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Having a mental health condition is still very much a taboo, even though many celebrities and famous personalities have braved public scrutiny to share stories of their personal struggles.
It’s sad and dangerous when your own mind turns against you and you knowingly or unknowingly do risky things that are harmful for yourself and others around you.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is but one of the many silent mind-killers in today’s society with 1.6% of Americans (or 1 in every 16 people) and 20% of inpatients living with it.
If you want to learn about BPD, I’ve done a deep dive into this mental disorder. Plus, I’ve included a list of celebrities with BPD.
What Is BPD?
Borderline personality disorder, or BPD, is a kind of mental illness that impacts how you manage or regulate your emotions, leading to impulsivity, self-injury, and extreme emotions.
You may also fear being abandoned and thus won’t want to spend time by yourself, causing an unnatural desire for closeness and connection with “loved ones,” which can be anyone willing to care about you.
Ironically, you drive people away because you may be clingy or too much to deal with, which further results in moodiness and anger.
And when you are in a friendship or relationship, it’s intense and unstable, until it crashes and burns. Because people don’t want to be around you, you see yourself and others in an unhealthy way.
Overall, your mental condition is unstable since you’ll struggle to function in everyday life.
While borderline personality disorder typically manifests in early adulthood (teenage years or early twenties), the mental illness can develop later in life because of trauma or a loss of protective factors (and pivotal people).
Effective treatment to help manage the symptoms and improve quality of life is a must.
Common BPD Traits and Characteristics
There are common traits and characteristics that those with borderline personality disorder will exhibit.
A person with BPD may:
- Have intense mood swings, feeling upbeat the one moment and down in the dumps the next
- Quickly and intensely change how they see and feel about someone, leading to unstable relationships and heartache
- Change their values and interests to get someone to like them because they want to be loved
- See everything in extremes; there’s no middle ground or shades of gray
- Not know how they see themselves but may also have a distorted view of self
- Act recklessly and impulsively
- Engage in self-harming
- Recurring suicidal thoughts and behaviors
- Have anger management problems
- Feel dissociated from their life, like they are observing themself from outside of their body or like it’s not really them doing things
- Have a pattern of intense “crash and burn” relationships
A person with BPD may not share all of these common characteristics. Since everyone is unique, the duration, frequency, and severity of their symptoms are unique too.
If you suspect that you or a loved one may have BPD, it’s essential not to self-diagnose but seek professional help.
Often Misdiagnosed and Similar Disorders to BPD
It’s not easy to diagnose BPD because the symptoms are so broad and overlap with various other mental health conditions. You may also experience more than one mental illness simultaneously, making misdiagnosis likely.
The symptoms of BPD overlap with metal health conditions, such as:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
- Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)
- Psychosis
- Bipolar disorder
How to Be Properly Diagnosed with BPD
To be diagnosed with BPD, you must see a licensed mental health professional. They will diagnose you based on:
- The results of a detailed interview about your symptoms and other discerning factors
- A mental health evaluation where you may need to answer questions
- A medical exam
- Your full medical history
If you or a loved one need urgent help, call or send a message to 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline).
You can also chat online at 988lifeline.org. And call 911 if it’s an emergency or life-threatening situation.
15 Famous People and Celebrities with BPD
No one is exempt from having a mental illness such as borderline personality disorder, not even the celebs and famous people we adore and admire. Their perfect lives are often a mask that hides their real struggles.
Here are some celebrities with BPD:
1. Robbie Williams
Claim to Fame: Controversial British singer and songwriter is well-known for his temper, instability, and “deviant” behavior. With over 18 awards to his name, he has swept up “best album awards,” “song of the year awards,” and “iconic singer awards,” making him no stranger to the limelight.
He’s had several visits to rehab centers, but remains the center of media storms around his addictions and reckless relationships.
While no formal diagnosis of BPD has been made, the Angels singer released a documentary in 2023 chronicling his mental health. He is also known to engage in “self-sabotage,” as he puts it.
2. Angelina Jolie
Claim to Fame: The famed Tomb Raider actress has been cleaning awards from as far back as 1998, and she’s taken the best actress award at the Golden Globes twice.
She also claimed the Academy Award for the best supporting actress for her dramatic portrayal of a young girl in a mental institute in Girl, Interrupted.
Jolie, who now focuses on humanitarian work in addition to her acting career, is widely known for her controversial behavior, suicidal thoughts, troubled childhood (with absent and dissociative parents), and drug use.
In her biography, Jolie writes about her obsessive crushes, dependence on partners, disorders like anorexia, self-harm, and need to feel loved.
While at a mental institute for treatment, she was officially diagnosed with BPD. Today, she’s a proponent of mental health and speaks openly about BPD to help destigmatize mental health illnesses and challenges.
3. Jim Carrey
Claim to Fame: The famous comedian actor is no stranger to public scrutiny, and he has won the Golden Globe for best actor twice.
His comic style may make people believe he’s as “happy go lucky” as his characters in The Mask, Ace Ventura, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but the actor has struggled for many years with depression and anxiety.
Carrey has spoken candidly about his troubled childhood and how he used humor to ease his mother’s deep pain. His life has been filled with dramatic upheavals, including being homeless, poverty, and dropping out of school, which have severely impacted his mental health.
While no formal diagnosis of BPD has been made, his life has been typified by BPD-type behavior. Today, Carrey uses painting to help ease his depression and manage his symptoms.
4. Pete Davidson
Claim to Fame: The face of America, Pete Davidson is the comedic host of Saturday Night Live (SNL), and he has quite the reputation as a serial dater, who is known for his temper tantrums and wild behavior.
His risky behavior, prolific dating habits, attention-seeking behavior, and controversial statements are all typical of BPD.
He was also diagnosed with BPD, and he is known for blinding rage-filled episodes, which encouraged him to get professional help.
Like many with BPD, he gets regular therapy and is taking different medications to help him manage the symptoms.
5. Amy Winehouse
Claim to Fame: Amy Winehouse received 60 nominations and 24 awards in her short career as musician, making her a very famous singer. Sadly, she should have been the one to go to “rehab” as her hit song predicted, and on 23 July 2011, she died of alcohol poisoning.
While never formally diagnosed, Winehouse’s addiction, tumultuous relationships, erratic behavior, and difficulty managing her life are all classic signs of BPD.
Many of the tabloid scandals that Winehouse was reported in outlined her anger, mood swings, and depression. These are all typical of someone with BPD.
6. Marilyn Monroe
Claim to Fame: The famous blonde bomb starlet hit the entertainment industry as singer, actress, and comedian. She was one of the top paid actresses of her era, and she remains a sex-symbol – even today.
Monroe was said to have severe personality struggles, and she suffered from addiction, suicidal ideation, unstable identity, and relationship conflicts.
Her moodiness was often attributed to being a high-strung starlet, but her traumatic background was more to blame. She craved approval and feared being vulnerable and alone.
Her mental health challenges, which have been attributed to BPD, led to her death.
7. Darrell Hammond
Claim to Fame: Darrell Hammond is famed as a stand-up comedian who is renowned for his impersonations of famous political and social figures.
Ironically, the impersonations are typical of someone with BPD, where acting out and showing off are often how the person tries to cope with the trauma of their mental health state.
Hammond came out in public saying that his mother had abused him for most of his early childhood years – which led to him engaging in self-harming.
The trauma inflicted on him caused severe mental health disruptions, which was diagnosed as BPD, schizophrenia, and PTSD.
Adding his voice to the cry to destigmatize mental health conditions, Hammond has said his doctor told him not to call BPD a mental health disease, but rather to refer to it as a mental injury.
8. Vincent van Gogh
Claim to Fame: Van Gogh requires little introduction as one of the world’s most famed painters. Sadly, he died a pauper, and some said he had gone “mad” before he committed suicide at the age of 37.
The historic facts of why he engaged in self-injury, his quest for love, and his frequent mood swings are typical of BPD.
Some of the symptoms he displayed have been attributed to BPD, such as his irritability, mood instabilities, self-mutilation, obsessive relationships, difficulty being alone, and conflict with authority figures.
Van Gogh admitted himself to a mental asylum, indicating his awareness of his mental torture, and he wrote extensively about his experiences and mental health challenges. Sadly, there were limited resources available to help manage BPD in those years.
9. Madison Bailey
Claim to Fame: The teenage actress Madison Bailey gained fame in the hit Netflix series Outer Banks. Yet, the star has stated that she’s been battling mental health challenges since the age of 12.
With an official diagnosis of BPD, Bailey tried conventional therapy, which didn’t resolve her challenges. She believes in being self-aware, self-educating, and identifying triggers that set off her mental instabilities.
Some of her symptoms include sudden changes in likes and dislikes, challenges to how she interacts with people, hypersensitivity, and mood swings.
Her treatment protocol involves meditation and using crystal healing. She also finds release in acting as she can step outside herself when she’s having a bad day.
10. Britney Spears
Claim to Fame: Britney Spears requires no introduction, and the hit teen music sensation has ranked her as the best-selling teenage artist of all time.
All of her fame came at a serious cost, and Spears has battled confusion, instability, negative body image, eating disorders, mood swings, and lack of empathy. Her relationships have been a rollercoaster, with her first marriage only lasting 55 hours.
In an attempt to self-regulate, Spears began taking drugs, but her radical behavior continued with her shaving her head, and ultimately leading to an involuntary psychiatric evaluation after a mental breakdown.
11. Marsha Linehan
Claim to Fame: While not a celebrity, Marsha Linehan claims fame with her status as an emeritus professor of psychology and the director of behavioral research and therapy clinics.
Linehan not only strives to further the study of BPD to help patients; she also suffers from BPD herself. She has written many books focused on treatment for BPD.
Despite studying and researching BPD, Linehan still has to manage her own symptoms, which include suicidal ideation, self-harm, physical signs like headache, and mood swings.
12. Mariah Carey
Claim to Fame: The famous songstress is no stranger to the number one spot on the charts with her hit singles. Her “All I Want for Christmas is You” remains a holiday season must-play.
Carey was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but many of her symptoms also feature in BPD. Her romantic challenges, isolation, mood swings, fear of being alone, denial, insomnia, and depression are typical of someone who struggles with BPD.
Thankfully, after hospitalization following a mental breakdown in 2001, Carey is receiving treatment and medical help to manage her condition.
13. Brandon Marshall
Claim to Fame: Marshall hit NFL fame with a record number of receptions in a single game. The NFL wide receiver totaled 13 seasons with various teams, including the Dolphins, Broncos, Jets, and Giants.
Marshall was officially diagnosed with BPD in 2011. His symptoms include alcohol abuse, violent behavior, defiance of authority, and mood swings.
He publicly speaks about his condition to raise awareness. With treatment, Marshall has learned how to communicate and become self-aware. His wife and he raise awareness of mental health with Project 375.
14. Princess Diana
Claim to Fame: The princess of Wales was a famed public figure, renowned as a style icon and humanitarian who supported many charitable causes.
The princess was exposed to public scrutiny about her marriage to Prince (now King) Charles, and this placed tremendous pressure on her.
Her struggles with mental health were reportedly diagnosed in her early 20s, and she had many symptoms that are typical of BPD, such as eating disorders, relationship instability, self-harm, unprocessed childhood trauma (with her parents’ separation), and mood swings.
15. Sinead O’Connor
Claim to Fame: Sinead O’Connor was awarded eight Grammy nominations and won with her “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” in 1991. Her single, “Nothing Compares 2 U” reached the top of the global music billboards a year earlier.
While the 90s popular musician is famous for her shaved head, her erratic behavior continuously made the news headlines. In her memoir, Rememberings, Sinead talks about her past and her mother’s abuse.
Sinead struggled with suicidal thoughts and overwhelming fear, and she also spent time in and out of mental health facilities.
She was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which she revealed on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007, but in an Oprah episode in 2014, Sinead said that she’d instead been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and C-PTSD.
Final Thoughts on Celebrities with BPD
Dealing with mental health challenges is never easy and it can completely interrupt and disrupt your daily life to the point where you are a danger to yourself, your loved ones, and even strangers.
More and more celebs and famous personalities are speaking out about their mental illnesses to destigmatize and educate. Knowing that your favorite singer, songwriter, sports player, painter, or actor also struggles can be comforting since you know for sure you aren’t alone.
If you have been struggling lately, you can do an online borderline personality disorder test, which can indicate that you may have BPD.
However, don’t solely rely on an internet diagnosis or Dr Google. Please make an appointment with a medical professional and get the help you need. You’re worth it.
And if you're looking for more articles on people and characters with different personalities, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 15 Famous People with the Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- 23 Famous Fictional Characters with ISTP Personality
- 41 Famous Fictional Characters with ENFJ Personality
Finally, if you want to identify YOUR personality type, then take one of these 11 personality tests to better understand what makes you tick.
