Comments on: Where are all the depressed famous women at?

Question: Where are all the depressed famous women at?

cosmicbandito — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:13:50 -0800

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.

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:16:02 -0800

Also, I am not trying to be snarky about depression. I know several people who are coping with it. I am not trying to make light of the condition or those afflicted by it, and I sincerely would appreciate any help.

By: scody

scody — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:17:30 -0800

Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf are the two most obvious ones who spring to my mind.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:18:26 -0800

Marilyn Monroe?

By: konolia

konolia — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:19:01 -0800

Tipper Gore.

By: Gator

Gator — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:20:23 -0800

Zelda Fitzgerald?

By: unknowncommand

unknowncommand — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:23:11 -0800

Whilt googling Kitty Dukakis, I got this list. She's "only" bipolar. Don't know if it counts.

By: Gator

Gator — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:25:57 -0800

Oh, and Vivian Leigh. And Princess Diana.

By: Skot

Skot — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:27:58 -0800

Dorothy Parker?

By: unknowncommand

unknowncommand — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:28:11 -0800

I did not intend that to sound so dirty.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:31:07 -0800

Anne Sexton.

By: invisible ink

invisible ink — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:35:09 -0800

Shawn Colvin

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:36:17 -0800

The wife of the acting governor of NJ, whose name escapes me.

By: invisible ink

invisible ink — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:38:03 -0800

Edna St. Vincent Millay

By: elisabeth r

elisabeth r — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:39:30 -0800

Brooke Shields (postpartum depression)
The NJ lady... is Mary Jo (or maybe just Mary?) Codey. She had postpartum depression too.

By: melissa may

melissa may — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:52:35 -0800

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.

By: jdroth

jdroth — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:57:59 -0800

Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker and Emily Dickinson, amen.

By: PurplePorpoise

PurplePorpoise — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:07:26 -0800

Shirley Manson

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:11:27 -0800

Georgia O'Keefe & Frida Kahlo

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:24:07 -0800

Gene Tierney, I believe. She had a whole host of mental problems, of which depression was but one.

By: desuetude

desuetude — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:45:37 -0800

May be too edgy, but Sarah Silverman.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:48:48 -0800

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.

By: apple scruff

apple scruff — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 16:19:26 -0800

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.

By: hortense

hortense — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:04:38 -0800

Hedda Gabler.

By: Independent Scholarship

Independent Scholarship — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:16:03 -0800

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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By: xyzzy

xyzzy — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 22:54:49 -0800

L.M. Montgomery. Lousa May Alcott.

By: acoutu

acoutu — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 23:10:34 -0800

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.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:11:51 -0800

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.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:13:51 -0800

Damn -- I forgot Carrie Fisher. Postcards from the Edge etc. Bipolar for her, too.

By: zadcat

zadcat — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 07:09:52 -0800

Diane Arbus.

By: macadamiaranch

macadamiaranch — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:15:47 -0800

Mary Todd Lincoln

By: zharptitsa

zharptitsa — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 01:16:54 -0800

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.