Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the more problematic kinds of mental health disorders. Its symptoms can be a combination of depression, self-harm, anxiety and panic attacks, and self-loathing. These symptoms can manifest among people living the celebrity lifestyle.
Some of the known people who have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and suffer from associated symptoms of the mental health disorder are Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, and Pete Davidson.
Famous People Who Have Borderline Personality Disorder
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Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most popular actresses and singers during the 1950s. However, her personal life is far different from what the media portrays.
Her real name is Norma Jeane Baker and she suffered major depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health issues since her childhood. She did not know her father and her mother was committed to a mental institution. This led her to bounce from one foster home to another.
She inherited a lesser version of her mother’s mental health issues, but this worsened due to her feeling of abandonment when she was a child. She exhibited identity issues, suicidal tendencies, and addictive behavior. She used dangerous prescription drugs and suffered miscarriages throughout her failed marriages.
Even when she was younger, she had several suicide attempts using sleeping pills. She feels great insecurity and an invalidating self-image of not being worthy of love and attention.
She created Marilyn Monroe as an alter ego which received what Norma Jean could not. This gave her a sense of pride but it did not make her genuinely happy because it validated her perception that her true self, Norma Jean, was not worthy of love.
Some of the incidences in her life even increased her risk of suicide. She suffered divorce, loss of job, loss of health, alcohol addiction, and depression.
Awareness of mental health conditions and illnesses was not as popular before as it is today. However, psychiatrists believed that she was suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia. Some of her colleagues also stated that there were two personalities fighting within Marilyn Monroe.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is open about her mental health condition. In the 1990s, she committed herself to a neuropsychiatric institution due to her suicidal and homicidal ideations. This was when she was diagnosed with BPD and became a known advocate of mental health awareness.
Angelina had a troubled childhood due to her bad relationship with her father. She had tendencies of self-mutilation even as a child.
Motherhood has allowed her to cope with her mental health issues. However, her ex-husband Brad Pitt came out and said that Angelina does not have self-restraint which can cause her to reveal sensitive information about their family to the public. She compromised her children’s privacy and safety to the public multiple times.
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay had alcohol and substance addiction as a teenager and she was also impulsive and self-destructive. She often had cut marks as a sign of self-harm and an inability to communicate her feelings.
The cutting of the skin is often an indication of the inability to release emotion regularly. Keeping the negative energy within the self makes physical harm a viable outlet. People with mental health illnesses feel a sense of control and euphoria through the splitting of the skin.
Aside from Lindsay’s tendency for self-mutilation, she also displayed signs of mental instability and suicidal tendencies. She was also addicted to stimulants and anti-depressants and often does doctor shopping where she has several different doctors for refilling her prescription medication.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse struggled with depression and addiction and many believe that she displayed symptoms of BPD. Amy was also self-destructive like many of the people who suffered BPD.
She was diagnosed with manic depression and was addicted to self-pain and self-mutilation. She displayed mood swings which disrupted her work and family.
She also displayed alcohol and substance abuse and also had difficulty communicating her emotions. Her husband mentioned after her death that she had an eating disorder and tried to commit suicide multiple times. This often caused the instability of their relationship.
Amy Winehouse died in 2011 at the age of 27, joining many more actors who died at a young age
Megan Fox
Megan Fox had similar BPD symptoms as her idol, Marilyn Monroe. She suffers from impulsive behavior and has difficulty controlling emotional outbursts.
She confessed to be emotionally unpredictable and can have a severely bad temper. She is also a control freak ever since her childhood and can often suffer from panic attacks and display aggressive behavior.
As an adult, she suffered from self-loathing. She does not like looking at herself in the mirror and she also suffers from an eating disorder. She also cannot sleep in a dark and quiet environment or with someone near her.
Some people believe that she is simply emulating Marilyn but she displays clear signs of BPD.
Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson was an iconic host of Saturday Night Live (SNL). He was diagnosed with BPD in January 2021.
Before his diagnosis, Pete suffered from the symptoms of BPD such as suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and depression. He used to smoke weed for 8 years and often suffered from mental breakdowns. He explained that he can freak out one moment and then not remember how or what triggers his mental breakdown.
He mentioned that his BPD could probably be linked to him losing his father at a young age due to the 9/11 terrorist attack. As a child, he cannot comprehend how his father is gone in an instant.
His BPD diagnosis was a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He used to be confused every time he suffered from depression and mental breakdowns. Now, he openly advocates for the awareness and importance of mental health.
Final Thoughts
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a lesser-known form of mental health disorder. Due to the stigma of mental health disorders, it takes courage for famous people to allow themselves to be diagnosed with a mental health illness and reveal it to the public. Some celebrities, however, have embraced their illness and have used their platform to increase mental health awareness.
