Famous people with dyslexia & LD

One of the biggest things that I have noticed over the years that helps young people struggling with dyslexia is the list of famous people who have a learning disability and/or dyslexia.  I believe it gives them hope, hope that they can make it also.  The list has everyone from Cher, Thomas Edison, to Tom Cruise.  Usually, I'll get feedback from the young person such as they don't have it as bad as I do.  Thanks to many of the successful and popular people with dyslexia explain in great detail that they did have it deeply.  Again, this gives young people hope.  Feel free to e-mail me with individuals I don't have on my list.  Thanks. Here's the list, and I will link it to the website. DyslexiaMyLife.org
 

Here is the Famous Dyslexics list - list of famous people with dyslexia

Nelson Rockefeller - As a lad of nine, he did not know the letters of the alphabet. He was thought of as dull and backward. He entered Davidson College, but his grades were mediocre.

Cher - one famous dyslexic woman - This famous entertainer has achieved success in two major fields of entertainment. However, because of a math learning disability, she has a challenge with remembering phone numbers and balancing a checkbook.

Thomas Edison - His teacher thought him to be mentally ill. His mother withdrew the child from school and taught him herself.

F.W. Woolworth - As a child, he was labeled as slow.

George Patton - When he was twelve years old, he could not read yet, and he remained deficient in reading all his life. However, he could memorize entire lectures, which was how he got through school. famous people with add

Walt Disney - Fired from the Kansas City new paper for not being creative, he was also labeled as slow as a child.

Winston Churchill - This statesman could be called academically disadvantage. He failed grade eight, did terribly in math, and generally hated school.

Woodrow Wilson - He had great difficulty in reading: in fact, throughout his life, he was unable to read well. Despite this, he was extremely successful in politics.

Albert Einstein - He could not talk until the age of four. He did not learn to read until he was nine. His teachers considered him slow, unsociable, and a dreamer. He failed the entrance examinations to college but finally passed after an additional year of preparation. He lost three teaching positions and then became a patent clerk. famous people with a learning disability

Hans Christian Anderson - Had difficulty in reading and writing, but for years, people have cherished his wonderful stories. famous people with dyspraxia

Tom Cruise and dyslexia - Despite being a success in his chosen field, this entertainer can learn lines only by listening to a tape.

Agatha Christie - Had a learning disability called dysgraphia, which prevented an understood or legible written work. As a result, all material had to be dictated to a typist/transcriptionist.

16-year-old boy writing "We set out early with Intent to Run round the sd. Land but being taken in a Rain &it Increasing very fast obliged us to return. It learning about one o'Clock & our time being too Precious to Loose we a second time ventured out & Worked hard till Night & then returned to Penningtons we got our Suppoers & was Lighted into a Room & I not being so good a Woodsman as the rest of my Company striped my self very orderly & went into the Bed as they called it when to my Surprize I found it to be nothing but a Little Straw-matted together without Sheets or anything else but only on Thread Bear blanket with double its Weight of Vermin such as Lice Feas & c. Had we not have been very Tired, Ia, sure we should not have slep'd much that night. I made a Promise not to Sleep so from that time forward chusing rather to sleep in the open Air before a fire as will Appear hereafter."

It is interesting to note that he is an example from the writing of the first president of the United States, George Washington, who professionals believe was dyslexic.

Famous Actors & Entertainers with learning disability & dyslexia:

Harry Andersen.Fred Astaire.Harry Belafonte.George Burns.Enrico Caruso.Tom Cruise.Dave Foley.Harrison Ford.Danny Glover.Tracey Gold.Whoopi Goldberg.Susan Hampshire.Jay Leno.River Phoenix.Edward James Olmos.Jill Pages, Trapeze Artist.Oliver Reed..Tom Smothers.Cher. Jewel.Henry Winkler.Loretta Young.

Artists, Designers, & Architects with a learning disability:

Ansel Adams, Photographer..David Bailey, Photographer..Leonardo da Vinci..Ignacio Gomez, Muralist..Pablo Picasso..Robert Rauschenberg..Auguste Rodin..Bennett Strahan.Robert Toth.J?rn Utzon  (architect, designed Sydney Opera house).Andy Warhol..

Athletes with a learning disability:

Muhammad Ali, World Heavyweight Champion Boxer.Ann Bancroft, Arctic Explorer..Duncan Goodhew, Olympic Swimmer.Bruce Jenner, Olympic Decathlon Gold Medalist.Magic Johnson.Greg Louganis.Bob May, golfer..Diamond Dallas Page, World Wrestling Champion..Steve Redgrave, Olympic Gold Medalist (rowing)..Nolan Ryan, Baseball Pitcher for the Texas Rangers..Jackie Stewart, race car driver..

Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders with a learning disability:

Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Enterprises.John T Chambers,CEO of Cisco Systems.Henry Ford..William Hewlett, Co-Founder, Hewlett-Packard.Craig McCaw, Telecommunications Visionary..Paul J. Orfalea, founder of Kinko's..Charles Schwab, Investor..Ted Turner, President, Turner Broadcasting Systems.F.W. Woolworth.

Filmmakers with a learning disability:

Nicole Betancourt Emmy-winning filmmaker.Walt Disney. Kragh Jacobsen (Danish film director).

Inventors & Scientists with a learning disability:

Alexander Graham Bell..Thomas Edison. .Albert Einstein..Michael Faraday..Dr. James Lovelock..John R. Horner, Paleontologist.John Robert Skoyles, Brain Researcher..Werner Von Braun.

Law & Justice with learning disability:

David Boies, Attorney..Erin Brockovich, Investigator.Jeffrey H. Gallet, Judge..

Military Heroes with a learning disability:

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson..George Patton..

Physicians & Surgeons with a learning disability

Harvey Cushing, Surgeon.Fred Epstein, Neurosurgeon.

Political Leaders with learning disability:

Winston Churchill..King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.Michael Heseltine..Andrew Jackson..Thomas Jefferson..John F. Kennedy..Nelson Rockefeller.Paul Wellstone,U.S. Senator..Woodrow Wilson..George  Washington..

Writers with learning disability:

Hans Christian Andersen..Avi..Jeanne Betancourt, (Author of "My Name is Brain Brian")..Steven Cannell, television writer & novelist..Agatha Christie..Fannie Flagg (Author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe")..Gustave Flaubert..Patricia Polacco, Children's Author and Illustrator..Elizabeth Daniels Squire(author of mystery novels).Victor Villase? or. W.B. Yeats. Mr. Sagmiller - Author of Dyslexia My Life.

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