People with ADHD have many gifts and talents. These celebrities have found success despite – and sometimes because of – their ADHD:
Michael Phelps had a very hard time sitting still, and so he was encouraged to engage in physical activity to have a positive outlet for his energy. He took up swimming when he was 7 years old. He was diagnosed with ADHD at 9 and started taking medication, but didn’t like the side effects and found that concentrating on swimming helped him out. He has won a total of 16 Olympic medals in swimming, including 14 gold.
Terry Bradshaw is another successful athlete with ADHD. As quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he became the first quarterback ever to win three Superbowls, and then the first to win four! He is a football commentator and host.
Ty Pennington loved woodworking when he was growing up. He used to design fabulous structures and build them himself with the help of the neighborhood kids. At 17, he was diagnosed with ADHD. He worked his way through art school as a carpenter. Eventually he landed a job as a carpenter on the TV show Trading Spaces, and then got his own show as the host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
James Carville could never sit still as a child. Nevertheless, he did well in school because he was very smart. He was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. He served in the Marine Corps and got his law degree, finally becoming a political consultant. In 1992 he was the chief strategist for the election campaign of Bill Clinton. You can see him on network news political shows and making cameo appearances in movies, most recently in 2011’s The Muppets.
Glenn Beck is on the other side of the political spectrum and he, too, has ADHD. He built a tremendous following as a talk radio host and with his own show on Fox News. He has written six New York Times bestselling books about politics and the future of the United States.
Woody Harrelson has publicly acknowledged his ADHD. You may know him as Woody the bartender on the classic sitcom cheers, or from his movie appearances in White Men Can’t Jump, Natural Born Killers, or Messenger.
Solange Knowles was an adult before anyone realized she had ADHD. The singer and DJ (and younger sister of Beyonce) was so full of energy that people often accused her of being on drugs, but she wasn’t. Two different doctors diagnosed her with ADHD before she was willing to believe it.
Michelle Rodriguez has always had trouble focusing, particularly when she is alone. She now realizes she has ADHD. You can see her on the TV show Lost, and she is also a writer and director.
Jamie Oliver was diagnosed with ADHD when he was a child. He currently manages his symptoms with a healthy diet. That should be pretty easy for him, since he’s a world famous celebrity chef.
Justin Timberlake is one of many people with ADHD who also have other disorders. In his case, in addition to his attention issues, he has OCD. Timberlake got his start singing with on Star Search and The New Mickey Mouse Club. He was the lead singer for ‘N Sync and now has a successful solo career.
Jim Carrey had such a hard time sitting still in school that his teacher used to make him a deal: if he could sit still and not interrupt, he could have time to entertain the class. Maybe that’s where he honed his fabulous comedy skills, which you can witness in his many movies.
Sir Richard Branson didn’t do well in school because of his ADHD and dyslexia, and he dropped out at 16. By that time, however, he had already started his own magazine. Pretty soon, he formed a record company called Virgin Records, signing bands like the Sex Pistols and Culture Club. He is also the founder of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Mobile. He was knighted by the Prince of Wales in 2000.