Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an iconic American actress, author, and screenwriter, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise. In addition to her film work, Fisher was a prolific writer, known for her autobiographical novels such as Postcards from the Edge and Wishful Drinking, which explored her life experiences and struggles with mental health. Fisher was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her twenties, a condition she openly discussed throughout her life. She described her experience with bipolar disorder candidly, using humor and honesty to combat the stigma associated with mental illness. In her memoir Wishful Drinking, she famously remarked on the challenges of living with manic depression, equating it to a "tour of duty" that required immense courage. Fisher's openness about her struggles not only helped to raise awareness but also provided comfort to many facing similar issues.

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) had an eccentric personality and unstable moods, suffered from recurrent psychotic episodes during the last 2 years of his extraordinary life, and committed suicide at the age of 37.

Born Vivian Mary Hartley in England, Leigh’s greatest fame came from her iconic portrayal of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind. The wife of acclaimed actor Laurence Olivier, Leigh had a reputation for being difficult on the set. For much of her adult life, she had severe depression and mania. Her treatment was electroshock therapy.

Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer.Fry has spoken publicly about his experience with the condition, which was depicted in the documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. In the programme, he interviewed other people with bipolar disorder including Robbie Williams, Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss and Tony Slattery. He is involved with the mental health charity Stand to Reason and is president of Mind.

The grunge rocker took his own life at age 27 despite the success of his Seattle-based band, Nirvana. Noting that one of the band’s songs is titled “Lithium,” which is also a mood stabilizer used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, Time magazine included him in a 2002 list of “manic geniuses” who made great contributions to music, art, or literature and who may have had bipolar disorder.

This Welsh-born star won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Chicago and a Tony Award for her onstage work. She's also been nominated for several Golden Globes. Married to Michael Douglas since 2000, stress during his battle with tongue cancer led to depression and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

The founder of Turner Broadcasting and CNN has spent much of his life battling bipolar disorder and depression. Despite that, Turner took a small independent television station in Atlanta and turned it into a global media conglomerate. At one point, he owned the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, and won the America’s Cup.

Kay Redfield Jamison (born June 22, 1946) is an American clinical psychologist and writer. Her work has centered on bipolar disorder, which she has had since her early adulthood. She holds the post of the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders and Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is an Honorary Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.

George Malliaris is the reason BipolarLab and the Hellenic Bipolar Organisation came to life. He was an English Philologist and scholar of Lord Byron, a firm believer in patient-centered mental health, and above all an amazingly loving and caring father. His children (Dr Yanni Malliaris and his sister) will remember and honour his name and legacy for as long as they can. He suffered from a severe form of Bipolar I disorder for at least 25 years of his living life. His story remains to be told.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Winston Churchill is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder. After observing numerous symptoms such as depression, suicidal intention, mania, and a decreased need for sleep, Churchill’s doctor, Lord Moran, recounted in his memoir Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, that he had diagnosed a middle-aged Churchill with bipolar disorder.

Many of the questions surrounding the actress’s life and death are still unanswered—and are likely to remain that way. But Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, a 2001 documentary, shed some light on her drug use and mental health. “We knew that she was a manic depressive,” Monroe’s physician, Hyman Engelberg, MD, says in the film. “That always meant that there were emotional problems and that she could have big swings in her moods.”

This Nobel Prize-winning author was prone to manic-depressive behavior throughout his life, a family trait shared by his parents, his son, and his granddaughter Margaux. Despite his larger-than-life personality and novels like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hemingway had bouts of depression and paranoia. Obsessed with death, he eventually shot himself in the head in 1961.

The pop star of the eighties and nineties, notorious for her shaved head, openly discussed her mental illness on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. She said she was diagnosed as bipolar at age 37, after a suicide attempt on her 33rd birthday. O’Connor told Winfrey at the time of the interview that she now takes antidepressants and mood stabilizers. “Anything is an improvement when you've been in desolation,” O’Connor told Winfrey of the meds, but “it doesn't mean you don't have lumps and bumps."

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison wrote in her book Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, she said “Symptoms consistent with mania, depression, and mixed states are evident in the descriptions of Byron given by his physicians, friends, and Byron himself. His mood fluctuations were extreme, ranging from the suicidally melancholic to the irritable, volatile, violent, and expansive. ‘’ Lady Caroline Lamb famously described Lord Byron as ''mad, bad and dangerous to know''