6 Celebrities With Tourette’s Syndrome
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition that causes you to make involuntary movements and sounds called tics. It usually starts in childhood and with treatment and strategies you can manage the symptoms.
1 in 162 children has Tourette’s and they grow up to be adults with Tourette’s. So the chances of you coming across someone with Tourettes in your lifetime is highly likely.
In fact, you might know someone with Tourette’s but have not realised that they have Tourette’s.
This is because people assume that Tourette’s is all about swearing and inappropriate language when actually only 10% of people with Tourette’s have coprolalia.
So you might not have known that these celebrities also have Tourette’s Syndrome!
Diagnosed with Tourette’s at age 11 Billie Eilish opened up to David Letterman in this clip. She talks about how people often react to her tics by laughing. She also confirms that there are many people out there with Tourette’s Syndrome that you wouldn’t even know about!
The actor Dan Aykroyd is well known for his roles in the movies Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. Dan is also autistic which is another condition that is often seen alongside Tourette’s Syndrome. Diagnosed with Tourette’s at 12 Dan managed to control his tics through therapy.
One of the most famous English Footballers David Beckham has Tourette’s Syndrome.
Not much is known about his Tourette’s Syndrome. However, he has opened up about his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which often goes alongside Tourette’s.
Another footballer Tim Howard was the goalkeeper for Everton Football Club. He also has Tourette’s Syndrome. Whilst he says Tourette’s affected his childhood it also brought unique skills to his game.
Former basketball player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had quite noticeable tics even during basketball games. He was also known for having the most accurate free-throw shooting record.
Back in September 2022 Lewis Capaldi revealed that he had Tourettes Syndrome. Lewis said that performing and making music makes his symptoms worse. He opened up about his diagnosis on the Jonathan Ross show and you can watch the full interview here.
If I woke up and I didn’t have Tourette’s Syndrome, it would feel weird – not better or worse, just different.
— Tim Howard
People with Tourette’s Syndrome can be high achievers and very successful. Here are just 6 celebrities that have Tourette’s Syndrome but there are many many more.
You can find out more about Tourette’s by visiting Tourette’s Action.
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