This is a working page, so please send in more canonically ADHD characters or actually ADHD celebrities. No headcanons, please, as we want to highlight authors and screenwriters who are willing to actually give their characters ADHD rather than just make them quirky. (Authors, here are some articles about how to put ADHD in your YA and children’s books.)
Canonically ADHD Characters
- Barney from How I Met Your Mother
- Tracy from 30 Rock
- Stiles from Teen Wolf
- Jesus from The Fosters
- Phil from Modern Family
- Spinner from Degrassi: The Next Generation
- Bart Simpson
- Carol Solomon from In a World …
- Niki from Sister
- Julie Powell from Julie & Julia
- Arbor from The Selfish Giant
- Juno MacGuff from Juno
- Steve from Mommy
- Nick from Pushing Tin
- Alan from The Hangover
- Bean from To Stand in the Light by Kayla Bashe
- Aisha from Worm
- Pierce from Abandon by Meg Cabot
- Gingerbread in Life Is Funny by E. R. Frank
- Most of the halfbloods in the Percy Jackson series
- Conor from the Running Nowhere Trilogy by Paul Keene
- Tyler from Playing Tyler by T. L. Costa
- Jessie from Motorcycles, Sushi & One Strange Book by Nancy Rue
- There are a lot of children’s books (picture books and chapter books) with ADHD main characters, so I’m just putting a link to a list here and another list here.
Historical Characters that Canonically Have Many ADHD Traits But Are Not Diagnosed Because ADHD Wasn’t a Thing
- Emma Woodhouse from Emma by Jane Austen
- Helen Burns from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Tom Sawyer
- Fidgety Philip
- Anne Shirley
- Maria from The Sound of Music
- Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind (in the film, at least)
- King Henry VIII in Shakespeare’s play
Celebrities and Other Very Successful People with ADHD
(* signifies people who only say they had ADHD in childhood)
- Political analyst James Carville
- Harvard professor, psychiatrist, and author Ed Hallowell
- Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen
- Virgin everything founder Richard Branson
- JetBlue founder David Neeleman
- Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad
- Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea
- Businesswoman, actor, and producer Mary-Kate Olsen
- MLB pitcher Scott Eyre
- MLB player and manager Pete Rose
- MLB player Shane Victorino
- Soccer/football goalkeeper Tim Howard
- Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps
- Olympic rowing champion Adam Kreek
- Olympic hockey champion Cammi Granato
- Three-time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond
- TV host and former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw
- NFL running back Andre Brown
- NFL tight end Viglil Green
- Pro golfer Luke Kohl
- Professional wrestler Matt Morgan
- Dancer Karina Smirnoff
- Cartoonist Allie Brosh
- Journalist Lisa Ling
- Journalist and author Katherine Ellison
- Journalist and CEO Elon James White
- Radio and TV personality Glenn Beck
- Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel
- Comedian, cartoonist, and game commentator Arin Hanson (Egoraptor)
- Comedian Dave Hemstad
- Comedian and writer Rick Green
- Writer and comedian Jeff Nichols
- Screenwriter, blogger, and director Jennifer Peepas (Captain Awkward)
- Writer and musician Thom Dunn
- Rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur will.i.am
- Singer Solange Knowles
- Singer Avril Lavigne
- Singer/songwriter Joan Baez
- Jazz musician Philip Manuel
- Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz
- Fall Out Boy lead singer and guitarist Patrick Stump
- Panic! at the Disco singer Brendon Urie
- AWOLNATION singer Aaron Bruno
- Singer and TV personality Adam Levine
- Singer and actor Justin Timberlake
- Singer and entertainer Britney Spears
- Actor and singer Zooey Deschanel
- Actor, comedian, and musician Jack Black
- Actor and comedian Jim Carrey
- Actor and comedian Patrick McKenna
- Actor and playwright Woody Harrelson
- Actor Mark Ruffalo
- Actor Jessica Alba
- Actor Alex O’Loughlin
- Actor Jennifer Connelly
- Actor Joe Gilgun
- Actor Bex Taylor-Klaus
- Actor Channing Tatum*
- Actor and rapper Will Smith
- Actor Ryan Gosling*
- Actor Michele Rodriguez
- Actor Eva Longoria
- Actor Liv Tyler
- Actor Hilary Duff
- Actor Cameron Diaz
- Actor Kristen Stewart*
- Socialite and actor Paris Hilton
- Drag queen Joslyn Fox (source discusses NSFW topics)
- Sleight-of-hand artist Apollo Robbins
- Entertainer Ty Pennington
- Entertainer Howie Mandel
- Entertainer Russell Brand
- YouTuber Ryan Higa
- YouTuber Cory Williams
- YouTuber Hannah Hart
- YouTuber Lilly Singh (Superwoman)
- YouTuber Mark Fischbach
- Podcaster Kari Gormley
- These seven women who aren’t super-famous but are successful.
I just realized that most of these people are white men, suggesting that, ADHD or not, success is more likely if you are a white man. Surprise.—Elise
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