Buzz
The concept of madness varies. A fleeting moment of impulsive actions might be termed 'losing control,' while a complete mental collapse signifies a far more serious condition. Difficult life events, physical injuries, and hereditary conditions are some factors that can contribute to irrational behavior. Celebrities, just like ordinary individuals, are not exempt from mental health struggles, and the constant public scrutiny makes it even harder to conceal.
10. Anne Heche
In her book titled Call Me Crazy, Anne Heche boldly invites readers to voice what many are already thinking.
Heche gained fame for her roles in movies like Donnie Brasco and I Know What You Did Last Summer, but her life was far from glamorous. To cope with the sexual abuse she endured from her father during her childhood, she created an alternate personality named Celestia. She viewed Celestia as a divine embodiment, endowed with abilities like foresight and the power to heal.
For years, Heche struggled with auditory hallucinations and vivid visions. Following her split with Ellen DeGeneres in August 2000, the voices instructed her to take ecstasy to prepare for a spaceship journey in Fresno. She was later discovered on a stranger’s property, dressed only in a bra and shorts.
She underwent a week of psychiatric care afterward. Today, she leads a healthier and more authentic life.
9. Buzz Aldrin
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the renowned astronaut celebrated for the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing, returned to Earth as a hero but struggled to cope with his newfound fame. After rejoining the Air Force and failing to secure his desired role, he retired in 1972. Battling depression and alcoholism, his life spiraled out of control. Aldrin spent two years in a psychiatric facility following his historic space mission.
In his 1973 memoir Return to Earth, Aldrin opened up about his mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts. He ended his marriage in 1974 and entered alcohol rehabilitation the next year. Early retirement led him down an unconventional path, and during the late ’70s, he even worked as a used car salesman in Texas.
Aldrin shared more about his life’s ups and downs in his later book, Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon. His life has significantly improved since treatment. He has remained sober for decades and once held the position of chairman of the National Mental Health Association.
8. Bettie Page
Bettie Page began her modeling career with a pinup calendar in 1947, eventually moving to nude and bondage photography. By January 1955, she became the Playboy centerfold, having posed for thousands of photos. While she gained a loyal following, she also faced backlash from conservative groups and was even targeted by federal agents for her so-called indecent imagery.
The public criticism she endured was compounded by a history of personal trauma. Growing up in poverty, she was abused by her father and spent time in an orphanage despite having both parents alive. As an adult in New York, she suffered a horrific assault, being raped by several men in a single night.
In 1979, Page attacked an elderly couple with a serrated bread knife without provocation, leading to a 20-month stay at Patton State asylum. Diagnosed with acute paranoid schizophrenia, she later attempted to kill her landlord in 1982. She was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity and returned to Patton State Hospital.
After disappearing from the public eye, Page led a quiet, religious life. When she passed away from a heart attack in 2008 at age 85, her funeral was officiated by televangelist Dr. Robert Schuller, honoring her as a deeply religious yet troubled woman.
7. Gary Busey
Gary Busey, an Oscar nominee for The Buddy Holly Story, has spent much of his life in the public eye. Known for his eccentric and outrageous behavior, his lack of inhibition has multiple potential explanations. While some might assume it’s an act, this seems improbable. His heavy drug use nearly led to a fatal cocaine overdose in 1995. Even earlier, a motorcycle accident in 1988 caused significant brain damage and almost claimed his life, prompting stricter helmet laws in California.
In 2008, Busey appeared on the second season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. An episode highlighted how brain injuries from his motorcycle crash impaired his impulse control, including addictive tendencies, and reduced his capacity for empathy. This points to mental health challenges stemming from a tragic accident. However, Busey has turned his struggles into a source of entertainment, captivating modern audiences with his unpredictable antics.
6. Camille Claudel
Camille Claudel, born in 1864, was a French sculptor immersed in a world of art and drama. She trained under Auguste Rodin, who was 43 when they met, while she was just 19. Their relationship turned romantic, and she became his muse. After their breakup in 1898, Claudel thrived as a celebrated artist for several years before her life took a downward turn in the early 1900s.
Living as a recluse, Claudel would meticulously craft her sculptures only to shatter them upon completion. She endured not just poverty but also lived in squalor. Paranoia consumed her, with delusions of Rodin stealing her work and fears of being poisoned. Her brother, describing her at 39, said she was “mad, disheveled, with a dirty face, speaking endlessly in a flat, mechanical tone.” He eventually had her committed to an asylum.
Claudel spent 30 years in institutions, abandoning her sculpting entirely. She passed away in 1943.
5. Peter Green
Peter Green, the founding guitarist of Fleetwood Mac, departed the band in 1970 after their third album, seeking a more modest lifestyle.
Green began giving away his money and possessions, taking on low-paying jobs like grave digging. He heard voices and battled schizophrenia, exacerbated by drug use, particularly LSD, which altered his thinking. Undiagnosed at the time, he underwent electroconvulsive therapy during his stays in mental institutions.
As Fleetwood Mac’s success grew, royalty checks continued to arrive. In an act of defiance, Green aimed a shotgun at his accountant and insisted the payments cease.
Initially jailed, Green was later transferred to a mental institution. Authorities eventually allowed him to live with his family, recognizing that a home environment better supported his mental well-being.
4. Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder, the Canadian actress famous for playing Lois Lane alongside Christopher Reeve, enjoyed a successful career in film and television. However, her fame was overshadowed by public battles with bipolar disorder and addiction. A 1990 car accident left her temporarily paralyzed and financially ruined.
In 1996, Kidder sparked a media frenzy when she disappeared for three days after missing a flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix. She was discovered on a stranger’s property in Glendale, California, dressed in clothes she had traded with a homeless person. Her body bore scratches and bruises, and she had hacked her hair unevenly with a razor. Missing teeth were later explained by her not wearing her dental bridge. She claimed to be pursued by an unnamed individual and accused the CIA of erasing her computer files, destroying years of work. Surprisingly, her toxicology report showed no traces of drugs or alcohol. Days earlier, she had told a news crew her ex-husband was plotting her murder.
Kidder was admitted to a facility for treatment. She later experimented with unconventional therapies, such as self-administering vitamin injections and other nutrients, and has since led a relatively normal life.
3. Darrell Hammond
Darrell Hammond, a star of Saturday Night Live, was deeply scarred by years of severe mental and physical abuse from his parents. His mother intentionally crushed his fingers in car doors, electrocuted him with a power outlet, hit him with her high heels, and even stabbed his tongue. His parents would bribe his sister to leave the house to avoid her witnessing the abuse.
Hammond has openly discussed his struggles with self-harm and addiction, rooted in his traumatic childhood. He often cut himself before his Saturday Night Live performances and was a frequent patient at a New York psychiatric hospital. During one breakdown, he was removed from the SNL studio at Rockefeller Center in a straitjacket after his self-inflicted injuries became too severe to ignore.
2. Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh is most celebrated for her Oscar-winning portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. However, few are aware that she battled manic depression for much of her life.
Her mental health deteriorated significantly in 1944 after she fell during a stage rehearsal and suffered a miscarriage. Over the years, she struggled with bipolar disorder, insomnia, tuberculosis (diagnosed in 1945), and alcoholism, all of which took a heavy toll on her.
Despite these challenges, Leigh continued her acting career and remained beloved by fans. She earned her second Academy Award for Best Actress in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1952. However, her bipolar disorder continued to disrupt her life. During a manic episode in 1953, she experienced hallucinations and attempted to leap from a plane. She was subsequently hospitalized and treated with electroconvulsive therapy.
Later that year, Leigh suffered another miscarriage and faced ongoing marital difficulties with Laurence Olivier, her husband from 1940 to 1960. She passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 53, seven years after their divorce.
1. Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker, a football standout from the University of Georgia, claimed the Heisman Trophy in 1982. Three years later, he achieved a single-season rushing record of 2,411 yards in the USFL. He rose to fame as a star player for the Dallas Cowboys before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, also playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants during his 15-year professional career. His exceptional NFL performance cemented his place among the greatest running backs in history. Additionally, he represented the US in the 1992 Winter Olympics as a bobsled competitor.
While celebrated for his athletic prowess, few are aware of Herschel Walker’s internal battles. After retiring, he was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. Football had been his coping mechanism, and without it, his condition worsened. During episodes of uncontrollable anger, he aimed a gun at his wife multiple times, threatened her with knives, and even choked her. Eventually, she left him.
Walker recounted these and other violent episodes in his autobiography Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder. In the memoir, he suggests he has approximately 12 distinct “alters,” or personality fragments, and states that much of his destructive conduct remains a blur in his memory.
