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25 Most Famous People with Autism

The autism spectrum is a range of neurodevelopmental conditions generally characterized by difficulties in social interactions and communication, repetitive behaviours, intense interests, and unusual responses to sensory stimuli.

It is commonly referred to as autism or, in the context of a professional diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This condition is everywhere in the world. About 1% (75,000,000 people) of the world’s population has autism spectrum disorder.

However, autism can be challenging but there are many people on the spectrum who have achieved great heights. Therefore, the twenty-five most famous people with autism are in the article.

1. Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein photo by an Unknown author –

Did you know Albert Einstein had autism? The German-born theoretical physicist is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics.

2. Isaac Newton

A portrait painting photo of Isaac Newton by Godfrey Keller –

Newton seems like a classic case of autism! He hardly spoke, was so engrossed in his work that he often forgot to eat, and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had.

If no one turned up to his lectures, he gave them anyway, talking in an empty room. He had a nervous breakdown at 50, brought on by depression and paranoia.

Despite his condition, Isaac was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. To be exclusive, he is regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and among the most influential scientists of all time.

3. Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish FRS was on 10 October 1731 and died on 24 February 1810. He was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed “inflammable air.

In 2001 the eminent neuropsychologist Oliver Sacks diagnosed Henry Cavendish with Asperger’s syndrome, a less severe form of autism. Oliver Sacks considered Cavendish an exceptional case after finding the evidence for his autism almost overwhelming.

4. Emily Dickinson

A photo of Emily Dickinson by an Unknown author –

Evidence suggests that Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Dickinson never married, and most friendships between her and others depended entirely upon correspondence. Many believed that Emily qualified as having autism.

She was reserved around people. She had a basic and consistent way of dressing and she was better at interacting with children than adults.

5. Bobby Fischer

Robert James Fischer commonly known as Bobby Fischer was one of the most famous people with Aspergers. Bobby Fisher, the chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion, is said to have had Asperger’s Syndrome.

Fischer made numerous antisemitic statements and denied the Holocaust. His antisemitism professed since at least the 1960s, was a major theme in his public and private remarks.

6. Bill Gates

Billy Gates photo by Senator Chris Coons –

William Henry Gates III born October 28, 1955, is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, author, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen.

Bill is suspected to have autism especially, Asperger due to his distinct rocking motion displays when he concentrates, his shortened and monotoned speech patterns, and his habits of avoiding eye contact on the rare occasion he speaks directly with someone.

7. Nikola Tesla

Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist and inventor of modern current electricity supply, had many phobias and that he was very sensitive to light and sound. He also preferred to be alone and is thought to have been obsessed with the number three. He exhibited the condition of autism.

8. Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin photo by Jonathunder –

She is one of the most recognized celebrities with autism. Mary Temple Grandin is an American scientist, academic and animal behaviourist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behaviour.

Grandin started speaking when she was four. This was an abnormal mental behaviour of the human development stage as speculated in psychology.

9. Satoshi Tajiri

Satoshi Tajiri is a Japanese video game designer and director best known for being the creator of the Pokémon franchise and one of the founders, and President of video game developer Game Freak.

Did you know why he created the Pokémon franchise? As a child, Tajiri enjoyed insect collecting as a hobby, which would be an inspiration for his later video game work. Other children called him “Dr Bug”. Tajiri wanted his games to allow children to have the feeling of catching and collecting creatures as he had.

10. Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah Photo by Dana Fineman Photography –

Daryl Christine Hannah is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma’s supernatural horror film The Fury.

Daryl Hannah exposed her condition of autism. She told the truth about her challenges with Asperger’s Syndrome. As a child, she rocked herself to self-soothe and was so shy that once she began acting, she refused to give interviews or even attend her premieres.

11. Dr Vernon Smith

Vernon Smith photo by Dstringer71 –

Vernon Lomax Smith is an American economist and professor of business economics and law at Chapman University. He is formerly a professor of economics at the University of Arizona, a professor of economics and law at George Mason University, and a board member of the. In February 2005, Smith publicly attributed features of his personality to Asperger’s syndrome after a process of self-diagnosis.

12. Heather Kuzmich

Heather Kuzmich was born on April 19, 1986. She is an American fashion model. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is studying video game design. She is best known for being a contestant of America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9, in which she was the ninth eliminated. During the show, it was revealed that Kuzmich has Asperger syndrome.

13. Dan Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd photo Rnunezart –

Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952. He is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” on Saturday Night Live from 197 to 1979.

In 2015, he stated during a HuffPost Show interview with hosts Roy Sekoff and Marc Lamont Hill, that he has Asperger syndrome which was self-diagnosed based on several of his characteristics.

14. Daryl Hannah

Daryl Christine Hannah was born on December 3, 1960. She is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma’s supernatural horror film The Fury (1978).

As a young child, Hannah was emotionally isolated and struggled in school.[5] She was subsequently diagnosed with autism, and medical professionals urged her parents to have her institutionalized and medicated.

15. Susan Magdalene Boyle

Susan Magdalane Boyle was born on 1 April 1961. She is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables.

She was raised thinking that she had been briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability. However, she was told in 2012–13 that she had been misdiagnosed and is on the Autism spectrum with an IQ “above average”

16. Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins photo by Elena Torre –

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE was born on 31 December 1937. He is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain’s most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage.

In January 2017, in an interview with The Desert Sun, Hopkins reported that he had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome but that he was on the high end.

17. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, and died on July 4, 1826. He was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

Thomas Jefferson is said to have been autistic or had Asperger’s syndrome. Jefferson likely got Autism from his mother’s side of the family, the Randolphs. By the time he was five, Thomas had read all of the books in his father’s library.

He was known to have speech disabilities and he stuttered. His voice was described as weak and high-pitched, and he could not talk louder than his normal voice. If he tried to yell, his voice would become inarticulate.

18. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs photo by Matthew Yohe –

Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, and died on October 5, 2011. He was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, business magnate, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple.

Though Jobs never publicly, acknowledged having Asperger’s; he demonstrated significant traits of Autism. Some of the traits of autism that he showed are; unorthodox ways of thinking, obsession with perfection, and a general lack of empathy when dealing with others especially his third-grade teacher whom he often played pranks on.

19. Barbara McClintock

Barbara McClintock was born on June 16, 1902, and died on September 2, 1992. She was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927.

She was a victim of autism. she was diagnosed with autism when she was very little. Today for Autism Awareness Month we honour Dr Barbara McClintock who won the NobelPrize in 1983 for her incredible research on chromosomes.

20. James Joyce

James Joyce photo by Ottocaro Weiss –

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century.

James Joyce is considered to have had autism. His distinctive way of viewing the world made him the originator of literary methods never before seen, including interior monologue and complex symbolic parallels.

21. Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He had poor skills, narrow and obsessive interests, and literal thinking. He said that having Asperger’s was both a blessing and a curse.

22. Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known simply as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance. Michelangelo met the criteria for Asperger’s disorder or high-functioning autism.

The evidence relates to his single-minded work routine, unusual lifestyle, limited interests, poor social and communication skills, and issues of life control. Depression and various medical conditions, including gout, renal colic and renal stones, did not stop his obsessive working habits.

23. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time.

In one well-documented incident, a bored Mozart began doing cartwheels and vaults over tables while meowing loudly like a cat. He was so sensitive to loud noises and could make a span of facial expressions within seconds.

24. Carl Jung

Carl Gustav photo by Unbekannt –

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung’s work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies. He was a victim of autism.

25. John O’Kane

John Andrew O’Kane was born on 15 November 1974. He is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender for Manchester United. O’Kane has been diagnosed as autistic and has worked in the care sector. He has a book out called “Bursting The Bubble-Autism and Me”