Famous People With ADD

April 11th, 2010 |

Author: Ava

NYC - MoMA: Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night
Photo by wallygSome of the most well-known and talented people of our time were labeled with Attention Deficit Disorder. These individuals are a further testament that ADD is is a blessing rather than a curse. The list is surprising. Use it to encourage someone close to you with ADD or to motivate yourself. There are people on this list from all walks of life, all backgrounds and who chose a myriad of paths for their lives. You will find yourself amongst these trades and ambitions.

This is a comprehensive list. Most of these people have been officially diagnosed with ADD while others prior to the early 1900′s are suspected to have had ADD based on evidence of apparent traits.

Architect

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

Artists

August Rodin (1840-1917)
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Pablo Picasso (1882-1973)
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Athletes

Terry Bradshaw (1948-Present) Quarterback
Babe Ruth (1895-1948) Baseball
Bruce Jenner (1949-Present) Track and Field
Carl Lewis (1961-Present) Olympic Gold Medalist in Track and Field
Greg Louganis (1960-Present) Olympic Gold Medal Diver
Magic Johnson (1959-Present) Basketball
Michael Jordan (1963-Present) Basketball
Nolan Ryan (1947-Present) Baseball
Jason Kidd (1973-Present) Basketball
Michael Phelps Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer
Pete Rose (1941-Present) Baseball
Alberto Tomba (1966-Present) Alpine Skier

Authors

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)
Charlotte and Emily Bronte
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875)
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Jules Verne (1828-1905)
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Samuel Clemens
Emily Dickenson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Virginia Woolf
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Beethoven (1770-1827)
Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1759)

Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) Publisher
Henry Ford (1863-1947) Automobile Manufacturer
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1037)
F.W. Woolworth (1852-1919) Department Store Owner
Milton Hershey (1857-1945) Chocolate
William Randolf Hearst (1863-1951) Newspaper Magnate
William Wrigley, Jr. (1933-1999) Chewing Gum

Explorers

Christopher Columbus
Lewis and Clark
Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)

Entertainers

Ann Bancroft (1931-Present) Actress
Cher (1946-Present) Actress, Singer
Danny Glover (1947-Present) Actor
Dustin Hoffman (1937-Present) Actor
Jim Carrey (1962-Present) Actor, Comedian
Steve McQueen (1920-1980) Actor
Suzanne Somers (1946-Present) Actress
Stevie Wonder (1950-Present) Singer, Musician
Tom Smothers (1937-Present) Actor, Singer
Tracy Gold (1969-Present) Actress
John Denver (1043-1997) Singer, Muscian
Bill Cosby (1937-Present) Actor
George Burns (1896-1996) Actor
George C. Scott (1927-Present) Actor
Harry Belafonte (1927-Present) Actor, Singer
Henry Winkler (1945-Present) Actor, Producer
John Lennon (1940-1980) Singer, Musician
Kirk Douglas (1916-Present) Actor
Lindsay Wagoner (1949-Present) Actress
Mariel Hemingway (1961-Present) Actress
Ozzy Osbourne (1948-Present) Singer
Sylvester Stallone (1946-Present) Actor
Walt Disney (1901-1971) Producer, Screenwriter, Director, Animator
Whoopi Goldberg (1955-Present) Actress, Comedienne
Will Smith (1968-Present) Actor, Rapper
Jack Nicholson
Ty Pennington
Elvis Presley
Evil and Robbie Knievel
Justin Timberlake
Robin Williams (1952-Present) Actor, Comedian

Inventors

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Politican and Elder Statesman

Photographer

Ansel Adams (1902-1984)

Physicist

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Political Figures

James Carville
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) U.S. President, General
Eleanor Roosevelt (1844-1962) First Lady
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat (1918-1981) Egyptian President
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1873) Emperor
Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979) U.S. Vice President
Prince Charles (1948-Present) Prince of Wales
Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) U.S. Attorney General
Winston Churchill (1874-1065) British Prime Minister
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) U.S. President

Science

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Galileo (1564-1642) Astronomer, Mathematician
Harvey Cushing M.D. (1869-1939) Neurosurgeon
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Nostradamus (1503-1566) Physician
Werner von Braun (1912-1977) Rocket Scientist

Military Figures

Gen. William C. Westmoreland (1914-Present) Vietnam era General
General George Patton (1885-1945) World War II General
Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973) World War I Ace

Conclusion

Speaking of ADD…mine is getting the best of me after this post…all those names and dates. I had all kinds of plans for Wikipedia links, and I just…can’t….do it. I’m not a huge fan of Wikipedia as a source anyway. I have some interesting details and stories regarding a few of these people as well, but that will have to be another post. Whew. Enjoy.

Sources:

http://www.thecreativelearninginstitute.com/famouspeople.htm
http://add.about.com/od/famouspeoplewithadhd/a/famouspeople.htm

(1809-1865) — U.S. President

Posted in Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) |

Tags: ADD

http://www.tenlist.com/climate-controlled-storage/DC/ Ernestina Athans

Hi There, I just spent a little time reading through your posts, which I found entirely by mistake whilst researching one of my projects. Please continue to write more because it’s unusual that someone has something interesting to say about this. Will be waiting for more!
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Hello Ernestina, I’m not sure if your comment is legit since you failed to input the CAPTCHA correctly, but at least it is somewhat relevant. Thanks for stopping by.
Tee

I found this site very helpful. I have a young family member who has ADD. It was quite inspiring Thanks!
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Hey, I’m glad it helped. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Scott

Im so excited that I can finally accept I have ADD!
Anonymous

It’s really a blessing, Scott. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
Bhferrell

I am so happy to know I am not alone. I work with people who criticizes me for all types of things, even being to smart to talk with the. It is a compliment but a curse. You never fit in
Anonymous

Wow, you are right. ADD comes with an aggravating side effect: social problems. It’s cliche, but never say “never”. It is possible to fit in. People learn to value your differences rather than criticize them. It just takes time for them to recognize and understand your angle. I wish you the best…and no, you are not alone.
Nichola Smith

Speaking of ADD…mine is getting the best of me after this post…all those names and dates. I had all kinds of plans for Wikipedia links, and I just…can’t….do it. I’m not a huge fan of Wikipedia as a source anyway. I have some interesting details and stories regarding a few of these people as well, but that will have to be another post. Whew. Enjoy.

I have been recently diagnosed with adult ADD, this site has inspired me greatly. Thank you so much x
Anonymous

I’m so glad, Nichola. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Anonymous

I spent years shutting up and suddenly I couldn’t take it. I just recently started behaving so rebellious, a bit of a fuck you trait I had never had, or so I thought. In reality, I have wanted to say ‘oh fuck you’ loads of times but I was too busy trying to fit in. I just carried the ‘fuck you’s’ until the bag burst. ADD as a plus just highlights the people in your life who can understand how shit you feel when you act on impulse and say things you dont mean, the ones who say ‘I know you didn’t mean it’ Or the ones that I have been lucky to find who say ‘I love you because you are mad but in a good way.’

I struggle at uni now because I cant be doing with bullshit people. Fact is the people who love me have spent massive amounts of time with me, casual acquaintances just dont get me
Anonymous

I completely understand what you are saying. It does make the social aspects of life tough. Stay strong and stick with the ones who “get” you. Those will be your lifelong friends. Best of luck. Oh, and thanks for taking the time to comment.
adfdsa

A lot of the people on this list don’t actually have ADD/ADHD.
Anonymous

Right. That’s why the article contains this sentence, “Most of these people have been officially diagnosed with ADD while others prior to the early 1900′s are suspected to have had ADD based on evidence of apparent traits.”
Anonymous

Its comforting to see that list, it think Im gonna go the whole school year without my medicine
Anonymous

Go for it, Cory. There are other ways to help you focus with school. I stopped taking medication at age 12 and had to learn how to cope without it. It was difficult, but eventually I adjusted.

I doodled a lot. I found that I heard more of what was being said in school, if I occupied my brain while listening. If I just sat idly and listened, my mind would wander.

For most of my life since then, I have carried a backpack EVERYWHERE. I call it my security blanket, but what it really does is quell any worry that I might get stuck somewhere with nothing to do. My nephew with ADHD does the same thing.

Try different things and find what works for you. I wish you the best!
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Spicygirlpearl

I would really like to be an author, but i have ADD. It is great to know i am not alone. all my friends are getting A’s and i am struggling to have a C. It just isn’t fair. It is cool to see all these successful people with the same problem as i do. Although with ADD. My mind wanders alot, so i get all my inspirations from my books when my mind wanders.
Anonymous

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I maintained a C average too through much of my schooling even into college. Once I got past the core curriculum and more into the classes that engaged my creativity, my grades soared.

One of things that I used to do during class to help me pay better attention was doodle. It occupied the portion of my brain that was prone to wandering and helped me absorb more of what was being said in class. Maybe this will help you too. I wish you the best!
nightangel

u do know that Ryan Higa(nigahiga) on youtube has ADD , he studied nuclear medicine and He fits in fine…….kinda
u should embrace the fact that ur different, think of it as a gift instead of a curse
Erik

It’s quite easy to “become your diagnosis”, but this prooves that you can become quite successful if you learn to use your ADD/ADHD to your advantage.

I mean really, how many times have people told me I’m so awesome at coming up with things or solve problems with new exciting methods? Surely a billion times by now.

Usually we have a huge pool of creativity. Let’s use it!
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I enjoyed your positive words, Erik!
Dragonfatex

I am so happy to know I am not alone. i am 28 year old guy and i have been geting ssi now for years now and all thats its doing is tying me down they are telling me that i cant work or if i do it will have to be part time and that i wo them 25 hundred dollars for there mastake (><). so i am going back to school to become a massage therapist and droping the SSI crap for good i dont need it
Waynediego

All of you who have written a comment. And the author of course…. You DO KNOW that there is a huuuuuge difference between ADD and ADHD, right?!

Explore the given source and you will understand. And I’m very sure that no one with ADD would EVER say it’s a blessing.
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Well, having dealt with ADD for 26 years, I’d say I know a lot, and yes, I’m aware of the differences between ADD and ADHD. Did you know that ADD is an antiquated term? It is no longer used. Quoting from this post: http://prowebwriter.com/attention-deficit-disorder-the-gift-of-thinking-fast/

“Individuals classified with ADHD/ADD must meet the DSM IV criteria for impulsivity, hyperactivity and/or inattention…The new name for ADD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive Type.”

I have ADD, and while I find that it causes me to think differently, I have always considered it a blessing. It helped me pay for college, it allows me to hyper focus, and it allows me to share my experiences with others in hopes of helping them.

Think differently…and maybe consider reading my other articles about ADD. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Wow! I wish you the best of luck!! I agree with you. Why take a handout if you don’t need it? The sense of accomplishment you will feel when you reach your goals will give you a sense of independence that is priceless. Don’t give up!
brian ricks

shocking how many famous people have ADD.
pedro

im not a hater but everybody says add is a gift and all that shit (i have add) but to me its an obstacle
http://prowebwriter.com Ava

Hey Pedro, it’s all how you look at it. If you make it an obstacle or think of it in that respect, then there’s no room for it to be anything else to you. ADD is a blessing for me because I view it not as a problem, but rather a different evolution of thought and learning…perhaps the next plane. It also paid for a generous portion of my college tuition through Vocational Rehabilitation. If you’re in the US and of college age, check into it. Thanks for your comment.
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