List of left-handed people
Definition and guide
- A left-hander is a person who is more skillful with the left hand than with the right. A left-hander will probably (but is not required to) use the left hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on.
- Writing with right hand alone does not necessarily indicate one's right-handedness. The world is right-handed-dominant, and many natural born left-handers were forced to write with their right hand. Consequently, a lot of born left-handers may write with their right hand but use the left for everything else. Further, some people write and draw left-handed, but have learned to use the right hand for other skilled tasks in order to accommodate tools designed for right-hand use.
- However, if a person writes left-handed then s/he is most likely left-handed.
- People who are forced to use their left hand because their right hand is not available for use (for example, due to injury or disease) should not be included on this list.
- Contrary to popular belief, left-footers are not necessarily left-handed, which causes much confusion when it comes to famous soccer players. While many left-footed players like Arjen Robben are known to be left-handed, there is actually a high percentage of soccer players that are left-handed while being right-footed such as Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Royalty and nobility
- Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
- Charles, Prince of Wales - Writes right-handed [1]
- Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Writes right-handed [2]
- George II of Great Britain
- Naran Ganbaatar - King or Khan of Mongolia
- George VI of the United Kingdom (was forced to use his right hand, which may have caused his pronounced stutter)
- Victoria of the United Kingdom
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- Prince William of Wales [3]
- Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia
Political and governmental leaders
USA
- Bill Bradley Template:Fact Writes with right hand.[4]
- George H.W. Bush [5]
- Bill Clinton [6]
- Gerald Ford was a partially-switched left-hander. Extensive newsreel footage and photographs document that Ford was left-handed when sitting but right-handed when standing. [7]
- Barney Frank [8]
- James Garfield
- Herbert Hoover
- John McCain [9]
- Gavin Newsom [10]
- Barack Obama [11]
- H. Ross Perot - With Clinton and Bush, all three major 1992 U.S. presidential election candidates were left-handed.
- Ronald Reagan - Converted to right-handedness in childhood.[12]
- Nelson Rockefeller - Failed at childhood conversion to right-handedness. At the dinner table during Rockefeller's boyhood, his father tied a string to Rockefeller's left wrist and yanked it viciously every time the boy used his left hand. [13]
- Hugh Scott
- Harry S. Truman - Converted to right-handedness in childhood. A photo taken during his presidency shows him bowling left-handed. [14]
Renee Fleming
Other nationalities
- Alexander the Great (disputed)
- Bertie Ahern
- Charlemagne
- Joséphine de Beauharnais
- Napoleon Bonaparte [15]
- David Cameron
- Fidel Castro - Writes right-handed [16]
- Hugo Chávez [17]
- Alexander Downer [18]
- Joan of Arc
- Phil Wyatt
- Joseph Estrada
- Muammar al-Gaddafi
- Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
- F.W. de Klerk
- Heinrich Himmler [19]
- Adolf Hitler signed autographs right-handed [20]
- Lee Hsien Loong
- Benjamin Netanyahu
- Ramses II
- Ardi Rexhepi
- Ishihara Shintaro
- Margaret Thatcher
- Julius Caesar
- Tiberius - According to Suetonius in his De Vita Caesarum.
- Matti Vanhanen [21]
- Jarosław Kaczyński
- Ehud Olmert - Israeli Prime Minister [22]
Criminals
- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
- John Dillinger
- Albert Henry DeSalvo - (Boston Strangler)
- Crawford Goldsby - Cherokee Bill
- Dylan Klebold
- Osama bin Laden
- Jack the Ripper -- originally thought to have been left handed but widely believed not to have been Template:Fact
- Ellis Mitchell
Artists
- Ralph Bakshi
- Albrecht Dürer
- M. C. Escher
- Matt Groening [23]
- Hans Holbein
- Paul Klee
- Ronnie Landfield
- Oliver
- Leonardo da Vinci - According to Carmen Bambach's article Leonardo, Left-handed Draftsman and Writer
- Ben Long
- Brice Marden
- Michelangelo
- Pablo Picasso
- Raphael
- Arnold Roth
- Ronald Searle
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Seen
- Jóhann Birgir Jónasson
Authors
- Douglas Adams
- James Baldwin
- Dave Barry
- L.Frank Baum
- Samuel Beckett
- Peter Benchley
- David Brooks
- Michael Buck
- Lewis Carroll
- Richard Condon
- Charles Dickens
- Jean Genet
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Germaine Greer - Australian feminist
- Janet Kagan
- Peter Laird
- Nikolai Leskov - Wrote The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea, a famous story about a left-handed master.
- F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
- Michelle Malkin
- Bruce Moen
- Helen Hooven Santmyer
- Leo Tolstoy
- Kurt Vonnegut
- H.G. Wells
- Eudora Welty
- Jessamyn West
- Gene Wolfe
Musicians and composers
Left-handed people play guitar or electric bass in one of three ways: (1) play a right-handed guitar right-handed, (2) play a true left-handed instrument (or a right-handed instrument that has been altered to play left-handed, i.e. with the bass strings on top), or (3) turn a right-handed guitar upside down, pick with the left hand, but leave the strings as they were — which makes them reversed from the normal order for a left-handed player. Classical guitar is only played one way regardless of the handedness of the player, as is done throughout classical music. Orchestral instruments have uncommonly been played in a "left-handed" fashion by some entertainers, but this is virtually unheard of in the classical music world, and would be viewed as playing incorrectly if one were to attempt to undertake a classical audition playing an instrument with the hands reversed or the instrument altered.
Left-handed drummers also have a variety of methods to play a drum kit: (1) simply play the standard right-handed way (e.g. Ringo Starr, Travis Barker), (2) have the kit set up in the mirror image of a standard right handed kit, so the hi-hat is on the right, the ride cymbal is on the left, the snare drum is struck with the right stick, the tom-toms descend to the left, etc. (e.g. Rod Morgenstein, Phil Collins, or Ian Paice), or (3) open handed drumming method, which is to play a standard right-handed kit with a left-handed method, using the right stick for the snare and the left stick on the hi-hat and ride cymbals (typically, the ride cymbal's moved to the same side of the kit as the hi-hat) (e.g. Simon Phillips, Carter Beauford.) The third method has two distinct advantages: 1. Left-handedness does not inherently correlate with left-footedness, and the right-handed set up keeps the bass drum and hi-hat pedals on the correct sides; 2. Open handed drumming allows for a much higher, stronger and generally freer downstroke with both hands in the standard time-keeping arrangement (i.e., strong hand on the hi-hat and weak hand on the snare drum) than cross-sticking does.
A-C
- 50 Cent
- Blake Lewis
- Jarkko Ahola (Teräsbetoni)
- Damon Albarn - Plays guitar right handed.
- Duane Allman - Played guitar right handed.
- Gregg Allman - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Bill Anderson
- Michael Anthony - Plays guitar and bass right-handed.
- Tom Araya (Slayer) - Plays bass right-handed.
- Tim Armstrong (Rancid)
- Kokomo Arnold
- Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (KoЯn) - Plays bass right-handed.
- Asya (Smoosh)
- Peter Baddoo Plays Saxophone and Piano. (Also plays the trumpet through his ear).
- Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach
- Clint Baker (Riddlin' Kids)
- Perry Bamonte (The Cure)
- Travis Barker (Blink-182) Plays drums right-handed
- Jeff Barry
- William Beckett (The Academy Is...) - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed.
- Sean Bennett
- Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) - Vocalist
- Guy Berryman
- Jabe Beyer - Writes and plays guitar left-handed
- John Bigham (Fishbone)
- Beeb Birtles (Little River Band)
- Mike Bordin (Faith No More/Ozzy Osbourne)
- James Bourne - Plays guitar right handed.
- Nick Bowcott (Grim Reaper)
- David Bowie - Plays guitar right handed. [24]
- Thomas Bradford
- Doyle Bramhall II - Plays right-handed guitar upside down.
- Ayla Brown [25]
- James Brown - Wrote left-handed.
- Bob Brozman - Plays guitar, steel guitar and ukulele right-handed.
- David Buckner (Papa Roach) - Plays a right-handed set, keeps time with left hand but leads runs with right.
- Rusty Burns (Point Blank) - plays lefty strung righty
- David Byrne - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Jo Callis (The Rezillos/Human League) - Plays guitar left-handed.
- Glen Campbell - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Carson Cantner -7th grade student in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Bun E. Carlos - Has alternated between right and left handed drum setup throughout his career.
- Vikki Carr
- Adam Carson([AFI])-drums right handed; completes all other tasks left handed
- Gerald Casale (Devo) - Learned bass on a right-handed instrument. As a result, plays left-handed bass restrung. [26]
- Johnny Cash - Played guitar right handed.
- Calogero - Plays guitar and bass left-handed [27]
- Samuel Champion - Played guitar right-handed.
- Charlie Chaplin - Played a left-handed violin. He had a normal violin modified, switching the chin rest and sounding post from the left side to the right, and he re-strung the violin with the pitches reversed.
- Chloe (Smoosh) - Plays a right-handed drumkit open-handed.
- Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) - Learned to play the guitar by left hand and wrote with left hand. Learned to write and lead off on drums with his right hand.
- Natalie Cole
- Phil Collins
- Bert Convy
- Scott Columbus (Manowar)
- Tré Cool (Green Day) - Leads off with left hand.
- Shaun Cooper (Straylight Run) - Plays bass right-handed, writes left-handed. [28]
- Stewart Copeland - Plays drums right-handed, writes with his left hand.
- Billy Corgan - Learned and plays guitar as though right-handed, performs most tasks left-handed.
- Elizabeth Cotten
- Nadine Coyle
- Billy Ray Cyrus - Writes and plays guitar left-handed, performs most tasks right-handed.
- David Cullen - Writes left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.
D-F
- Dick Dale - plays guitar left-handed but with strings in reverse order, due to learning on a right-handed guitar.
- Mikael Danielsson (No Fun At All)
- Jim DeCaire - songwriter, vocalist, and occasional drummer in comedy group Da Yoopers; also one of the group's founding members
- Tom Decker (Spineshank)
- Jon Dette
- Barbara Dennerlein - Hammond B3 player with extraordinary foot pedal technique.
- Lefty Dizz - Played right-handed blues guitar upside-down.
- John Dolmayan - Plays drums right-handed.
- Bob Dylan - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Elliot Easton (The Cars) - Plays guitar left-handed.
- Katelynn Echols- Plays guitar left-handed.
- Klaus Eichstadt (Ugly Kid Joe)
- Eminem - [29]
- Rik Emmett - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Josh Eppard (Coheed and Cambria) - Plays a right-handed drumkit open-handed.
- Don Everly - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Phil Everly - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Kevin Federline [30]
- Anthony Fedorov
- Freddie Feldman - A Cappella Record Producer and Singer
- Michael Ferrari (Boy Hits Car)
- Ginger Fish (Marilyn Manson) - Plays drums both left and right set up, but usually appears with right handed set up because most Marilyn Manson songs are 'rock oriented,' as Ginger says in an interview with Guitar Center, which is easier for him to play with a right hand set up (as opposed to left handed set up for 'swingy beats').
- John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)
- Béla Fleck
- Rebecca Flick
- David Foster
- Glenn Frey - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Aretha Franklin
- Dick Van Dyke - Draws with his left hand in chalk on the street in Mary Poppins.
- Robert Fripp - Plays guitar right-handed.
G-J
- Gackt - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Aaron Gainer (12 Stones)
- Eric Gales
- Noel Gallagher - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Naran Ganbaatar
- Art Garfunkel
- Judy Garland
- Errol Garner
- Crystal Gayle
- Alice Gaywood
- Bob Geldof
- Murray Gell-Mann
- Andy Gibb
- Barry Gibb - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Sara Gonzalez (Composer)- Writes sheet music left handed.
- Glenn Gould
- Grashy - Left handed, but plays right-handed.
- Greg Graffin
- Glen Graham (Blind Melon) - Plays a left-handed drumkit.
- Paul Gray (Slipknot)
- Jimmy Griffin
- Jóhann Birgir Jónasson
- Kevin Griffin
- Justin Guarini - [31]
- Joe Perry (Aerosmith) - Writes with left, plays electric guitar right-handed.
- Slide Hampton - Learned as a child on left-handed trombone but is not left-handed.
- Zachary Hanson (Hanson) - Plays left-handed drums, right-handed guitar.
- Isaac Hayes - Played guitar right-handed.
- Eddie Hazel - Played guitar right-handed
- Thomas Hedley
- Jimi Hendrix - Wrote right-handed, played guitar left-handed, usually a right-handed Fender Stratocaster guitar turned upside down and restrung for a left-handed player. In James Brown's backing band, played guitar right-handed. Often referred to as ambidextrous, and was capable of playing guitar right-handed too although he was tecnically right handed not left handed but is commenly mistaken for left handed
- Rick Hendrix - Writes and plays left handed
- Steve Hewitt (Placebo) - Drummer
- Faith Hill
- Kyle Hollinger (Crazy Town)
- Tom Holliston
- Natalie Horler (Cascada) - Vocalist
- Dominic Howard (Muse) - Plays left-handed drumkit.
- Andy Hui
- Sylvain Hupe - Honest Mistake
- Natalie Imbruglia - [32]
- Ernie Isley - Plays right-hand guitar left-handed, plays right-handed as well.
- Tony Iommi - plays guitar left-handed.
- Doug Izzi- Plays Drums and Bass right-handed
- Lee Jackson - The Nice
- Stephan Jenkins - Plays guitar right-handed. [33]
- Joan Jett - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Lars Johansson (Candlemass)
- Daniel Johns (Silverchair/The Dissociatives)- Forced to be right handed at an early age. Many speculate Johns has experienced difficulties in life which may be linked to this forced change in his dominant hand. May be ambidexterous.
- George Johnson (Brothers Johnson) - Plays left-handed.
- Adam Jones - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Danny Jones - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Juicy J
K-M
- Kurupt
- Pezhman Lali
- Jacek Kaczmarski
- Ras Kass
- Lena Katina
- R. Kelly
- Jon Kenneke
- K, Ryan
- Dave Kilminster - Originally played guitar left-handed, but re-learned it right handed after a wrist injury.
- Cheyenne Kimball
- Albert King - Played right-handed guitar upside down.
- Dave King (musician) (Flogging Molly)
- Mark Knopfler - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed.
- Kris Kohls (Adema)
- Steven Kray - Sets drums up right handed, writes with his left hand.
- Brian Larsen - Writes with left hand, plays guitar right-handed.
- Lynn Lavner
- Annie Lennox
- Adam Levine - [34]
- Shaznay Lewis
- Herman Li DragonForce - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Little Jimmy Urine aka James Euringer (Mindless Self Indulgence) - Vocalist
- Kelly Llorenna
- Dave Lombardo - Plays drums right-handed.
- Joe Long (Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons) - Bassist.
- Noah Ludwig- plays guitar right hanned
- Gregor Mackintosh (Paradise Lost (Band))
- Barbara Lynn - Plays guitar left-handed
- Holly Marquardt - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Ryan Mastridge - Plays bass right-handed, drums left handed.
- Madlib
- Ma$e - Rapper
- Melissa Manchester
- Chuck Mangione
- Chris Martin - Plays guitar right-handed
- Jeff Martin
- Ricky Martin [35]
- Harpo Marx - The only left-handed Marx Brother, taught himself to play the harp without realizing he was playing it incorrectly. He placed the harp on his left shoulder instead of his right.
- Nathen Maxwell (Flogging Molly)
- Idina Menzel
- Natalie Merchant
- Robbie Merill (Godsmack) - Bassist.
- Method Man
- Hector Mauro - Brazilian Blues guitarist
- George Michael - [36] Photographed playing guitar right-handed during Faith period
- Andrea McArdle
- Paul McCartney (The Beatles) Learned to play guitar left-handed. [37] Plays drums right-handed but does everything else left-handed.
- Maureen McGovern
- Duff McKagan - Plays guitar and bass right-handed.
- Al McKay (Earth, Wind, & Fire)
- Martina McBride
- Luke Mckenzie (La lumiére)
- A.J. McLean (*Backstreet Boys)
- Katherine McPhee
- David Miller Il Divo
- Monica
- Debra Monk
- Gary Moore - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Rod Morgenstein - Plays drums left-handed.
- Luke Morley Thunder - Guitarist
- Morrissey
- Steve Morse - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Robin Moulder
- Rosie Munter
N-R
- Anna Nalick [38]
- Peter Nero
- Ne-Yo
- Svilen Noev (Ostava) - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed.
- Jerry Nolan - Played drums left-handed.
- Conor Oberst - Plays guitar right-handed.
- Gil Ofarim
- Kelly Osbourne [39]
- One Be Lo (Binary Star)
- Ian Paice
- Trey Parker
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Joe Perry - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed.
- Vanessa Petruo
- P!nk - Writes notes left-handed in the video for Nobody Knows
- Doug Pinnick King's X
- Robert Plant Left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.
- Iggy Pop - Plays guitar left-handed.
- Cole Porter
- Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) - Throws and rotates stick with left hand
- Mac Powell - [40]
- Sergey Prokofiev
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan)
- Joey Ramone (The Ramones)
- Heidi Range
- Maurice Ravel
- Lou Rawls
- Paul Raymond (Savoy Brown/UFO)
- Chris Rea - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed.
- Brett Reed (Rancid) - Plays left-handed drumkit.
- Scott Reeder
- Rhymefest
- Gruff Rhys - Right-handed, but learned to play the guitar left-handed.
- Kevin Richardson Backstreet Boys
- Jonny Riddim
- Adam Rising - Plays guitar left-handed, and learned with a broken arm on the fretboard
- Tyson Ritter - Writes left-handed, plays bass right-handed. [41]
- Scott Robinson
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, DeFacto)
- Kris Roe (The Ataris) - Plays right-handed guitar upside down.
- Henry Rollins
- James Root (Slipknot) - Writes with left hand, plays right-handed guitar.
- Axl Rose
- Rick Ross
- Lukas Rossi - Can play the guitar with either hand.
- Johnny Rotten
- Bjarne Roupé - left-handed jazz guitarist; played with Jimmy Smith
- Otis Rush - Plays right-handed blues guitar upside-down.
- Graham Russell (Air Supply) - Plays a right-handed guitar upside-down
- Lee Ryan
S-Z
- Greta Salpeter The Hush Sound - [42]
- Craig Scanlon (The Fall) - Plays a right-handed guitar left-handed
- Scarface - A member of Geto Boys
- Josey Scott - (Saliva)
- Seal - Plays guitar left-handed (but with strings in reverse order)
- Dan Seals - plays guitar left-handed (string order uncertain).
- Jeff Schartoff - Professional Murder Music
- Blake Schwarzenbach- lead singer of Jawbreaker, played guitar left handed
- Chris Shiflett - Left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.
- MC Serch
- Mike Shinoda
- Joseph Simmons - Reverend Run of Run-D.M.C.
- Paul Simon - Plays guitar right-handed, writes left-handed.
- Fiona Sit - Writes with left-hand
- Mike Skinner - Rapper and musician from England who performs under the alias The Streets
- Rune Solheim
- Sharleen Spiteri - Left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed. [43]
- Ringo Starr - (The Beatles) Plays drums and guitar right-handed. Had a tendancy to lead off left handed in drum rolls
- Jeffrey Steele - plays guitar and bass guitar left-handed with bass strings on top [44]
- Michael Stipe - Left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed. [45]
- Joe Strummer - Taught to play right handed by friend Tymon Dogg. Template:Fact
- Rich Szabo
- Bent Sæther - of Motorpsycho, plays bass and guitar left-handed.
- Vincent Tattanelli - (Nine Days)
- Tiny Tim Played Ukulele left-handed.
- Craig Tiplady
- Ashley Tisdale
- Wayman Tisdale
- Emilíana Torrini
- Alex Trottier
- McCoy Tyner
- Rudy Vallee
- Frankie Valli
- Zacky Vengeance
- Twista - Rapper
- Reece Vickers- Ambidextrous, left-footed
- Ian Wallace - King Crimson
- Lee-Hom Wang
- Jeff Wayne - Left-handed, but conducts right handed.
- John Wetton - Left-handed, but plays bass right-handed.
- Andrew White - plays guitar left-handed.
- Barry White
- Lari White - Plays guitar left-handed
- Lenny White
- Slim Whitman - Plays guitar left-handed.
- Kimberly Wyatt from the Pussycat Dolls
- Hank Williams - Played guitar right-handed.
- Paul Williams Template:Fact
- Brent Wilson - ex-bassist of Panic! at the Disco (plays right handed)
- Darren Wilson - drummer of The Hush Sound [46]
- Dennis Wilson - drummer of The Beach Boys (Played a right handed kit open-handed)
- Paul Wilson - Snow Patrol bassist
- Bobby Womack
- Howard Wyeth[1]
- Michael Zakarin
Actors/actresses
- Rebecca Wild
- Don Adams
- Eddie Albert
- Jodi Albert[47]
- Jason Alexander [48]
- Tim Allen [49]
- Woody Allen
- Jake Gyllenhaal (seen to write with his left hand in The Good Girl)
- June Allyson
- Harry Anderson
- Melissa Sue Anderson
- Sam Anderson
- Dan Aykroyd [50]
- Armand Assante
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Scott Bakula (shoots with his left hand)
- Priscilla Barnes
- Alfie Bass
- Jason Bateman
- Jamie Bell
- Herschel Bernardi
- Peter Billingsley
- Robert Blake
- Zachary Bostrom
- Bruce Boxleitner
- Matthew Broderick [51]
- Albert Brooks
- Carol Burnett
- George Burns
- Ruth Buzzi
- Sid Caesar
- Eddie Cahill
- Bruce Campbell [52]
- Drew Carey [53]
- Adam Carolla
- Keith Carradine
- Robert Carradine
- Bernie Casey
- Natalie Cassidy
- James Caviezel
- Charlie Chaplin - (See entry under Musicians and composers)
- Josh Charles
- Ricardo Chavira
- Robert Clark
- Bruce Cockburn
- Sacha Baron Cohen [54]
- Stephen Colbert - Writes right-handed (on The Colbert Report), but does most other tasks (such as eating) left-handed.
- Dorothy Collins
- Michaela Conlin
- Chuck Connors
- Hans Conried
- Bert Convy
- Dane Cook [55]
- Rachel Leigh Cook
- Jennifer Coolidge
- Christina Cox
- Peter Coyote
- Michael Crawford
- Douglas Croft - Played left-handed athlete Lou Gehrig as a boy in the film The Pride of the Yankees.
- James Cromwell
- Quinn Cummings
- Clifton Davis
- Daniel Davis
- Bruce Davison
- Nicole de Boer [56]
- Gemmenne de la Peña
- Olivia de Havilland
- Robert DeNiro - Famously wrote with his right hand in Taxi Driver.
- Caroline Dhavernas
- Dustin Diamond [57]
- Matt Dillon [58]
- Paul Dinello
- Vincent D'Onofrio
- Michael Dorn
- Fran Drescher
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Griffin Dunne
- Erica Durance
- Lisa Edelstein
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Ethan Embry - Writes left-handed, plays guitar right-handed. [59]
- Georgia Engel
- Omar Epps
- Will Ferrell [60]
- Tina Fey
- W.C. Fields
- Larry Fine
- Laurence Fishburne
- Danielle Fishel
- Peter Fonda
- David Ford
- David Foster
- John Franklin
- Morgan Freeman [61]
- Victor French
- Gerard McSorley - Writes with left, in the next shot with right, and then left again.
- Victor Garber
- Greta Garbo Template:Fact - Wrote with right hand.[62]
- Graeme Garden - Plays banjo and guitar right-handed.
- Kelli Garner
- Teri Garr
- Brad Garrett
- Nona Gaye
- Marla Gibbs
- Paul Michael Glaser
- Scott Glenn
- George Gobel
- Missy Gold
- Whoopi Goldberg [63]
- Jake Goldsbie
- Alicia Goranson
- Lucas Grabeel [64]
- Betty Grable
- Cary Grant
- Peter Graves
- Bruce Greenwood
- David Griffin
- Mark Hamill [65]
- Larry Hankin
- Adam Hann-Byrd
- Angie Harmon
- Rex Harrison
- Goldie Hawn [66]
- Anthony Stewart Head [67]
- Joey Heatherton
- Tippi Hedren
- Jim Henson
- Blake Heron
- Catherine Hicks
- Benny Hill
- Emile Hirsch [68]
- Joel Hodgson
- Josh Holloway
- Kate Hudson [69]
- Rock Hudson
- Geoffrey Hughes
- Miko Hughes
- Jenny-Lynn Hutcheson
- Aleksander Ihnatowicz
- Marty Ingels
- Jason Isaacs
- Hugh Jackman
- Joshua Jackson [70]
- Scarlett Johansson [71]
- Angelina Jolie [72]
- Dom Jolly
- Milla Jovovich - Shoots and plays guitar right-handed
- David Joyner
- Gabe Kaplan
- Richard Karn
- Dianne Kay
- Danny Kaye
- Diane Keaton
- Sheila Kelley
- Lisa Robin Kelly
- Minka Kelly
- George Kennedy
- Nicole Kidman [73]
- Emre Kınay
- Shane Kippel
- Owen Kline
- Walter Koenig
- Erika Krievins
- Julia Królikowska
- Lisa Kudrow [74]
- Emma Lahana
- Ricki Lake
- Michael Landon
- Hope Lange
- Larry the Cable Guy
- Billy "Froggy" Laughlin
- Peter Lawford
- Joey Lawrence
- Cloris Leachman [75]
- Chyler Leigh
- Jay Leno
- Robert Sean Leonard
- Michael Lerner
- Andrea Lewis
- Matthew Lewis
- Hal Linden
- Alex D. Linz
- Ray Liotta
- Cleavon Little
- Ralf Little is seen writing left-handed in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and has stated in an interview that he is left-handed [76]
- Derek Luke - Throws right-handed, but writes left-handed
- Nicholas Lyndhurst - Rodney from "Only fools and horses" series
- Bernie Mac - Throws right-handed, but performs most other tasks such as eating and writing, left-handed
- Keegan MacIntosh
- Shirley MacLaine
- Dave Madden
- Howie Mandel
- Marcel Marceau
- Julianna Margulies - Wrote left-handed in Snakes on a Plane.
- James Marsters [77]
- Kiel Martin
- Harpo Marx
- Robert Maschio
- Marsha Mason
- Mary Stuart Masterson
- Rik Mayall - Seen in The Young Ones episdode: Bomb.
- Andrew McCarthy
- Bruce McCulloch
- Karen McDougal
- Stephanie McIntosh - Is often seen writing left-handed whilst playing Sky Mangel on Neighbours.
- Kristy McNichol
- Steve McQueen
- Anne Meara
- Ben Mendelsohn deliberately wrote right handed in The Big Steal
- Idina Menzel
- S. Epatha Merkerson
- Stacie Mistysyn
- Sasha Mitchell
- Thomas Mitchell
- Colin Mochrie
- Michelle Monaghan [78]
- Meredith Monroe
- Julianne Moore
- Barry Morse - Born left-handed, but became ambidextrous. He purposely wrote with both his left and right hands in the television series The Fugitive
- Robert Morse
- Roger E. Mosley
- Anthony Newley
- Kim Novak
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe [79]
- Ryan O'Neal
- Ed O'Neill
- Mary-Kate Olsen [80]
- Gary Owens
- India Oxenberg
- Kip Pardue
- Ray Park
- Sarah Jessica Parker [81]
- Trey Parker [82]
- Jeffrey Parazzo
- Estelle Parsons
- Kaja Paschalska
- Robert Patrick
- Barry Pepper
- Anthony Perkins
- Ron Perlman
- Luke Perry
- Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak
- Bronson Pinchot
- Joe Piscopo
- Howard Platt
- Michael J. Pollard
- Eric Porter
- Chris Potter
- Victoria Pratt
- Robert Preston
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. [83]
- Richard Pryor
- Dennis Quaid [84]
- Randy Quaid
- Charlotte Rae
- Vahid Rahbani
- James Read
- Robert Redford - Left-handed, but writes right-handed.
- Keanu Reeves [85]
- James Remar
- Judy Reyes
- Denise Richards
- Don Rickles
- Lisa Rinna
- William Roache
- Julia Roberts [86] - Left-handed, but learns to use her right hand in Erin Brockovich.
- Seth Rogen
- Rebecca Romijn
- Michael Rosenbaum [87]
- Mackenzie Rosman
- Leonard Rossiter
- Richard Roundtree
- Mickey Rourke - Writes right-handed [88]
- Mag Ruffman
- Tim Russ
- Ludivine Sagnier
- Eva Marie Saint
- Antonia San Juan
- Merlin Santana
- Jennifer Saunders
- Ben Savage
- Telly Savalas
- Julia Sawalha
- Bitty Schram
- Jean Seberg
- Jerry Seinfeld-Wore his watch on his left wrist, lefties are synonomous for wearing watches on the right wrist
- Lindsay Shaw - Often seen writing left handed on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
- Alia Shawkat
- Brad Sherwood
- Karan Singh
- Christian Slater [89]
- John Slattery
- Amy Smart
- Kurtwood Smith
- Samia Smith
- Dick Smothers
- Brett Somers
- Suzanne Somers
- Vic Sotto
- Aries Spears
- Bud Spencer
- Brent Spiner
- Sylvester Stallone - Writes right-handed [90]
- Terence Stamp
- Tarra Steele
- Jessica Steen
- Rod Steiger
- Rusty Stevens
- Jon Stewart
- Ben Stiller [91]
- Nicole Stoffman
- Marc Summers
- Hilary Swank [92]
- Kristy Swanson
- Aleksandra Szwed
- Tamara Taylor
- Eliza Taylor-Cotter
- Alan Thicke
- David V. Thomas- Plays Calvin Owens in Gridiron Gang
- Henry Thomas
- Terry-Thomas
- Emma Thompson
- T.J. Thyne
- Brittany Tiplady
- Ashley Tisdale [93]
- Jonathan Togo
- Rip Torn
- Chris Tucker
- Brenda or Wendi Turnbaugh [94]
- Shannon Tweed
- Peter Ustinov
- Brenda Vaccaro
- Karen Valentine
- Rudy Vallee
- Barry Van Dyke
- Michael Vartan
- Vishnuvardhan
- Caitlin Wachs
- Mark Wahlberg [95]
- Donnie Wahlberg - actor (Saw II), brother of Mark Wahlberg
- Graham Walker - (The Grumbleweeds)
- David Walliams
- Bradley Walsh
- Susan Ward
- Shawn Wayans
- Patrick Wayne
- Liza Weil
- Nathan West
- Wil Wheaton [96]
- James Whitmore
- Ian Whyte - From performance as Scar Predator in Alien vs. Predator.
- Dianne Wiest
- Kimberly Williams
- Treat Williams
- Bruce Willis [97]
- Bridgette Wilson
- Debra Wilson
- Demond Wilson
- Andrew Wilson [98]
- Owen Wilson [99]
- William Windom
- Oprah Winfrey [100]
- Mare Winningham
- Michael Winslow
- Scott Wolf
- Joanne Woodward
- Cary Woodworth
- Keenan Wynn
- Tian Yuan
- Billy Zane
- Nick Zano
- Stephanie Zimbalist
- Burt Young
- Ashley Drane - school bully in 'That's So Raven' TV Series
- Arwin Quentin Hawkhauser - fictional character on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. He works as an engineer for the Tipton
- Gaspard Ulliel - Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Rising)
- Elon Gold - Actor in comedy series 'Stacked'
Honorable mention: Right-handed actor Gary Cooper played left-handed athlete Lou Gehrig in the film The Pride of the Yankees. For scenes requiring him to bat left-handed, Cooper wore a Yankee uniform with Gehrig's number 4 mirror-reversed on his back. Cooper batted the ball right-handed, then ran to third base (not first). The film was then optically reversed, turning Cooper into a southpaw. This same technique was used in Billy Crystal's film "61" to make Anthony Michael Hall appear left handed in his portrayal of left handed Yankee's pitcher Whitey Ford.
In 1953, while starring in a live television drama, right-handed actor Jack Lemmon decided to play his character left-handed, purely as an actor's exercise. Two years later, when Lemmon met James Cagney for the first time, Cagney's first words to Lemmon were "Are you still pretending you're left-handed?"
Film directors
- Roscoe Arbuckle - (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle)
- James Cameron
- Charlie Chaplin
- Spike Lee
- Christopher Nolan
- Danny Pang
- Ridley Scott
- Joss Whedon
Athletes
American Football
- Frankie Albert
- Joseph Addai
- David Akers
- Terry Baker
- Ronnie Brown
- Mark Brunell
- Tedy Bruschi - Writes left-handed
- Brandon Cox
- Phil Dawson - Kicks right-footed. Throws left-handed.
- Bobby Douglass
- Boomer Esiason - Was the only starting quarterback who was left-handed in the 1989 season.
- Bubba Franks- Green Bay Packers tightend
- Charlie Frye - Writes left-handed
- Kirk Ferentz- Writes Left-handed
- Jim Del Gaizo
- Ben Graham-Kicks and Writes left handed
- Ahman Green Houston Texans halfback
- David Greene
- Josh Heupel(OU Quarterback & 2000 Heisman Runner Up)
- David Humm
- Sebastian Janikowski - kicks left-footed
- Ian Johnson - (Boise State Running Back)Writes left-handed, but throws right-handed
- John Kasay
- Craig Krenzel
- Matt Leinart
- Jared Lorenzen
- Donovan McNabb - Writes left-handed, but throws with his right.
- Paul McDonald
- Todd Marinovich
- Scott Mitchell
- Muhsin Muhammad
- Dennis Northcutt
- Julius Peppers Carolina Panthers defensive end
- Dave Ragone
- Deion Sanders
- Paul Sanitate- Left Handed Running Back for St.Charles Lion, broke PA record for yards.
- Tony Santorsa
- Gale Sayers
- Brent Schaefer - University of Mississippi Quarterback
- Allie Sherman - New York Giants coach
- Billy Sims (OU)
- Chris Simms
- Kenny Stabler
- Taylor Stubblefield
- Tim Tebow - University of Florida Quarterback
- Michael Vick - Writes right-handed, but only throws with left hand.
- Jonathan Vilma- New York Jets linebacker.
- Steve Young
- Jim Zorn
Baseball
Left-handedness is found in all sports but is particularly highly prized in baseball, among both hitters and pitchers. For hitters, the natural motion of swinging at a pitch gives a left-handed batter momentum running down the line to first. Left-handed batters typically also have a better view of the pitch thrown by a right-handed pitcher. Also, left-handers may have more room to hit if the first baseman is watching a runner on first, and some ball parks have short right-field fences, making it easier for left-handers to hit home runs. A left-handed batter runs a shorter distance to first base than a rightie, because he takes his stance in the batting box on the right side of home plate. Due to these advantages, some right-handed players will learn to hit left handed (these players are not considered left-handed.) Likewise, left-handed pitchers are valuable, in part because many left-handed sluggers have severe trouble hitting against left-handed pitchers. See left-handed specialist.
Position players
- Brady Anderson
- Harold Baines
- Lance Berkman - Switch-hitter, throws left-handed.
- Craig Biggio - bats and throws right-handed, but writes left-handed.
- Barry Bonds - Writes right-handed.
- Wade Boggs - Naturally threw left-handed, learned to throw right-handed (as all third basemen do) and batted left-handed.
- Sid Bream - Writes right-handed, but batted and threw left-handed.
- Martin Brewer
- Lou Brock
- Ty Van Burkleo
- Brett Butler
- Melky Cabrera - Switch-hitter, throws left-handed.
- Hee-Seop Choi
- Will Clark
- Johnny Damon [101]
- Lenny Dykstra
- Jim Edmonds
- Darin Erstad
- Steve Finley
- Karim Garcia
- Lou Gehrig
- Jody Gerut - Writes right-handed, but bats and throws left-handed.
- Jeremy Giambi
- Brian Giles
- Goose Goslin - (Leon "Goose" Goslin)
- Mark Grace
- Curtis Granderson
- Ken Griffey, Jr. - Writes right-handed, but bats and throws left-handed
- Tony Gwynn
- Todd Helton
- Rickey Henderson - Throws left-handed, bats right-handed.
- Ryan Howard
- Reggie Jackson
- Kelly Johnson - Bats and writes left-handed but throws right-handed.
- Brian Jordan - Writes left-handed, but bats and throws right-handed.
- Wally Joyner
- David Justice
- Ryan Klesko
- John Kruk
- Ryan Langerhans - Writes right-handed, but bats and throws left-handed.
- Adam LaRoche
- Tommy Lasorda - (Manager)
- Ricky Ledee
- Kenny Lofton
- James Loney
- Fred Lynn
- Fred McGriff
- Kevin Maas
- Heinie Manush
- Nick Markakis
- Joe Mauer- 2006 AL Batting Champ, throws right, bats left
- Dave Martinez
- Don Mattingly
- Justin Morneau-2006 AL MVP, throws right, bats left
- Trot Nixon- Writes right-handed, but bats and throws left-handed.
- Troy O'Leary
- Paul O'Neill
- Sadaharu Oh
- John Olerud
- David Ortiz
- Lyle Overbay
- Orlando Palmeiro
- Rafael Palmeiro
- Dan Pasqua
- Juan Pierre
- Scott Podsednik Bats and throws left-handed, writes right-handed.
- Dave Roberts
- Brooks Robinson - Writes left-handed, but batted and threw right-handed in baseball.
- Babe Ruth - Wrote right-handed, batted and threw left-handed.
- Deion Sanders - ("Prime Time" Deion Sanders)
- Grady Sizemore- Writes right-handed, but bats and throws left-handed.
- Casey Stengel
- Darryl Strawberry
- B.J. Surhoff - Bats and writes left-handed but throws right-handed.
- Jim Thome
- Daryle Ward
- Brad Wilkerson
Pitchers
- Jeremy Affeldt
- Armando Almanza
- Brian Anderson
- Jimmy Anderson
- Paul Assenmacher
- Steve Avery
- Erik Bedard
- Jung Keun Bong
- Pedro Borbón, Jr.
- Micah Bowie
- Blaine Boyer - Writes left-handed but throws right-handed.
- Tom Browning
- Mark Buehrle
- Carmen Cali
- John Candelaria
- Chris Capuano
- Steve Carlton
- Gustavo Chacín
- Norm Charlton
- Bruce Chen
- Brandon Claussen
- Rheal Cormier
- Vic Darensbourg
- Mark Davis
- Lenny DiNardo
- Zach Duke
- Joey Eischen
- Alan Embree
- Shawn Estes
- Scott Eyre
- Jeff Fassero
- Pedro Feliciano
- Chuck Finley
- Sid Fernandez
- Whitey Ford
- Casey Fossum
- John Foster
- Jeff Francis
- John Franco
- Wayne Franklin
- Aaron Fultz
- Éric Gagné - Writes left-handed but throws right-handed.
- Mike Gallo
- Paul Gibson
- Tom Glavine
- Jimmy Gobble
- Lefty Gomez
- Lefty Grove
- Eddie Guardado
- Ron Guidry
- Mark Guthrie
- John Halama
- Chris Hammond
- Mike Hampton - Batted right-handed
- Greg A. Harris - could throw lefthanded and righthanded
- Mark Hendrickson
- Mike Holtz
- Steve Howe
- J.P. Howell
- Al Hrabosky
- Carl Hubbell - Mostly batted right-handed
- Bruce Hurst
- Kazuhisa Ishii
- Chuck James
- Tommy John
- Randy Johnson - Batted right-handed
- Jim Kaat
- Scott Kazmir
- Ryan Ketchner - the only deaf pitcher in professional baseball
- Jimmy Key
- Ray King
- Bob Kipper
- Steve Kline
- John Koronka
- Sandy Koufax - Batted right-handed
- Mark Langston - Batted right-handed
- Bill Lee
- Cliff Lee
- Wilfredo Ledezma
- Al Leiter
- Ted Lilly
- Francisco Liriano
- Noah Lowry - Bats right-handed
- Sparky Lyle
- Macay McBride
- Sam McDowell
- Joe Magrane
- Ron Mahay
- Paul Maholm
- Mike Maroth
- Damaso Marte
- Kent Mercker
- Trever Miller
- Eric Milton
- Jim Morris
- Damian Moss
- Jamie Moyer - Throws left-handed but writes right-handed.
- Mark Mulder
- Terry Mulholland - Batted right handed.
- Tony Mullane - born right-handed but taught himself to throw lefthanded.
- Mike Myers
- Randy Myers
- Denny Neagle
- Hal Newhouser
- C.J. Nitkowski
- Will Ohman
- Bob Ojeda
- Darren Oliver
- Scott Olsen
- Mel Parnell
- Odális Pérez
- Oliver Pérez
- Matt Perisho
- Andy Pettitte
- Billy Pierce
- Eddie Plank
- Horacio Ramírez
- Mark Redman
- Mike Remlinger
- Dennys Reyes - throws left but bats right
- Arthur Rhodes
- Dave Righetti
- Eppa Rixey
- Nate Robertson
- John Rocker
- Wandy Rodríguez
- Kenny Rogers
- J.C. Romero
- Kirk Rueter
- Glendon Rusch
- Babe Ruth
- B.J. Ryan
- C.C. Sabathia
- Johan Santana
- Joe Saunders
- Tony Saunders
- Scott Schoeneweis
- Chris Short
- Andy Sisco
- John Smiley
- Warren Spahn
- Paul Spoljaric
- Mike Stanton
- Greg Swindell
- Frank Tanana
- Justin Thompson
- Fernando Valenzuela
- Jason Vargas
- Hippo Vaughn
- Mike Venafro
- Ron Villone
- Frank Viola
- Billy Wagner - born right-handed but taught himself to throw lefthanded.
- Jamie Walker
- Jarrod Washburn
- David Wells
- Mitch Williams
- Dontrelle Willis
- Randy Wolf
- Barry Zito - Throws left-handed but writes right-handed.
Basketball
- Kenny Anderson
- Greg Anthony
- Nate Archibald
- Stacey Augmon
- Dick Barnett
- Alana Beard [102]
- Walter Berry
- Travis Best
- Andris Biedrins
- Larry Bird - Shot mostly right-handed, but does most other tasks left-handed.
- Andrew Bogut - shoots left-handed, writes right-handed
- Chris Bosh
- Adrian Branch
- J.R. Bremer
- Joe Bryant
- Michael Cage
- Allan Caidic
- Calbert Cheaney
- Keon Clark
- Derrick Coleman
- Dave Cowens
- Billy Cunningham
- Adrian Dantley
- Bison Dele
- Charles Driesell - (Charles "Lefty" Driesell)
- Mark Eaton
- Derek Fisher
- Chris Gatling
- Artis Gilmore
- Manu Ginobili
- Gail Goodrich
- Adrian Griffin
- Matt Guokas
- Othella Harrington
Keith Johnson
- Phil Jackson
- LeBron James - Shoots right-handed, writes left-handed.
- Avery Johnson
- Ron Kellogg
- Stacey King
- Toni Kukoc
- Raef LaFrentz
- Bob Lanier
- David Lee
- Brad Lohaus
- Tracy McGrady - Shoots right-handed, writes left-handed.
- Sarunas Marciulionis
- Anthony Mason
- Josh McRoberts - shoots left-handed, writes right-handed
- Ann Meyers
- Darko Miličić
- Harold Miner
- Cuttino Mobley
- Dick Motta
- Chris Mullin
- Troy Murphy
- Lee Nailon
- Ed O'Bannon
- Lamar Odom
- Žarko Paspalj
- Chris Paul- Shoots right-handed, perform tasks (like billiards) left-handed
- Gary Payton - Shoots right-handed, writes left-handed.
- Anthony Peeler
- Sam Perkins
- Morris Peterson
- Digger Phelps
- Tayshaun Prince
- Zach Randolph
- Michael Redd
- Willis Reed
- David Robinson
- Guy Rodgers
- Rodney Rogers
- Jalen Rose
- Bob Rule
- Bill Russell
- Pepe Sánchez
- Josh Smith
- Damon Stoudamire
- Salim Stoudamire
- Wayman Tisdale
- Dave Twardzik
- Beno Udrih
- Nick Van Exel
- Neal Walk
- Bill Walton
- Delonte West
- Lenny Wilkens
- Aaron Williams
- Thaddeus Young
- Wang Zhizhi
Billiards and snooker
- Bonnie Arnold
- Reynaldo Grandee
- Barry Hawkins - Plays rest shots right-handed.
- Mark King
- Kun-Fang Lee
- Ian McCulloch
- Perrie Mans
- Steve Mizerak
- Ronnie O'Sullivan - Is right-handed, but uses both hands during play.
- Judd Trump
- Jimmy White
- Mark Williams
Keith Johnson
Bowling
- Bill Allen
- Patrick Allen
- Earl Anthony
- Mike Aulby
- Parker Bohn III
- Steve Cook
- Patty Costello
- Dave Davis
- Cara Honeychurch
- Tish Johnson
- Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno
- Johnny Petraglia
- Andy Varipapa
- Alan Kwai
Boxing
- Carmen Basilio
- Chris Byrd
- Joe Calzaghe
- Luis Collazo
- James J. Corbett
- DeMarcus Corley
- Miguel Cotto - naturally southpaw, converted to orthodox stance
- Oscar de la Hoya - naturally southpaw, converted to orthodox stance
- Marvin Hagler - right-handed, but uses the southpaw stance
- Naseem Hamed
- Reggie Johnson
- Zab Judah
- Rafael Limon
- Henry Maske
- Erik Morales- fought left-handed with Manny Pacquiao last November 19, 2006. Pacquiao is also left handed but punches with his right hand.
- Freddie Miller
- Michael Moorer
- Manny Pacquiao- writes and punches with his right hand but does all other tasks with his left hand
- Floyd Patterson
- Antonio Tarver
- Mike Tyson - Started out fighting left-handed, but was taught to fight right-handed by trainers.
- Edwin Valero
- Roberto Vásquez
- Pernell Whitaker
- Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
- Winky Wright
Cricket
In cricket, left-handed batsmen make bowlers bowl a completely different line (angle), which disrupts their accuracy. As batsmen in cricket work in pairs, teams traditionally like to have a mix of right and left handers to maximise this effect. This is particularly so for opening batsmen. The same arguments, in reverse, apply to left-handed bowlers. Top quality left-handed bowlers seem to be rarer than their batting equivalents.
- Wasim Akram
- Geoff Allott - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Curtly Ambrose - Bowled right-handed, batted left-handed
- Saeed Anwar
- Michael Bevan
- Allan Border
- Nathan Bracken - Bowls left-handed, bats right-handed.
- David Brain - Bowls left-handed, bats and throws right-handed.
- Alistair Campbell
- Michael Clarke - Bowls left-handed, bats right-handed.
- Alan Davidson
- Andre Dawson - Writes left-handed, but bats and throws right-handed.
- John Edrich
- Matthew Elliott
- Stephen Fleming- Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Saurav Ganguly - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed.
- Chris Gayle - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Adam Gilchrist - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed.
- Ashley Giles - Bats right-handed, bowls left-handed.
- David Gower- Batted left-handed, bowled right-handed
- Sir Richard Hadlee - Batted left-handed, bowled right-handed.
- Matthew Hayden - Bats left-handed, bowls and signs autographs right-handed.
- George Hirst - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Brad Hogg
- Chris Huartson - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed.
- Michael Hussey - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed.
- Inzamam-ul-Haq - Bats right-handed, throws left-handed
- Phil Jaques
- Sanath Jayasuriya
- Mitchell Johnson
- Ed Joyce
- Brendon Julian - Bowls left-handed, bats right-handed.
- Simon Katich
- Lance Klusener - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Justin Langer- Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Brian Lara - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Maurice Leyland
- Tony Lock - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Phil Mead
- Dinesh Mongia
- Shayne O'Connor
- Monty Panesar
- Bruce Reid
- Wilfred Rhodes - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Kumar Sangakkara- Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Yuvraj Singh
- Graeme Smith - Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Sir Gary Sobers
- Aamer Sohail
- Andrew Strauss
- Mark Taylor - Bats left handed, bowls right-handed.
- Sachin Tendulkar - writes with left hand.
- Marcus Trescothick- Bats left-handed, bowls right-handed
- Derek Underwood - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Chaminda Vaas
- Hedley Verity - Bowled left-handed, batted right-handed
- Daniel Vettori
- Johnny Wardle
- Mike Whitney - Bowls left-handed, bats right-handed
- Frank Woolley
- Sir Frank Worrell - Batted right-handed, bowled left-handed, .
Fencing
Left handers hold a natural advantage at fencing as they effectively become mirror images of a right hander, allowing a left-handed fencer to use the normal en garde position whilst a right-hander often has to switch to the line of carte in order to close a basic line of attack for left-handers.
- Cécile Argiolas
- Christian d'Oriola
- Laura Flessel-Colovic
- Fabrice Gazin
- Matthieu Gourdain
- Fabrice Jeannet
- Giuseppe Mangiarotti
- Hugues Obry
- Anne-Lise Touya
- Casey P. Walsh
- Adeline Wuilleme
- Steven Von Helm
Figure-skating
- Silvia Fontana
- Rudy Galindo (spins to the right)
- Carolina Kostner
- Robin Cousins
Football (soccer)
- Stephen Nichols
- Arjen Robben
- Roberto Abbondanzieri
- Adriano
- Freddy Adu
- John Barnes
- Fabien Barthez
- Cristiano Ronaldo - Writes right-handed, holds things left-handed
- Jim Baxter
- Adam Hartley (also Marc Tirant is gay as he is left handed)
- Patrick Berger
- George Best
- Oleh Blokhin
- Liam Brady
- Hans van Breukelen
- Roberto Carlos
- Petr Čech
- Bruno Cheyrou
- Denilson
- Dida
- Djalminha
- Jerzy Dudek
- Dragan Džajić
- Kevin Doyle
- Cesc Fàbregas
- Giacinto Facchetti
- Rio Ferdinand
- Gheorghe Hagi
- Willem van Hanegem
- Pierre van Hooijdonk
- Norman Hunter
- Andreas Ivanschitz
- Robert Jarni
- Mario Kempes
- Dean Kiely
- Raymond Kopa
- Paul Le Guen
- Bixente Lizarazu
- Daniel Ljuboja
- Claudio López
- Steve McLaren
- Paolo Maldini
- Florent Malouda
- Diego Armando Maradona
- Ruud van Nistelrooy
- John O'Shea
- Pelé[2]
- Emmanuel Petit
- David Pleat
- Preki
- Ferenc Puskás
- Álvaro Recoba
- John Arne Riise
- Jérôme Rothen
- Rivelino
- Ian Rush
- Marcelo Salas
- Hugo Sánchez
- Serginho
- Jorge Gonzalez
- Omar Sivori
- Alan Smith
- Hristo Stoichkov
- Davor Šuker
- Alan Thompson
- Vassilis Tsiartas
- Semir Tuce
- Nuno Valente
- Terry Venables
- Christian Vieri
- Franjo Vladic
- Richard Witschge
- Mario Zagallo
- Boudewijn Zenden
- Andres Guardado
Golf
- Jerry Barber - Converted to right-handedness in childhood.
- Bonnie Bryant
- Sir Bob Charles
- Russ Cochran[3]
- Ben Hogan - Played right-handed, but was actually left-handed. When Hogan began his career, he was told that he should golf right-handed, with his left hand leading the swing; supposedly, this would enable him to benefit from the greater strength in his leading hand. In his later years, Hogan remarked that his greatest regret about his career was that he had allowed himself to be talked into playing right-handed.
- Bobby Jones- Played right handed, but was actually left handed.
- Phil Mickelson - Plays left-handed, but is actually right-handed.[3]
- Johnny Miller - Left-handed, but played right-handed.
- Nick Price - Left-handed, but plays right-handed
- Mike Weir - Plays left-handed, but is actually right-handed.[3]
Ice Hockey
- Jean-Sebastien Aubin
- Tom Barasso
- Patrice Bergeron
- Brad Boyes
- Sidney Crosby
- Paul DiGiacobbe
- Rick DiPietro
- Tie Domi
- Grant Fuhr
- Tony Esposito
- Mathieu Garon
- Chuck Kobasew
- Evgeni Malkin
- Paul Maurice
- Mike Modano
- Bobby Orr
- Alexander Ovechkin
- Daren Puppa
- Jordan Staal
- Damian Rhodes
- José Théodore
- Roman Turek
- Tomas Vokoun
- Steve Yzerman
Motor sport
- Marco Andretti - (IndyCar Series)
- Gerhard Berger - (Formula One) - Seems false!!!
- Jenson Button - (Formula One)
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. - (NASCAR)
- Johnny Herbert - (Formula One) [103]
- Terry Labonte - (NASCAR)
- Valentino Rossi - (Motorcycle)
- Ayrton Senna - (Formula One)
- Tony Stewart - (NASCAR)
- Karl Wendlinger - (Formula One)
- Christopher Wong - (Formula One)
Mixed Martial Arts
Rugby Union
- Mike Burton
- Jonah Lomu
- Richie McCaw
- Percy Montgomery - Kicks left-footed.
- Tom Varndell [104]
- Jonny Wilkinson - Writes left-handed and kicks left-footed.
- Daniel Carter (rugby player) - kicks left-footed, writes right handed.
- Hugo Southwell - kicks left-footed
Tennis
- Jan Apell
- Sabine Appelmans - Sabine is actually right-handed but learned playing tennis left-handed because she wanted to stay with her friend in the left-handed group [105]
- Hicham Arazi
- Wayne Arthurs
- Iveta Benešová
- Norman Brookes
- Bob Bryan
- Kenneth Carlsen
- Jimmy Connors
- Kimiko Date - Left-handed, but plays right-handed.
- Dwight F. Davis
- Alejandro Falla
- Guy Forget
- Andres Gomez
- Natalie Grandin
- Angela Haynes [106]
- Goran Ivanišević
- Julian Knowle
- Jelena Kostanić
- Stefan Koubek
- Rod Laver
- Henri Leconte
- Michael Llodra
- Emilie Loit
- Feliciano López
- John McEnroe [107]
- Fernando Meligeni
- Ricardo Mello
- Jürgen Melzer
- Carlos Moya - Writes left handed, but plays right-handed.
- Gilles Muller
- Thomas Muster - Indeed he is left hander, but writes right handed
- Rafael Nadal - Plays left handed, but writes right-handed
- Daniel Nestor
- Dick Norman
- Martina Navratilova
- Jarkko Nieminen
- Manuel Orantes
- Nikola Pilić
- Mariano Puerta
- Renee Richards
- Marcelo Ríos
- Tony Roche
- Greg Rusedski
- Lucie Šafářová [108]
- Nick Saviano
- Patty Schnyder
- Monica Seles
- Franco Squillari
- Roscoe Tanner
- Jeff Tarango
- Fernando Verdasco
- Guillermo Vilas
- Mark Woodforde
Wrestling and professional wrestling
- Matt Anoa'i - (Rosey)
- Austin Aries
- Chris Benoit
- Matt Osborne - (Matt Borne / Doink the Clown)
- Paul Burchill
- Carly Colón - (Carlito)
- John Cena - Writes left-handed, favors the right for other activities.
- Andy Douglas
- Ken Doane - (Kenny Dykstra)
- Nelson Frazier, Jr. - (Viscera)
- Jim Fullington - (Sandman)
- Terry Funk
- Chris Harris
- Devon Hughes - (D-Von Dudley / Brother Devon)
- Matt Hyson - (Spike Dudley / Brother Runt)
- Mark Jindrak
- Ed White - (Moondog King)
- Nikita Koloff
- Theodore Long - (Teddy Long)
- Darren Matthews - (William Regal)
- Shane McMahon - writes right-handed.
- Rena Mero - (Sable)
- Shawn Michaels - writes left-handed, throws right handed and uses his right foot for his Sweet Chin Music finisher.
- Mike Mizanin [109]
- Kevin Nash
- Paul Orndorff
- Al Poling - (911)
- Axl Rotten
- Matt Sydal
- Matt Wiese - (Luther Reigns)
- Torrie Wilson
- Lou Thesz
Team Handball
Other sports
- James Wade - Darts
- Lionel Sams - Darts
- Monica Abbott - Softball
- Stephan Eberharter - Skiing
- Mirko Filipović - Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts
- Francis Gorman - Diving
- Dorothy Hamill - Skating
- Erik Poul Hoejer - Badminton
- Morgan Hamm - Gymnastics
- Andy Hug - Kickboxing
- Bruce Jenner - Decathlon
- Darren Lockyer - Rugby League
- Greg Louganis - Diving
- Cat Osterman - Softball
- Peter Rasmussen - Badminton
- Nick Riewoldt - Australian Rules Football
- Bob Sapp - Kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts and previously American football
- Mark Spitz - Swimming
- Staciana Stitts - Swimming
- Murray Walker - Television commentator for motor racing
- Carter Williams - Kickboxing
- Sir Clive Woodward - Rugby and football (soccer) coach
- Murray Walker - Television commentator for motor racing
adam hartley
Miscellaneous
- Garrett Minks
- Snidermo the Great
- Jacques Abramoff
- Dominic O'Neill
- Buzz Aldrin
- Arsalan Ali - Theoretical Physicist
- Patrick Altaie - Conceptual Mathematician
- Alessandra Ambrosio - Victoria's Secret Supermodel
- F. Lee Bailey
- Duncan Bannatyne [110]
- Bonnie Bernstein
- Niels Bohr
- Tucker Carlson
- Norman Chad
- Helena Christensen - Danish supermodel
- Jennie Corner (Big Brother 7 star)
- Jeff Corwin [111]
- Jakki Degg Model [112]
- Vanessa Del Rio
- Ehud -The Bible, book of Judges 3:12-4:1. Killed King Eglon of Moab.
- Andrew Fair
- Osman Faruqi - Proponent of Presentism
- Henry Ford
- Daniel Frederick
- Bill Gates [113]
- Uri Geller
- Jamie Gold - 2006 World Series of Poker Champion
- Nikki Grahame (Big Brother 7 star)
- Alan Greenspan - Golfs left-handed. [114]
- Barry Greenstein - Poker player
- Matt Groening [115] - His Simpsons characters Bart Simpson, Montgomery Burns, Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak and many others are all left handed. Flanders even runs a left-handed store, the Leftorium, and faces competition from two other left-handed stores, Leftopolis and the mega-chain Left-Mart.
- Bear Grylls
- David Mirkin
- Elias Heresi
- Tim Hunkin - artist and engineer. Many of his sculptures appear to be left-handed.
- Petri Hawkins-Byrd
- Brittany Hensel is the twin on the left of conjoined twins sharing one body: she controls only the mutual body's left side.
- Ken Jennings [116]
- Daniel Kahl - Famous Japanese gaijin tarento. Uses chopsticks with his left hand.
- Amanda Lamb
- Kate Lawler (Big Brother winner)
- Stan Lee [117]
- Jay Leno [118]
- Lawrence Lessig
- Lev Leviev
- Link (The Legend of Zelda)
- Marshall McLuhan
- Michelle Malkin
- Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
- Hitoshi Matsumoto
- danika miceski
- Jay Migliaccio
- Scott Mills - Radio 1 DJ
- Sara Moulton
- Jack Osbourne
- Justine Pasek
- Bruce Pasternack - Special Olympics president and CEO.
- Ivan Pavlov
- Kim Peek [119]
- Fiona Phillips - GMTV presenter
- Paul Prudhomme
- Gordon Ramsay [120]
- Reno - In the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children he can be seen wielding his weapon and holding a bomb with his left hand.
- Arthur Brane-mathematician and philosopher. Wrote left-handed, but natural right-hander.
- Lisa Robertson - Qvc host
- Pat Robertson
webster chambukila- achitect and banker (zambia)
- David Rockefeller
- Raymond John Rodriguez II
- John Romero
- Kevin Rose
- John Safran - Australian TV Personality, Host of John Safran vs God. Writes, Shoots and swings a Thurible Left Handed.
- Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
- Josh Scott
- Sir Peter Scott
- Nicholas Seguin
- Ben Shephard - GMTV presenter
- Richard Simmons
- Matthew D. Smith
- George Stephanopoulos
- Zachary Taylor
- Denis Thatcher
- Lea Walker (Big Brother 7 star)
- Drew Ward
- Gene Wood - Game show announcer for many Mark Goodson-produced game shows in 1970s and 1980s; when Gene appeared as a panelist on The Match Game, he could be seen writing his answers with his left hand
Disputed left-handed people / Ambidextrous
The following list includes famous persons whose handedness remains controversial/unknown and famous persons who are ambidextrous. (If you want to move the following people to other section in this list, please first consult the discussion page and provide appropriate source and reference. (e.g. biography, photograph, paintings, etc.))
- Alexander the Great - Disputed.
- Melissa Sue Anderson - Possibly ambidextrous.
- Fatty Arbuckle - Ambidextrous; could throw two custard pies simultaneously, one with each hand, with unerring accuracy.
- Lord Baden-Powell - Ambidextrous.
- Michael Angelo Batio - Claims he isn't Ambidextrous but has trained himself to play double guitar, however he is equally proficient in this style. In the following picture, he can be seen writing left-handed. [121]
- Ludwig van Beethoven - Experts regard Beethoven being left-handed as a myth.[122] Famous painting of Beethoven shows him right-handed.[123]
- Billy the Kid - He is often cited as left-handed, and is identified as such in "The Left-Handed Gun", a teleplay (and later a screenplay) by Gore Vidal. The evidence usually invoked for this is a well-known photograph, in which Billy is holding his pistol in his left hand (the hand on the right, as seen by the viewer). However, the photograph is a "tintype", which mirror-reverses its image, thus Billy is actually holding the pistol in his right hand.
- Julius Caesar - evidence from a biographic or photographic source is yet to be provided.
- Bryan Callen - Ambidextrous.
- Charlemagne Template:Fact Claimed by some individuals and websites[124] to be left-handed, but verifiable sources to support such a claim have yet to be found.
- Leonardo Da Vinci - Claimed by some he could write with his right hand and draw with his left.
- Albert Einstein – Claimed by some individuals and websites to be left-handed,(little proof; started speaking late as a child and attended Catholic elementary school; supposed left hand suppression) but photos show him writing on a blackboard with his right hand; and also, playing violin with his right hand. [125] [126] [127] [128] [129] [130] [131] (See discussion page.)
- Benjamin Franklin - Claimed to be left-handed on various websites but the Franklin Institute says this is unproven.[132] Franklin was naturally right-handed but trained himself to use his left hand with nearly equal facility. He once wrote an essay from the first-person viewpoint of the left hand, protesting that "she" was not treated with the same courtesy as her "sister" (the right hand).
- Jay-Z - Has seen using both. Ambidextrous
- James A. Garfield - Was able to write Latin and Greek simultaneously, with one pen in each hand, but was left-handed by preference.
- Barry Gibb - Ambidextrous.[133]
- Jack the Ripper - Some doctors originally thought the wounds inflicted by this serial killer indicated a left-handed killer, though this theory assumed that he attacked from the front when he could have, as most authorities now believe, attacked from behind or from the side when the woman was already on the ground.
- Gandhi - evidence from a biographic or photographic source is yet to be provided.
- Joan of Arc – Has been described as left-handed on very slim evidence. The only known surviving image of her which dates from her lifetime depicts her raising a sword in her left hand. However, this portrait is a crude sketch, and it is virtually certain that the artist Clement de Fauquembergue had never seen her in person. We have no real evidence for Joan of Arc's left-handedness, and some circumstantial evidence against it. During the weeks of her imprisonment preceding her trial for heresy, she was watched intensively. If she had shown a preference for her left hand (the so-called "devil's hand"), this fact would almost certainly have been mentioned in the prosecution's testimony against her.
- Helen Keller - Disputed. She has been included on lefthanded people list on websites such as this one [134], but evidence from a biographic or photographic source has yet to be found.
- R. Kelly - Has been seen using both (probably ambidextrous).[135][136]
- John Kerry - Ambidextrous.[137] Prefers to write with his right hand.[138]
- King Louis XVI - He has been included on lists of left-handed people on some websites, but conclusive evidence (i.e. a biographic source or a painting) has not been provided.
- Shigeru Miyamoto - Ambidextrous, but prefers his left hand for designing his game characters.
- Shawn Michaels - Ambidextrous. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. However, he primarily uses his right foot when using Sweet Chin Music.
- Marilyn Monroe - Evidence seems to suggest that she was right-handed, but what may be a myth still has strong believers [139]
- Nas - Has been seen using both (probably ambidextrous).
- Pablo Picasso – See discussion page.
- Nikola Tesla - Ambidextrous, born lefthanded
- Mark Twain – Disputed. One common exaggeration says the he wrote with his left when he was tired using his right hand. A photo shows Twain playing billiards left-handed. In one of Twain's essays, he claimed that another man once challenged him to a billiards match by offering to play left-handed, implying that this would give him a disadvantage against Twain: after the other man beat Twain, he revealed that he actually was left-handed. If Twain was himself left-handed, it is unlikely that he would have fallen for this trick. However, we only have Twain's word that the event ever occurred; he was never averse to claiming that a made-up incident was fact if it made a good story.
- Dick Van Dyke - Ambidextrous, uses his left hand to draw caricatures and cartoons.
- James Woods - Ambidextrous.
References
- ^ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>CD Baby (2002). "Kevin Trainor". Retrieved 2007-02-18.
- ^ Pelé in BBC news item.
- ^ a b c "BBC - Get to grips with left-handed golf" — Famous left-handed golfers (retrieved June 8 2006)
- Indiana University page on famous left-handed people
- Article on left-handed people from ABC News
- Lindsay, Rae. Left Is Right: The Survival Guide for Living Lefty in a Right-Handed World. ISBN 0-9653753-0-7
- McManus, Chris. Right Hand, Left Hand: The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms, and Cultures. ISBN 0-674-00953-3