17 Famous Americans With ADHD Who Are Rocking It in Their Careers
Some people correlate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with negative traits. Although ADHD can make it difficult for a person to focus, organize, or concentrate, it can also be a superpower.
Those who have ADHD may have the ability to obsessively zoom in on the things that interest them, leading successful careers.
Whether they’re into swimming or science, many of America’s best and brightest have ADHD. As this list reveals, ADHD seems to be more of an advantage than an inhibitor for many people.
1: Michael Phelps
Competitive swimmer Michael Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD at nine years old. It might be part of why he became the great Olympic-winning American athlete he did.
When Phelps complained about reading to his mom, she would hand him the sports page from the newspaper. She also encouraged him to swim to help his discipline and attention skills.
2: Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp didn’t receive an ADHD diagnosis until he was an adult. According to 2020 court documents, though, the famous actor was diagnosed with ADHD.
Despite Depp’s struggles with undiagnosed ADHD and substance abuse disorder, he’s managed to have a wildly successful career. He won a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and two BAFTA awards.
3: Terry Bradshaw
ADHD can make school more challenging. Super Bowl Champion Terry Bradshaw admitted that paying attention in a classroom was difficult for him.
The star athlete and sports commentator’s struggles with ADHD led him to put more effort into sports, which held his attention more easily. He went on to hold four Superbowl rings.
4: Howie Mandel
Actor and comedian Howie Mandel talks openly about his struggles with ADHD. He uses the condition in his comedy alongside his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
However, Mandel also notes that ADHD made learning difficult. Mandel didn’t graduate high school and has said that if it weren’t for his supportive wife and parents, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
5: Lisa Ling
Award-winning journalist Lisa Ling learned she had ADHD while filming an episode of her show, Our America with Lisa Ling. She realized she could relate to what the parents and children she was interviewing were saying and decided to get herself tested.
While she had difficulty focusing on other subjects in school, her passion for journalism allowed her to excel in her chosen career. She says she has laser focus when she’s working on a story, and in that way, her ADHD is a bit of a superpower.
6: Ty Pennington
If you’ve ever watched an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you know Ty Pennington is a high-energy individual. His passion for the projects he works on is evident through the screen, and it might be thanks to his ADHD.
Pennington was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He was so hyperactive that he was given antihistamines to make him drowsy during class. Today, he takes other medications to help control his symptoms.
7: James Carville
James Carville wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until his 50s. The political commentator already had an incredibly successful career helping politicians strategize their campaigns when his wife told him he should get tested.
She said he was unable to sit still and seemed to have difficulty paying attention. Carville took his wife’s advice, was diagnosed, and says he’s since built structure into his life that helps him deal with the symptoms.
8: Simone Biles
After Russian hackers leaked information from the World Anti-Doping Agency showing Biles tested positive for Ritalin, the gold-medal gymnast took to Twitter. There, she revealed that she had ADHD and wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
Biles was diagnosed as a kid, and it certainly hasn’t slowed her down. Today, she has 37 Olympic and world championship medals.
9: Justin Timberlake
In a past interview, Timberlake said he has both ADHD and OCD. Since then, he hasn’t mentioned either condition in public.
There’s no doubt, though, that Timberlake has managed to find ways to work with his symptoms. The “Prince of Pop,” is one of the most influential musicians and entertainers of our time.
10: Glenn Beck
Conservative radio host Glenn Beck has talked about his struggles with ADHD on his show. He takes medication to manage his symptoms and revealed he believes his show’s staff instantly knows when he’s skipped a day.
Beck has credited his work success to his ADHD because he says it allows him to process things rapidly. However, he also said he has struggles at home that come from his ADHD symptoms.
11: Jim Carrey
Audiences love Jim Carrey’s high-energy, slapstick humor, a skill he credits in part to his ADHD. Carrey was diagnosed as a child. He says he would finish assignments quickly in school and then begin disrupting the class.
Carrey has also been open about his struggles with depression. ADHD and depression often occur together, according to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association.
12: John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy was never diagnosed with ADHD, as far as we know. However, researchers believe it was likely he had it.
Kennedy struggled with centralized lower back pain, which can coincide with ADHD. Based on his biographies, he also had a hyperactive personality.
13: Bill Gates
Many people with ADHD have difficulty learning in a traditional setting but are able to hyper-focus on one thing. For Gates, his focus was entirely on computers.
Gates admits to struggling with ADHD symptoms, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of the most successful people on the planet. He may have dropped out of Harvard, but he still managed to become one of the wealthiest men on earth.
14: Walt Disney
Walt Disney never had a formal diagnosis, but many believed he struggled with ADHD and possibly dyslexia. Disney admitted to having a lot of difficulty focusing in school and dropped out at sixteen.
When he was in class, Disney said he spent his time doodling in his notebooks. Those doodles launched his career as an animator and storyteller.
15: Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is a basketball legend and an all-around incredible athlete. Many attribute his skills to his exceptional focus and discipline.
Jordan was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. It’s possible that ADHD allows him to hyperfocus on his athletic abilities. His basketball obsession allowed him to push the bounds of normal human achievement, and many consider him to be the greatest basketball player of all time.
16: Scott Kelly
Scott Kelly is one of the most well-known NASA astronauts. He set the record for the amount of time in space, has had four space flights, and commanded the International Space Station.
He’s also open about his struggles with ADHD. Kelly was born in 1964 before ADHD was an official diagnosis, and he struggled through his school years without knowing why. However, Kelly found his calling in the Navy as a fighter pilot and was able to transition his military experience into becoming an astronaut.
17: Albert Einstein
No one knows for sure, but many believe Albert Einstein may have had ADHD. He struggled in school and was known for being disorganized.
In fact, Einstein dropped out of school at 15, supposedly because he was frustrated by the rigid curriculum his educators presented. That didn’t stop him from becoming the most influential physicist of the 20th century, though.
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