List of people with epilepsy
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Contents
Acting
- Bud Abbott, (1897–1974). The straight man in the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. He had epilepsy all his life, and tried to control and hide it by drinking.
- Danny Glover, (1947—). An American actor and film director who had epilepsy from age 15 to age 35.
- Margaux Hemingway, (1955–1996). A film actress and model who had epilepsy from the age of 7. She died of an overdose of phenobarbital, which is an anticonvulsant.
- Rik Mayall, (1958—). A comedian and actor who was seriously injured and put in a coma for five days after a quad bike accident in 1998. Initially prescribed phenytoin prophylactically, he has since had two seizures, possibly due to not taking his medication.
- Hugo Weaving, (1960—). An actor who has taken anticonvulsants for epilepsy since his first seizure age 13.
Leadership, Politics and Royalty
- Neil Abercrombie, (1937—). A United States congressman who campaigns for increased funding for epilepsy research. He was diagnosed with epilepsy in his early thirties.
- Rabbi Lionel Blue, (1930—). A rabbi and broadcaster, best known for his contributions to "Thought for the Day" on BBC Radio 4's Today program. His epilepsy is successfully controlled with medication.
- Tony Coelho, (1942—). A former United States congressman who developed epilepsy aged 16, possibly as a result of an earlier head injury. This would lead to rejection by his family and the Jesuits for "possession by the devil". He has campaigned as a congressman for disabled rights and chairs the Epilepsy Foundation's national board of directors.
- Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland, (1889–1918). The youngest son of Gustaf V of Sweden.Prince John of the United Kingdom, (1905–1919). The youngest son of King George V, John had epilepsy from the age of 4 until his death after a seizure aged 13. The shame of his epilepsy, along with other neurological problems, meant he was kept from the public eye.
- Harry Laughlin, (1880–1943). The director of the American Eugenics Record Office from its inception in 1910 to its closing in 1939. In 1922, he drew up laws for the compulsory sterilization of various "degenerate" groups, which included those with epilepsy.
- Ida McKinley, (1847–1907). First Lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901. Her epilepsy started in adulthood and was to become quite disabling and inconvenient. As was normal for the time, great efforts were made to keep this secret.
- Pope Pius IX, (1792–1878). Had childhood epilepsy.
Music
- Lindsey Buckingham, (1949—). The guitarist and singer in the music group Fleetwood Mac was taken to hospital after a seizure whilst on tour, aged 29. His mild epilepsy was successfully controlled by anticonvulsant drugs.
- Ian Curtis, (1956–1980). The vocalist and lyricist of the band Joy Division was diagnosed with epilepsy aged 22. The cover of their album Unknown Pleasures resembles an EEG tracing, but is actually the tracings of the radio emissions of a pulsar.
- Adam Horovitz, (1966—). Member of the music group Beastie Boys.
- Richard Jobson, (1960—). Formerly the lead singer with the punk rock group, The Skids, now a television presenter and film maker. He has absence seizures.
- Geoff Rickly, (1979—). A member of the band Thursday, who discovered he had epilepsy whilst on tour.
- Mike Skinner, (1978—). Also known as The Streets, he had epilepsy between the ages of 7 and 20.
- Neil Young, (1945—). Singer-songwriter, formerly of folk rock band Buffalo Springfield. Apparently learned to control his epilepsy via "mind over matter", rather than taking anticonvulsant drugs.
Science
- Don Craig Wiley, (1944–2001). A protein-structure biochemist. He kept his epilepsy secret, didn't treat it, and died under mysterious circumstances, possibly owing to a seizure.
Sport
- Grover Cleveland Alexander, (1887–1950). A major league baseball pitcher who tried to hide his epilepsy with alcohol, which was at the time considered to be a more socially acceptable problem.
- Buddy Bell, (1951—). A major league baseball player and manager.
- Alan Faneca, (1976—). An American Football guard who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 15 and takes the anticonvulsant carbamazepine, which successfully controls his seizures.
- Tony Greig, (1946—). A former cricketer and commentator who is involved with Epilepsy Action Australia. He had his first seizure, aged 14, during a tennis game but has successfully controlled his epilepsy with medication.
- Chanda Gunn, (1980—). A goalie in the US 2006 Winter Olympic women's hockey team. Gunn was diagnosed with juvenile absence epilepsy at the age of 9, which was treated with valproic acid. Epilepsy meant that she had to give up her childhood sports of swimming and surfing, but these were soon replaced with hockey.
- Bobby Jones, (1951—). A former pro basketball player who developed epilepsy and a heart problem as an adult, but persevered with his game.
- Florence Griffith Joyner, (1959–1998). An athlete with world records in the 100 m and 200 m. She developed seizures in her thirties, possibly due to a cavernous angioma that was discovered on autopsy. She died from asphyxiation after a severe seizure whilst asleep.
- Tony Lazzeri, (1903–1946). A major league baseball player who probably died after seizure that occurred when he was alone at home.
- Terry Marsh, (1958—). A boxer who was IBF world light-welterweight champion. His diagnosis of epilepsy in 1987, aged 29, forced him into retirement undefeated.
- Jonty Rhodes, (1969—). A cricketer who is involved with Epilepsy South Africa.
- Tom Smith, (1971—). Former Scottish international and Northampton Saints rugby player. Has had epilepsy since the age of 18. He is a patron of the Scottish epilepsy charity Enlighten.
Writing
- Karen Armstrong, (1944—). An author, feminist and writer on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Her temporal lobe epilepsy went undiagnosed for many years. She wrote in her autobiography that when (in her early thirties) she was finally given the diagnosis, it was "an occasion of pure happiness".
- Max Clifford, (1946—). A publicist known for representing controversial clients. He developed epilepsy at the age of 46.
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, (1821–1881). A Russian writer whose epilepsy was probably inherited (both his father and his son had seizures). He incorporated his experiences into his novels – creating four different characters with epilepsy. Dostoyevsky's epilepsy was unusual in that he claimed to experience an ecstatic aura prior to a seizure, whereas most people experience unpleasant feelings.
- Edward Lear, (1812–1888). An artist, illustrator and writer known for his nonsensical poetry and limericks. His epilepsy, which he developed as a child, may have been inherited (his elder sister Jane had frequent seizures and died young). Lear was ashamed of his epilepsy and kept it a secret. He did, however, record each seizure in his diary.
- Laurie Lee, (1914–1997). A poet, novelist and screenwriter, most famous for his autobiographical trilogy (which includes Cider with Rosie). His epilepsy probably developed after he was knocked down by a bicycle at the age of 10. He kept it secret and it only surfaced when his papers were read by biographers after his death.
- Vachel Lindsay, (1879–1931). A poet who took phenobarbital for his epilepsy.
Notes and references
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