In an interview with The Australian Woman’s Weekly this week, Daryl Hannah spoke candidly about her life growing up with Asperger’s syndrome. Ms Hannah who is now 54, is known for her star Hollywood roles in films such as Splash with Tom Hanks, Blade Runner and Kill Bill, to name but a few.
In her interview with she tells of how she was introverted and withdrawn while she was growing up in the early 1960’s and 70’s.
“I was tall, stick-thin skinny and kind of goofy looking and not very communicative. Everybody at school picked on me because I was different – I had white hair and a boy’s name”
She would cry herself to sleep at night, because of the bullying that she endured at school, and she would rock herself backwards and forwards in order to calm herself.
Although now she appears outwardly confident, she tells that this is merely a facade, that she has perfected after thirty years in the industry, it is a coping mechanism. Sadly, she is still haunted by the bullying that she endured as a child, and today she remains the target of online trolls who taunt and accuse her of having cosmetic surgery.
“Anything that involves meeting or talking to more than a couple of people scares the hell out of me.”
The full in depth interview can be read on the The Australian Woman’s Weekly website.
Source: on The Australian Woman’s Weekly website: Daryl Hannah: “My battle with autism”