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Illness & disability
Famous people with illnesses or disabilities
These famous people with disabilities or illnesses have achieved great things without letting anything stop them. So, don't let anything stop you from going after your dreams and goals!
- Actress Halle Berry has type 1 diabetes. She gives herself daily insulin shots and watches what she eats.
- Actress Keira Knightley is dyslexic. Growing up, Keira's classmates made fun of her for being dyslexic, so she would get books on tape and memorize them.
- Michelle Akers, a former member of the USA Women's Soccer Team and second all-time leading scorer (behind Mia Hamm), has headaches and chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chloe Sevigny have scoliosis.
- Former Olympic sprinter and hurdler, Gail Devers, has Grave's disease.
- NBA Superstar Magic Johnson became infected with HIV in 1991 and educates young people about how to avoid getting the virus.
- Miss America 1995, Heather Whitestone, is hearing impaired. She was the first woman with a disability to be given this crown.
- Television Star Nicolas Brendon has dealt with stuttering his whole life, and is now serving as honorary chairperson of the Stuttering Foundation of America.
- Musician Stevie Wonder is blind.
- Actress Marlee Matlin is deaf.
- Violinist Itzhak Perlman had polio as a child.
- Baseball player Jim Abbott was born with one hand yet pitched in the major leagues.
- Actor Chris Burke has Down’s Syndrome and starred in the TV show Life Goes On.
Lessons from history
Many leaders, teachers, entertainers and others who have made a difference in history had illnesses or disabilities. Read on to find out who some of them are.
- Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Harriet Tubman, and Leonardo da Vinci all had epilepsy.
- Walt Disney (cartoonist and founder of Walt Disney World ®), Winston Churchill (prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II), and General George Patton (a famous U.S. Army general during World War II) all had a learning disability.
- Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the nation from a wheelchair after he lost the use of his legs from polio.
- Judy Garland, star of The Wizard of Oz, had depression.
Aimee Mullins, Paralympic athlete, model, and actress
Aimee Mullins was born without fibula (calf) bones. When she was just 1-year-old, she had both legs amputated below the knees. Aimee is a world-class runner, who broke world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump at the 1996 Paralympics. She attended Georgetown University, where she was selected to run against able-bodied athletes. Today, she enjoys skiing, boxing, and parachuting (with special shock-absorbing prosthetic legs). She has modeled in London for British designer Alexander McQueen and has acted in three movies and one TV episode. Aimee Mullins was named one of "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine.
Content last updated October 21, 2009
