15 FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA (ALIVE AND DEAD) - ECONOMÍA - 2025

I will show you a list of 15 famous people who have had schizophrenia or at least it is possible, from scientists, through athletes, to artists. Schizophrenia is characterized by a set of mental disorders that lead to personality change, hallucinations or loss of contact with reality.

Did you know that some of the best known artists, scientists or athletes have had schizophrenia? Although it may be strange, due to the belief that it is a disease that is very destabilizing to life, many personalities could have lived with this disorder.

Note: It is not clear if these people had mental illness. What is discussed in this article is based on historical events and data, not on diagnoses made by health professionals.

Famous people who may have had schizophrenia

1- Eduard Einstein

The story of the son of one of the world's greatest geniuses did not go unnoticed by the most tabloid media of his time.

Son of Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric, Eduard Einstein was born with a superlative intelligence, which was reminiscent of his father's. His studies were full of successes and the young man pointed to what he had always wanted to be: a psychoanalyst.

Unfortunately, when he was only twenty years old, he had to put aside his studies because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he was admitted several times to die at the age of fifty-five.

His family lineage has for years made the whole world aware of schizophrenia.

2- Andy Goram

The Scottish football player was in the spotlight in various British media for several years.

After passing through several British clubs, he would reach the Glasgow Rangers as a figure. It was during that time that the doorman was diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder.

Famous are the chants of the fans of Celtic, direct rival of Rangers, in which they made fun of the goalkeeper: "Two Andy Gorams, there's two andy goram" (Two andy gorams, there are only two andy gorams).

3- Lionel Aldridge

American football star Lionel Aldridge had a successful career. Already in retirement in 1973, he began working as a sports analyst until he received a diagnosis that would change his life: he suffered from schizophrenia.

As a result of that moment, he began a constant fight in favor of people with mental problems until the day of his death in 1998.

Lionel went on to hold a position with the Milwaukee Mental Health Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

4- Syd Barrett

It is known to all that the attitude of the Pink Floyd singer was not entirely normal. In fact, speculations with a possible Asperger syndrome were constant, where drugs were of great importance.

The existence of reports that diagnosed him schizophrenia was affirmed, something that the musician never publicly admitted.

With the passage of time he stopped playing and rumors about his mental problems increased. Finally, he died in 2006 from pancreatic cancer, leaving a halo of mysticism on his figure.

5- Zelda Fitzgerald

The wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, creator of the famous best seller The Great Gatsby, suffered from schizophrenia for much of her life.

Her attacks of paranoia were constant, especially after learning of her husband's infidelity. As early as 1930, he was diagnosed with what was feared: schizophrenia. She was admitted to a sanatorium in France, where she was treated with several renowned European doctors.

That is when a life full of transfers and internments began (he would go to centers in Geneva and Alabama, among others).

6- Tom Harrell

The famous jazz composer received has received countless awards and recognitions throughout his life thanks to the more than 260 albums he has recorded.

Schizophrenia was not a problem in reaching the peak of musical success, although now, it took a 180 degree turn when he performed. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of twenty, his consequences reached such a point that in his performances he limited himself to going on stage with his head bowed, playing, and getting off in the same way.

7- John Kerouac

The famous American writer is known, in addition to his works, for being one of the founders of hippie philosophy.

During his stage in which he was enlisted in the United States Army, he was already diagnosed with early dementia.

Over the years, he received a note in which another doctor explained that he suffered from schizoid tendencies. His death due to cirrhosis of the liver created a legend around his figure. It was said that he drank alcohol to try to silence the voices he heard in his mind.

8- Vincent van Gogh

One of the most notorious cases in all of history. The artistic figure of Vincent van Gogh has always been involved in a multitude of controversies.

Many personalities and experts in the field claim that the post-impressionist painter suffered from schizophrenia. These hypotheses have been refuted by a total of 150 doctors.

Proof of this were different psychotic episodes that ended with his suicide from a pistol shot at the young age of thirty-seven.

9- Brian Wilson

The co-founder of The Beach Boys also could not rid himself of this disorder.

The reason for this was his childhood surrounded by drugs and alcohol. When his father died, his mental illness began to flare up strongly. He spent two years confined in a room in his house between drugs.

He tried to drive off a cliff and bury himself alive, while admitting to having auditory hallucinations, hearing different voices in his head.

Today he is relaunching his career as an artist, preparing new albums and musical tours.

10- Edvard Munch

The creator of the famous painting El Grito also suffered from schizophrenia in addition to various depressive symptoms. A clear example of this were his words to describe his most emblematic and famous work:

“I was walking down a road with both friends. The sun went down. I felt a fit of melancholy. Suddenly the sky turned blood red. I stopped and leaned on a railing dead tired and looked at the flaming clouds that hung like blood, like a sword over the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends continued walking. I stood there trembling with fear and felt that an endless high-pitched scream penetrated nature ”.

11- Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf had a disastrous end: she ended up committing suicide as a result of a mental picture. She suffered auditory hallucinations and personality changes that led to these events.

If you want to know more about Woolf's life, you can't miss The Hours, where Nicole Kidman plays her.

12- John Nash

If you've seen the A Beautiful Mind movie, chances are you are familiar with the name John Nash.

This mathematician was born with an intelligence superior to that of others. But at the age of thirty-one, the schizoid disorder began to manifest itself clearly. His wife described his behavior as "erratic".

For example, Nash himself believed that all men who wore red ribbons were communists who wanted to kill him.

In 1959 he was admitted to Mclean Hospital, where he was officially diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

13- Edgar Allan Poe

The author of famous stories such as The Raven or The Fall of the House of Usher suffered from schizophrenia. It is also true that it was not to a very high degree, but it was something that marked him, and who knows, maybe it helped him create those fantastic writings that today have placed him as the creator of the horror genre.

14- Megan Fox

The beautiful Hollywood actress has publicly admitted to suffering from schizophrenia: “Since I was a child I have had auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions and social dysfunction. I suffer bouts of schizophrenia ”.

In addition, she fears ending up like Marilyn Monroe, one of her greatest references, about whom she reads every book that is written about her, in order to understand the nature of her illness.

15- Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney was an icon of American theater and cinema of the mid-20th century. At the age of thirty, he began to suffer from concentration problems that greatly affected his professional career.

After several visits with the psychiatrist, she was admitted to the Harkness Pavilion in New York, to be later transferred to the Institute of Life in Hartford in Conética.

She received various shock treatments, where she even tried to escape from the centers where she was being treated.