Notable Individuals Who Have Experienced or Lived With PTSD

Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 23 Apr 2024 - Updated: 2 Jul 2026
Publication Type: Awareness, Appreciation

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates - Related Publications

Synopsis: This information presents a comprehensive, alphabetized list of notable individuals from diverse backgrounds - ranging from artists and politicians to soldiers and activists - who have experienced or lived with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The article not only underscores the prevalence and complexity of PTSD, affecting people regardless of age, gender, or profession, but also highlights the frequent co-occurrence of related conditions such as depression and anxiety. By documenting these well-known figures, the resource serves as a valuable tool to reduce stigma, foster understanding, and provide relatable examples for those affected by PTSD, including people with disabilities, seniors, and their support networks. The authority of the information is reinforced by the expertise of its editor, a recognized advocate in the field of disability rights, and its focus on raising awareness and promoting social inclusion.

At a Glance

• 1 - More than 50% of people with PTSD also live with a co-occurring anxiety, mood, or substance use disorder.
• 2 - The list spans artists, politicians, soldiers, and activists, from Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga to war poet Wilfred Owen and Kurt Vonnegut.
• 3 - PTSD can develop in people of any age, including children and adolescents, yet not everyone who lives through trauma goes on to develop the condition. The entries reflect this range, covering combat veterans, assault survivors, and public figures alike.

Topic Definition: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a form of anxiety disorder - a mental health condition set off by a terrifying event that a person either goes through directly or witnesses happening to someone else. Its symptoms can take many shapes, including intrusive thoughts, distressing dreams tied to the event, and strong mental or physical reactions to reminders of the trauma, along with efforts to avoid those reminders altogether. People with PTSD often notice lasting shifts in how they think and feel, as well as a heightened fight-or-flight response that keeps them on edge. The condition can surface at any age, children and adolescents included, though it is important to understand that not everyone exposed to trauma will develop it, and those who do frequently contend with related struggles such as depression and anxiety.

Introduction

Notable People Who Have Lived With PTSD and a Closer Look at This Trauma-Driven Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a form of anxiety disorder, defined as a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. PTSD can occur in people of any age, including children and adolescents, though not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD.

Trauma survivors often develop depression, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders in addition to PTSD.[33] More than 50% of those with PTSD have co-morbid anxiety, mood or substance use disorders. For decades, neuroscientists and physicians have tried to get to the bottom of the age-old mystery of post-traumatic stress disorder, to explain why only some people are vulnerable and why they experience so many symptoms and so much disability.

Main Content

List of Notable Individuals With or Had PTSD

• Abbie Gardner-Sharp - American kidnapping survivor.
• Abd Al Rahim Abdul Rassak Janko - Kurdish man detained at Guantanamo.
• Abigail Breslin - American actor and singer.
• Agar Adamson - Canadian soldier.
• Ahmad Naser Sarmast - Afghan-Australian ethnomusicologist.
• Aimee Mann - American singer-songwriter.
• Alastair Duncan - British Army officer.
• Alex Owumi - Nigerian-American basketball player.
• Alex Winter - British-American actor and filmmaker.
• Alexandra Stan - Romanian singer-songwriter.
• Ali Shallal al-Qaisi - Iraqi detained and tortured in Abu Ghraib prison during American occupation.
• Alicia Kozakiewicz - American motivational speaker and missing persons advocate.
• Andrea Kelly - American choreographer, dancer, and actor.
• Angel Haze - American rapper and singer.
• AnnaLynne McCord - American actor, model, and activist.
• Anthony Acevedo - Mexican-American soldier in WWII.
• Anthony Swofford - American writer.
• Ariana Grande - American singer-songwriter.
• Audie Murphy - American actor, soldier, and songwriter.
• Benedict Joseph Murdoch - Canadian priest and writer.
• Beth Dobbin - Scottish sprinter.
• Bogdan-Dawid Wojdowski - Polish Jewish writer.
• Brandy Norwood - American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model.
• Brianna Wu - American video game developer and computer programmer.
• Carle Hessay - German-Canadian painter.
• Catherine Galliford - Canadian RCMP corporal.
• Catherine Mardon - Canadian writer and activist.
• Charles Sumner - American politician.
• Charly Cox - British mental health activist.
• Chris Brown - American singer-songwriter.
• Chris Cramer - British news journalist and executive.
• Chris Opie - British cyclist.
• Circuit Des Yeux - American vocalist, composer, and singer-songwriter.
• Claude AnShin Thomas - American Zen Buddhist monk and Vietnam War veteran.
• Clint Malarchuk - Canadian ice hockey player.
• Connie Glynn - English Internet personality.
• Craig Harrison - British sniper.
• Daisy Coleman - American activist for sexual assault victims.
• Damien Brown - Australian mixed martial artist.
• Daniel Johns - Australian musician and singer-songwriter.
• Daniel Somers - American soldier in the Iraq War whose suicide note went viral.
• Darrell Hammond - American comedian and actor.
• David Haigh - British lawyer.
• David Hogg - American gun control activist.
• David McBride - Australian soldier and whistleblower.
• David Morgan - British Navy and RAF pilot.
• Denis Avey - British soldier and POW.
• Denis Wigan - English cricketer.
• Derek Bell - English footballer.
• Devin Moore - American murderer.
• Donald Bolduc - American politician.
• Dorothy Still Danner - American Navy nurse in WWII.
• Dr. Charles Smith - American sculptor and minister.
• Dror Green - Israeli-Bulgarian writer.
• Dwight H. Johnson - American veteran who received the Medal of Honor.
• Emma Roddick - Scottish politician.
• Emma Slade - British public speaker.
• Erica Sullivan - Olympic swimmer representing the USA.
• Erika Renee Land - American writer.
• Ernie LaPointe - Lakota author.
• Fergal Keane - Irish journalist.
• Francine Hughes - American woman acquitted of murdering her abusive husband.
• Gabriel Mac - American author and journalist.
• Gail Sheehy - American author, journalist, and lecturer.
• Geoff Shaw - Australian Aboriginal community leader.
• Georg-Andreas Pogany - German-American soldier and activist.
• George Farmer - British acuascaper.
• Germán Busch - Bolivian military officer and 36th president of Bolivia.
• Gregory Boyington - American aviator and World War Two fighter ace..
• Gunvald Tomstad - Norwegian resistance member during WWII.
• Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt - German Luftwaffe pilot.
• Hans-Joachim Marseille - German Luftwaffe fighter pilot.
• Harry Jackson - American artist.
• Heinrich Stegemann - German painter and sculptor.
• Houston Tumlin - American actor.
• Hugh Thompson Jr. - American army major credited with ending the Mỹ Lai massacre.
• J. D. Salinger - American writer.
• Jack Hendrick Taylor - American Navy officer and concentration camp survivor.
• Jacqueline Kennedy - American socialite and first lady.
• Jameela Jamil - English actor and activist.
• James Blake Miller - American marine who fought in the Iraq War.
• James Credle - American activist for veterans and LGBT people.
• James Rhodes - British-Spanish pianist and writer.
• James Stephanie Sterling - English-American YouTuber and wrestler.
• Jan Ruff O'Herne - Indonesian-Australian human rights activist.
• Jan Scruggs - American veteran of the Vietnam War and founder of a nonprofit.
• Janet Leach - English social worker.
• Janina Scarlet - Ukrainian-American Jewish author and psychologist.
• Jason Kander - American attorney and politician.
• Jasper Brett - Irish rugby player.
• Jimmy Galt - Scottish footballer.
• John McGavock Grider - American fighter pilot in WWI.
• John Walsh - American politician.
• Jose L. Holguin - American WWII veteran.
• Joseph B. Noil - Canadian-American Navy sailor.
• Joseph Brodak - American bank robber.
• Joseph Cao - Vietnamese-American politician.
• Joseph Daniel Miller - American serial killer.
• José Padilla - American criminal.
• Julius Strauss - British journalist and wilderness guide.
• Junior J. Spurrier - American veteran of WWII.
• Kate Bornstein - American performance artist and writer.
• Kayden Coleman - American social media influencer and transgender rights advocate.
• Keira Knightley - English actor.
• Keith Zettlemoyer - American murderer.
• Kelly Fraser - Canadian Inuk singer.
• Kelsea Ballerini - American singer.
• Kurt Vonnegut - American author, veteran, and POW.
• Kylar Broadus - American attorney.
• Lady Gaga - American singer-songwriter and actor.
• Lawrence Lindell - American cartoonist.
• Leela Corman - American cartoonist.
• Left at London - American singer-songwriter.
• Lily Allen - British singer.
• Linda Lovelace - American pornographic actor.
• Lisa-Jayne Lewis - British broadcaster.
• Llew O'Brien - Australian politician.
• Lodune Sincaid - American mixed martial artist.
• Lorena Gallo - American domestic violence victim advocate acquitted of cutting off her husband's penis.
• Lucy Wicks - Australian politician.
• Luis Carlos Montalvan - American soldier and writer.
• Luis Fonseca - American Navy hospital corpsman.
• Lynda Cash - British Royal Navy sailor.
• Lynndie England - American war criminal who participated in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.
• Mandy Horvath - American mountaineer.
• Mark L. Donald - American Navy SEAL.
• Mary L. Trump - American psychologist and author.
• Massey Whiteknife - Canadian businessperson and producer.
• Matt Gresham - Australian singer-songwriter.
• Mel B - English singer-songwriter.
• Merriman Smith - American journalist.
• Michele Ross - American neuroscientist, author, and media personality.
• Mischa Barton - British-American actor.
• Neil Mackay - Northern Irish journalist, author, and filmmaker.
• Nico Walker - American writer.
• Nish Bruce - British Army soldier and skydiver.
• Noa Pothoven - Dutch activist and author.
• Norbert Denef - German advocate against sex abuse in the Roman Catholic church.
• Oliver Jackson-Cohen - English actor.
• Oprah Winfrey - American talk show host..
• Paris Jackson - American model, actor, singer, and musician.
• Paul Shuey - American baseball player.
• Pedro Cano - Mexican-American soldier in WWII.
• Percival Lancaster - British civil engineer and writer.
• Philip Morris - English kidnapping victim.
• Primo Levi - Italian Jewish chemist and writer.
• Rachelle Vinberg - American skateboarder and actor.
• Rasmea Odeh - Palestinian-Jordanian implicated in the 1969 PFLP bombings in Jerusalem.
• Reginald Foresythe - British jazz pianist and composer.
• Robert Graves - British poet, novelist, and critic.
• Robert Mason - American veteran and author.
• Robert Park - American missionary and activist.
• Robin Lehner - Swedish ice hockey player.
• Roger Cooper - British businessman.
• Roméo Dallaire - Canadian humanitarian and politician.
• Ron Wilson - Northern Irish-Australian TV and radio news presenter.
• Ronnie McNutt - American man who committed suicide on a Facebook livestream.
• Rosie Perez - American actor, choreographer, and dancer.
• Rubén Espinosa - Mexican photographer and journalist.
• Sadhvi Siddhali Shree - American activist.
• Sam Wadsworth - English footballer.
• Samuel Pepys - English diarist and naval administrator.
• Sara Evans - American singer-songwriter.
• Seth Moulton - American politician.
• Shalini Kantayya - Filmmaker and environmental activist.
• Sharee Miller - American criminal.
• Shia LaBeouf - American actor.
• Sia - Australian singer-songwriter.
• Siegfried Sassoon - English war poet and writer.
• Sinéad O'Connor - - Irish singer-songwriter and activist.
• Soghoman Soghomian - commonly known as Komitas; Ottoman Armenian priest, musician, and musicologist.
• Stefan Steć - Polish UN peacekeeper.
• Stephanie Foo - Malaysian-American radio journalist and author.
• Stéphane Grenier - Canadian military officer and writer.
• Sue Klebold - American author and activist.
• Taylor Dumpson - American attorney.
• Thomas Melville Lunan - Scottish architect.
• Tiffany Yu - American entrepreneur and activist.
• Tom Wills - Australian sportsman.
• Tony Dell - Australian cricketer.
• U Gambira - Burmese activist and former Buddhist monk.
• Walter M. Miller Jr. - American science fiction writer.
• Whoopi Goldberg - American actor, comedian, and author.
• Wilfred Owen - English poet and soldier.
• Will Young - British singer-songwriter and actor.
• William H. Christian - American Brigadier General during the Civil War.
• Zoe Helene - American ecofeminist and advocate of psychedelic drugs.

NOTE: If you notice any inaccuracies in this list, please reach out to us so we can correct it. Additionally, if you believe someone should be added to this list, please provide us with their name and any information to verify their disability. We value your help, and you can contact us here.

You can also view our other lists of famous and well-known people with various disabilities and conditions, including actors, politicians, and writers who contributed to society.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.