Celebrities and Their Odd Phobias …

Phobias aren’t as abnormal as most people think. I’m severely arachnophobic, and cannot stand spiders. They don’t scare me, as such, they terrify me. And I have a friend who is so claustrophobic that anything less than a medium sized room will induce vomiting and panic attacks, almost straight away. Phobias always seemed to be something quite secret, though, so I was surprised to learn that these ten celebs have them too!

1. Johnny Depp
The fearless pirate isn’t as fearless as he first seemed… he suffers from arachnophobia, plasmophobia and coulrophobia. Which means he is scared of spiders, ghosts and clowns! “There’s something about the painted face and the fake smile. There seems to be a real darkness lurking under the surface, a potential for real evil,” Depp explained. Well, I’m with him on the spiders, and I do my best to avoid clowns!

2. Billy Bob Thornton
Angelina Jolie’s ex Thornton has a phobia of antiques… he refuses to stay in the room with furniture made before 1950. Which sounds very unusual, but apparently 250,000 people in America suffer from this same problem. “I’ve had friends tell me that maybe I was beaten to death by an antique chair in a former life,” Billy has said, by way of explanation… well, whatever causes it, it’s not as rare a phobia as I thought!

3. Alfred Hitchcock
Film maker and produced Hitchcock has another odd phobia… the fear of eggs. Especially runny ones… people who worked with Alfred claimed that cracking an egg made him gag, and he wouldn’t eat any food containing eggs. And suddenly my fear of spiders doesn’t seem that bad… His daughter explained her dad’s fear by saying, “He just said they were so horrible-looking… that you’d cut into them and that yellow stuff would run all over. He thought it was absolutely disgusting.”

4. Christina Ricci
Christina suffers from botanaphobia, which is a fear of house plants. Sufferers find plants dirty, and can’t bring themselves to water them… Christina admitted, “If I have to touch one, after already being repulsed by the fact that there is a plant indoors, it freaks me out.” So I guess she doesn’t have green fingers… I think I’d miss my house plants if I had to put them all outside!

5. Tyra Banks
While most of us would love to swim with our intelligent friends, Tyra won’t be jumping in the pool with dolphins anytime soon. “I have dreams that I’m in a pool and there are dolphins bumping me and I am frightened.” She revealed, and she has reportedly suffered from the phobia since she was just eight years old. A pretty rare phobia!

6. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew has famously admitted to having a fear of revolving doors, and of tunnels. It’s not being underground that bothers him, but the point where you go from being above ground to underneath… and he’s also revealed that he hasn’t worn deodorant in twenty years. I’m a little anxious about revolving doors myself, especially the vicious ones…

7. Nicole Kidman
Nicole suffers from lepidopterophobia, which is a fancy word for the fear of butterflies. “It’s so bizarre. I’m not scared of snakes or spiders,” Kidman revealed, and even tried to face her fear by going through the butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, but couldn’t make it through. I share the same fear… I can’t go outside if I can see a butterfly. I love their colours, and their patterns, but their bodies scare me and I’m terrified if they land on me.

8. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has a weird phobia…she’s scared of chewing gum. There is a rational explanation, however. “My grandmother used to save it (used gum) in little rows in the cabinet. I’d be scared to touch it because it was so gross, so I have a thing about gum. One guest in my home sat at the dinner table, took out some gum from her mouth and put it on the plate. After she left, I threw the plate out.” I think I’d be pretty scared of gum after that, too.

9. Madonna
Madonna has something in common with my dog… they are both utterly petrified of thunder. Named brontophobia, it’s a surprisingly common phobia! It can cause panic attacks, trembling, crying, a rapid heartbeat and a feeling of dread, even if the sufferer knows they are at no risk. I’m not particularly good during thunder storms, especially if I’m alone, so I sympathise!

10. Natalie Wood
Actress Natalie Wood suffered from hydrophobia, a fear of water, for her entire life. She died in 1981, after falling out of a boat into the water, and drowning. Her death was recorded as accidental drowning, as Wood had drank a few glasses of wine and didn’t remove her heavy coat and sweater. It makes you think, though… maybe phobias do have a purpose?
Well, now I’ve made myself look like a scaredy-cat (I’m not scared of life, I promise, but I do flinch at my own shadow)… I’m fascinated by how normal phobias are! It would appear that most people are scared of something, and that makes me feel a lot better. Have you got a phobia, or do you know of a celeb I’ve missed off? I’d love to hear about it!