Famous People who Stutter: Icons who turned their Speech Challenge into Strength
April 30, 2020
American Institute for Stuttering
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Many famous historical and currently influential people stutter or have a history of stuttering. Stuttering is considered by many to be a speech impediment under the umbrella term communication disorders, although at AIS, we consider stuttering a perfectly acceptable way of speaking.
Stuttering is a neurological condition that runs in families. Stuttering is genetic. It is estimated that over 3 million people in the United States stutter.
Using the Stuttering Foundation of American (SFA) and the American Institute for Stuttering (AIS) as sources, we will explore how many extremely popular and well-known figures have succeeded while having a stutter, a speech disorder characterized by production of involuntary repetitions, a tendency to produce sounds with prolongations, or with unintended silence.
We will discuss successful, well-known individuals including Tiger Woods, Elvis Presley, James Earl Jones, Joe Biden, Emily Blunt , Ed Sheeran, and King George VI, all famous people who have experience with stuttering.
Many of these people did attend in person or online speech therapy while others found means to manage their stuttering on their own.
In the past, lists of famous people who stutter tended to be limited to those who "stopped stuttering." We will also include individuals who stutter openly as adults, serving as role models to people who stutter everywhere.
Famous people who stutter openly remind us all that stuttering does not need to hold an individual back from achieving success.
Emily Blunt is a British-American actress known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), and Oppenheimer (2023). She has been a long time advocate and representative for The American Institute for Stuttering since 2006. She is an active member of their Board of Directors and acts as MC for their yearly benefit galas which are held in New York City.
Emily Blunt described her stuttering as making her feel like "an imposter in your body" and said her stuttering was at its worst between the ages of around 7 to 14.
She credits a school drama teacher for encouraging her to play around with accents as she attempted a role in the school play, adding that this freed her voice on stage.
In 2019, she was presented with the AIS Freeing Voices, Changing Lives award.
Over the years, dealing with stuttering inspired her to develop a motto which is brilliant in its simplicity:
"Give them your best stutter."
Amanda Mammana — Twenty-year-old Amanda Mammana from Connecticut first picked up a guitar at the age of 9. Her love and passion for music grew and she became a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter.
Music has made her realize that both her singing and speaking voice deserve to be heard!
She hopes her songs about the power of perseverance and overcoming obstacles encourage listeners, reminding them that they are not alone and are stronger than they realize.
Amanda was honored by the American institute for Stuttering in 2024. Watch her soar!
Thomas Kean — This former governor of New Jersey also served as chairman of the 9/11 Commission. After serving as governor, he was president of Drew University for 15 years.
King George vi, ruled Great Britain during World war II despite his stuttering. His story was immortalized in the film "The King's Speech" which depicted him becoming king when his older brother abdicated the throne. He worked with a speech therapist to gain confidence.
Winston Churchill- He was the British prime minister in World War ii, and considered one of the greatest orators in history.
Joe Biden, former US president, has consistently been open about his stuttering, including during his presidential campaign. He remembers being a kid stuttering, and practicing speaking for hours in the mirror.
Clifford P. Hansen — He was the governor of Wyoming from 1963-1967 and in the U.S. Senate from 1967-1979.
Jack Welch — He was chairman of General Electric from 1981 through 2001. Stuttering did not hold him back from becoming a formidable business leader.
Sander Flaum — Founded Flaum Navigators. He was a successful businessman, motivational speaker, and business consultant. Longtime chairman of the American Institute for Stuttering, where a speech therapy wing is dedicated to his memory.
Walter H. Annenberg — He was a publisher and philanthropist who created TV Guide and Seventeen magazine. He also owned The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Joe Moglia — He was the Chairman and former CEO of TD Ameritrade.
John Sculley — He introduced the "Pepsi Challenge," which boosted the brand greatly. He is considered a marketing genius.
Michael Sheehan — Sheehan has been a leader in the field of communications consulting since 1981, and has written speeches for many top political figures.
Alan Rabinowitz — was an American zoologist who served as the president, CEO, and chief scientist at Panthera Corporation, a nonprofit conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 40 wild cat species. He was very involved in the stuttering self-help community.
Tiger Woods, one of the most successful golfers of all times, told Golf Digest he’d talk to his dog until it fell asleep to manage his stuttering behavior. Tiger Woods was said to have personally reached out to support a fan who wrote to tell him explaining that he had attempted suicide related to a stuttering problem.
Johnny Damon — The retired MLB outfielder and designated hitter has played for the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Indians
Boyd Rankin — A cricket player from Northern Ireland who now plays in England.
Herschel Walker — is an American former football running back who won the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award in 1982, and later played 15 years of professional football.
Bob Love — a basketball star who played with the Chicago Bulls. Bob Love turned stuttering into motivation after a speech therapist at Minnesota State University helped him hone his public speaking in their speech therapy wing, and he became a motivational speaker.
George Springer, a Kansas City Royals and World Series star, inspires as a Stuttering Foundation voice.
Kenyon Martin, former NBA star team player, proves athletes who stutter can dominate. Martin, who has struggled with stuttering since he was a child in school, says the speech disorder was a catalyst that propelled him to the highest levels of basketball. He was named National Player of the Year in his senior year playing for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats.
Thomas Edward John Jr., nicknamed "the Bionic Man," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He was honored by AIS in.
Sigi Schmid — A German-American soccer coach. He has the most coaching wins in MLS history and received the MLS Coach of the Year Award in 1999 and 2008.
Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the University of Kentucky men's basketball team from 2011 to 2012. He is an extremely active stuttering advocate, frequently presenting before Congress about the need for better insurance coverage for stuttering.
Joshua Ezeudu is an American football player, currently on the New York Giants. He is open about his stuttering, serving as a wonderful role model for children who stutter.
Curtis Lionell Blaydes is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He speaks openly about his stuttering and was honored by the American Institute for Stuttering in 2024.
Ed Sheeran is a Grammy award winning singer. Ed Sheeran credits making music to Eminem’s fast raps for helping him stop stuttering. Ed Sheeran was honored by The American Institute for Stuttering.
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock, had a stutter according to the Stuttering Foundation which he masked with his iconic drawl. Did Elvis have a stutter? Yes, and it didn’t stop his Spin Magazine fame.
Mel Tillis, a country singer, turned stuttering into a Grand Ole Opry charm, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with hits like Coca-Cola Cowboy.
Carly Simon, another famous person who stutters, found singing eased her stuttering. She has described herself as having suffered emotional trauma early in life, crafting ‘70s classics despite negative feelings from childhood.
John Larkin — Known as "Scatman John," he had a hit song that was about stuttering!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy8kmNEo1i8
Michelle Williams — This singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress is probably best known for being part of the R&B group Destiny's Child.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper known for his distinctive flow and technique. In 2018, he became the first non-classical or jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. He told Spin Magazine that he used music to help his stuttering by helping him get his thoughts and energy out.
James Earl Jones, known for his vocal portrayal of Darth Vader in Star Wars, was said to have had a severe stutter as a child and stopped speaking. James Earl Jones was also the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King. James Earl Jones dealt with stuttering for his entire life.
Wayne Brady — This actor, comedian and songwriter received the AIS Freeing Voices, Changing Lives award.
Jane Seymour — English actress known for the tv series Dr. Quinn, medicine woman.
Bruce Willis — an American much-beloved actor who has starred in many top-grossing films.
John Melendez rose to fame using the name Stuttering John. He was on the Tonight Show and was on staff at the Howard Stern show. He is a top comic who attended speech therapy for his stuttering.
Samuel L. Jackson, star of many popular films in the United States.
Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British-American actress and Oscar nominee. She's won a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has been nominated for four British Academy Film Awards. Blunt started acting professionally in theater in 2001 and made her film debut in My Summer of Love in 2004. The star of Devil Wears Prada said that acting in a school play helped her gain confidence. Emily Blunt is an active Board member of the American Institute for Stuttering, and is featured on posters created by the Stuttering foundation.
John Stossel and Emily Blunt
John Stossel, investigative journalist, attended intensive speech therapy for stuttering and is on the American Institute for Stuttering Board of Directors.
P.F. Bentley — He was an award-winning photographer for TIME magazine, known for his behind-the-scenes photographs of presidents and congressmen.
Byron Pitts — He was chief national correspondent for ABC News. Pitts is an Emmy award-winning journalist and author who speaks openly about his stuttering.
Lewis Carroll — This British writer's most famous works include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, as well as the poem Jabberwocky.
W Somerset Maugham was a short story writer.
Scott Damian — He is a screenwriter, director and producer. He published the memoir V-V-Voice: A Stutterer’s Odyssey.
Marc Shell — He is an author and professor of comparative literature and English at Harvard University.
John Hendrickson's “Life on Delay” is a personal account of the author's experience as a person who stutters. He is a writer and senior editor at The Atlantic where, four years ago, he began to write about stuttering. After an extensive interview with Joe Biden, he published an article about Joe Biden's relationship with his stuttering.
Margaret Drabble — English novelist, biographer, and literary critic
Robert A. Heinlein — He was one of the most popular science fiction writers.
David Mitchell is the British author of Cloud Atlas. His other works include Black Swan Green, based on his childhood as a person who stutters.
David Seidler was a British-American playwright and film and television writer. Seidler is most known for writing the scripts for the stage version and screen version for the story The King's Speech. The film was about the stuttering of King George VI, and won Seidler an Academy Award.
John Updike — This American writer won Pulitzer Prizes for Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest. In all, he published 22 novels and more than 12 short story collections, as well as poetry, literary criticism, and children's books. Hi story is featured on the Stuttering Foundation website.
Charles Darwin, famous for his work on evolution, was said to have had a mild stutter. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, a famous physician who was King George lll's personal doctor, stuttered as well.
Demosthenes, considered the greatest Greek orator of all times, was said to exhibit stuttering. According to legend, he tried to relieve his stuttering by practicing talking with pebbles in his mouth.
Moses — Many scholars site verses from Exodus as suggesting that Moses exhibiting stuttering.
You will notice that AIS has honored many of the famous people discussed in this article:
All of the famous people we have explored — from James Earl Jones, Tiger Woods, Emily Blunt, and Joe Biden to Ed Sheeran — are well known and accomplished and also people who have experienced stuttering.
At AIS, we assert that you don't need to be famous to be a role model, and we are grateful to know countless everyday people who are amazing and also stutter.
People who stutter can be anything they choose to be!
More information about famous people who stutter is available from the Stuttering Foundation of America.
The speech therapists at the American institute for Stuttering specialize in stuttering speech therapy for children, teens, and adults who stutter and their families.
Financial assistance is available through our Scholarship fund.
