Famous People That Suffer From Social Phobia

ANXIETY knows no color or race. It can affect anyone. It affects the poor and the wealthy, the young and the old, and more. It does not discriminate, and while some people may be more vulnerable to this malady than others, the truth is that anyone can be victimized by the disorder. Let’s take a quick look at some famous people that suffer from social anxiety disorder:

Barbra Streisand

Unknown to her millions of fans, Barbra Streisand is one of the most famous people with social anxiety disorder. Despite her talented voice and career brimming with unforgettable musical and acting milestones, she has long since struggled with social anxiety.
Born on April 24 1942, Streisand is regarded as one of the most successful performers in the entertainment industry, both critically and commercially. She has had close to 150 million albums sold all over the world. She is a proud winner of two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Special Tony Award and five Emmy Awards on top of honors given by various other award giving bodies.
Barbra Streisand is remarkably one of the few people in the world to have won a Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony.

Kim Basinger

Most people know Kim Basinger from her many movie roles including being a Bond girl in Never Say Never Again, or for her performance in films such as The Natural or 9½ Weeks. Basinger speaks openly about suffering from social anxiety and can recall feeling fear over reading out loud in class. Her fear was so extreme that teachers believed she was having a nervous breakdown. When she accepted her Oscar for her role in the movie, LA Confidential, she was struggling to find her words despite having rehearsed her speech for days. Basinger took part in discussing her social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and agoraphobia in an HBO film called Panic: A film about coping.

Ricky Williams

Imagine a shy and reserved college student suddenly thrust into the limelight and unable to cope with unbearable social anxiety. This is the story of Ricky Williams, a professional football player who has publicly shared his diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). At 22, Ricky had everything a young man could want -- fame, fortune and the ability to travel anywhere in the world -- but he was too afraid to even leave the house.
Ricky's story unfolded after being drafted out of college to the New Orleans' Saints and becoming an overnight sensation.

Donny Osmond

Another celebrity suffering from social phobia is Donny Osmond. A fear of the crowds clapping and cheering at the age of six would later develop itself into a full blown case of social anxiety disorder. Donny Osmond’s stage fright became particularly overwhelming while he performed in a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It was at this point that he sought help. Since then, Osmond has published an autobiography that speaks about his life and how he coped with social anxiety disorder.



Social fear can affect anyone -- no matter who they are. With support of many and help from some experts, many of them have been able to keep their social phobia under control.

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