The world of celebrities is a colorful place full of colorful characters. Actors, singers, directors, musicians, reality stars, the list goes on. We're fascinated by their lives and lifestyles, their friendships, their relationships, their feuds...We like to get an insight into their lives and see how they view life, through their lens. But what if some of these celebs don't see the world as we do, and not just because of their riches and luxuries? What if they literally don't see things as we do because they are colorblind?
According to the American Academy of Opthalmology, the condition known as color blindness, or color deficiency, occurs when you are unable to see colors in a normal way or when someone cannot distinguish between certain colors. This often happens between reds and greens, and sometimes blues. It is more common in males than females, affecting around one in 12 men versus one in 200 women. We decided to take a look at celebrities who are colorblind and see how it affects them (no pun intended).
10 Keanu Reeves
Although he hasn't been officially diagnosed, actor Keanu Reeves has stated in interviews that he thinks he might be colorblind and a poem he made up on the spot in an interview in 1991 would seem to confirm this:
"I think of black and I think of blue / I think of red and I think of you / I think of yellow and I think of mauve / No more colors do I know…" Although it is unknown whether he is red, green, or blue colorblind, the omission of green in the poem would imply green. Either way, we think he always looks good in black and white.
9 Mark Zuckerberg
The founder of Facebook is red-green colorblind. He apparently chose the color blue for the Facebook logo as blue is one of the richest colors for his eyes. He said: "Blue is the richest color for me. I can see all of blue." It begs the question, does he see the cap he's wearing in this pic with wife Priscilla Chan as green? Guess so!
8 Logan Paul
Logan came under fire by other YouTubers and the public when he posted a video showing him wearing colored glasses that he said cured his colorblindness. He claimed to not have known until he wore the glasses that his pet parrot was yellow, green orange, and red. He later admitted he may have embellished his reactions.
‘I wanted to create [...] an amazing piece of content that showed what it means to be colorblind. Just like any storyteller, I exaggerated my reactions,' he said.
7 Bill Clinton
The former president of the United States has had many colorful stories written about him and his fair share of controversy, but who knew he was also colorblind? He needs a special light in order to determine the color of a certain object and has trouble distinguishing between red and green colors, something he inherited from his parents. Good job the Democrats' party color is blue!
6 Prince William
The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, has stated publicly that he is colorblind. He has reed-green colorblindness, but this can also mean difficulty in distinguishing the color yellow. William often wears the colors red, white, and blue, the colors of the Union Jack and also of the star-spangled banner which his brother, Harry, will be more familiar with now. William used to play rugby with a fellow colorblind teammate, actor Eddie Redmayne.
5 Eddie Redmayne
Colorblind Eddie didn't let that stop him when he studied at university. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them actor wrote his 30,000-word thesis on Yves Klein's IKB74 painting (an all-blue painting), as blue is the only color he can see clearly.
He said: “I wrote 30,000 words on this color, and I never grew tired of it. The pigment is staggering. It’s amazing that a color can be so emotional. One can only hope to achieve that intensity in acting.”
"Whatever color that is, it's beautiful to me." Wow.
4 Howie Mandel
America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel has been very open about his struggles, from anxiety and OCD to colorblindness. In an interview with Good Housekeeping Magazine, Howie stated, “I'm color-blind, so when I make a choice, I'm told that it clashes," referring perhaps to his fashion choices and also when he used to recommend carpets as a salesperson.
3 Christopher Nolan
The Oscar-winning director of movies such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises may be glad that Gotham is a dark and colorless city and he can use a lot of greys, blues, and yellow-beiges in his Batman movies as he is red-green colorblind. Not that it helps where the Joker is concerned! Either way, he still creates some amazing cinematography.
2 Matt Lauer
The former Today show anchor is reported to be mildly colorblind so that his vision color deficiency does not affect him too much on a day-to-day basis. One in 12 American men experiences some form of color blindness, from mild like Matt, to more extreme. It can often be hereditary.
1 Rutger Hauer
The late, great Dutch Bladerunner actor was colorblind and said this put an end to his sailing aspirations. Likewise, Paul Newman who was also colorblind was unable to fulfill his dreams of being an air force pilot because of the condition. Perhaps being wonderful actors leaving lasting legacies behind were their destinies after all.