List of people with schizophrenia
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This is a list of people, living or dead, accompanied by verifiable source citations associating them with
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
, either based on their own public statements, or (in the case of dead people only) reported contemporary or posthumous diagnoses of schizophrenia. Remember that schizophrenia is an illness that varies with severity. Regarding posthumous diagnoses: only a few famous people are believed to have been affected by schizophrenia. Most of these listed have been diagnosed based on evidence in their own writings and contemporaneous accounts by those who knew them. Also, persons prior to the 20th century may have incomplete or speculative diagnoses of schizophrenia. __NOTOC__


A

* Edward Charles Allaway – American murderer; committed
California State University, Fullerton massacre The California State University, Fullerton, massacre was an incident of mass murder committed by a custodian, Edward Charles Allaway (born 1939), on July 12, 1976, at California State University, Fullerton, in Fullerton, California, United States ...
in 1976 *
Jeffrey Arenburg Jeffrey Robert Arenburg (December 30, 1956 – June 13, 2017) was a Canadian man who shot and killed sportscaster and ex-National Hockey League player Brian Smith in Ottawa, Ontario, on August 1, 1995. Arenburg, a paranoid schizophrenic, was ...
– Canadian shooter of hockey player Brian Smith * Antonin Artaud – French dramatist, poet, essayist, actor, and theatre director, creator of
Theatre of Cruelty The Theatre of Cruelty (french: Théâtre de la Cruauté, also french: Théâtre cruel) is a form of theatre generally associated with Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in '' The The ...
*
Haroon Rashid Aswat Haroon Rashid Aswat (born in Britain) is a British citizen of South Asian origin with ancestral ethnic roots to Gujarat, born and raised in Yorkshire. American officials allege that he has ties to al Qaeda, and have sought his extraditi ...
– British follower of extremist Islamic cleric
Abu Hamza al-Masri Mustafa Kamel Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى كامل مصطفى; born 15 April 1958), also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri (; , – literally, father of Hamza, the Egyptian), or simply Abu Hamza, is an Egyptian cleric who was the imam of Finsbury Park ...
; pleaded guilty in U.S. court to providing material support to al-Qaeda *
Nathaniel Ayers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. (born January 31, 1951) is an American musician. He is the subject of numerous newspaper columns, a book, and a 2009 film adaptation based on the columns. A foundation bearing his name was started in 2008 with an aim ...
– American musician


B

* Syd Barrett – British musician, founding member of Pink Floyd * Konstantin Batyushkov – Russian poet of the 19th century * Herb Baumeister – American alleged serial killer *
Estelle Bennett Estelle Bennett (July 22, 1941 – February 11, 2009) was an American singer. Bennett was a member of the girl group the Ronettes, along with her sister Ronnie and cousin Nedra Talley. Early life Bennett and her sister, Veronica (later known ...
– American musician, member of
The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...
* Arthur Bispo do Rosário – Brazilian
outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrate ...
ist (1909–1989) *
Kat Bjelland Katherine Lynne Bjelland (born December 9, 1963) is an American musician. She rose to prominence as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, which she formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987. ...
– American musician, member of Babes in Toyland (
schizoaffective disorder Schizoaffective disorder (SZA, SZD or SAD) is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. This diagnosis is made when the person has symptoms of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder: ...
) *
Nick Blinko Nicholas John Blinko (born 4 September 1961) is a British musician and artist, best known as the lead singer, lyricist, and guitar player for the anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni. He is also known for being an "outsider" artist, whose pen-an ...
– British painter and punk musician: singer, lyricist and guitarist of
Rudimentary Peni Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on a ...
(schizoaffective disorder) *
Buddy Bolden Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931) was an African American cornetist who was regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of ragtime music, or "jass", which later ca ...
– American pioneering jazz musician *
Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...
– American Hollywood
flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...
actress and "
It Girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...
" of the 1920s * Richard Brautigan – American novelist, poet, and short story writer * Jean "Binta" Breeze (1956–2021), Jamaican dub poet, theatre director, and performer


C

*
Aaron Carter Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of th ...
- American singer *
Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...
– French sculptor of the 19th century * Aloïse Corbaz – Swiss painter * Cesare Cremonini – Italian singer-songwriter, member of
Lùnapop Lùnapop was an Italian pop rock music group active between 1999 and 2001. Lùnapop released its lone full length Italian language album, ''...Squérez?'', in 1999. The album quickly became a commercial success, with the single "50 special", hitt ...
* Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka – Hungarian painter


D

* Terry A. Davis – American computer programmer and vlogger


E

*
John du Pont John Eleuthère du Pont (November 22, 1938 – December 9, 2010) was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. An heir to the du Pont family fortune, he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. Du ...
– American millionaire and wrestling coach who murdered wrestler Dave Schultz * Eduard Einstein – Son of German physicist
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
* Will Elliott – Australian writer * Roky Erickson – American rock musician, founder of
The 13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, an ...


F

* Frances Farmer – American Hollywood actress, varyingly diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar psychosis,
split personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...
and depression *
Pavel Fedotov Pavel Andreyevich Fedotov (Russian: Павел Андреевич Федотов; 4 July 1815 - 26 November 1852) was an amateur Russian painter. He was only 37 years old when he died in a mental clinic. He has been compared to William Hogarth. ...
– Russian painter of the 19th century *
Wild Man Fischer Lawrence Wayne "Wild Man" Fischer (November 6, 1944 – June 16, 2011) was an American street performer known for offering erratic, a cappella performances of "new kinds of songs" for a dime on the beaches and the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. ...
– American musician, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder *
Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...
– American wife of writer
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
; writer, dancer and artist *
Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She was internationally renowned for her work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awar ...
– New Zealand author


G

*
Ed Gein Edward Theodore Gein (; August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer and body snatcher. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, ga ...
– American killer and body snatcher *
Eugène Gabritschevsky Eugène (or Eugen) Gabritschevsky (December 1893 – April 5, 1979) was a Russian biologist and artist. He was born into a comfortable family of scientists from Imperial Russia. His father was a renowned bacteriologist, and worked with Louis Pas ...
– Russian painter and microbiologist *
Ted Gärdestad Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (; 18 February 195622 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. As ...
– Swedish musician (was in Eurovision 1979) * Jim Gordon – American drummer, member of
Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previous ...
; killed his mother * Paul Gösch – German artist and architect


H

* Hamad al-Hajji – Saudi Arabian poet *
Darrell Hammond Darrell Clayton Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer since 2014. Upon his departure, Hammo ...
– American comedian, actor on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' *
Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...
– American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger * Donny Hathaway – American soul singer and songwriter * Michael Hawkins – American actor; diagnosed with schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
*
Luke Helder Lucas John Helder (born May 5, 1981) also known as the Midwest Pipe Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist and former University of Wisconsin–Stout student from Pine Island, Minnesota. He was arrested in 2002 as a suspect in pipe bombings in ...
– The Midwest Pipe Bomber – schizoaffective disorder *
David Helfgott David Helfgott (born 19 May 1947) is an Australian concert pianist whose life inspired the Academy Award-winning film '' Shine'', in which he was portrayed by actors Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and Alex Rafalowicz. Biography Early life Helfgot ...
– Australian concert pianist (
schizoaffective disorder Schizoaffective disorder (SZA, SZD or SAD) is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. This diagnosis is made when the person has symptoms of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder: ...
) *
John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
– American failed assassin *
Sigrid Hjertén Sigrid Hjertén (27 October 1885 – 24 March 1948) was a Swedish modernist painter. Hjertén is considered a major figure in Swedish modernism. Periodically she was highly productive and participated in 106 exhibitions. She worked as an artist ...
– Swedish painter *
H.R. Paul D. Hudson (born February 11, 1956), known professionally as H.R. (Human Rights), is an American musician who leads the hardcore punk band Bad Brains, and is an instrumental figure in the development of the genre. His vocal delivery has b ...
– American musician, singer of
Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...
*
Adèle Hugo Adèle Hugo (24 August 1830 – 21 April 1915) was the fifth and youngest child of French writer Victor Hugo. She is remembered for developing schizophrenia as a young woman, which led to a romantic obsession with a British military officer who r ...
– Daughter of French writer
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
; her story is told in the film ''
The Story of Adele H. ''The Story of Adèle H.'' (french: L'Histoire d'Adèle H., link=no) is a 1975 French historical drama film directed by François Truffaut, and starring Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson, and Sylvia Marriott. Written by Truffaut, Jean Gruault, and ...
''


J

*
Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...
– American artist and musician


K

*
Uuno Kailas Uuno Kailas, born Frans Uno Salonen (29 March 1901 – 22 March 1933) was a Finnish poet, writer, and translator. Together with Kaarlo Sarkia, Kailas was the most prominent Finnish poet of the 1930s. Life Kailas was born in Heinola. After h ...
– Finnish poet *
Marij Kogoj Marij Kogoj Marij Julij Kogoj (Trieste, 20 September 1892 – Ljubljana, 25 February 1956) was a Slovenian composer. He was a pupil of Schoenberg and Franz Schreker, and immensely popular during the 1920s, culminating with his opera ''Črne mask ...
– Slovenian composer * Ronald Kray – English gangster prominent during the 1950s and 1960s


L

*
Veronica Lake Constance Frances Marie Ockelman (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973), known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd ...
– American Hollywood actress of the 1940s *
Sasha Lane Sasha Bianca Lane (born September 29, 1995) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''American Honey'' (2016), directed by Andrea Arnold, before portraying Hunter C-20 in the first season of the Disney+ television series ''Loki'', set ...
– American actress (schizoaffective disorder) * Michael Laudor – American
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
graduate, subject of a planned
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
movie; later killed his fiancée * Jakob Lenz – German writer of the ''
Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...
'' movement of the 18th century *
Jake Lloyd Jake Matthew Lloyd (born March 5, 1989), also known as Jake Broadbent, is an American former actor who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and Jamie Langston in '' Jingle All the Way ...
– retired American actor who played Anakin Skywalker in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' *
Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler (born ''Anna Frieda Wächtler''; 4 December 1899 – 31 July 1940) was a German painter of the avant-garde whose works were banned as "degenerate art", and in some cases destroyed, in Nazi Germany. She became mentally il ...
– German avantgarde-painter *
Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner (; born September 10, 1988) is an American mass murderer who pled guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the January 8, 2011, Tucson shooting, in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Repre ...
– perpetrator of the
2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including feder ...


M

*
Agnes Martin Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004), was an American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence". Although she is often considered or referred to as a minimalist, Mart ...
– Canadian American abstract painter * Charles Manson – American criminal, cult leader and folk rock musician *
Rufus May Rufus May (born 1968) is a British clinical psychologist best known for using his own experiences of being a psychiatric patient to promote alternative recovery approaches for those experiencing psychotic symptoms. After formally qualifying a ...
– British clinical psychologist * Charles Meryon – French artist *
William Chester Minor William Chester Minor (also known as W. C. Minor; 22 June 1834 – 26 March 1920), was an American army surgeon, psychiatric-hospital patient, and lexicographical researcher. After serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War, Minor m ...
– American killer and a contributor to
Oxford English dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
* Audrey Munson – American artist's model and film actress, "America's First Supermodel"


N

* John Nash – American economist, mathematician and
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner in Economic Sciences *
August Natterer August Natterer (3 August 1868 – 7 October 1933), also known as Neter, was a German outsider artist with schizophrenia. Biography August Natterer, given the pseudonym ''Neter'' by his psychiatrist to protect him and his family from the in ...
– German painter *
Émile Nelligan Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 – November 18, 1941) was a Canadian Symbolist poet from Montreal who wrote in French. Even though he stopped writing poetry after being institutionalized at the age of 19, Nelligan remains an iconic figure ...
French Canadian poet *
Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
– Russian ballet dancer, choreographer


O

*
Michael O'Hare Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. (May 6, 1952 – September 28, 2012) was an American actor who performed on stage and television. He was best known for playing the lead role of space station Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction tele ...
– American actor, suffered from paranoid delusions and hallucinations * John Ogdon – English pianist and composer *
Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...
– American rapper, one of the founding members of the
Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
*
Jeremy Oxley Jeremy Saxon Oxley (born 15 November 1961) is an Australian songwriter, singer and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the 1980s pop-rock band Sunnyboys. Biography 1961-1978: Early Life Jeremy Oxley grew up in the northern New South ...
– Australian musician and member of the Sunnyboys


P

*
Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.
– American pin-up model * Robert M. Pirsig – American writer and philosopher * Bud Powell – American jazz pianist


R

*
Darren Rainey Darren Rainey (January 12, 1962 – June 23, 2012) died at the Dade Correctional Institution (Dade CI) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, on June 23, 2012. The prison is in proximity to Florida City, and is south of Homestead. In 20 ...
– American prisoner who died at Dade Correctional Institution after being left in a steaming hot shower for two hours by prison guards *Joey Ramone – lead vocalist of American band Ramones *Katherine Routledge – British archaeologist


S

*Elyn Saks – American law professor and schizophrenia writer/researcher *Daniel Paul Schreber – German judge, writer, and notable patient of Freud *Ingo Schwichtenberg – German drummer of power metal band Helloween *Vashishtha Narayan Singh – Indian academic *Valerie Solanas – American radical feminist who attempted to murder artist Andy Warhol *Nancy Spungen – American Punk icon and girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious *Ayaan x Sunrush – Somali filmmaker


T

*Talal of Jordan, Talal – King of Jordan (for a year) *Death of Kelly Thomas, Kelly Thomas – American citizen who was beaten to death by police without punishment *Gene Tierney – American actress


V

*Lauri Viita – Finnish poet and author * Mark Vonnegut – American memoirist, pediatrician, son of author Kurt Vonnegut


W

*Louis Wain – British artist *Robert Walser (writer), Robert Walser – Swiss author, diagnosed with a catatonic schizophrenia *Aby Warburg – German art historian and cultural theorist, diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder *Butch Warren – American jazz double bassist *Hannah Weiner – American 'Clairvoyance, clairvoyant' poet *Karl Maria Wiligut – Austrian Brigadeführer, SS-general and an occultist *Wesley Willis – American musician and artist * Stefan Wilmont - Polish criminal who assassinated the mayor of Gdańsk in 2019 * Brian Wilson – American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys (
schizoaffective disorder Schizoaffective disorder (SZA, SZD or SAD) is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. This diagnosis is made when the person has symptoms of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder: ...
) *Adolf Wölfli – Swiss painter


Z

*Unica Zürn – German artist


See also

* List of people with bipolar disorder * List of people with post-traumatic stress disorder


References

{{Reflist, 30em People with schizophrenia, Lists of people with disabilities, Schizophrenia