# Celebrities physical deformties - Are these all real? Some seem over the top **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013 "2010-07-17T08:40:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/61 "2010-07-18T12:59:03Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > It’s not really a deformity, but Donny Osmond has a condition called Situs inversus which means his internal organs are on the opposite side of the body from where they’re normally found, i.e. the heart is on the right side, etc. I’ve long been fascinated by this bit of trivia. The actress Catherine O’Hara has the condition too. It must be pretty rare, though. Actually, while not common, it’s probably not as rare as people might think. Situs Inversus doesn’t cause any sort of life threatening problems (there is one conditions that can lead to it that causes relatively minor problems, but in many cases it “just happens” without that condition). It is entirely possible to live a long, healthy life and never ever be aware that one has situs inversus, and sometimes the first indication of the condition is during an autopsy where the person is opened up and gee, everything is revered. So there are probably quite a few people walking around with this quirk who are entirely unaware of having it. Apparently, it happens with higher frequency in identical twins than in the general population as well, though as Osmond and O’Hara show it can happen with singletons, too. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/62 "2010-07-18T13:05:09Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > RE: lack of belly button. > > Being born by c-section won’t cause a lack of umbilicus- the cord is cut and the stump will fall off to leave a normal bellybutton just like at any other birth. I didn’t explain this well. My ex-girlfriends gave birth via c-section, and the sewn-up incision resulted in no navel. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/63 "2010-07-18T13:08:08Z")
Matthew Perry, “Chandler” from **Friends** , is missing part of a finger. Ironically, the character is missing a toe and had a third nipple removed–but has a full set of fingers. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/64 "2010-07-18T14:15:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It is entirely possible to live a long, healthy life and never ever be aware that one has situs inversus, and sometimes the first indication of the condition is during an autopsy where the person is opened up and gee, everything is revered. So there are probably quite a few people walking around with this quirk who are entirely unaware of having it. Wouldn’t any doctor who put a stethoscope to a baby’s chest to listen to its heart notice this immediately? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/65 "2010-07-18T14:17:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Actually, while not common, it’s probably not as rare as people might think. Situs Inversus doesn’t cause any sort of life threatening problems (there is one conditions that can lead to it that causes relatively minor problems, but in many cases it “just happens” without that condition). It is entirely possible to live a long, healthy life and never ever be aware that one has situs inversus, and sometimes the first indication of the condition is during an autopsy where the person is opened up and gee, everything is revered. So there are probably quite a few people walking around with this quirk who are entirely unaware of having it. > > Apparently, it happens with higher frequency in identical twins than in the general population as well, though as Osmond and O’Hara show it can happen with singletons, too. Dorothy L. Sayers used the situs inversus condition as a plot point in one of her short stories, “The Image in the Mirror.” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/66 "2010-07-18T14:44:14Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > It’s not really a deformity, but Donny Osmond has a condition called Situs inversus which means his internal organs are on the opposite side of the body from where they’re normally found, i.e. the heart is on the right side, etc. I’ve long been fascinated by this bit of trivia. The actress Catherine O’Hara has the condition too. It must be pretty rare, though. My grandmother had it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/67 "2010-07-18T15:47:41Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Wouldn’t any doctor who put a stethoscope to a baby’s chest to listen to its heart notice this immediately? Not sure, but even if the doctor did notice he or she might not bother to mention it. It’s really not a big deal, medically. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/68 "2010-07-18T16:17:09Z")
For situs inversus, I’ve just read the figure 1 in 8,500 people has it. And apparently, Donny Osmond discovered he had it when on tour of the UK with his family, so he must have been about 14 already. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/69 "2010-07-18T16:34:42Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > James Doohan (“Scotty”) also had a couple of missing fingers (thanks to D-Day: yes he was part of the first Canadian wave hitting the beaches). Yet another reason to be grateful for the existence of James Doohan. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/70 "2010-07-18T16:38:57Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Wouldn’t any doctor who put a stethoscope to a baby’s chest to listen to its heart notice this immediately? Yes, if they’re paying attention. It’s also distinctive on a chest X-ray. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Marky Mark’s third nipple looks more like a mole to me. Third nipple is the [witch mark.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches'_mark). Burn him. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/71 "2010-07-18T17:51:04Z")
The Irish comedian Dave Allen had a missng half finger (the top half not the bottom half:D) > **[Dave Allen (comedian)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Allen_(comedian))** > > David Tynan O'Mahony (6 July 1936 – 10 March 2005), known professionally as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor. He was best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians. > Initially becoming known in Australia in 1963 and 1964, Allen made regular television appearances in the United Kingdom from the late 1... ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/72 "2010-07-18T18:35:51Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > [Grace Park](http://www.imbusyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/battlestar-galactica-the-plan-20091013034927860.jpg) also seems to have the _pectus excavatum_ thing going on.\ It looks like both of them have a serious case of concentration camp victim going on. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/73 "2010-07-18T20:45:04Z")
Have you ever listened to a baby’s chest? The chest is so small you hear heart sounds all over. Situs inversus is much easier to detect in adults than infants. In cases which affect singletons there is a real possibility that they are the survivor of a pair of identical twins where the other twin died early in the pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/74 "2010-07-18T21:05:19Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Have you ever listened to a baby’s chest? The chest is so small you hear heart sounds all over. Situs inversus is much easier to detect in adults than infants. > In cases which affect singletons there is a real possibility that they are the survivor of a pair of identical twins where the other twin died early in the pregnancy. Plus everyone thinks the heart is fully on the left side of the chest when it’s not, it’s in the middle but more of the heart is on the left of the midline. ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/75 "2010-07-18T21:07:43Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > For something like Denzel’s pinky, why not get it fixed? I’d think that having a finger jutting out at a funny angle makes it more likely you’ll injure that finger. > > And I wouldn’t call different colored eyes a “physical defect”. I think it’s kind of neat! what do you put down for eye color on your driver’s license? I broke my pinky playing basketball too and didn’t realize it until after it had healed. It isn’t bent out, but more bent downward. I have pretty much full mobility with it, but I just can’t straighten it out completely. When I saw a doctor she said she could rebreak it (!) but she couldn’t guarantee that I would have full or even any mobility. I opted to not get it done and you just adjust. Which is what I assume Denzel did as well. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/76 "2010-07-19T09:35:21Z")
Looks like BS to me. Have a look at the Vince Vaughn photos. The site claims he has a stubby thumb as a result of a car accident when he was 17. The top set of photos shows his right hand, the bottom set of photos shows his left hand. So unless he has stubby thumbs on both hands (as the result of a car accident when he was 17), then I call bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/77 "2010-07-20T07:04:43Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > It’s not really a deformity, but Donny Osmond has a condition called Situs inversus which means his internal organs are on the opposite side of the body from where they’re normally found, i.e. the heart is on the right side, etc. I’ve long been fascinated by this bit of trivia. The actress Catherine O’Hara has the condition too. It must be pretty rare, though. It means they’re from Counter-Earth! ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/78 "2010-07-20T18:51:52Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Looks like BS to me. Have a look at the Vince Vaughn photos. The site claims he has a stubby thumb as a result of a car accident when he was 17. The top set of photos shows his right hand, the bottom set of photos shows his left hand. > > So unless he has stubby thumbs on both hands (as the result of a car accident when he was 17), then I call bullshit. But the left hand is normal. I assume the bottom set is there for comparison. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/79 "2010-07-20T18:56:35Z")
Jane Seymour’s different colored eyes and Seal’s facial scars are ones I’d heard about before. I’m not familiar with the others. Dan Aykroyd has webbed toes. Not only has he admitted it several times, he showed off the webbing on **Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video** back around 1980, pushing a screwdriver into the webboing on-camera, during a routine called – what else? – _Celebrity Deformities_ ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013/80 "2010-07-20T20:33:34Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Childhood surgery gone wrong? Nice coverstory, but everybody knows that there are only two explanations for a missing belly button: clone or pod person! Based on the rest of her, I’m inclined to offer a third alternative : angel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-physical-deformties-are-these-all-real-some-seem-over-the-top/547013.md?page=5)