Celebrities with disabilities

There are so many celebrities with all sorts of disabilities. Often people think celebrities have just shot to the big time, but a lot of the time there are hardships that people have to go through. There are a lot more celebrities with disabilities. Here are just a few examples of bravery that has been endured. Often so much more can be achieved just by having a disability.

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis became famous in the 1980’s and some of the movies that he took the lead roles in will not be forgotten easily. When Bruce was a youngster he had a severe stuttering problem. People who stutter don't go down well in the acting business.He became scared it would affect his acting career. Fortunately he had a therapist to help him along the way, which removed the stutter completely.

Leonardo DiCaprio

The young actor who shot to stardom after the filming of Titanic. This celebrity also  suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Leonardo is making a conscious effort to break the cycle. For example when he walks down the road he will try not to step on every chewing gum stain.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Regan, the 40^th president of the United States was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This happened after President Reagan was thrown off a horse whilst on vacation in Mexico. He was concussed, operated on and doctors believed this was the start of the illness. Eventually brain cells start to die.

Jim Carey

Jim Carey is a well known actor and comedian. His acting career started early in his life when his mother was very sick and Jim had to make a lot of effort to make her laugh, pulling faces, whatever it took to make her laugh. He also got depressed and cross with the world because of the situation he found himself in, which was a lot of poverty in his family. He was diagnosed as manic depressive in his career but he is dealing in the most positive way that he can.

John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. President Kennedy suffered from various illnesses. The most serious of these was asthma, which prevented any strenuous activity, although he always enjoyed playing with his family.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise, the famous actor and film director had a bad bout of dyslexia, a learning disability who turned into a celebrity. He was bullied at school. He was a victim of abuse which is probably due to the fact of the dyslexia. His father would hit him every time something went wrong. Tom went through fifteen schools in his twelve years at school

Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is yet another famous person who was born blind. His mom was nervous to let him go outside so to pass the time Stevie would experiment with tunes he had heard on the radio, finding instruments around the house. He began playing at the local church. Stevie Wonder is a true example of what disabled people are capable of

Natalie du Toit

Natalie du Toit is one of the most courageous swimmers of all time. In 2001 her leg was amputated at the knee after coming back from swimming practice. She became the first amputee to compete in an Olympic games in 2008 and has won numerous medals in the Paralympics. She is an inspiration and role model to disabled as well as abled athletes

Terence Parkin

Another South African swimmer is 20-year old Terence Parkin swam in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Terence was born deaf. He uses a strobe light which is similar to the flash of a camera to signal the beginning of the race. He earned a silver medal from the Sydney Olympics including South African National medals

Jamie Oliver

Like Tom Cruise, Jamie Oliver is another famous person with a learning disability and has risen to become one of most recognized chefs of today within such a short space of time. He started hosting his own cooking programs at a really young age and he has written many books. Jamie does a lot for the community. He has opened restaurants around the world, training and employing underpriviledged students. Jamie struggled through school with dyslexia and a serious lisp. This did not stop Jamie from achieving his goals.