We’re taking a look at the fantastic achievements of 10 neurodivergent women. Neurodiversity doesn’t often come up in the news, but plenty of neurodivergent women have made history, and they deserve more attention. If you enjoy this list, you might also like our follow-up on 7 more remarkable neurodivergent women.
Greta Gerwig: ADHD
Many women don’t find out they have ADHD until adulthood, often after years of being described as disorganised, dreamy or “too much”. Our article on signs of ADHD in women explains why it is so often missed, and our piece on later-in-life diagnosis looks at what an adult diagnosis can bring.
Filmmaker Greta Gerwig, the writer and director behind Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie, is one of them. In 2023 she spoke about being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. You can read more about her and other women in our round-up of successful women with ADHD.
Jennifer Aniston: dyslexia
Jennifer Aniston is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, and is best known for her role in Friends.
In a 2015 interview, she talked about her experience of dyslexia. She was diagnosed in her 20s, and only found out because she went to get a prescription for glasses.
“The only reason that I knew [that I had it] was because I went to get a prescription for glasses,” she said. “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.” Before being diagnosed, “I thought I wasn’t smart. I just couldn’t retain anything.”
Her experience is common: many people don’t realise they are dyslexic until adulthood. You can read more about how dyslexic brains actually work.
Billie Eilish: Tourette’s syndrome
Billie Eilish is famous for her music and her film soundtracks, including the James Bond theme No Time To Die. She was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome as a child and has physical tics.
She wrote about it on Instagram after fans published a YouTube video of her tics. “I’ve never mentioned [my Tourette Syndrome] on the internet because nobody thinks I’m deadass,” Eilish wrote on her Instagram story. “As well as the fact I’ve just never wanted people to think of Tourette’s every time they think of me.”
She explained that the condition has been a constant part of her life since she was a child.
“I’ve taught myself ways of suppressing my tics and certain techniques to help [reduce] them when I don’t want to be distracting in certain situations,” she wrote. “Wasn’t planning on talking about this on here maybe ever, but it’s gotten to a point.”
Cher: dyscalculia and dyslexia
Cher is an international pop star, actress, fashion icon and author. Her life has also been focused on campaigning, whether politically, for animal welfare or helping disadvantaged people through the pandemic.
Cher has both dyscalculia and dyslexia. At school, reading, numbers and calculation were hard for her, and lessons weren’t designed for the way she learned.
She said in her autobiography The First Time: “I couldn’t read quickly enough to get all my homework done and for me, math was like trying to understand Sanskrit.”
“Almost everything I learned, I had to learn by listening. My report cards said that I was not living up to my potential.”
When a fan asked, “If you could turn back time and change one thing, would it be to not have dyslexia?” Cher replied: “No! It caused pain, but it’s me!”
Daryl Hannah: autism
Daryl Hannah is an American actress who has appeared in films such as Blade Runner and Kill Bill Vol. 2.
She has described experiencing debilitating shyness and a need to rock to self-soothe, and finding public events terrifying. She has said that at the time of her diagnosis, medical professionals recommended that she be medicated and institutionalised.
After stepping back from Hollywood, she has said her true love is environmental work. She has been arrested several times for her activism, including in 2012 for trying to halt the construction of an oil pipeline.
Wondering whether you might be autistic? Take our free autism test, or read about autism in the workplace.
Cara Delevingne: dyspraxia and ADHD
Cara Delevingne is an actress, musician, author and model. She was diagnosed with dyspraxia and ADHD as a child, and has said writing and taking tests was difficult. She started playing the drums at a young age to burn off energy.
At 15, she started experiencing anxiety and depression, which many people with dyspraxia also experience.
She said in a Vogue interview: “This is something I haven’t been open about, but it’s a huge part of who I am. All of a sudden I was hit with a massive wave of depression and anxiety and self-hatred, where the feelings were so painful that I would slam my head against a tree to try to knock myself out. I never cut, but I’d scratch myself to the point of bleeding. I just wanted to dematerialize and have someone sweep me away.”
Florence Welch: dyspraxia and dyslexia
Florence Welch is a world-renowned singer and the voice behind Florence and the Machine. Her music has featured in numerous films and TV shows, including Covert Affairs, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. You may recall “Dog Days Are Over” from the trailer for Eat, Pray, Love.
She is proud to have dyspraxia and dyslexia, and supports causes that help children with these forms of neurodivergence despite her busy schedule. The NHS explains dyspraxia in adults and how it can affect coordination and organisation.
Welch is open about her challenges with learning and motor skills, although she doesn’t say they’ve held back her music career. “The fact that I work in a creative industry probably helps. We dyspraxics think in a different way,” Welch has said.
Before a concert in Ireland, she attended an event for young people with dyspraxia. There, she said that the condition doesn’t get as much attention as it should, and told the children she was “very proud to be dyspraxic”.
Her point is a simple one. Dyspraxia and other learning differences can bring challenges, but they haven’t stopped her doing the work she loves.
Keira Knightley: dyslexia
Keira Knightley is a world-famous actress, best known for her roles in Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age.
“I was diagnosed when I was six. I worked hard to get the better of it and by the time I got to secondary school, it was much better. I can read and write, badly, but I’m fine reading scripts.”
“I was, am, dyslexic and the way she [her mother] got me over it was to say: ‘If Emma Thompson couldn’t read, she’d make [expletive] sure she’d get over it, so you have to start reading, because that’s what Emma Thompson would do.'” You can read more about how dyslexic strengths show up at work in our guide to dyslexia in the workplace.
Simone Biles: ADHD
Simone Biles is an American gymnast and one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time. She was diagnosed with ADHD as a child.
She isn’t ashamed of her ADHD, and tweeted that “Having ADHD, taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of [and] nothing that I’m afraid to let people know.”
Could you have ADHD? Take our free ADHD test.
Solange Knowles: ADHD
Solange Knowles is Beyoncé’s sister and a successful artist, dancer and actress.
Solange was diagnosed with ADHD twice. She has said she has always been full of energy and that her fast, scattered way of speaking led people to make wrong assumptions about her.
She did not believe the first doctor who told her she had ADHD: “I was diagnosed with ADHD twice. I didn’t believe the first doctor who told me and 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 also said that ADHD traits seem familiar to many people in the music business. “The symptoms seem to apply to everyone around me in the industry. Loss of memory, starting something and not finishing it…”
More stories you might enjoy
If you enjoyed this article, take a look at 8 famous actors with OCD, 5 famous actors with ADHD and signs you might have undiagnosed ADHD as an adult.
How Enna can help
If you’re job hunting, the Enna jobs board lists roles with employers who value different ways of thinking. You can also register for job alerts or browse our resources for neurodivergent talent.
Employers: our Neurodiversity 101 training covers ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and more, so your teams know how to support the neurodivergent women already working with them. Book a call if you’d like to talk it through.
