We love to find inspiration in the triumphs and underdog stories of celebrities. With increasingly open conversation around mental health, we’re finding out that many celebrities happen to be neurodivergent.

Best-selling authors, esteemed actresses, and world-record-breaking athletes have ADHD. They also have as diverse of experiences as you and I — from childhood to adult diagnoses, to finding treatment with or without medication. Who are these celebrities? They’re musicians like Dave Grohl and SZA, screen stars like Channing Tatum and Paris Hilton, entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, and journalists like Lisa Ling.

Any astronauts? Scott Kelley.

Magicians? David Blaine.

See? Everybody! (Well, not everybody… but a lot of people.)

Some of these figures are famous specifically because they have ADHD, like Jessica McCabe, whose ADHD-focused YouTube channel has over one million subscribers. Some are famous in spite of their diagnosis, and others learned to use it to their advantage. Will.i.am is one example, who shared in an interview, “[music] brings control to my thoughts. It's not an escape — it's just order. I'm making order out of a disorder.”

Many of us with ADHD take pride in our resilience, persistence, and the willingness to take great risks. As well, we’re often recognized for being spontaneous, humorous, creative, driven, and passionate. It's no wonder we can point to so many famous and influential ADHDers who’ve done remarkable things.

We’ve highlighted a few examples, followed by a categorized (but incomplete and constantly growing) list of well-known ADHDers. Whose story resonates with you the most?

Featured ADHD celebrities

1. Ryan Gosling

Known for hit films like La La Land and The Notebook, Ryan Gosling is an accomplished actor whose upbringing would have predicted anything but. Nicknamed “trouble,” Gosling was bullied and suspended from school. He exhibited behavioral issues and was unable to read, later assessed (but never diagnosed or treated) for ADHD.

Ryan ultimately dropped out of school, finding validation and self-confidence in performance. You know the rest.

2. Solange Knowles

Those around the singer-songwriter during her childhood were always perceptive to her high energy and animated conversation. Knowles was apprehensive to accept her ADHD diagnosis, however, and searched for a second opinion. No stranger to success, Solange has recorded and toured the world with her music, acted, and modeled for years before being diagnosed as an adult. Since then, she’s released her first Grammy-winning album, A Seat at the Table.

Knowles points out how common ADHD appears to be in the music business: “The symptoms seem to apply to everyone around me in the industry. Loss of memory, starting something and not finishing it…”

3. Simone Biles

One of the most decorated Olympic medalists of all time, Simone Biles inspires not only with incredible gymnastic ability, but also with her openness about mental health. In 2021, TIME named Biles Athlete of the Year, citing how she inspires others — especially young Black women — to “claim agency over both their minds and bodies.”

Biles faced controversy in her decision to not compete in the 2017 Olympics and to withdraw in 2021. She was even accused of doping with Ritalin for performance enhancement, despite a therapeutic use exemption. In response, Biles revealed her childhood ADHD diagnosis and commitment to playing a clean sport, stating, “Having ADHD and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of,” adding that her condition is “nothing that [she's] afraid to let people know.”

Categorized, alphabetical lists of ADHD celebrities

Actors, actresses, TV and movie personalities with ADHD

4. Audra McDonald

5. Bex Taylor-Klaus

6. Channing Tatum

7. Christopher Knight

8. Dean Kamen

9. Emma Watson

10. Georgia Harrison

11. Henry Winkler

12. Howie Mandel

13. Jamie Oliver

14. Jim Carey

15. Jim Caviezel

16. Luke Jacobz

17. Mariette Hartley

18. Michelle Rodriguez

19. Olivia Attwood

20. Paris Hilton

21. Tanya Bardsley

22. Ty Pennington

23. Victoria Pedretti

24. Walt Disney*

25. Wendy Davis

26. Whoopi Goldberg

27. Will Smith

28. Woody Harrelson

29. Zooey Deschanel

ADHD musicians

30. Adam Levine

31. Britney Spears

32. Cher

33. Dave Grohl

34. Joe Perry

35. Justin Bieber

36. Justin Timberlake

37. Kurt Cobain

38. Loyle Carner

39. Mel B

40. Mozart*

41. Ozzy Osbourne

42. Steven Tyler

43. SZA

44. Will.i.am

Athletes and coaches with ADHD

45. Adam Kreek

46. Andre Brown

47. Bubba Watson

48. Cammi Granato

49. Greg Lemond

50. Josh Freeman

51. Karina Smirnoff

52. Leigh Steinberg

53. Louis Smith

54. Matt Morgan

55. Michael Jordan

56. Michael Phelps

57. Payne Stewart

58. Pete Rose

59. Shane Victorino

60. Terry Bradshaw

61. Tim Howard

62. Viglil Green

ADHD scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs

63. Alan Meckler

64. Albert Einstein*

65. Bill Gates

66. Cameron Herold

67. David Neeleman

68. Paul Orfalea

69. Sir Richard Branson

70. Scott Kelley

71. Thomas Edison* 

Media personalities, journalists, and politicians with ADHD

72. Ed Hallowell, MD

73. James Carville

74. John F. Kennedy*

75. Katherine Ellison

76. Lisa Ling

77. Rep. Kendrick Meek

ADHD YouTubers, models, writers and more!

78. Agatha Christie*

79. Bri Hall

80. Brookely Wofford

81. Caitlyn Jenner

82. David Blaine

83. Dream

84. Erin Brockovich-Ellis

85. Erin O'Connor

86. Hank Green

87. JBAverage

88. Jenny Lawson

89. Jessica McCabe

90. Markiplier

91. Mel Robbins

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*Did not have an official ADHD diagnosis. However, historians believed these individuals would've been diagnosed with ADHD had it existed as a diagnosable mental health condition while they were alive.