7 Stars Living With Bipolar

This past April, pop singer and Disney actress Demi Lovato went public about her bipolar disorder diagnosis. In interviews to the media, the 18-year-old said that she'd decided to talk about her diagnosis in order to help others. "The real reason why I'm sitting down with you," Lovato told ABC News, "is to open up the eyes of so many young girls, that it doesn't have to be this way."

Lovato's interview came close on the heels of actress Catherine Zeta-Jones' revelation of a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Within a few days, bipolar disorder, an often stigmatizing mental illness that affects an estimated 5.7 million Americans, was suddenly being openly talked about.

But Zeta-Jones and Lovato are only two of several celebrities who have come out and talked publicly about their experience with the often alienating disorder. Also known as manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder causes dramatic changes in mood, varying from one "pole" (high -- mania) to the other (low -- depression), according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. If left untreated, symptoms can worsen over time.

The following lists a handful of stars and public figures who, while still dealing with the illness, have not only become hugely successful but have also decided to spread the word. From actress Carrie Fisher to television anchor Jane Pauley, this slide show is the testament to the indomitable human spirit.

Their stories of triumph, and how a diagnosis changed their lives for the better, serve as inspiration for others who may be struggling with bipolar disorder, silently or publicly.

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Patty Duke

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The Academy Award-winning actress was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 35 years old. In an interview with "Everyday Health," Duke said the diagnosis came as a relief, because a diagnosis meant she wasn't the only person in the world feeling the way she did. In her memoir "A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic-Depressive Illness", Duke says she knew from a young age there was something wrong with her, "but I thought it was just that I was not a good person, that I didn't try hard enough." Duke has been an advocate for bipolar disorder awareness for years. She's spoken out about her experience on numerous occasions, including on "20/20," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and during a 1997 interview with Barbara Walters on "The View." Duke told Walters she considered herself lucky to have had "access to the media, to write a book and talk about" her experience. Duke continues to speak out; in 2005, she was asked to testify before Congress on mental health-related issues.

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The Academy Award-winning actress was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 35 years old. In an interview with "Everyday Health," Duke said the diagnosis came as a relief, because a diagnosis meant she wasn't the only person in the world feeling the way she did. In her memoir "A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic-Depressive Illness", Duke says she knew from a young age there was something wrong with her, "but I thought it was just that I was not a good person, that I didn't try hard enough."

Duke has been an advocate for bipolar disorder awareness for years. She's spoken out about her experience on numerous occasions, including on "20/20," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and during a 1997 interview with Barbara Walters on "The View." Duke told Walters she considered herself lucky to have had "access to the media, to write a book and talk about" her experience.

Duke continues to speak out; in 2005, she was asked to testify before Congress on mental health-related issues.

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Comments

[pickle541]

06:14 PM on 08/02/2011

Why no men in this list? If you click on over to Wikipedia, you'll find a much longer list of celebrities who manage bipolar, and most on that list are men...

[Mickey7]

01:07 PM on 07/30/2011

Living with bipolar what? Good grief, folks, basic editing would be nice. If your talking about the disorder, than call it bipolar disorder. 'Bipolar' on its own is a description of anything that has two opposite extremes, not a disease name. This headline just sounds kind of dumb.

[peachy1056]

11:45 PM on 07/31/2011

Thank you.. exactly what I was thinking. It really shows how ignorant some can be. Just "bipolar" doesn't make any sense. I've worked in a psychiatric clinic for years and not even patients ever call it "bipolar." Is this AOL's way of trying to be 'hip' by shortening the term? I at first thought they made a typing error.

[Ghostberry]

05:06 PM on 07/29/2011

This makes me happy, i dont care much for a lot of some of their acting work, but theres a huge misunderstanding with most people about what bi-polar really means. I do not even tell people at work because in past jobs its basically benched me.

[BrandyWine25]

11:14 AM on 07/29/2011

Why are they all women??

REALLY?! Sinead O'Connor?? Noooooooo....

[katiek2o]

08:12 AM on 07/29/2011

doesn't every girl with a period have it?

[pickle541]

10:25 AM on 08/03/2011

Get along well with the ladies, do you?

[kaib57]

10:43 PM on 07/28/2011

Emmy-winning soap opera (General Hospital) actor Maurice Benard has also been very open about his bipolar disorder.

[MrPragmatic]

10:23 PM on 07/28/2011

Bipolar has become the mental health disease of the day and is now way over diagnosed. Children are now getting diagnosed with bipolar by the time they are 5 yo before the brain has even fully developed. The label of bipolar has replaced ADHD as the fashionable diagnoses. There are many reasons for mood swings and sometimes they occur due to something situational (temporary) or stress. The meds that doctors give for bipolar cause a dampening down of certain brain neurotransmitters (namely dopamine) and the meds can change peoples personalities or lead to side effects that are worse than the mood swings. In some cases, buyer beware.

[budusky]

01:57 AM on 07/29/2011

that's an idiotic generalization. lithium, for one, is a diagnostic tool in itself -- if it doesn't work for you, manic depression is probably not your problem. As for the brain, forget 5 yrs -- it hasn't developed until past 25 yrs., which is another complication in the picture of Winehouse: heavy drug use, trying to manage her manic depression by herself -- it sounds like -- with booze and drugs, not paying attention to subtleties in mood and maybe not even knowing much about them (like she says in the song when the "Dr asks why you think you're here? I got no idea..."
It pays for anyone to go in and find out what's wrong -- and definitely keep switching docs until you find a good one. Blithe, intellectualizing assessments like yours are immature and worthless.

[Ghostberry]

05:08 PM on 07/29/2011

Its hardly fashionable, getting properly diagnosed in my mid 20`s turned my life around. I cannot stress how much you do not know what you are talking about, and its people with attitudes like yourself that make it so difficult for others.

[MrPragmatic]

12:07 AM on 07/30/2011

I'm glad that treatment works for you and that you were properly diagnosed. However, there are many others who fall into the hands of over zealous doctors who mis diagnose bipolar and prescribe meds that shouldn't be prescribed. I see it every day in the field that I work. And you or others may choose not to believed this but I see everyday 5 yo kids getting put on moo stabilizers. I see these same 5 yo get serious side effects from the meds and then the doctor prescribes more medicine to treat the side effects. And yes bipolar is a disease but the treatment is far from scientific and if one has it hopefully they have a good doctor that knows what they ae doing. Re configuring brain chemistry is serious business.

[edmundpua]

11:25 AM on 08/07/2011

F&F, as a sufferer myself i concur that there is lots of misinformed people.

[lanceg99]

09:10 AM on 07/28/2011

PBS public television did a series on bi polar disorder called the journal with Joan Lunden thejournalol.com. We have come a long way in treating this disorder. It seems these stars have all had great careers and were not held back by this.

[MrPragmatic]

10:27 PM on 07/28/2011

Unfortunately it is now being over diagnosed and the meds used to treat the disorder are barbaric. These meds are not so much science as they are guess work. They may treat the symptoms by forcing a dampening down affect but they are about as subtle as a sledge hammer. In the future, these meds will be looked upon as the dark ages of psychiatry.

[sanfran55]

08:34 AM on 07/30/2011

Especially the medicating and doping of children to get them through school - the dark ages.

[Tree S-B]

12:04 PM on 07/27/2011

I am now 41 years old but I remember very well how in my late teens/early twenties I was often rejected by people once they learned of my diagnosis of manic depression. In one particular case, I turned to a church group for help and they completely abandoned me, would not even speak to me.
I commend anyone in the public eye who is willing to break down those walls of ignorance and fear and speak their truth.

For myself, I have been off medication for years, am married with a baby and am doing very well, which is another way of saying to anyone reading this who despairs, you and I are different but you will survive and thrive, too.

[prezusofl]

12:59 AM on 07/27/2011

That's a pretty white bread list. You forgot about Jenifer Lewis and Axl Rose. Why only 7 stars, and boring ones at that.

[DogDancer]

11:45 PM on 07/27/2011

Yes, I agree. Where are all the men? Russell Brand, Ben Stiller, Sting, Trent Reznor and so many others of enormous talent.

It can be a difficult disease to manage, but for those who commit to it, healthy balance is achievable. We need to keep working to banish the stigma around this disorder!

[goldengirl43]

05:47 PM on 07/28/2011

Left out Margo Kidder. She's been very open about this, too.

[Ghostberry]

05:10 PM on 07/29/2011

I find that women are generally more open about health issues than men, a lot of men still feel it is not tough to admit a problem, which is why they statistically do not go to a dr until its a crisis rather than preventative care.