Bipolar disorder is not confined to any particular group of individuals. Bipolar knows no boundaries, racial, geographical, religious, height, weight, sex, age, wealth, education, IQ etc.

Some people are genetically more predisposed than others but no one is exempt from the disorder so it is not surprising that there are famous people with bipolar disorder just are there are those at the opposite end of the spectrum doing time for not quite such honourable deeds

Many bipolar individuals lead highly successful lives excelling in whatever they choose to do. There are numerous examples from all walks of life. Bipolar individuals might face greater challenges than others but the drive and capacity to succeed is just as prevalent as in any other successful person.

The number of celebrities living with bipolar disorder in creative fields is interesting. Even though periods of depression cloud bipolar lives some like comedians Shecky Greene and Spike Milligan have beaten the odds and made it to the top making others laugh.

Successes abound in:

• Acting e.g. Patty Duke, Vivien Leigh, Burgess Meredith, Ned Beatty, Margot Kidder
• Writing e.g. Patricia Cornwell, Robert Munsch, Robert Lowell
• Music e.g. Ludwig van Beethoven, Gaetano Donizetti, Jack Irons, Jaco Pastorius, Charley Pride
• Sport  e.g. Jimmy Piersall (baseball) , Alonzo Spellman (football), Bert Yancey (golf)
• Finance  e.g. J.P. Morgan, John Mulheren

In fact an online search for famous people in virtually any field is likely to include celebrities with bipolar disorder.