20 Celebrities Who Have Opened Up About Having ADHD

October is ADHD Awareness Month. See what these celebrities have said about their experience with the condition.

These celebrities have shared their experience of living with ADHD.

Symptoms of ADHD — an abbreviation for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Studies conducted in 2009 and 2018 have estimated that 8.4% of children and 2.5% of adults have the chronic disorder.

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, director Greta Gerwig, pop star Justin Timberlake and more have discussed the impact that ADHD has had on their lives, from childhood struggles to present-day effects.

On ADHD Awareness Month, see what Biles, Gerwig, Timberlake and more stars have said about their experiences with ADHD.

Simone Biles

In 2016, hackers posted confidential medical records from the World Anti-Doping Agency to attempt to discredit Biles’ achievements by sharing her medication prescriptions. She then posted a statement on Twitter explaining that she has taken ADHD medication since she was a kid.

“Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of [and] nothing that I’m afraid to let people know,” she wrote in another post.

Reneé Rapp

In an interview with the UK’s Official Charts, Reneé Rapp revealed that she thought she was just “really dramatic” as a kid but now understands and appreciates her ADHD.

“When I’m writing a song, 10 songs are coming out of that concept. My brain is in 10 different places. I actually really enjoy it. It’s exhausting, don’t get me wrong, but it’s really fun,” the actress and singer explained.

She continued, “I think it really helps my comedy and my ability to deal with things. … I’m always thinking of what’s next, which gives me better lyric ideas and more opportunity. More avenues to go down.”

Justin Timberlake

During a 2008 interview with Collider, Justin Timberlake stated that he had “OCD mixed with ADD” [short for attention deficit disorder, a formerly used acronym that is now referred to as ADHD].

“You try living with that,” he added.

Greta Gerwig

Ahead of the Barbie movie’s release in 2023, Greta Gerwig told The Observer that as a child, she had “a ton of energy.”

“Now, as an adult, I have ADHD — they diagnosed me,” Gerwig said. “I’ve always had a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. I was just interested in, like, everything. I had a really active imagination. I had a lot of really deep feelings. I was emotional.”

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo told the Child Mind Institute that he had grown up with undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia and depression.

“One of the things that was always very difficult for me was grade school: Feeling like I was strange and unique and freakish. I didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere,” the Avengers actor said.

Addressing his younger self, Ruffalo affirmed, “There’s help and that there are ways to deal with it and to manage it and to overcome it.”

Barry Keoghan

As the cover star of Esquire, Barry Keoghan explained that he had always suspected he had ADHD but only received a diagnosis three years ago. When he started medication, he described the difference as “day and night.”

“My mind used to be like a traffic jam, crazy, and then with the medication it’s like: One car goes, then another car goes,” the Saltburn star elaborated.

Channing Tatum

In a 2014 profile with T, The New York Times Style Magazine, Channing Tatum opened up about his dyslexia and ADHD causing him to feel inadequate in academic settings.

“I have never considered myself a very smart person, for a lot of reasons,” he stated. “Not having early success on that one path messes with you.”

He credited the arts for giving him an alternative path and said, “I’ve learned more from people than I have from school or from books.”

Paris Hilton

Paris Hiltonpenned a personal essay for Teen Vogue in 2024 about how her ADHD symptoms resulted in her being sent to a troubled teen facility as a child.

“Growing up, I was always told that I was too energetic, too distracted, too talkative — just too everything,” Hilton began the essay. Because her school could not accommodate her “constant need” for stimulation, she was enrolled in Provo Canyon School, where she was subjected to severe abuse.

“I wish someone had asked, ‘What’s really going on with her?’ Instead, I spent years feeling misunderstood, punished for the way my brain worked,” she continued. It wasn’t until adulthood that she found the beauty in her diagnosis, which she called a “superpower.”

“ADHD is the reason I’ve been able to anticipate trends, it’s given me the creativity to build an empire, the drive to keep pushing the limits, and the empathy to connect with people on a deeper level,” Hilton explained.

Julia Fox

In a response to a fan on TikTok, Julia Fox said it’s been “really tough” living with ADHD.

“I have bouts of great productivity, where I’m on top of the world and just feeling like I’m invincible. And then I have moments of deep, deep, deep, stagnant type of feeling, like I just can’t f—ing move,” the Uncut Gems star described.

Will.i.am

Will.i.am admitted to The Daily Mirror that his ADHD can make it hard to focus or know when to stop or slow down, but he has ways to keep it under control.

“Those traits work well for me in studios and in meetings about creative ideas,” the former Black Eyed Peas member said. “If you listen to the songs I write, they are the most ADHD songs ever. They have five hooks in one and it all happens in three minutes. I figured out a way of working with it.”

He called music his “therapy” and “straitjacket” at the same time.

“Music keeps me sane and keeps my mind on something,” the rapper concluded.

Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until after she had two children within 14 months. She told PEOPLE in September 2024 that the “chaos” of raising her two younger kids led to her diagnosis.

“When I was attending college, [I was like] ‘Boing, boing, boing, boing.’ I’ve had it my whole life,” Furtado explained. “But when I had my two youngest in close proximity, it made me very aware of my ADHD.”

To keep her ADHD “in check,” Furtado likes to go to the dance studio and work with her choreographer to turn out TikTok videos.

Kit Harington

Kit Haringtonshared that he received an ADHD diagnosis during his stint in rehab on the neurodivergence-focused podcast The Hidden 20%,

“My head wants to go to every other thing in the room at once,” he said of trying to focus on one person in a crowded room. He added that he found it hard to stick to one task because he’s “restless.”

“I don’t multitask well,” the Game of Thronesstar continued. “If there’s more than one thing going on in my head I get overwhelmed. I get incredibly fretty, anxious.”

Busy Philipps

Busy Philipps was diagnosed with ADHD at age 39, realizing she had the disorder while seeking treatment for her daughter.

“It wasn’t until we were sitting there with my daughter’s doctor and he was going through the checklist that my ex-husband and I started looking at each other, and I had all of them,” she recalled to PEOPLE in May 2024.

She detailed an “internal chaos” that she was “managing constantly,” with her brain struggling to prioritize tasks and organize her life. Now, she takes Qelbree, a non-stimulant medication, to manage her ADHD.

“Since knowing what it is, it allows me to not feel terrible about myself,” Philipps said. “And not have this nagging feeling that I’m failing in some way.”

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps sat down with the Child Mind Institute to talk about his struggles growing up with ADHD, particularly at school. The all-time great swimmer remembered one teacher telling him that he’d “never amount to anything” and “never be successful.”

“I think the biggest thing for me, once I found that it was okay to talk to someone and seek help, I think that’s something that has changed my life forever,” he says. “Now I’m able to live life to its fullest.”

Solange Knowles

When Solange Knowles was first diagnosed with ADHD, she didn’t believe it — until another doctor reaffirmed it.

“I had a whole theory that ADHD was just something they invented to make you pay for medicine, but then the second doctor told me I had it,” she informed BlackDoctor.org, adding that she thought many in the music industry seemed to share similar symptoms.

Tallulah Willis

In 2023, Tallulah Williswrote an emotional personal essay for Vogue about how her body dysmorphia led to the development of anorexia. She also explained how her ADHD medication played a role in her eating disorder.

Taking her stimulant medication made her feel smart “for the first time,” Willis said, but she did add that the “appetite-suppressant side effect” also contributed further to her disordered eating.

In 2024, she revealed that she also received a diagnose of autism spectrum disorder.

Jessie J

Jessie J shared a health update on Instagram in July 2024, in which she revealed that she had been diagnosed with OCD and ADHD. She admitted noticing signs of the two disorders after welcoming her son Sky Safir in May 2023

“It’s weird when you know you have been a little different and felt things differently your whole life, and finally one day when you least expect it, someone really explains why and you can’t avoid it. ADHD has such a wide spectrum it’s like a mystery putting your version of it together, that’s how it’s felt for me,” wrote Jessie in the caption.

The “Price Tag” singer stipulated that she felt like ADHD could be a “superpower” — with the right perspective and a support system.

Rachel Leviss

On her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, Rachel Levissshared how getting diagnosed with ADHD changed her life. The Vanderpump Rules alumna said that school was “very difficult” growing up, but she never realized her brain was “structured in a different way.”

“I just thought I wasn’t intelligent,” Leviss said.

After her diagnosis, she could “take control” over her life and received the necessary accommodations for school.

She concluded, “That was truly life-changing for me.”

Ellen DeGeneres

In her final Netflix special For Your Approval, Ellen DeGeneres made light of her physical and mental health struggles with osteoporosis, OCD and ADHD.

“My ADD makes it really hard to sit down and focus on anything at all,” she explained. “I mean, do you know how hard it was for me to put this together? Of course you don’t. Why would I ask that question? It’s hard for me to focus.”

She joked that the combination of ADHD and OCD takes her “all the way around to being well adjusted.”

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah sat down with CBS’ Leslie Stahl in 2021 for a 60 Minutes interview where he delved into his struggles with ADHD and depression.

“Over the years, what I’ve come to learn, thanks to some great therapists, is my depression is created by a severe level of ADHD,” the former Daily Show host explained.

Noah continued, “If I’m not careful in how I sleep, how I eat, how I manage my routine, I can become overwhelmed and it can just feel like the whole world is just too heavy to bear.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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