Stuttering is an impairment of speech flow, also known by the names dysphemia or functional dysarthria. It is caused by intermittent spasms of the phono-articulatory apparatus of your mouth and throat. The result is that a person will sometimes speak with interrupted or repeated words.

The frequency of stuttering ranges from 5% to 8%, affecting more males than females, for a ratio of two to one, the Children's Hospital in Rome states.

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According to some studies carried out in 2012, the basis of stuttering could be a genetic component. Pediatrician Francesca Morelli wrote that hypothesis in an article on the Fondazioneveronesi website.

In the same article, the researcher says that "Those who 'stutter' generally show a particular intelligence and sensitivity." To make the general public familiar with the phenomenon of stuttering, October 22 was appointed as International Stuttering Awareness Day.

Even many celebrities or personalities of strong international importance have been affected by this particular alteration of language. As reported in an article by People, some of them have spoken openly about it. Let's discover their stories together.

During the presentation of an award from the American Institute for Stuttering, Ed Sheeran, the famous British singer who gave us hits like 'Shivers' or 'Shape of you', spoke about his stuttering problems dating back to when he was a child.

The famous singer said that as a child what helped him overcome a stutter was rapping quickly. He then added: "stuttering is not a thing you have to be worried about at all. Just be yourself 'cause there's no one in the world that can be a better you than you." His words on People.

Although we are now used to seeing her perform brilliantly in front of a camera, Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman suffered from a stutter as a child.

She revealed it herself to the US magazine Newsweek. "I just remember everyone always saying to me, 'Calm down, think about what you're going to say,'" she told People.

Another great actor that Hollywood has given to the world is undoubtedly Samuel L. Jackson. Some time ago, on 'The Howard Stern Show' he too revealed that he had severe stuttering problems as a child.

The actor also said he was able to overcome that problem, but added: "I stuttered really, really, really bad for a long time ... to the point that I stopped speaking for, like, almost a year in school."

Apparently, it was acting that helped Emily Blunt overcome her stuttering. She herself stated that she started stuttering at the age of 6 or 7: "I started noticing it at 6 or 7. My grandfather, my uncle and my cousin all stutter. It feels like you've got this imposter living in your body."

Today, Emily Blunt is a staunch supporter of the American Institute for Stuttering. It is a cause that the actress feels very closely from first-hand experience.

The legendary voice of Darth Vader in 'Star Wars' discovered his talent for theater while trying to overcome this ailment, suffered from when he was a child.

His high school teacher helped him: "I had an English teacher in high school who discovered that when I read my own poetry, I didn't stutter, because I wasn't in confrontation with other people's feelings or thoughts", he stated to People.

No one would have guessed it, but one of Hollywood's most acclaimed icons, Marylin Monroe, also had a stuttering problem. According to People, she revealed it herself in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Apparently, her speech impairment was also a major problem during the filming of a movie, and her director unkindly asked her not to stutter. In Monroe's words: "The director was furious. He said, 'You don't stutter'," she recalled. "I said, 'That's what you think!'"

Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February 2023 after an initial diagnosis of aphasia, also had a stuttering problem as a child.

His encouraging words during an award presentation at the American Institute for Stuttering, reported by People: "The hardest thing I remember was being a kid stuttering. My advice to the young people in this room is to never let anyone make you feel like an outcast because you will never be an outcast."

American rapper, songwriter, and record producer, and 13-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar opened up about his stuttering in an interview with The New York Times Magazine.

"I stuttered as a child," he claimed in the interview. And, apparently, music helped him.

Another illustrious international figure with stuttering problems is the President of the United States of America Joe Biden, who has not hesitated to speak about it openly.

He did so during a speech on CNN in which, according to People, he said he still stutters "occasionally, when I find myself really tired." Biden acts as a mentor to some young people with the same problem whom he constantly tries to encourage: "Is that in fact it's critically important for them not to judge themselves by their speech and not let that define them."