Many celebrities and Hollywood stars are poised and eloquent, but it might surprise you to see who is on this list of famous people who stutter, which is loosely ranked by fame and popularity. Stuttering is a speech impediment in which the normal flow of speech is interrupted by involuntary repetitions of certain sounds. Stuttering is thought to be genetic and stress can emphasize the disorder. Speech therapy is an effective way to treat a stutter and something many of these famous stutterers might have tried.
Who is the most famous person who stutters? Marilyn Monroe tops our list. She developed her trademark breathy style of speech as a way to combat her stutter. Julia Roberts stuttered when she was growing up, as did her brother Eric. Other actors who struggled with stuttering and speech impediments include Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, as well as Emily Blunt.
Several musicians have also struggled with stuttering. Kylie Minogue and Elvis Presley both started singing as a form of speech therapy to help with their childhood stutters. Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher went through four years of speech therapy to treat his stutter, and Coldplay singer Chris Martin had a stutter growing up and he still occasionally stutters today.
Do you think it is tough for celebrities and famous people that stutter?
Tiger Woods told 60 Minutes that he had to work really hard to overcome his childhood stutter. "The words got lost, you know, somewhere between the brain and the mouth. And it was very difficult, but I fought through it. I went to a school to try and get over that, and I just would work my tail off," Woods said.
Emily Blunt struggled with a stutter when she was growing up. A teacher encouraged her to participate in a play when she was 12 years old despite her stutter. Blunt has called it a pivotal moment in her life.
