Bullying and SLPs

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

Darren Sproles, now a running back for The Philadelphia Eagles, made history with the San Diego Chargers in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game.

After that game, Sproles was approached more often for interviews, which exacerbated his stuttering. “I had to talk to the media a lot, and once they put a camera in my face that's when it got bad," Sproles said. 'I just had to work on it. I couldn't really stress about it, because that's just me."

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

Marilyn Monroe

From Edward S. Herrington's letter to Southcoasttoday.com

I am writing in response to "The importance of voice" (May 29), which mentioned that famous actor James Earl Jones struggled with stuttering. Another famous voice that you cited was the trademark breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe; however, you did not make mention of the fact that Marilyn Monroe also struggled with stuttering at various points in her life, sometimes very painfully.