They Have OCD Too?! Celebs and Historical Figures With OCD

While estimates vary, OCD is estimated to affect about 1% to 3% of the population worldwide. OCD impacts people from all walks of life and all backgrounds. So, if you’re living with OCD, it might surprise you to know that you share the disorder with some very famous people.  

David Beckham

Soccer superstar David Beckham has been very public about his struggle with OCD, describing it as the disorder that “haunts my life”. In a 2006 interview with Daily Mail, he offered a glimpse into his OCD, sharing that he would count clothes and place magazines in straight lines and symmetrical patterns. “I'll go into a hotel room. Before I can relax I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect.”  He also said that one of the reasons he kept getting tattoos was because he was addicted to the pain. While he says he’s accepted his disorder, he describes it as “tiring”. 

In a recent Netflix documentary, he reveals the realities of living with OCD and how it impacts daily life. He describes how he can spend hours cleaning and organizing after his family has gone to bed:

“The fact that when everyone’s in bed I then go around, clean the candles, turn the lights on to the right setting, make sure everywhere is tidy. I hate coming down in the morning and there’s cups and plates and, you know, bowls.”

Howie Mandel 

Perhaps one of the best known celebrities with OCD. Howie Mandel has been very open about his OCD. He has described his OCD as being mostly fixated on germs/cleanliness. After years of trying to keep his struggles private, he wrote about his struggles in Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me. He later spoke candidly about his OCD in a 2009 interview, and how it has impacted his own life, as well as his career and family. One particularly poignant moment was when he was discussing the challenges of having kids and managing his disorder: “well if the kids are sick I'll put on a mask, and if my wife's sick, I won't sleep in the same room. And I don't eat in the same room. I care for them, and I I'll be there, but you know.”   

He’s also active in helping to promote understanding about the disorder. Mr. Mandel has had a longtime partnership with NOCD. Most recently, he has been speaking out about OCD stereotyping and the common misconceptions about the disorder.  

Megan Fox

Entertainer Megan Fox has been open about her journey with OCD. In a 2010 interview, she revealed her OCD: “This is a sickness, I have an illness”. Fox shared that her OCD began in childhood and continued to create problems into adulthood. Fear of germs seems to be particularly challenging for Fox, with restaurant silverware and public restrooms being problematic.  As an adult, she continues to deal with obsessive thoughts, and reports that therapy continues to help her manage her OCD.

Leonardo DeCaprio 

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been open about his OCD and that he has lived with OCD most of his life. He’s described struggling with repeating compulsions such as stepping on pavement cracks and gum stains. He spoke openly about his OCD following the filming of his movie, "The Aviator" (a movie with about Howard Hughes, who also suffered from OCD), describing how he stopped trying to control his symptoms in order to deliver a more authentic performance. Unfortunately, he found it hard to regain control. Today, he seems to have found stability again. 

A few of the many other celebrities who have been open about their OCD include:

Danielle Radcliffe

Camila Cabello

Billy Bob Thornton

OCD isn’t just a modern-day issue. History is full of examples of what we might today consider OCD. 

Historical Figures

While OCD is a fairly modern diagnostic category, the behaviors we would think of as OCD have been apparent in some of the world’s best known historical figures. A practice known as “retrospective diagnosis” has given us a glimpse into the lives of some historical figures who probably would today be diagnosed with OCD.  

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla is perhaps best known for his contributions to modern day understanding of alternating current electricity (AC). What you might not know about him is that he is thought to have had what we today would recognize as OCD. 

It is well-documented that he had an obsession with the number “3” and was compelled to do things in “threes”. For example, he would only stay in hotel rooms with numbers that were divisible by three. He swam 33 laps each day and if he miscounted, he would start over. He would circle the block three times before entering a building. He would polish eating utensils and demanded three folded cloth napkins at every meal.  

It’s reported that he had other rituals as well. For example, when leaving a building he had to turn right and complete the block before being “free” to leave. He had dinner at precisely 8:10 pm each evening. He curled his toes 100 times each night, believing that it stimulated his brain cells. He later appears to have developed germ/contamination related obsessions. He refused to shake hands and found touching hair distasteful. Towards the end of his life, he was increasingly reclusive and remained so until his death. 

Charles Darwin 

Best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, eminent scientist and biologist Charles Darwin suffered from multiple medical and mental health issues during his troubled life, including what today might be considered OCD. 

He worried obsessively about his own health as well as that of his family. In a letter to his friend, Darwin described his thoughts as a “horrific spectacle” that his children would inherit his illness. Darwin kept meticulous records regarding his health and daily activities, going to far as to “score” his days as to how good they were. Darwin also engaged in compulsive behaviors related to self-worth. He craved reassurance and would repeat this mantra, “I have worked as hard as I could, and no man can do more than this” hundreds of times. He became increasingly fearful and reclusive and even spoke of ending his life due to the severity of his illness. While he lived in a time before the formal recognition of OCD, it is widely believed that his behavior was indicative of what we would today consider OCD. 

Martin Luther

Martin Luther is best known as a key figure in the Protestant Reformation and is widely considered to have had OCD. Luther lived in the time well before OCD was a recognized disorder and thoughts about his behavior come from historical accounts and retrospective psychiatry. In fact, well-known psychologist Erik Erickson, in his book Young Man Luther, asserted that Luther suffered from “obsessive scrupulosity” and “compulsive confessing”. Scrupulosity was the historical precursor to what we today recognize as religious OCD. 

Luther’s protégé, Philipp Melanchthon, in his book, The Life and Acts of Martin Luther, wrote openly about his mentor and described Luther’s fears for his own salvation, and engaging in excessive prayer and mantras to avoid God’s wrath:

“...I myself have seen him whilst engaged in some doctrinal discussion, involuntarily affected in this manner, when he has thrown himself on a bed in an adjoining room, and repeatedly mingled with his prayers the following passage ‘God has concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all.’”

Princess Alexandra of Bavaria

Princess Alexandra was a 19th century royal who was convinced that she had swallowed a piano made of glass when she was a young child. She spent much of her life moving slowly and deliberately avoiding any chance of shattering the glass within. Even before she developed her “glass delusion” (as it was commonly known as) with the glass piano, she was already engaging in behaviors suggestive of OCD. She was obsessed with cleanliness and would only wear white. 

Interestingly, she is not the only one in history with a glass obsession. In fact, it was fairly common from the middle ages until about the 19th century, especially among the nobility, and there are many accounts of this obsession. 

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s celebrities or historical figures, it’s important to know that you’re not alone on this journey. There are many people who have and do share many of the same struggles and victories that you do. What’s different today is that there is a greater understanding and acceptance of mental health issues, and effective treatment options to choose from. OCD is manageable and you can gain control over your symptoms and find the balance you desire. 

References

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2. 'The obsessive disorder that haunts my life'. (2006, April 3). Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-381802/The-obsessive-disorder-haunts-life.html

3. Beckham [Docuseries]. (2023). Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/81223488

4. Mandel, H., & Young, J. (2010). Here's the deal: Don't touch me. Bantam. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heres-the-deal-howie-mandel/1102992510

5. 20/20 ABC News. (n.d.). Howie Mandel Talks About Living With OCD [Video]. https://youtu.be/dSZNnz9SM4g?si=7pPnw-0-cE4QpMAG

6. Davis, P. (2024, August 28). No laughing matter: Comedian Howie Mandel campaigns against OCD stereotypes and misunderstandings. NOCD. https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/howie-mandel-is-on-a-mission-to-redefine-how-the-world-understands-ocd

7. Full interview of Megan Fox from the June issue of allure. (2018, November 30). Megan Fox Daily. https://www.megan-fox.com/full-interview-of-megan-fox-from-the-june-issue-of-allure/

8. Leonardo DiCaprio's magnificent obsessive. (2004, December 4). The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3632803/Leonardo-DiCaprios-magnificent-obsessive.html

9. Nikola Tesla. (n.d.). OCD-UK | A national OCD charity, run by, and for people with lived experience of OCD. https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/history-of-ocd/nikola-tesla/

10. Bergman, J. (2004, January 1). Was Charles Darwin psychotic? A study of his mental health. The Institute for Creation Research | The Institute for Creation Research. https://www.icr.org/article/was-charles-darwin-psychotic-study-his-mental-heal/

11. Charles Darwin. (n.d.). OCD-UK | A national OCD charity, run by, and for people with lived experience of OCD. https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/history-of-ocd/charles-darwin/

12. Young man Luther : A study in psychoanalysis and history / Erik H. Erikson. (n.d.). Wellcome Collection. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/urccv4g8

13. Melanchthon, P. (1997). The Life and Acts of Martin Luther (digital edition). The AGES Digital Library. https://library.melbac.org/books/dvdBooks/Christian%20Books/The%20Life%20&%20Acts%20Of%20Martin%20Lurther%20by%20Philip%20Melancthon.PDF

14. Meares, H. (2017, December 4). The delusion that made nobles think their bodies were made of glass. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/the-delusion-that-made-nobles-think-their-bodies-were-made-of-glass