Famous People Who Stutter

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(The above picture was developed by Darrell Dodge and is used with permission. The list that follows was compiled by Judy Kuster from an NSP handout and personal additions from various resources, including Knotted Tongues, a book by Benson Bobrick, and Stuttering and Other Fluency Disorders, by Franklin Silverman that had hypertext links to some internet references.

Use the name +stutter in a search engine to explore additional information about many of these famous PWS!

In the past:

  • Aesop - Greek storyteller
  • Walter H. Annenberg - publisher, broadcaster, diplomat and philanthropist.
  • Aristotle
  • Notker Balbulus (the Stammerer), a Dark Ages monk who played important roles in both plainchant and the development of our calendar.
  • Balbus Blaesius - A Roman who was in a "freak show." People would give him money to stutter. His last name is the Italian word for stuttering
  • Clara Barton - Founder of the American Red Cross.
  • Baudouin the Lannoy, a knight of the golden fleece - portrait by Jan Van Eyck in the State Museum in Berlin.
  • Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Arnold Bennett - British writer and journalist.
  • Michael Bentine - British comedian, script-writer, and reader of children's books
  • Jorge Luis Borges - (1899-1986) was the author of Labyrinths and Ficciones, among other books.
  • Aneurin Bevan - British Labor Party Leader in 1930's.
  • Howard Bingham - professional photographer and biographer of Muhammed Ali died at age 77 on December 20, 2016
  • Kenneth E. Boulding - economist
  • Elizabeth Bowen - Irish writer
  • Robert Boyle (1627-1691) - British scientist and moral essayist who made important contributions to physics and chemistry and is best known for Boyle's law
  • Patrick Campbell - British humorist.
  • Al Capp - creator of Lil' Abner according to Mil Tillis
  • Lewis Carroll - Author of Alice in Wonderland.
  • Field Marshall Lord Carver - British military leader.
  • Nicolae Ceausecsu - President of Romania in the 1970's
  • Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of Don Quixote de la Mancha (as cited by Malveena McKendrick, Cervantes, Little, Brown, 1980, p. 21.).
  • Marc Chagal - 1887-1985 - famous Russian-born artist
  • General Joshua Chamberlain, one of the heroes of the Battle of Gettysburg and college professor of literature (source: Military History magazine).
  • King Charles I - King of England, 1625-1649.
  • Winston Churchill - Prime Minister of Great Britain World War II. - Audio Archive of many of Winston Churchill's speeches (Point of information, some claim that Churchill did not suffer from stuttering, but from a lisp. I have heard and seen video tapes of Churchill. However, I believe that my cousin (yes he was;-) stuttered, JAK).
  • Claudius - Roman Emperor.
  • Ty Cobb - according to a biography, Cobb: A Biography by Al Stump (1994)
  • Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler - a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Pirates in the '20s. His nickname is pronounced with long I's; i.e, Ky-Ky. Reason: He was a stutterer, and often pronounced his last name Ky-ky-ler. (posted by Bob Wells on Stutt-l, August 12, 1997)
  • Nat King Cole - In an interview, Cole biographer, Daniel Epstein states that Cole had a stutter as a child and a bit of a lisp which you can hear in the early recordings in his career.
  • Richard Condon - Novelist whose works include The Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor.
  • Charles Darwin - Naturalist and author of The Origin of Species.
  • Erasmus Darwin - Famous physician, scientist, and grandfather of Charles.
  • Marion Davies "one of the few silent stars to survive the transition to talkies."
  • Dekanawida - Iroquois Indian leader in the 1500's
  • Demosthenes - Greek orator
  • Mary Louise "Stuttering Sam" Dowell became the most celebrated showgirl in New York City.
  • Harley Earl, one of the most famous car designers ever. (Source: American Heritage magazine).
  • Niccolo Fontana, nicknamed Tartaglia (stammerer) because of his speech - an Italian mathematician famous for his algebraic solution of cubic equations. Read about what caused his speech problems and decide for yourself if he stuttered or not.
  • Jane Froman - a great singer in the forties who performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane crash. Her life story was told in the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart.
  • King George VI - King of England, 1937-1952.
  • Mrs. Annie Glenn - Wife of astronaut and Senator John Glenn.
  • Steven Hawking - scientist
  • Robert Heinlein - Science fiction writer
  • Sir John R. Hicks - British economist who received the Nobel price in economics in 1972.
  • Leigh Hunt a writer of the early Romantic period and a classmate of Charles Lamb.
  • Henry James - American Novelist.
  • Thomas Jefferson - President
  • Washington Irving (author)
  • Alfred Kazin - author, critic and teacher
  • Charles Canon Kingsley -- English orator, writer, and chaplain to Queen Victoria.
  • Charles Lamb - British essayist, on his stuttering.
  • John "Scatman" Larkin - jazz musician
  • Philip Larkin - English poet, novelist and critic
  • Lenin
  • Louis II the Stammerer, King of France, 877-879
  • Henry Luce - Founder of Time magazine and Sports Illustrated
  • Major General Alexander McDougall of the Continental (U.S.) Army during the American Revolution. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress, president of the first bank in the state of NY and served in the NY state senate.
  • Raymond Massey - Actor.
  • Cotton Mather - Puritan leader and famous preacher.
  • Somerset Maugham - British writer considered one of the best short story writers of all time, including Of Human Bondage, an autobiographical novel which substitutes a physical disability for the author's stuttering problem.
  • Robert Merrill -- Opera singer.
  • Michael II, Byzantine Emperor 820-829,succeeded Leo V to the Byzantine crown in 820, and on his death in 829 was succeeded by his son Theophilus.
  • Christopher Robin Milne, the original Christopher Robin.
  • Moses - Hebrew prophet. Was Moses A Stutterer? by Gerald McDermott 9/19/2013,article on FIRST THINGS,"America's Most Influential Journal of Religion and Public Life"
  • Moses Mendelssohn - Grandfather of the composer.
  • Molotov, the Russian Foreign Minister under Stalin.
  • Marilyn Monroe - Actress. Marilyn Monroe talks about her stuttering Gerald R. McDermott, Gerald R. author of Famous Stutterers: Twelve inspiring people who achieved great things while struggling with an impediment has made Chapter 5 "It's painful: Marilyn Monroe" a freely available chapter from Famous Stutterers: Twelve inspiring people who achieved great things while struggling with an impediment by Gerald R. McDermott with permission of the author and his publisher.
  • Garry Moore - game show host - "I've Got a Secret"
  • Napoleon the First
  • Jack Harold Paar - US comedian & television host; 1st host of show "The Tonight Show" 1957-1962
  • Kim Philby - British spy.
  • Elvis Presley - Rock and Roll King
  • Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) -- the English chemist and scholar who identified/discovered oxygen
  • Ludwig Quidde Nobel Peace Prize recipient, 1927.
  • Anthony Quinn - Actor.
  • Alan R. Rabinowitz - conservationist. Videos Alan Rabinowitz Part 1 and Alan Rabinowitz Part 2 from SAY: The Association of Young People who Stutter
  • Michael Ramsey (one hundredth Archbishop of Canterbury)
  • Theodore Roosevelt
  • Mario Savio - 1960's Free Speech leader at Berkeley
  • Nevil Shute (1900-1960)-- English novelist and aeronautical engineer.
  • John Slaughter - Arizona sheriff in the 1880's
  • Jimmy Stewart - Actor.
  • Mel Tillis - Country-western singer. An interesting FAX sent to Art Nefsky from Mel Tillis on September 30, 1997, about his stuttering, is online.
  • Alan Turing, founder of computer science. Linked to wikipedia.org
  • Kenneth Tynan - Well known British drama critic.
  • Virgil - Roman poet.
  • George Washington
  • Bill Withers (1938-2020), singer and songwriter, whose first hit, Ain't No Sunshine, went to number three in 1971, won a Grammy for best R&B song, and was heard in the movie Notting Hill. His biggest hit was Lean on Me, which went to number one in 1972. He also recorded Use Me, which peaked at number two in 1972 and is on the soundtrack to American Beauty. The Gap used his song Lovely Day in its 1999 advertising campaign. Withers married Denice Nicholas, a star on ABC's TV series Room 222. He was born in Slab Fork, near Beckley. Withers dropped out of school after the ninth grade and spent nine years in the Navy, where he underwent speech therapy to overcome a stuttering problem. After his discharge, he delivered milk and worked for Ford Motor Co., IBM, and Lockheed. from "Famous West Virginians" Video of Bill Withers from SAY: The Association of Young People who Stutter
  • The following historical figures from China, are reported to have stuttered in parts of their life. They are provided by Stefan Hoffman.
    • Guan Zhong (ancient time politician)
    • Han Feizi (ancient time scholar)
    • Lu Xun (20 century most famous Chinese writer)
    • Guo Muoruo (20 century writer)
    • Zhan Tianyo (Famous railway engineer)
    • Guang Xu (Emperor of Qing Dynasty)

Contemporary Figures:

  • Prince Albert of Monaco
  • Rowan Atkinson - British actor who plays Mr. Bean
  • Butch Baird - Golfer.
  • Antonio Bassolino - Mayor of Naples
  • P. F. Bentley - professional photographer - Photographs by PF Bentley: 25 Years of Photojournalism
  • President Joseph Biden, Democrat, former Senator from Delaware and Vice President. A short clip from Senator Biden's longer keynote address at the 2004 National Stuttering Association conference (taped by Thomas Kuster) and a 25 minute speech by Vice President Biden at the American Institute for Stuttering Gala in 2016 speech
  • Arthur M. Blank - co-founder of the Home Depot and owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons
  • Emily Blunt - actress - winner of Golden Globe
  • Peter Bonerz - Actor (Jerry the orthodontist) on The Bob Newhart show
  • Nicolas Brendon, movie star, reports that he stuttered significantly until after high school.
  • Patrick Campbell - British humorist
  • Rubin Carter - professional boxer - 'Hurricane' by Tom Tozer relates that Rubin "Hurricane" Carter stuttered as a child. Carter's story, made into a movie starring Danzell Washington, is about a "professional middleweight boxer who was arrested in 1966 for the murder of three whites, sentenced to a triple-life term and finally exonerated in 1988." Tozer's article states, "As a youngster, Carter used his fists to help dissuade others from laughing at his stuttering."
  • Lord David Cecil - Professor of English literature at Oxford in 1950s and author of Melbourne, one of The Board of the Modern Library's100 Best Nonfiction books of the century
  • Proinsias De Rossa - a political leader of the Democrat Left in Ireland.
  • Margaret Drabble - British novelist.
  • Harley Earl - car designer
  • Jake Eberts - Film producer (Gandhi, Dances with Wolves)
  • Noel Gallaghe guitarist from the rock band, Oasis
  • Gareth Gates - pop star, UK
  • Sidney Gottlieb - controversial CIA psychologist
  • Horace Grant - Orlando Magic power forward
  • James Griffin - the producer and presenter of the ABC TV's Last Word and is an occasional contributor to Books and Writing on ABC Radio National, Australia
  • Sophie Gustafson, Swedish Professional Golfer who won the Ladies Professional Golf Association British Open, August 2000.
  • Ron Harper - Star with the Chicago Bulls.
  • Lester Hayes - Former All-Pro defensive back with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders.
  • Howard Heyman - lab chief for the Newsweek photo lab
  • Vernon Hill - chairman and founder of Commerce Bancorp and Commerce Bank
  • Edward Hoagland - essayist and contemporary nature writer.
  • Bo Jackson - Football and baseball star.
  • Samuel L. Jackson, movie star,
  • Tommy John - Former Yankee pitcher.
  • Ben Johnson - Runner.
  • Paul Johnson - Detective novelist, author of Killing the Blues
  • James Earl Jones - Actor.
  • Thomas Kean - Governor of New Jersey from1982-1990
  • Harvey Keitel - actor
  • Pat Leahy - N.Y. Jets kicker.
  • Peggy Lipton - Actress.
  • Greg Louganis - Olympic diver.
  • Bob Love - Basketball star with Chicago Bulls in 60's and 70's. (Six minute video - Bob Love story)
  • Alvin Lucier - American composer
  • Michael McCurdy - Book Illustrator / Author / Publisher / wood engraver
  • Dr. Jonathan Miller - British director and critic.
  • John Montague - a Northern Irish poet, essayist, and story writer.
  • Sam Neill - Actor.
  • Bruce Oldfield - British fashion designer.
  • Austin Pendleton - Actor Austin Pendleton video from SAY: The Association of Young People who Stutter
  • Adrian Peterson - running back for the Chicago Bears.
  • Byron Pitts - anchor and correspondent for ABC News - Emmy award winner
  • Eric Roberts, actor
  • Henry Rogers - Public relations pioneer.
  • Nino Salvatore - Past president of Medicine at the University of Naples
  • Budd Schulberg - author, screenplay - On The Waterfront and musical, What Makes Sammy Run
  • David Shields - American novelist
  • Nevil Shute - English novelist and aeronautical engineer
  • Carly Simon - Singer.
  • Michael Spinks - light heavyweight boxing champion
  • George Springer - major league baseball player Online interview with George Springer from the Los Angeles Times OCT. 27, 2017 and George Springer video from SAY: The Association of Young People who Stutter
  • Darren Sproles - award winning NFL football player
  • Jake Steinfeld - Bodybuilder, television fitness trainer
  • John Stossel - Reporter, ABC's 20/20.
  • Peter Straub, horror story author.
  • Dave Taylor - Former hockey star with the L.A. Kings.
  • Duane Thomas - a running back for the Dallas Cowboy's in the early 70's, according to interview with Larry Merchant, on Real Sports, HBO
  • Richard Thompson - British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Featured in a blog by Richard Gauber Stuttering and Richard Thompson who shares information and a link to a BBC TV documentary about Thompson called "A Solitary Life".
  • Chris Trapper - musician - The Push Stars rock band
  • Kenneth Tynan - British drama critic
  • John Updike -Novelist.
  • Ken Venturi - Golfer. Won U.S. Open in 1961.
  • Bill Walton - professional basketball player, sportscaster
  • John F. Welch, Jr. - Chairman of General Electric.
  • Bruce Willis - Actor.
  • Robert Wilson - Sculptor and theater director
  • Congressman Frank Wolf, Republican from VA.
  • Chris Zorich - Chicago Bears' lineman.

Controversial and cartoon personalities who stutter

  • John Melendez, also known as "Stuttering John, was a rock guitarist and interviewer for the controversial Howard Stern show.
  • Porky Pig a Warner Brother's cartoon character. Additional information in Wikipedia
  • Jimmy Volmer, a student in the fictional school South Park Elementary in the animated series South Park (information on Wikipedia)

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