Heather Barbour Fenty is a writer with a passion for solving sticky HR problems for recruiters and talent acquisition pros. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, she holds degrees in Communications, Business, and Project Management. Combining her love for travel and storytelling with her technical expertise, Heather helps businesses streamline job ad writing and improve recruitment outcomes. When not working, she enjoys boating, diving, and planning new adventures with her family.
Latest posts by Heather Barbour Fenty (see all)
- Generic vs. Specific Job Descriptions: Which is better? - November 21, 2024
- 35 Words to Avoid that are the Opposite of Inclusive (2024) - November 8, 2024
- Top 20 Call Center Job Titles (with Descriptions) in 2024 - November 1, 2024
I found 40+ famous people with Tourette Syndrome as part of our research for Ongig’s series on neurodiversity. And, I felt inspired to list them all in one place!
Disclaimer: This list includes famous celebrities with Tourette Syndrome who have been diagnosed and those who have been reported to be affected. I do my best to list resources for any questionable ones and welcome feedback, additions, and edits! I am not an expert on people with Tourette Syndrome.
What is Tourette Syndrome?
What is Tourette Syndrome? It is a nervous system disorder causing repetitive movements or unwanted sounds. It’s neurological but not psychological. So most people with Tourette Syndrome will have normal intellectual development.
Successful people with Tourette Syndrome also often have ADHD. CHADD.org says:
“60 to 80 percent of children with Tourette Syndrome have ADHD” (less than 10 percent of people with ADHD have Tourette’s).
A List of Famous People With Tourette Syndrome
Here’s my list of famous people with Tourette Syndrome. They are successful actors, athletes, authors, musicians, and more:
Actors with Tourettes [+ Comedians & TV personalities]
- Dan Aykroyd — Tourettes affected this actor ans star of Ghostbusters from a young age (Different Brains)
- David Begnaud — journalist and TV correspondent diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at 6 years old (Wikipedia)
- Pete Bennett — English TV personality with Tourettes and winner of Big Brother season 4 (Wikipedia)
- Joe Black — TV personality and Drag Queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Wikipedia)
- John Davidson — TV personality and Scottish campaigner for Tourette Syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Howie Mandel — Tourettes and OCD hasn’t stopped this famous actor and comedian (Ranker)
- Dash Mihok — one of the most famous actors with Tourettes (Prestige Employment Solutions)
- Ruth Ojadi — British TV personality and singer who appeared in BBC’s documentary Tourettes: I Swear I Can Sing (Wikipedia)
- Seth Rogen — one of the most recent famous person with Tourette Syndrome to publicly announce his diagnosis on Twitter in January 2021 (Wikipedia)
- Aidy Smith — TV Presenter and producer of “The Three Drinkers” Amazon Prime (Disabled World)
- Jess Thom — comedian best known for her alter ego “Touretteshero” who aims to increase awarness of Tourette’s Syndrome (Wikipedia)
Musicians and Singers with Tourettes Syndrome
- Herb Alpert — marimba player for the Tijuana Brass.
- Robert Ashley — composer who says “his Tourette syndrome as one of the voices in the music” (Wikipedia)
- Basshunter — famous person with Tourettes, singer record producer, and DJ from Sweden (Wikipedia)
- Dylan Brady — famous person with tourette syndrome, singer and activist (Wikipedia)
- James Durbin — American Idol contestant and musician diagnosed with Tourette’s and Aspergers (Wikipedia)
- Billie Eilish — singer who confirmed her Tourette’s on Instagram (Disabled World)
- Jamie Grace Harper — the world’s only musician with Tourette syndrome, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, echolalia, anxiety disorder and a Grammy! (Prestige Employment Solutions)
- Kleerup — Swedish electropop musician diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Anilee List — American Idol contestant inspired by James Durbin who also starred on the show and has Tourettes (YouTube)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — famous composer of over 600 pieces of music (Wikipedia)
- Tobias Picker — composer and pianist who says there were “tourettic” elements in his music (Wikipedia)
- Nick Tatham — one of the most famous singers with Tourettes in Great Britain (Wikipedia)
- Tix (Andreas Andresen Haukeland) — one of the most famous people with tics in the Norwegian music industry (Wikipedia)
- Michael Wolff — Jazz musician and one of the most famous people with Tourette’s (Wikipedia)
Athletes with Tourette’s Syndrome
- Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf — NBA player who said Tourette’s encouraged him to seek perfection (Health Research Funding)
- David Beckham — Tourettes (and OCD) have affected this English soccer star for years (Prestige Employment Solutions)
- Eric Bernotas — skeleton racer and Olypmian diagnosed with Tourette’s (Wikipedia)
- Jim Eisenreich — baseball star who was taunted by fans and removed himself from games due to violent shaking and the inability to breathe (Wikipedia & Prestige Employment Solutions)
- Tim Howard — soccer star diagnosed with Tourettes when he was nine years old (Health Research Funding)
- Jeremy Stenberg — professional motorcross and off-road truck racer with the nickname “Twitch” due to his Tourette’s diagnoses at age 8. (Wikipedia)
- Steve Wallace — Nascar driver and son of Rusty Wallace known for controlling his “tics” during races (Health Research Funding)
Famous People with Tourettes [who are Entrepreneurs, Influencers & Politicians]
- Sweet Anita — famous YouTuber who was diagnosed with a rare form of Tourette’s syndrome with coprolalia at the age of 24 (Wikipedia)
- Caleb Bonham — entrepreneur and TV personality who is public about his diagnosis of Tourette syndrome and how it affects his career (Wikipedia)
- Craig Carton — podcaster and radio personality who founded the Tic Toc Stop Foundation with the aim to wipe out Tourette syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Brad Cohen — motivational speaker and co-author of Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had (Wikipedia)
- Chris Crewther — Australian politician diagnosed with Tourette’s in his early 20s (Wikipedia)
- Howard Hughes — Texas entrepreneur reportedly affected by Tourettes and OCD (Ranker)
- Morton Klein — activist and the top five Jewish leaders in the U.S. in 2004 (Wikipedia)
- Lele Pons — Influencer, YouTuber, singer, and actress with Tourette Syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Jumaane Williams — politician who was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and ADHD as a child (Wikipedia)
Authors and Artists with Tourettes Syndrome
- Howard Fieldstad Ahmanson Jr. — famous writer and philanthropist who triumphed over Tourettes (Wikipedia)
- Flint Juventino Beppe — artist, filmmaker, producer, and composer with Tourette Syndrome and ADHD (Wikipedia)
- Marc Elliot — author and inspirational speaker about growing up with Tourette’s (Wikipedia)
- Jeffrey Kramer — writer, film, and TV producer; serves on the national board of directors for the Tourette Association
- Richard Paul Evans — #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, The Christmas Box and the Michael Vey series (The Blaze)
- Dr. Samuel Johnson — author who’s “tics” were documented in his friend James Boswell’s book Life (Health Research Funding)
- Jeff Koterba — cartoonist and speaker for 2 TEDx talks about Tourette’s syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Quim Monzó — Spanish novelist diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (Wikipedia)
- Jess Thom — London artist with Tourette Syndrome (The World)
- Nick van Bloss — author and pianist with Tourettes (Wikipedia)
Did I miss any famous people with Tourettes?
I know there might be other celebrities with Tourettes I’ve missed. So, please add a comment below or ping me at heather@ongig.com, and I’ll be glad to add them. Thanks!
If you enjoyed this list, you might also want to check out Famous People with ADHD [100+ Actors, Entrepreneurs, Athletes, Musicians & More!].
Why I wrote this?
Ongig is on a mission to eliminate boring and biased job descriptions. As part of this, we try to share best practices on all aspects of diversity. For example, Ongig’s Text Analyzer helps you avoid words that are exclusionary to neurodiverse people. So, please visit Ongig if you’d like to learn more.
Resources for this list of celebrities with Tourette Syndrome:
- CHADD.org’s article on Tics and Tourette Syndrome
- Disabled World’s article on Famous People with Tourettes Syndrome
- Famous People with Tourettes Syndrome (By Health Research Funding)
- Famous People with Tourette Syndrome (by Prestige Employment Solutions)
- People with Tourette syndrome (Wikipedia)
- 5 Celebrities with Tourette’s Syndrome (by Reuben Frielander)
- Who are some famous celebrities with Tourette’s? (Quora)
- Exclusive: Author Richard Paul Evans Opens Up About His Tourette’s Syndrome & ‘Michael Vey 2 (by Jason Howerton)
