Famous People With Dyslexia
When you or someone you love is struggling with dyslexia, it can feel like and overwhelming, losing fight. But dyslexia doesn’t have to get in the way of a wonderful successful life, as these famous people demonstrate.
Tom Cruise, one of the most recognizable actors on screen today, did poorly in school, and threw himself into athletics. When an injury ended that activity for him, he started acting. Cruise reports the secret to his success, despite dyslexia, was thinking visually, a relative strength for him.
Woodrow Wilson didn’t learn to read until he was 12 years old. In junior high school, he taught himself shorthand to help with taking notes, and his father tutored him. Reading continued to be difficult for him throughout his life, but he was very smart and very determined. As an adult, he became the President of Princeton University, the Governor of New Jersey, and ultimately the 28th President of the United States.
Thomas Edison most likely had learning disabilities in both reading and mathematics. He went to school only very briefly because, after three months, the staff declared him to be “addled” and threw him out. While Edison may not have been good at reading and arithmetic, he was obviously very smart. He began his adult life as a telegrapher and later became an inventor. He held well over 1,000 patents, and is most famous for inventing the electric light.
Whoopi Goldberg never knew why reading was so hard for her growing up. Other kids teased her and called her “dumb,” but her family knew she was intelligent. Performing was her passion, and she began acting and doing standup comedy. Only as an adult was she diagnosed with dyslexia.
Henry Winkler was 31 when his stepson, Jed, was tested for a learning disability. Winkler realized that he had a lot of the same issues as Jed, and got tested himself. He discovered that he was dyslexic. However, that hadn’t stopped him from being a successful actor as “The Fonz” on the TV show “Happy Days.” Winkler has written a series of children’s books about a boy named Hank Zipzer, who is described as “the world’s greatest underachiever.” Hank, like Winkler, has dyslexia.
Leonardo DaVinci lived long before there were tests for dyslexia. However, his spelling was very unusual, and he often wrote from right to left as left-handers with dyslexia often do. Leonardo is recognized as one of the greatest scientists, inventors and artists of his time, and was so forward thinking that he sketched such things as helicopters long before humans took flight.
Winston Churchill did poorly in school. He remembered, “I was, on the whole, considerably discouraged by my school days. It was not pleasant to feel oneself so completely outclassed and left behind at the beginning of the race.” Churchill was determined to succeed, and indeed he did. He is one of the best known Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, leading his country to victory in World War II.
Orlando Bloom was diagnosed with dyslexia during his childhood. He struggled in school, so his mother encouraged him to participate in art and drama classes. You may know him as Legolas in the “Lord of the Rings” movies, or as Will Turner in the “Pirates of the Carribean” series.
Cher grew up with severe and undiagnosed dyslexia. She dropped out of school at 16 and moved away from her home in Fresno, California to try to break into show business. She is half of the legendary duo “Sonny and Cher” and has a successful singing and acting career of her own.
John Lennon’s school report card once said he was, “Certainly on the road to failure … hopeless … rather a clown in class … wasting other pupils’ time.” Many experts believe, however, that he was dyslexic. Though frequently in trouble, he was a talented musician. He founded the band the Quarrymen at age 15. The band eventually evolved into the Beatles, one of the most popular successful rock bands of all time.
Pablo Picasso had trouble getting his letters facing the correct way when he wrote, and was labeled as dyslexic. Reading was difficult for him throughout his life, but art was his passion. He threw his energy into drawing and painting, becoming a famous artist who revolutionized the art world.
Jay Leno got mostly C’s and D’s in school due to his mild dyslexia. He wanted to attend Emerson College, a college for the theater, film, journalism and communications, but the admissions director told him he was a poor candidate for the school. Leno sat outside the man’s office for 5 days, 12 hours per day, until he was admitted. He became a famous standup comedian and, when the legendary Johnny Carson retired, the host of the “Tonight Show.” He says that his dyslexia taught him the perseverance necessary to succeed in comedy.
Agatha Christie did poorly in school and was found to be dyslexic. She had a creative mind and loved to write stories. She became a well known and prolific mystery writer, authoring such books as And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express.
Walt Disney was labeled as “slow” in school. He worked for a Kansas City newspaper but was fired for his “lack of creativity.” Walt knew that what others thought was not important, and followed his love for drawing and animation. His best known character, Mickey Mouse, has entertained children and adults for more than 80 years, and the company he built has become one of the most beloved in the world of entertainment.