Daniel Radcliffe (dyspraxia)--As the star of the Harry Potter movies, actor Daniel Radcliffe can be seen zipping around on his broomstick and saving the day during Quidditch matches. In real life, he has dyspraxia, which can make it difficult for him to tie his shoes. Handwriting also continues to be a challenge. He was 9 when his mother encouraged him to audition for a play. “I was having a hard time in school,” he said. His mom thought acting would boost his confidence. She was right!

 

Steven Spielberg (dyslexia)--Legendary film director Steven Spielberg wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until he was in his 60s. School administrators thought he was lazy. He was bullied by classmates, and his troubles in school played a part in his career. Not only did making movies give him a place to channel his energies, but feeling like an outsider helped him co-write The Goonies, a hit movie about a quirky group of friends who didn’t quite fit in at school. He said finding out as an adult that he has dyslexia was like “the last puzzle piece to a great mystery that I’ve kept to myself.”

 

Justin Timberlake (ADHD)--Justin Timberlake is many things. He’s a singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. He’s also one of the many adults in the U.S. who have ADHD. Early in his career, Timberlake costarred on Disney’s All New Mickey Mouse Club with Ryan Gosling, who as a child was diagnosed with ADHD and was bullied before he became a Mouseketeer and movie star.

 

Tim Tebow (dyslexia)--Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has dyslexia. His father and brother do, too. Learning issues can run in families. He was diagnosed in elementary school and found ways to work around his reading difficulties. “It has to do with finding out how you learn,” he said. “I’m not somebody that opens a playbook and just turns and reads and reads. So I just made flashcards, I take each one, and then boom, when I’m traveling, I just flip through it. That really helped me. Writing it down, flipping through and quizzing myself,  that was a great way for me to do it.”

 

Michael Phelps (ADHD)--Swimmer Michael Phelps holds the record for winning the most Olympic medals (22 in all, including 18 golds). He has ADHD and was hyperactive as a child. “I was always the kid who was running around,” he said. “I literally couldn’t sit still.” His mother used his love of swimming to help him focus.

 

Henry Winkler (dyslexia and math issues)--Henry Winkler is an actor, director and author who has dyslexia and difficulty with math. On Happy Days, he played the Fonz, a role so iconic his character’s jacket now hangs in the Smithsonian. But a new generation of fans may know him better for coauthoring the best-selling Hank Zipzer children’s series. Like Winkler, Hank struggles with learning issues but doesn’t let them get in the way of his dreams. Winkler also visits schools to talk about learning issues. To honor his educational work, the Queen of England appointed him an honorary Order of the British Empire in 2011. “Somebody asked me if I could go back and start again with a different brain, would I. Years ago I thought yes, I would, and now I know I wouldn’t. Because whatever challenges I had in school, I guess they forced me to where I am today. So I now see them as an asset.” 
—USA Today

 

Anderson Cooper (dyslexia)--CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper hasn’t let dyslexia stand in the way of his success. He also won’t allow his reading issues to stand in the way of his love for books and literature. His own book, Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival, was on the New York Times best-seller list.

 

Keira Knightley (dyslexia)--After Keira Knightley was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 6, she used her love of acting to help motivate her to read. Knightley struck a deal with her parents that if she worked on her reading every day, they would agree to hire her an agent. The Pirates of the Caribbean star made good on her half of the bargain, using movie scripts to practice reading. She went on to become one of Hollywood’s highest-earning actresses.

 

Cher (dyslexia)--Cher is an Academy Award‒winning actress and Grammy-winning singer. But she struggled in school with undiagnosed learning issues. “I couldn’t read quickly enough to get all my homework done and for me, math was like trying to understand Sanskrit,” she wrote in her autobiography. “The only way I learned was by listening to the teachers in my classroom.” She didn’t find out she was dyslexic until years later when she took her child to get evaluated for learning and attention issues.

 

Jamie Oliver (dyslexia)--Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has built an empire with his best-selling cookbooks, prime-time TV shows, restaurants and cookware. He also has dyslexia and said he didn’t finish reading his first book until he was 38. “I get bored easily,” he said. But the sci-fi sequel to The Hunger Games managed to keep him engaged. “I read Catching Fire. I loved disappearing into a story.”

 

Richard Branson (dyslexia)--Richard Branson had a hard time in school because of his dyslexia. But he actually credits dyslexia for the success of his company! The Virgin Group has succeeded in many areas from mobile phones to music to travel. Branson would look at and listen to ad materials rather than just read them. He says this made it easier to decide if a campaign would make a connection with the public. “Perhaps my early problems with dyslexia made me more intuitive: When someone sends me a written proposal, rather than dwelling on detailed facts and figures, I find that my imagination grasps and expands on what I read.” —Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way

 

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA--Did you ever shop at IKEA and wonder about those intriguing Swedish names? You may have thought it was just a quirky sales gimmick, but it’s not. Ingvar Kamprad, the company’s founder, says his dyslexia makes it hard for him to remember product codes. So he created a system to associate product names with a visual image. It’s worked well—both for Kamprad and the company.

 

Charles Schwab, businessman and investor--Charles Schwab, founder of the Charles Schwab Corp., credits his success to a learning issue. And he didn’t even know he had it until he was 40! When his teenage son was diagnosed with dyslexia, Schwab realized his own trouble with reading was caused by dyslexia, too. But dyslexia also gave him some amazing out-of-the box problem-solving skills. Now the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation support research on learning issues. The foundation also runs SparkTop.org, an interactive website for kids with learning issues.

 

David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue--David Neeleman always struggled in school. He found it hard to read, did poorly on tests, and often felt “stupid.” But his parents encouraged him to focus on what truly interested him: planes. He went on to launch and lead several airlines, most notably JetBlue Airways. Neeleman says his ADHD has given him the creativity and focus he needs to think out of the box. He just makes sure he’s surrounded with good people who can help him stay organized and on task.

 

Diane Swonk, economist and author--Diane Swonk is a top-level, go-to economist. She was the youngest president of the National Association for Business Economics. She also has dyslexia, which causes her to have trouble with numbers. (Swonk says her parents had learning issues, too.) How does someone become a respected economist if she struggles with numbers? She found ways to use her strengths. And along the way she proved that the teachers who called her “lazy” were wrong. Swonk is the author of The Passionate Economist: Finding the Power and Humanity Behind the Numbers.

 

Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer--Tommy Hilfiger says that a big part of his success is the way he thinks. And the differences in Hilfiger’s thinking are partly due to dyslexia. The fashion icon didn’t go to college. But he credits his creative mind for helping him stand out from the competition. He also says that he still has to concentrate hard to read.

 

Ben Foss, inventor of the Intel Reader--Dyslexia created challenges for Ben Foss in school. His mother read his textbooks to him. But dyslexia didn’t stop Foss from earning a dual degree—a JD/MBA—from Stanford University. The experience inspired Foss to create the Intel Reader, a mobile text reader that takes a photo of text and reads it aloud. Foss is also founder of Headstrong Nation, the world’s largest organization serving kids and adults with dyslexia.

 

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)--As an artist, inventor, scientist, engineer and writer, Leonardo da Vinci had many talents. He also had interesting habits, like writing backward, spelling strangely and not following through on projects. Today, we understand that these traits can all be characteristics of dyslexia and other learning and attention issues. For example, his ability to create imaginative drawings is a strength shared by some people with ADHD.

 

Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922)--Bell reinvented the field of communications by creating the first telephone. But years earlier, he struggled in school. Even though he was gifted at problem solving, it’s thought that he had trouble reading and writing, possibly as a result of dyslexia. He was eventually homeschooled by his mother. With her help, Bell learned to manage his challenges. And he went on to change the world.

 

Thomas Edison (1847–1931)--School didn’t come easily for Edison, either. He was considered “difficult” and hyperactive. Historians believe he may have had ADHD and dyslexia. But his appetite for knowledge was huge. He developed effective ways to study and learn on his own. As a result, Edison’s unique way of tackling problems helped him make history. He shaped modern life by inventing the phonograph, the motion picture camera and the light bulb.

 

Henry Ford (1863–1947)--Industrial revolutionary Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company and transformed the transportation industry. Ford, who preferred hands-on learning to reading, may have had dyslexia. If he did have reading issues, they didn’t stop him from creating an industrial empire. There also may be learning issues in his family. Ford’s great-granddaughter Anne (former chair of the board of founding partner the National Center for Learning Disabilities) writes and speaks about her daughter Allegra’s trouble with learning.

 

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)--According to many accounts, the world-famous artist may have had dyslexia. He expressed feelings that many kids with learning and attention issues have. “Don’t think I didn’t try [to learn at school],” he said. “I tried hard. I would start but immediately be lost.” Fortunately, his father, an art teacher, encouraged him to develop his artistic talents. His unique vision of the world came through in his powerful works of art. The rest is art history.

 

Babe Ruth (1895–1948)--As a young child, baseball great George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr., always seemed to be running wild, getting into trouble and fighting. That’s why his parents sent him to a strict boarding school that emphasized discipline, learning a trade and sports. There, he discovered his love of baseball and honed his skills. Today historians believe that Ruth may have had ADHD. ADHD can make it hard to pay attention, but it can also lead people to focus on a topic they’re deeply engaged with. Maybe this helped Ruth become the “Sultan of Swat.”

 

Muhammad Ali (1942–)--One of the greatest boxers of all time, Ali struggled with dyslexia. He’s said he could barely read his high school textbooks. Nonetheless, he managed to graduate. He became an Olympic gold medalist at the age of 18. And he was world heavyweight boxing champion at 22. He’s also remembered today for having strong principles. He refused to fight in the Vietnam War, even though this damaged his career. And his determination inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More recently, Ali has worked to encourage more young African Americans to enjoy reading.