Approximately 10% of the population has dyslexia, so to mark Dyslexia Awareness Week, we’ve highlighted five big names you may not have realised are affected by the condition
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that impacts reading, writing, and spelling capabilities due to differences in how the brain processes language. The British Dyslexia Association estimates that roughly 10% of the population are thought to live with the condition.
To mark Dyslexia Awareness Week this week (October 6-12), we’ve put together a list of five celebrity figures who have battled with dyslexia that you might not have realised. A recent Reddit thread saw those affected discuss how “having dyslexia isn’t the end”, and actually it has “changed the course of human history.”
“So I hated my dyslexia, bit over the years I learned about my dyslexia and the benefits of having it, and wow – there are a lot of benefits,” one Reddit user shared. “[I] then looked into famous dyslexics and some of the blew my mind and made me think the world would be a completely different place if they had never existed.” Some of those can be found below.
Noel Gallagher
Seldom absent from headlines since reuniting with his younger brother Liam last year, Oasis star Noel Gallagher has frequently discussed his dyslexia diagnosis throughout the years. It obviously hasn’t hampered his songwriting talents, having crafted countless chart-topping albums and tracks since achieving stardom in the mid-1990s.
In an interview with Q Magazine during Oasis’ peak in 1996, Noel admitted: “Sometimes I give lyrics to Liam and the two key words of the sentence will be missing. When I gave him Don’t Look Back In Anger, he was singing, ‘But don’t back in anger, not today’.
“I’m saying, ‘It’s ‘Don’t look back in anger’, but he said, ‘That’s not what’s f***ing written ‘ere, chief’.”
Jennifer Aniston
In 2015, Friends actress Jennifer Aniston disclosed she had struggled with dyslexia for twenty years before receiving a diagnosis. Discussing her challenges with the Hollywood Reporter, Jen revealed: “I had to wear these Buddy Holly glasses. One had a blue lens and one had a red lens.
“And I had to read a paragraph, and they gave me a quiz, gave me 10 questions based on what I’d just read, and I think I got three right. Then they put a computer on my eyes, showing where my eyes went when I read.
“My eyes would jump four words and go back two words, and I also had a little bit of a lazy eye, like a crossed eye, which they always have to correct in photos.”
Tom Cruise
Hollywood legend Tom Cruise is arguably most famous for playing LT Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in 1986’s Top Gun, and has previously disclosed that dyslexia prevented him from passing his pilot’s exams while filming the movie. His interest in Scientology piqued around this time, leading him to explore ways to overcome his condition.
He shared with Talk About Dyslexia: “When I was about seven years old, I had been labelled dyslexic, I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I’d read.”
Cruise then became involved with Study Technology, a method that tackles key obstacles to traditional learning. “Many people had tried to teach me, but no one had taught me how to learn or how to study,” he later revealed to People.
“I had been told I had all the symptoms of dyslexia, but no one had given me a solution. I realised I could absolutely learn anything that I wanted to learn.”
Richard Branson
Richard Branson didn’t let dyslexia hinder his journey to becoming a business tycoon and billionaire. However, the co-founder of Virgin Group has always been candid about his condition.
In 2015, he participated in a social media campaign called ‘#likeadyslexic’, where he discussed his experience with dyslexia. “If anyone ever puts you down for having dyslexia, don’t believe them,” he advised nine-year old Honor Smith, a fellow dyslexic who wrote to him after watching one of his videos.
“Being dyslexic can actually be a big advantage, and it has certainly helped me,” he affirmed. “Your life definitely isn’t ruined – I look forward to hearing what great things to achieve in the years to come. I look forward to hearing what great things you’ve achieved in life.”
Cher
Cher shot to stardom in the 1960s as a teenager largely through her success as one half of chart-topping duo, Sonny and Cher. However, she wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until she reached her 30s.
Reflecting on her school days, she shared with David Morgan Education about her time in high school: “In the second week of the 11th grade, I just quit. When I was in school, it was really difficult. Almost everything I learned, I had to learn by listening. My report cards always said that I was not living up to my potential.”
Cher also previously revealed how she and Cruise formed a bond over dyslexia after years of rumours they had been romantically linked. “A bunch of people who were dyslexic were invited to the White House, and Tom and I are both dyslexic,” she told Event magazine in 2018. “We didn’t go out till way later, but there definitely was a connection there.”