Lauren Sánchez and other stars like Jennifer Aniston, Tom Holland, and Cher have opened up about living with dyslexia. Photos/X.
Lauren Sánchez, the 54-year-old news anchor and wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, opened up about her lifelong battle with dyslexia during an appearance on Good Morning America, lat year. Sánchez became emotional while promoting her children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, as she reflected on how her learning disorder shaped her childhood.
“This book is for my 8-year-old self who really felt dumb,” Sánchez told host Michael Strahan. “And I did, I sat in the back of the class, I was quiet and they pushed me along in public school.”
Sánchez recalled dreaming of becoming a journalist but doubting she could ever succeed due to her struggles with writing.
“It was horrible,” she said, admitting how much her learning challenges affected her self-esteem.
Now a passionate advocate for dyslexia awareness, Sánchez said part of the proceeds from her book will go to the International Dyslexia Association. The organization helps diagnose children at an earlier age so they can avoid the difficulties she once faced.
“So they don’t have to go through what I went through, just thinking that [they are] not smart enough,” Sánchez said. “They can really help kids that are struggling with dyslexia, helping diagnose them.”
Sánchez also revealed that her youngest son, Evan, was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade. She shares Evan, 18, and daughter Ella, 16, with her ex-husband, Patrick Whitesell. Her son Nikko, 23, is from her previous relationship with NFL player Tony Gonzalez.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder in which people suffering can not process the written information. According to WebMD, it is the most common type of neurodivergence affecting between 5 to 15 percent of the US population.
Those suffering dyslexia can even have problems with spelling, grammar, reading, or writing for somepeople. Some pface problems with word pronunciation, reading retention, or recognizing rhyming patterns.
For decaded, dyslexia has been misunderstood by people and over the time a taboo has been associated with the condition which makes it difficult for people to speak openly about their experiences.
Dyslexia is seen to impact the everyday life of the people. Accordint to medical reports, it can affecct the perfomance of people in academic leading to lewss work oppurtunities,.
The ost important thing that has been seen within those suffering is that they live most of their lives without knowing they have dyslexia or how to manage it even many get it diagnosed in childhood.
Several Hollywood stars and public figures have spoken about their own experiences with dyslexia. Many starts have revealled how they learned to thrive despite the challenges.
Jennifer Aniston Iin an interview in 2015 with The Hollywood Reporter revealled that she was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in her early 20s.
“The only reason I knew [that I had it] was because I went to get a prescription for glasses,” Aniston said.
“I had to wear these Buddy Holly glasses. One had a blue lens and one had a red lens. And I had to read a paragraph, and they gave me a quiz, gave me 10 questions based on what I’d just read, and I think I got three right.”
Spider-Man star Tom Holland was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was seven. The diagnosis pushed him to come stronger and develop a strong work ethic early in life.
In a 2021 interview with 11-year-old YouTuber Jazlyn Guerra, Holland spoke about his childhood struggles with reading and shared empathatic words for children facing the same challenges.
Pop icon Cher has been open about her experiences with both dyslexia and dyscalculia, a learning disability related to understanding numbers.
“I couldn’t read quickly enough to get all my homework done and for me, math was like trying to understand Sanskrit,” Cher wrote in her autobiography, The First Time.
Actor Keanu Reeves also struggled with dyslexia, which made his school years difficult. In a 2005 interview with Handbag Magazine, he shared, “Because I had trouble reading, I wasn’t a good student.”
As a teenager, Reeves attended four different high schools over five years and eventually dropped out without receiving a diploma.
Salma Hayek was diagnosed with dyslexia in her teenage years. Despite her learning disorder, she excelled academically and later studied political science at the National University of Mexico.
“I’m really a fast learner,” Hayek told WebMD in 2009. “I always was, which is maybe why in high school they didn’t realize I had dyslexia. I skipped years without studying too much.”
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has spoken openly about his mild dyslexia. As the guest emcee at the National Center for Learning Disabilities’s first annual luncheon in 2010, he shared how isolating it felt to hide his struggles from classmates.
“I remember at the time being concerned that other people would find out about it,” he said.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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