Famous lefties

Around 10%-12% of the population is left-handed. That includes celebrities, of course: actors, musicians, sports stars, tech experts, and more. And while the world may be designed for right-handed people, the left-handed people in this article certainly are overachievers.

Polls show that life is genuinely harder for left-handed people, but you wouldn't know it from these folks. Keep reading to learn about all the famous lefties. Prince William, newly dubbed Prince of Wales, is left-handed. This works out nicely for the British royal family; he and Princess Kate can both wave to well-wishers with their dominant hands. While the characters that made him famous in "Speed" and "The Matrix" trilogy were right-handed, Keanu Reeves is a lefty. When Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. walked on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969, it was one small step for man... one giant leap for lefties. Billionaire media icon Oprah Winfrey is also a member of the southpaw club.  Historically, there has been a bit of stigma around left-handedness. For years, people believed the trait to be a sign of brain damage, disease or evil. In fact, the word for "left" in Latin derives from the same root as the word for "sinister."  LeBron James dominates basketball mainly with his right hand.  Ned Flanders, the Simpsons' next door neighbor, is so rah-rah about being left-handed that he quit his job and invested his life savings in "The Leftorium," a store in the Springfield Mall that specializes in products for lefties. When pop star Lady Gaga sings about being "Born This Way," she could very well be talking about being left-handed. A seemingly disproportionate number of world leaders, artists and icons are left-handed. Take, for example, U.S. presidents. Nicole Kidman is another lefty, and one of the relatively rare female lefties among celebrities on this list.  When Jon Stewart jotted down all those "Daily Show" jokes for 16 years, he did it with his left hand. Baseball has seen its fair share of southpaw superstars, but its most famous left-handed slugger is, without question, the Sultan of Swat. Babe Ruth started as a left-handed pitcher, then moved onto being a left-handed batter. The character of Link from the popular game "Legend of Zelda" is most often pictured wielding a sword with his left hand. The "Black Widow" actress signs autographs with her left hand. Musical star and former Wolverine Hugh Jackman is a southpaw. Rapper/singer Cardi B likes talking about her left-handedness. Jennifer Lawrence is left-handed, but as this picture indicates, her character Katniss Everdeen from "The Hunger Games" adaptation is not. Bill Gates is a lefty, and so was his late rival and friend, Steve Jobs. When Hollywood beauty Angelina Jolie signs autographs for fans, the "Maleficent" star does it with her left hand. Renowned singer and actress Judy Garland was left-handed. Will Ferrell is part of a long list of left-handed comedians.  Late musician David Bowie was left-handed.  Actor Morgan Freeman was born left-handed. But he suffered a terrible car crash in 2008, and his left hand was paralyzed. Comedian and actor Seth Rogen has a lot to laugh about, perhaps most of all, left-handed superiority. Sandy Koufax of the Brooklyn Dodgers was probably the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. Rounding out the group of tech geniuses who changed the world with their left hands, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a southpaw. "Saturday Night Live" alum Tina Fey is left-handed as well. British Chef Gordon Ramsey is a lefty.  Actress Kate Hudson, seen here, is a southpaw.  ...Kate Hudson's mother, actress Goldie Hawn, is left-handed as well. In his book "Right-Hand, Left-Hand," University College London psychologist Chris McManus states that lefties have made up a disproportionately larger number of high achievers throughout history.  Ben Stiller has been a writer, a director, comedian, producer, actor and more, known for "Zoolander" and "Meet the Parents." Emma Thompson is seen gesturing here with her left hand at the "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" press conference in 2022. "Seinfeld" funny men Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld are both left handed. Adam Levine, lead singer of Maroon 5, considers himself ambidextrous rather than left-handed. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker of "Sex and the City" fame favors her left hand. Sarah Jessica Parker's husband, fellow actor Matthew Broderick, is also left-handed. Quarterback Michael Vick resumed his NFL career after spending time in prison for involvement in a dog fighting ring. He never really quite hit his stride again and officially retired in 2017. There may be "One Less Lonely Girl" because of Justin Bieber, but there's also one more lonely right-handed baseball mitt. Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, a natural lefty, tried to learn guitar right-handed because that's what he saw everyone else doing. However, he struggled with it. The Real Slim Shady may be underhanded, but Marshall Mathers is left-handed. If Sandy Koufax is the greatest left-handed pitcher ever, then Randy Johnson, who played primarily for the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks, may be No. 2.  Left-handedness is more likely to occur in twins. While 17% of twins are left-handed, in the general population only about 10% to 12% of people are lefties. In one of the film versions of "Hellboy," the title character brandishes a gun with his left hand. Actor Mark Wahlberg is a lefty. There are a number of things that make Caitlyn Jenner unique. She holds a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon. She embarked on arguably the most public transition in history.  Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is yet another musician who is left-handed but who  taught himself to play guitar right-handed. Tim Tebow soared to success as a left-handed quarterback for the University of Florida Gators.  Former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno in't just a successful comedian, he's also a southpaw. When Sir Paul McCartney took up the bass guitar as a kid, he found it difficult to play right-handed, despite being right-handed himself. So, he reversed the strings and the rest is history. He now plays a left-handed bass.

Here they are waving to crowds in Jamaica in March 2022 as they took part in a tour to mark the queen's Platinum Jubilee. Here, he signs the hood of an Acura at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, proving that he picks up a pen with a hand different from the one he uses to shoot a gun on-screen. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, was right-handed. WIth a fortune of $2.5 billion according to Forbes, she is the richest Black woman and the richest left-handed woman in the world. Don't try to pick that argument with lefty actress Julia Roberts, though.  But he is actually left-handed. Former basketball star Larry Bird is as well. And Flanders isn't alone. Numerous characters on "The Simpsons" are shown writing with or favoring their left hands, including Bart Simpson, Marge Simpson, Mr. Burns, Seymour Skinner, Moe Szyslak, Martin Prince and Dolph Starbeam. All that lefty love may be due to the fact that Simpsons creator Matt Groening is left-handed himself. She's just another in a long list of lefties who suggested that perhaps creativity comes from the brain, heart, soul... or left hand. Former President Barack Obama is far from alone. In fact, five of the United States' last nine presidents favored the less-favored hand: Presidents Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Reagan and Ford. When she portrayed Virginia Woolf in "The Hours," she learned to write with her right hand to emulate the author. Successor Trevor Noah is right-handed. He would occasionally bat with his right hand to change things up. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto is ambidextrous himself, but likes to create characters who are lefties. Her she is onstage during the American Cinematheque Awards in 2021 in Beverly Hills, California. But he is often seen doing things on-screen with his right hand, usually to emulate his characters more effectively. When she was pregnant in 2019, she said she hoped that her baby would be left-handed like her. An upcoming prequel to "The Hunger Games," called "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," is currently in the works. Her ex-husband Brad Pitt is often included on other celebrity lefty lists, but he's actually ambidextrous. But when she performed, she always held the microphone in her right hand. Perhaps that's why his "Zoolander" character, Mugatu, holds his evil dog in his left hand. However, he taught himself guitar with his right hand. Why? Because, so the story goes, there weren't any left-handed guitars in the shop when he bought one. He now relies on his right hand, but he can still claim southpaw status. He hasn't spoken about being a lefty, but he has been seen signing autographs with his left hand. He pitched from 1955 to 1966 and isn't just known as one of the greatest left-handed pitchers, but as one of the greatest pitchers ever. No word on if TikTok creator Zhang Yiming is a lefty or a righty. Her character in movies and TV shows are also always seen as left-handed. Most chefs, however, require a level of ambidexterity to get kitchen tasks done as quickly as possible. And, did you know left-handedness is genetic? We mention this, because... Case in point: the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who served on the nation's highest court for years. He's also a lefty. The British southpaw is one of her country's beloved actresses. So are fellow comic talents Trey Parker, Jason Sudeikis and Tim Allen. That's because he writes left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed. We're still counting it. That means their three children have a far greater chance of being left-handed themselves. However, he was rare among quarterbacks in the fact that he was a lefty. Most quarterbacks are right-handed. The Biebs is a lefty. Just look at the hand with which the Canadian pop star accepts awards. He picked up a left-handed guitar one day, and the rest was history. In his song "Phenomenal" he even rapped about it: "I write with the left, same hand I hold the mic with/as I fight to the death, 'til my last breath." He famously struck a bird while pitching in 2001, resulting in what the announcer called a "sea of feathers." Identical twins are more likely to favor the same hand, but Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are actually fraternal twins; Mary-Kate is left-handed while Ashley is right-handed. Perhaps that's because the actor playing that character, Ron Perlman, is left-handed in real life. Since he's from south Boston, is he a southie southpaw? And, last but not least, she's a lefty. That didn't stop him from selling "The Reverend Billy Corgan"-brand left-handed guitars, however. He didn't manage to make that success work to his advantage in the NFL, but he's still an occasional broadcaster for ESPN. His long-time network TV rival David Letterman? Right-handed. He may not be a true lefty, but the fact that he famously plays every instrument left-handed — guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, and more — means he deserves at least an honorary spot on this list.