Actress Emily Blunt struggled with stuttering early in her life. A teacher encouraged her to act in a school play at age 12 despite her stuttering.

Blunt's name is prominently featured on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter

The Age Factor in Stuttering

Age is among the strongest risk factors for stuttering with several important implications. Although the disorder begins within a wide age-range, current robust evidence indicates that, for a very large proportion of cases, it erupts during the preschool period. Data obtained at the University of Illinois Stuttering Research Program revealed that for 65% of the child participants, stuttering onset occurred prior to age 3; the figure rose to 85% by 3 1/2 years of age (Yairi & Ambrose, 2005). Leaving room for some sampling errors, children past age 4 face a relatively low risk for stuttering. From clinical considerations, these statistics call for greater emphasis on preparing clinicians for working with early childhood stuttering.