12 LGBTQ+ celebs who have talked about being neurodiverse
| 03/20/25
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From left: Michelle Rodiguez, Bella Ramsey, Janelle Monae, and Renee Rapp.
Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock; DFree/Shutterstock; Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock; Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock
Nonbinary The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey just opened up for the first time about being autistic in a new interview with British Vogue.
“I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last of Us,” Ramsey revealed.
But Ramsey isn’t the only LGBTQ+ who is neurodiverse. There are plenty of other queer celebrities who are also autistic or have ADHD or OCD.
One thing these queer stars seem to agree on is that being neurodiverse has helped them in different ways despite living in a neurotypical world that can often be judgmental.
Bella Ramsey
“The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity, because I feel like I’m putting myself into a box. I feel trapped,” nonbinary The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey told British Vogue in their first interview talking about their diagnosis.
Ramsey went on to say that being autistic is actually a gift when it comes to acting, “I’ve always been watching and learning from people. Having to learn more manually how to socialize and interact with the people around me has helped me with acting.” Being on set, too, offers a routine: “I have a call time, and I’m told what to wear, how to stand, where to stand and what to eat.” They describe the diagnosis as “freeing… It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do.”
Janelle Monáe
“Most people don’t understand what’s going on in my brain,” nonbinary singer Janelle Monáe told Ms. Magazine about their OCD diagnosis. “It’s beautiful that I have a title called The Age of Pleasure because it actually re-centers me. It’s not about an album anymore. I’ve changed my whole fucking lifestyle.”
Wentworth Miller
"This isn't something I'd change … immediately being autistic is central to who I am. To everything I've achieved/articulated," actor Wentworth Miller wrote on Instagram, People reported back in 2021.
He continued, "This fall marks 1 year since I received my informal autism diagnosis. Preceded by a self-diagnosis. Followed by a formal diagnosis. It was a long, flawed process in need of updating. IMO. I'm a middle-aged man. Not a 5-year-old."
Bradley Riches
"Acting is an escapism for me. I feel free and understood when playing characters when, most of the time, I felt misunderstood as Bradley. I am so happy that I can show autistic people that they aren’t alone and that they aren’t invisible – they are beautiful and magical,” gay and autistic Heartstopper star Bradley Riches — who was diagnosed when he was 9 years old — told Metro after landing a role on the queer Netflix teen drama.
Hannah Gadsby
“For a long time, I worried that I’d been misdiagnosed. It was difficult to believe that I wasn’t entirely to blame for my life being such a painful struggle, because I was so used to assuming I was a bad person. It took me a long time to get brave enough to simply share my diagnosis. My experience did not match the popular understanding of autism, and I knew I had to become an expert in neurobiology in order to untangle the myriad myths surrounding autism – just to beg permission to claim that piece of my identity,” genderqueer comedian Hannah Gadsby wrote in an essay for The Guardian about being autistic.
Michelle Rodriguez
"I want to write and direct but it’s not easy with ADHD. I have a hard time focusing when I’m alone,” bisexual Girlfight star Michelle Rodriguez told Cosmopolitan back in 2013. But she also admitted to being nervous to try medication. "I’m a scatterbrain,” she added. "But I'm nervous of taking medication. I don't really want to depend on anything to control my brain."
Cara Delevingne
"I’m not in hell now. The things that stick with all of us the most are the darker times, the more traumatic times,” queer model and actress Cara Delevingne said on This Morning discussing her challenges with ADHD . “Those are some of the points I remember the most. I didn’t know how to communicate my emotions. I was very ashamed of the way I felt. I had a very privileged upbringing, I was very lucky, I went to an amazing school.”
She continued, "And then the guilt of feeling that way and not being able to tell anyone because I shouldn’t feel that way and I shouldn’t feel bad. It’s the guilt."
Josh Thomas
Autistic comedian and actor Josh Thomas wasn’t diagnosed until he was adult, but he think it helped him when making his podcast How To Be Gay. “I was more aware of the fact that [I’m] bad at some stuff … getting people to feel comfortable and talk about themselves – I wouldn’t say I’m the frontrunner for that job. Which I think got us interesting interviews because I’m so direct, and nobody sounds like they’re bullshitting or being performative,” he told The Guardian.
Reneé Rapp
“I didn’t know I had ADHD as a kid, I just thought I was really dramatic! I am, but that’s a separate thing,” queer singer and actress Reneé Rapp said in an interview with Official Charts to talk about her album Snow Angel. "I didn’t know or understand what it was, but now I do and I really love it. I think it helps me a lot. When I’m writing a song, ten songs are coming out of that concept. My brain is in ten different places. I actually really enjoy it. It’s exhausting, don’t get me wrong, but it’s really fun. If it’s somebody else’s story and a different creative process, I don’t do as well and I might panic. When it’s my thing, though, I’m like ‘wow, I have so many ideas!’”
Ellen DeGeneres
“My ADD makes it really hard to sit down and focus on anything at all,” Ellen DeGeneres said in her Netflix stand-up special, Additude reported. “I mean, do you know how hard it was for me to put this together? Of course you don't. Why would I ask that question?”
DeGeneres continued, “So, I have ADD, I have OCD, I'm losing my memory. But I think I'm well-adjusted because I obsess on things, but I don't have the attention span to stick with it, and I quickly forget what I was obsessing about in the first place,” she added. “So, it takes me all the way around to being well adjusted, I think.”
Hormona Lisa
“I briefly mentioned this after my elimination, but I want to officially share that I have been diagnosed with autism,” Drag Race star Hormona Lisa revealed on Reddit. “I received my diagnosis nearly 7 years ago, and it really helped explain a lot of my life experiences, like never quite fitting in, no matter how much I wanted to, or people not quite understanding me. It can be frustrating at times, especially when I feel like I’m expressing something one way, but others don’t see it the same way. Still, it’s a part of who I am, and I wouldn’t change it!”
“I really hope that by sharing my story, I can give others with autism the courage to embrace who they are, even when it feels like the world doesn’t quite get them,” Hormona previously told PRIDE. “Sharing my diagnosis has always been something I’ve been hesitant about, but I’ve come to realize that being open about it is important — not just for me, but for others who might feel alone in their own struggles."
Bex Taylor-Klaus
"Embrace it. It may be a nuisance, it may be hard to deal with sometimes, but you can learn to manage it. Don't ever try to get rid of it entirely. Attention deficit makes you special,” nonbinary actor Bex Taylor-Klaus said of their ADHD diagnosis, Additude reported. Since then Taylor-Klaus has been open about being AuDHD, meaning that they are both autistic and have ADHD.
