LISTS

Famous People Who Had Mental Illnesses or Severe Phobias

Over the years, great playwrights, artists, and novelists have suffered from mental illnesses and phobias. Hence, there is a theory that links creativity and mental illness. While it is yet to be proved that mental illness plays a significant role in boosting creativity, there is no denying the fact that famous people mentioned in the list below had mental illnesses or severe phobias.
    
Also Known As: Vivian Mary Hartley, Lady Olivier
Birthday: 05 November 1913
Born In: Darjeeling, India
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Died On: 08 July 1967
Famous As: British Actress Known for Her Roles in the Films: ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Famous actress Vivien Leigh suffered from bipolar disorder. She fell into a deep depression when she had a miscarriage while filming 'Caesar and Cleopatra' (1945).

    
Birthday: 02 April 1805
Born In: Odense, Denmark
Sun Sign: Aries
Died On: 04 August 1875
Famous As: Danish Author Best Remembered for His Literary Fairy Tales

It is believed that famous Danish author Hans Christian Andersen suffered from bipolar disorder. While studying at school, he was depressed and suffered from dyslexia.

    
Also Known As: Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
Birthday: 13 August 1899
Born In: Leytonstone, London, England
Sun Sign: Leo
Died On: 29 April 1980
Famous As: One of the Most Influential Filmmakers of All Time

Alfred Hitchcock had a lifelong fear of police. His fear of law enforcement stemmed from an incident where his father sent him to the local police station where he was locked up in a cell at the age of five for being naughty.

    
Also Known As: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol
Birthday: 11 May 1904
Born In: Figueres, Catalonia, Spain
Sun Sign: Taurus
Died On: 23 January 1989
Famous As: Spanish Surrealist Painter Best Known for His Work 'The Persistence of Memory'

Salvador Dalí was known for his eccentric personality and surreal paintings. His behavior was often perceived as very odd. At the end of his life, Salvador developed Parkinson’s.

    
Also Known As: Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud
Birthday: 04 September 1896
Born In: Marseille, France
Sun Sign: Virgo
Died On: 04 March 1948
Famous As: French Writer, Theatre Director and One of the Major Figures of the European Avant-Garde

Early in his life, Antonin Artaud was discharged from the French Army due to mental instability and addiction to laudanum. At the age of 19, he suffered a nervous breakdown, which marked the beginning of his mental illness.