List of people with synesthesia
This is a list of notable people who have claimed to have the neurological condition synesthesia. Following that, there is a list of people who are often wrongly believed to have had synesthesia because they used it as a device in their art, poetry or music.
Synesthetes
| Name | Type | Lifespan | Country | Profession | Quote | Notes | Source |
| Alessia Cara | Multiple | b. 1996 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Charli XCX | Sound to color | b. 1992 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Jennifer Cook O'Toole | Multiple | b. 1975 | Author | ||||
| Jack Coulter | Sound to color | b. 1994 | Artist | ||||
| Marina Diamandis | Multiple | b. 1985 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Patricia Lynne Duffy | Unspecified | Unknown | Unknown | Author | Wrote Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens, the first book by a synesthete about synesthesia. Co-founded the American Synesthesia Association. | ||
| Billie Eilish | Multiple | b. 2001 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Duke Ellington | Sound to color | 1899-1974 | Composer, pianist, bandleader | ||||
| David Hockney | Multiple | b. 1937 | Artist, stage designer, photographer | ||||
| Greg Jarvis | Sound to shape | Unknown | Musician | Founded the Canadian Synesthesia Association. | |||
| Billy Joel | Multiple | b. 1949 | Singer-songwriter, composer, pianist | "hen I think of different types of melodies which are slower or softer, I think in terms of blues or greens... When I a particularly vivid color, it's usually a strong melodic, strong rhythmic pattern that emerges at the same time. When I think of songs, I think of vivid reds, oranges, or golds." | |||
| Ash Lieb | Unspecified | b. 1982 | Artist, author, comedian | ||||
| Bloem de Ligny | Multiple | b. 1978 | Singer | ||||
| Franz Liszt | Sound to color | 1811-1886 | Composer, pianist | "Oh, please, gentlemen, a little bluer, if you please! This key requires it!" | |||
| Lorde | Sound to color | b. 1996 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Ida Maria | Sound to color | b. 1984 | Singer-songwriter | ||||
| Marian McPartland | Sound to color | 1918-2013 | / | Jazz pianist | |||
| Bea Miller | Sound to color | b. 1999 | Singer-songwriter, actress | ||||
| Stephanie Morgenstern | Multiple | b. 1965 | Actress, filmmaker | ||||
| Finneas O'Connell | Unspecified | b. 1997 | Musician, record producer, actor | ||||
| Adil Omar | Multiple | b. 1991 | Singer-songwriter, record producer | ||||
| Itzhak Perlman | Sound to shape | b. 1945 | / | Violinist, conductor, music teacher | |||
| Osmo Tapio Räihälä | Sound to shape | b. 1964 | Composer | ||||
| Maggie Rogers | Sound to color | b. 1994 | Singer-songwriter, record producer | ||||
| Jean Sibelius | Unspecified | 1865-1957 | Composer, violinist | ||||
| Carol Steen | Multiple | b. 1943 | Artist | Co-founded the American Synesthesia Association. | |||
| Daniel Tammet | Unspecified | b. 1979 | Author | ||||
| Brendon Urie | Multiple | b. 1987 | Singer | ||||
| Sabrina Vlaškalić | Multiple | 1989-2019 | Classical guitarist | ||||
| Richard Wagner | Sound to color | 1813-1883 | Composer, theatre director, conductor | ||||
| Pharrell Williams | Sound to color | b. 1973 | Singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer | "The ability to see and feel was a gift given to me that I did not have to have. And if it was taken from me suddenly I'm not sure that I could make music.... I wouldn't have a measure to understand ." "I thought all kids had mental, visual references for what they were hearing." |
Pseudo-synesthetes
- Alexander Scriabin probably was not a synesthete, but, rather, was highly influenced by the French and Russian salon fashions. Most noticeably, Scriabin seems to have been strongly influenced by the writings and talks of the Russian mystic, Helena P. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society and author of such works as Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine. The synesthetic motifs found in Scriabin's compositions – most noticeably in Prometheus, composed in 1911 – are developed from ideas from Isaac Newton, and follow a circle of fifths.