Famous Faces of Bipolar Disorder

In 2002, music producer, Phil Spector told London's Daily Telegraph, "I have a bipolar personality. I'm my own worst enemy. I have devils inside that fight me." He said he's struggled with the disorder for more than 20 years. For Spector, things took a turn for the worse in February 2003, when he was arrested and charged with murder in the killing of nightclub hostess Lana Clarkson. That trial ended with a hung jury. A second trial is now underway in Los Angeles.

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Ever since Britney's meltdown, many have speculated she may suffer from bipolar disorder. Although it has not been confirmed, sources close to Britney Spears told People magazine she has "suffered from a psychological disease for years." Two separate sources also told the magazine, who are acquaintances of the family, they believe the singer has never been formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but "there is no question she is bipolar."

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Fall Out Boy bassist and songwriter Pete Wentz revealed in an interview with Britain's Q magazine that he has bipolar disorder. He told the magazine: "I have manic depression. I obsess over everything. When I am depressed, I can't get out of bed. But right now, it's sunny and 65 in my head, so it's OK!" The 28-year-old musician said he has been on medication since he was 18.

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In October 2007, Grammy winning singer, Sinead O’Connor revealed her struggle with bipolar disorder on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She told the talk show host she battled depression for years before she was finally diagnosed with bipolar at the age of 37. Now, 40, and a mother of four, O'Connor controls the disorder with medication.

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Jane Pauley, best known for her 13-years on NBC’s "The Today Show" and 11 years on the network’s news magazine, "Dateline NBC" was diagnosed with bipolar at the age of 50. In 2004, she released her memoir, "Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue," which chronicles her career, family life and struggle with bipolar disorder.

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Actress Linda Hamilton, best known for her role as Sarah Connor in the "Terminator" movies, said she suffered from manic-depressive episodes for 20 years before getting properly treated. "In those 20 years, I did not know the meaning of the word 'hope,'" Hamilton told The Associated Press. "It was just a bleak, difficult existence."

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Actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" trilogy, has been suffering from bipolar since she was a youth. She told ABC's Diane Sawyer, "I have a chemical imbalance that, in its most extreme state, will lead me to a mental hospital.”

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Award-winning Soap opera star, Maurice Bernard, who plays "Sonny" on "General Hospital" was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 22 after a nervous breakdown. He's been very outspoken about the disorder, playing out the "Sonny Is Bipolar" storyline on GH and appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2007, where he described the importance of taking his medication.

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Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss was one of several actors who spoke candidly about his life with bipolar. He did it in a 2006 documentary called "The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive" by British actor Stephen Fry. In the documentary, Dreyfuss told Fry that he has been on lithium and other medications to level his mood.

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Author and actor Spalding Gray disappeared January 10, 2004, and his body was pulled from the East River in New York on March 7, 2004. Suffering from bipolar disorder, it's believed Gray, 62, committed suicide. It's been reported that he tried to kill himself twice after he suffered serious injuries in a car accident in 2001. Gray's mother, who was also bipolar, committed suicide when she was 52.

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Actress Vivien Leigh, who played Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," had a life full of ups and downs. Known as one of the most beautiful and talented women in show buisness, she won two Academy Awards for playing Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche Dubois in a "Streetcar Named Desire." But, her success was mirrored with tragedy. She had two failed marriages and battled alcoholism as well as bipolar. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 53.

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Actress Patty Duke was diagnosed in her 30's. The Oscar-winning actress and TV star has written two books about her experience with bipolar and is now a mental health advocate.

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It's never been confirmed by some have speculated that Marilyn Monroe was bipolar. In the film, her physician, Dr. Hyman Engelberg, said he knew she was manic-depressive (bipolar). "That always meant that there were emotional problems and that she could have big swings in her moods," he said. Monroe was found dead in the bedroom of her California home on August 5, 1962. She was 36-years-old. The Los Angeles County Coroners office listed her death as "probable suicide."

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It's reported the British writer Virginia Woolf suffered her first breakdown at the age of 13. Throughout her life, she would have several more breakdowns before drowning herself at the age of 59. According to a 2004 article by psychologist Katherine Dalsimer, the mood swings from severe depression that Woolf experienced would be diagnosed as bipolar today.

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