Jennifer Aniston's Dyslexia Story Is Inspirational

As far as I'm concerned, Jennifer Aniston is perfect. As it is for many fans, Friends may as well be a seriously religious experience for me (and, personally, Rachel has always been my favorite character, but that varies from person to person, of course) — plus, who can argue with how fabulous Aniston was in Cake? Considering her stance in Hollywood as one of the most fabulous A-listers around, fans already know a lot about Aniston's past, her career, and even her love life. But here's something you may not have been aware of: In a new interview, Jennifer Aniston revealed she suffers from dyslexia.

And, no surprise, her words on the subject are seriously inspirational.

During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Aniston spoke about just how much her learning disability made school way difficult for her (although she did love her drama and art classes) — as well as how, surprisingly, it also helped her out in life. Because she wasn't a good student, she was pushed to make up for her shortcomings in other ways. And, as it turns out, one of those ways was learning how to be funny. (Obviously, she definitely succeeded in that department.)

Aniston, though, is hardly the first celebrity who's spoken out about the learning disability and revealed their past experiences with it:

Keira Knightley

She may be best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (and being ridiculously good-looking, of course), but a little-known fact about Keira Knightley is that she was diagnosed with dyslexia from a very young age: six years old. She was forced to overcome her disability when her mom told her acting was out of the question if she didn't keep her grades up. Knightley is the perfect example of letting what you could perceive to be limitations motivate you instead. As she told the Boston Globe:

''I was so single-minded about acting. I drove myself into the ground trying to get over dyslexia and when I finished school I had the top grades."

Steven Spielberg

Spielberg is one of the most famous (if not the most famous) directors of our time, and getting to the top meant that he had to find ways to work around his dyslexia. He wasn't diagnosed until he was an adult, but realized that he's been making movies as a way to channel the negative feelings he might've experienced had he realized why he struggled all along.

"I never felt like a victim," he said. "Movies really helped me...kind of saved me from shame, from guilt. Making movies was my great escape."

Patrick Dempsey

Dempsey also found a lot of motivation from his disability and credits it to the fact that he's able to work so hard. As he said on Today: "I think it’s made me who I am.... It’s given me a perspective of — you have to keep working. I have never given up."

Alyssa Milano

Although she still struggles with dyslexia and admits it does become an obstacle with her as far as acting is concerned, Milano has found a way to work around it: She writes down her monologues, which gives her an extra solid handle on the words she's supposed to memorize and deliver. Plus, she says it helps her make them her own — a definite plus.

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