Famous People With Dyslexia

Film director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg is one of the most popular directors and producers in film history. A pioneer of the New Hollywood era, he popularized the genre of escapist films. As of 2020, he is the highest-grossing film director in history. He has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice.

Lawyer-turned-politician Lee Kuan Yew, also known as LKY, was the first prime minister of Singapore, from 1959 to 1990. He established the People's Action Party. He later also served as his country’s Senior Minister and Minister Mentor. He was also part of David Rockefeller's International Council and Forbes's Brain Trust.

Hailing from Mexico, Salma Hayek moved to Hollywood and attained fame with films like Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, Wild Wild West, Dogma, Tale of Tales, Grown Ups, and Grown Ups 2. Her breakthrough role was the film Frida in 2002 for which she received critical appreciation. She works to raise awareness about violence against women and discrimination against immigrants.

Octavia Spencer is an American actress, producer, and author. Widely regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, Spencer has received several prestigious awards, such as a Golden Globe Award, Academy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Octavia Spencer is the first black actress to have received two successive nominations at the Oscars.

Mark Henry is an American powerlifter, strongman, Olympic weightlifter, and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance in WWE, where he was often referred to as the world's strongest man. In 2018, he was made an inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame. A three-time USA National Weightlifting Champion, Henry holds several weightlifting records.

A pioneer in crystallography, radioactivity, piezoelectricity, and magnetism, Pierre Curie was a French physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie. Despite being an atheist, Pierre Curie was fascinated by spiritualism as he believed that spiritual questions deal with physics. 

One of the finest African-American sci-fi authors, Octavia Butler was raised single-handedly by her widowed mother. Best known for the Patternist series and the short story Bloodchild, she often mingled mythology and spirituality in her work. She was the first sci-fi author to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

Daymond John is an American investor, businessman, author, TV personality, and motivational speaker. He is credited with founding FUBU, a hip hop apparel company, for which he also serves as the president and CEO. He is also credited with founding a consulting and brand management firm called The Shark Group, where he serves as the CEO.

Barbara Corcoran is an American businesswoman, television personality, author, and speaker. She is credited with founding a New York City-based real estate brokerage called The Corcoran Group, which she sold for $66 million in 2001. She is best known for appearing in the popular business reality TV series, Shark Tank, where she was one of the original Shark investors.

Jackie Stewart is a British retired racecar driver who competed in Formula One. He won three World Drivers' Championships between 1965 and 1973. He is best known for playing a key role as a campaigner for better safety measures at motor racing circuits. After retiring from racing, Jackie Stewart appeared as a sports commentator for ABC network.

Lebanese-born British singer Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., also known as Mika, had moved to France as an infant and to Britain later, as his family escaped the war-torn Lebanon. Known for tracks such as Grace Kelly, he also earned a Grammy nomination for his single Love Today.

Steve McQueen is a British filmmaker and video artist best known for his film 12 Years a Slave. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, making him the first black filmmaker to win the award. He is also a prominent visual artist and a recipient of the Turner Prize, the highest award given to a British visual artist. 

Best known to audiences as Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones and as Simon Bellamy in Misfits, Iwan Rheon is also an Olivier Award-winning stage actor. A talented singer, too, he was previously the lead vocalist of The Convictions and has also performed with his brother in the single Rhodd.

Bruce Jenner, who changed her name to Caitlyn Jenner after coming out as a trans woman in 2015, is an American TV personality and former decathlete. Jenner won a gold medal for the USA at the 1976 Olympics. Often referred to as the most popular transgender woman in the world, Jenner serves as an inspiration to the LGBTQ community.

Jaime Murray is best known as Stacie Monroe from Hustle, Lila West from Dexter, and Gaia from the miniseries Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Fans also loved her in Hustle, Once Upon a Time, and Ringer. Also a talented model, she has appeared in magazines such as GQ and Cosmopolitan.

Eliza Coupe is an American comedian and actress. She is known for playing important roles in TV series like Happy Endings, Scrubs, Future Man, and Quantico. After being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia in childhood, Eliza Coupe went on to study improvisational comedy at ImprovOlympic and The Groundlings. She then established herself as a successful film and TV actress.

Nelsan Ellis was an American playwright and actor who achieved critical appreciation for playing Lafayette Reynolds in the popular TV series, True Blood. After years of struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, Ellis made an attempt to quit drinking on his own, which led to complications from alcohol withdrawal syndrome, eventually resulting in his death at the age of 39.

Sam Allardyce is an English football manager. He currently manages West Bromwich Albion, which competes in the Premier League. Often regarded as a pioneer of sports science in football, Allardyce is renowned for his keenness to use innovative techniques and technology in coaching. He is also a keen proponent of yoga.  

Paloma Faith is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She is best known for her album Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, which received double-platinum certification in the UK apart from earning Faith her maiden BRIT Award nomination. Renowned for her eccentric style, Paloma Faith has also received prestigious awards like the ASCAP Award.

Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director and producer. The son of a prominent film director, he made his directorial debut with the Danish crime film Pusher. He made his Hollywood debut with the English-language thriller film, Fear X. He is the co-founder of the Copenhagen-based production company Space Rocket Nation. He is married to actress Liv Corfixen. 

Dav Pilkey is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and author of children's literature. Pilkey is best known for illustrating and authoring a popular children's book series named Captain Underpants which earned him the prestigious Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Award in 2007.

Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland is the only son of Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf. He is best known for his interest in various sports, such as football, sailing, swimming, and skiing. Prince Carl Philip is also a patron of various organizations like The Swedish Rural Economy and Agricultural Societies and The Swedish National Dyslexia Association.

A vagabond who roamed around countries such as Chile, Mexico, and France, author Roberto Bolaño eventually settled in Spain, where he spent his days working odd jobs, such as garbage collection and dishwashing, and wrote at night. He is remembered for his Rómulo Gallegos Prize-winning novel The Savage Detectives.

Canadian singer Daniel Powter soared to fame with his single Billboard-charting track Bad Day. His childhood was spent battling dyslexia and training in the violin and the piano. He once also opened up about being sexually abused by his babysitter as a child and then resorting to drugs.