13 celebrity stutterers

colin firth, george vi, king's speech, 4x3 — The Weinstein Company

King George VI - the stuttering royal portrayed by Colin Firth in the Oscar-nominated hit movie "The King's Speech" - isn't history's only bold-face name to have fought a debilitating speech disorder. From Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe, history has had its share of stutterers.

Speech disorders have also been a problem for many current stars. Keep clicking to meet 13 celebrity stutterers...

Tiger Woods

In a 2006 interview with 60 Minutes, Tiger Woods told the Late Ed Bradley about his speech disorder, explaining, "The words got lost somewhere between the brain and the mouth." The celebrated golfer said he got help with his disorder at school - and from practicing speaking to his dog. His struggle with stuttering factored into his decision to open the Tiger Woods Learning Center in 2006.

Julia Roberts and Eric Roberts

(L) Ben Gabbe/Getty Images, (R) Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

In 2008, actor siblings Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts were approached about becoming spokesmen for the Stuttering Foundation of America, the New York Post reported. In interviews, Eric has said he coped with teasing by other children by immersing himself in books. "I suppose it was funny, but it was so painful for me. So I read because it was a solitary thing where I didn't have to be cracked up at."

Emily Blunt

The star of the critically acclaimed films "Sunshine Cleaning" and "The Young Victoria," Emily Blunt saw many specialists for her childhood stutter. But the techniques never seemed to work. One day, a teacher suggested she try using different accents to say her lines, and the rest is history. As she told the "Daily Beast," "It's ironic that I've ended up in a job where you have to be able to speak...my stutter sort of showed me the way."

Tim Gunn

Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for IMG

Fashion guru and host of reality series "Project Runway," Tim Gunn told "Metro Weekly" that his 15-year battle with stuttering made him feel isolated. "It had a very negative impact on me at school," he said. "People teased me about it. I was not a popular kid."

Joe Biden

Hard to believe, but Vice President Joe Biden's long political career was almost derailed by a speech disorder. "When I was with people I didn't know, I used to t-t-t-talk l-l-l-like that," Biden told NPR in 2007. In his book "Promises to Keep," he wrote that even if he could, he wouldn't have changed anything. "That impediment ended up being a godsend for me," he said. "Carrying it strengthened me and, I hoped, made me a better person."

Bruce WIllis

Acting mega-star Willis told "Reader's Digest" that he had a stutter from age 9 to 17, when he joined a high school production of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." He explained, "When I got onstage, I stopped stuttering. When I stepped off the stage, I started stuttering again. And I went, 'This is a miracle. I got to investigate this more.'"

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson has had a lifelong struggle with his speech. As he explained in a recent interview with "Men's Health," he feels particularly vulnerable on days "when I'm on the set and realize I'm having a 'W day' or an 'M day' - 'cause, see, I still stutter. So I do a Porky Pig: I find a substitute word."

John Stossel

John Stossel, the conservative TV commentator, stuttered even after becoming a reporter. But as he told ABC News, he got help from a "boring treatment" in which he was re-taught how to make each sound. Even after his treatment, he still practices - and does relapse occasionally.

James Earl Jones

Who would have thought the baritone of Darth Vader would have trouble speaking? But for eight years while growing up, James Earl Jones barely spoke to anyone but close family and the animals on his farm. "Stuttering is painful," he told the "Daily Mail" in 2010. "In Sunday school, I'd try to read my lessons and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter. "

Mike Rowe

For Mike Rowe, TV pitchman and host of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs," the help needed to overcome a stutter came from an acting teacher, according to a recent interview with the Barbershop Harmony Society. While struggling through his lines one day, the teacher stopped him and said, "Mikey, this character doesn't stutter. Understand? Get into the character. You can stutter on your own time.

Jack Welch

As a child, Jack Welch stuttered badly. But as the former General Electric CEO wrote in an editorial for "Capitalism" magazine, his mother protected his self-esteem by telling him he stuttered "because you're so smart...no one's tongue could keep up with a brain like yours."

Bill Walton

Basketball legend Bill Walton stuttered badly until he was 28. A chance encounter with a broadcaster led him to take his stuttering head on, which led to a successful 20-year broadcast career. He detailed his struggle and offers tips to help overcome stuttering on his website.