Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph by Edgar Johnson.
Gaetano Donizetti, Singer
The famous opera singer suffered from bipolar disorder, as documented in Donizetti and the World Opera in Italy, Paris and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Herbert Weinstock.
Tony Dow, Actor
Depression
Kitty Dukakis, Wife of Prominent politician
Bipolar disorder
Patty Duke, Actress
The Academy Award-winning actress told of her bipolar disorder in her autobiography and made-for-TV move Call Me Anna and A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness, co-authored by Gloria Hochman.
Thomas Eagleton, Vice Presidential Candidate, 1972
Depression
Johann Goethe, Writer
Bipolar disorder
George Fredrick Handel, Composer
Bipolar disorder
Ernest Hemingway, Writer
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist's suicidal depression is examined in the True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him by Denis Brian.
John Keats, Poet
The renowned poet's mental illness is documented in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Broken Brain: The biological Revolution in Psychiatry by Nancy Andreasen, M.D.
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States
The revered sixteenth President of the United States suffered from severe and incapacitating depressions that occasionally led to thoughts of suicide, as documented in numerous biographies by Carl Sandburg.
Margot Kidder, Actor
Bipolar disorder
Vivien Leigh, Actress
The Gone with the Wind star suffered from mental illness, as documented in Vivien Leigh: A Biography by Ann Edwards.
Gustav Mahier, Composer
Bipolar disorder
Michelangelo, Artist
The mental illness of one of the world's greatest artistic geniuses is discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.
Isaac Newton, Scientist
The scientist's mental illness is discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.
Vaslov Nijinsky, Dancer
The dancer's battle with schizophrenia is documented in his autobiography, The Diary of Vaslov Nijinksy.
Eugene O'Neill, Playwright
The famous playwright, author of Long Day's Journey Into Night and Ah, Wilderness!, suffered from clinical depression, as documented in Eugene O'Neill by Olivia E. Coolidge.
Jimmy Piersall, Baseball Player
The baseball player for the Boston Red Sox who suffered from bipolar disorder detailed his experience in The Truth Hurts.
Sylvia Plath, Writer
The poet and novelist ended her lifelong struggle with clinical depression by taking own life, as reported in A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath by Nancy Hunter-Steiner.
Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States
Bipolar disorder
Robert Schumann, Composer
The "inspired poet of human suffering" experienced bipolar disorder, as discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.
Rod Steiger, Actor
Depression
William Styron, Writer
Depression
Leo Tolstoy, Writer
Author of War and Peace, Tolstoy revealed the extent of his own mental illness in the memoir Confession. His experiences is also discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Inner World of Mental Illness: A Series of First Person Accounts of What It Was Like by Bert Kaplan.
Ted Turner, Businessman
Bipolar disorder
Vincent Van Gogh, Painter
The celebrated artist's bipolar disorder is discussed in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb and Dear Theo, The Autobiography of Van Gogh.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
The brilliant composer experienced bipolar disorder, as documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.
Sol Wachtler, Former New York State Chief Judge
Bipolar disorder
Mike Wallace, Television Journalist
Depression
Tennessee Williams, Playwright
The playwright gave a personal account of his struggle with clinical depression in his own Memoirs. His experience is also documented in Five O'Clock Angel: Letters of Tennessee Williams to Maria St. Just, 1948-1982; The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams by Donald Spoto, and Tennessee: Cry of the Heart by Dotson.
Tracy Ullman, Actor
Bipolar disorder
Virginia Woolf
The British novelist who wrote To the Lighthouse and Orlando experienced the mood swings of bipolar disorder characterized by feverish periods of writing and weeks immersed in gloom. Her story is discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.
