Not just Heidi Klum: These celebrities also have ADHD
That Heidi Klum (52) possesses seemingly inexhaustible energy is no secret. However, that an ADHD diagnosis lies behind it was news. The model revealed in an interview with “Glamour” that she is neurodivergent. She’s not alone: more and more adults in the spotlight have made it public that they live with ADHD.
That particularly many women only learn of their ADHD as adults is no coincidence. In women, the disorder often manifests through “masking”: they learn early to hide their inner restlessness perfectly in order to function socially. Only when compensation strategies fail in the stressful adult everyday life does the diagnosis follow – often like a revelation.
For many affected individuals, the diagnosis in adulthood is a turning point. Host Lola Weippert (29), for example, only received certainty at age 27 and described her ADHD in an Instagram post, like Heidi Klum, as a “superpower”. Paris Hilton (45) also sees in her drive to action the foundation for her multi-million empire, as she wrote in an essay for “Teen Vogue”. “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig (42) described it similarly in an interview with the “Guardian”: her enormous creative energy is closely linked to her erratic way of thinking.
Stars also speak about the downsides.
But not everyone experiences the diagnosis as pure tailwind. For comedian Felix Lobrecht (37), the diagnosis in early 2023 changed his perspective on his life, according to his own statement. “I now understand better why some things were so difficult for me”, he told “Stern” about the diagnosed attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
That the path to proper treatment can be rocky was described by Hollywood star Channing Tatum (45). He was already treated with medication as a child, but described the effect as terrible: the medication turned him into a “zombie”, he said in a 2013 interview with “Vanity Fair”. Cycling legend Jan Ullrich (52) also reported a few years ago about the extreme burdens of a severe ADHD manifestation that allowed him barely more than two hours of sleep at night.
Recently, superstar Robbie Williams (52) also made it known that in addition to dyslexia, he also lives with ADHD. His restlessness is his greatest asset on stage, but often a challenge in private life, he recently described in a podcast. Pop star Justin Bieber (32) made it public in 2016 that he had been using medical support since his childhood to be able to concentrate.
Medical doctor Eckart von Hirschhausen (58) even had his own diagnosis confirmed on camera in an ARD documentary to raise awareness about the topic in adults. “I had suspected it for a long time”, he said in an interview with “Zeit”. He is now grateful for the diagnosis and is trying out various medications.
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