Where are all the depressed famous women at?
November 11, 2005 2:13 PM Subscribe
Help me find depressed famous women....
I work in the library at a hospital. I've been asked for help with a research project. The behavioral health department wants to do a poster session highlighting famous women who dealth with depression. I'm consulting the usual sources, but would be interested in anything MeFites can offer. I would prefer that the depressed women be historical-famous, not celebrity-famous. Paris Hilton may be feeling a little blue this weekend, but I don't that qualifies her to be part of this project.
I work in the library at a hospital. I've been asked for help with a research project. The behavioral health department wants to do a poster session highlighting famous women who dealth with depression. I'm consulting the usual sources, but would be interested in anything MeFites can offer. I would prefer that the depressed women be historical-famous, not celebrity-famous. Paris Hilton may be feeling a little blue this weekend, but I don't that qualifies her to be part of this project.
Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf are the two most obvious ones who spring to my mind.
posted by scody at 2:17 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by scody at 2:17 PM on November 11, 2005
Marilyn Monroe?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:18 PM on November 11, 2005 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:18 PM on November 11, 2005 [1 favorite]
Whilt googling Kitty Dukakis, I got this list. She's "only" bipolar. Don't know if it counts.
posted by unknowncommand at 2:23 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by unknowncommand at 2:23 PM on November 11, 2005
I did not intend that to sound so dirty.
posted by unknowncommand at 2:28 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by unknowncommand at 2:28 PM on November 11, 2005
The wife of the acting governor of NJ, whose name escapes me.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:36 PM on November 11, 2005 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:36 PM on November 11, 2005 [1 favorite]
Brooke Shields (postpartum depression)
The NJ lady... is Mary Jo (or maybe just Mary?) Codey. She had postpartum depression too.
posted by elisabeth r at 2:39 PM on November 11, 2005
The NJ lady... is Mary Jo (or maybe just Mary?) Codey. She had postpartum depression too.
posted by elisabeth r at 2:39 PM on November 11, 2005
Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins-Gilman, Elizabeth Bishop, and yes, Dorothy Parker, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf: it's probably easier to list the women writers and poets that didn't suffer from depression than those who did.
posted by melissa may at 2:52 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by melissa may at 2:52 PM on November 11, 2005
Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker and Emily Dickinson, amen.
posted by jdroth at 2:57 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by jdroth at 2:57 PM on November 11, 2005
Shirley Manson
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:07 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:07 PM on November 11, 2005
Georgia O'Keefe & Frida Kahlo
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 3:11 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 3:11 PM on November 11, 2005
Gene Tierney, I believe. She had a whole host of mental problems, of which depression was but one.
posted by Dr. Wu at 3:24 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by Dr. Wu at 3:24 PM on November 11, 2005
It deals with bipolar rather than plain depression, but Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison is in part about the link between creativity and depression. ISTR it discussing several famous women.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:48 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:48 PM on November 11, 2005
Try IMDB biography search for "depressed," "depression," etc. Obviously it will skew towards finding actresses versus other famous women, but it's worth a try.
posted by apple scruff at 4:19 PM on November 11, 2005
posted by apple scruff at 4:19 PM on November 11, 2005
If you include grief, one of the best books of the year is Joan Didion's memoir The Year Of Magical Thinking. It's up for the National Book Award for non-fiction. Winners to be announced Wednesday.
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posted by Independent Scholarship at 7:16 PM on November 11, 2005
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posted by Independent Scholarship at 7:16 PM on November 11, 2005
Marie Curie.
Googling for "famous people depression" and "famous women depression" turned up lots of hits.
I'd encourage you to include the odd "celebrity" in your poster. This will help you to connect with people who see depression as something that wacky poets and artists have. Also, you'll be more inclusive if you throw in some contemporary celebrities, instead of making a poster that shows people only "literate", "culture", "educated" people can identify.
posted by acoutu at 11:10 PM on November 11, 2005
Googling for "famous people depression" and "famous women depression" turned up lots of hits.
I'd encourage you to include the odd "celebrity" in your poster. This will help you to connect with people who see depression as something that wacky poets and artists have. Also, you'll be more inclusive if you throw in some contemporary celebrities, instead of making a poster that shows people only "literate", "culture", "educated" people can identify.
posted by acoutu at 11:10 PM on November 11, 2005
Patty Duke's autobiography deals with her bipolar depression, aggravated by sexual abuse. She specifically wrote them in order to help others as a role model.
Julia Thorne (Kerry)
This 1994 book features the experiences of several then-well-known personages.
Winona Ryder.
Rosie O'Donnell.
Donna Summer.
posted by dhartung at 12:11 AM on November 12, 2005
Julia Thorne (Kerry)
This 1994 book features the experiences of several then-well-known personages.
Winona Ryder.
Rosie O'Donnell.
Donna Summer.
posted by dhartung at 12:11 AM on November 12, 2005
Damn -- I forgot Carrie Fisher. Postcards from the Edge etc. Bipolar for her, too.
posted by dhartung at 12:13 AM on November 12, 2005
posted by dhartung at 12:13 AM on November 12, 2005
Hopefully you're looking for famous women that overcame depression as opposed to those who succumbed to it (e.g. Sylvia Plath... while I love her poetry, she nevertheless committed suicide by sticking her head in the oven while her children slept... not a great role model).
Carrie Fisher and Mariette Hartley are two (relatively) famous women that speak often about their experiences with mental illness and are active advocates against stigma. Jane Pauley and Brooke Shields have recently written books. And I believe Linda Carter has also started talking about her own experiences (tied mostly to alcoholism, I think). Although I don't know if these women have all had clinical depression per se, all have struggled with mental illness of some sort, which usually means they've dealt with depression at a minimum.
I would contact the National Mental Health Association (www.nmha.org) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.nami.org). I bet they already have materials for this kind of thing available or could easily point you in the right direction. Good luck.
posted by zharptitsa at 1:16 AM on November 16, 2005
Carrie Fisher and Mariette Hartley are two (relatively) famous women that speak often about their experiences with mental illness and are active advocates against stigma. Jane Pauley and Brooke Shields have recently written books. And I believe Linda Carter has also started talking about her own experiences (tied mostly to alcoholism, I think). Although I don't know if these women have all had clinical depression per se, all have struggled with mental illness of some sort, which usually means they've dealt with depression at a minimum.
I would contact the National Mental Health Association (www.nmha.org) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.nami.org). I bet they already have materials for this kind of thing available or could easily point you in the right direction. Good luck.
posted by zharptitsa at 1:16 AM on November 16, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cosmicbandito at 2:16 PM on November 11, 2005