We’re all scared of something at one point or another. It’s understandable, for example, to suddenly become fearful of heights while riding a Ferris wheel that becomes stuck while your cart dangles at the very top. However, some people have chronic fears or phobias so intense they affect everyday life. These irrational, persistent, and intense terrors or aversions can cause great distress or discomfort.

Here are three famous people with phobias that may surprise you.

Alfred Hitchcock – Ovophobia

Alfred Hitchcock is best known for his haunting films like Psycho, North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, and Rope. The influential director created some of the creepiest moments in cinematic history. His characters often suffered from life-altering phobias, and Hitchcock was no stranger to fear in his everyday life.

While his films thrilled audiences, the “Master of Suspense” privately battled a slew of phobias. He admitted some of these in an interview with the Italian author Oriana Fallaci, which she included in her 1968 book The Egotists; Sixteen Surprising Interviews. In addition to more common fears such as violence, policemen, and the dark, Hitchcock was also terrified of eggs – a condition called ovophobia. “And then I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened; they revolt me,” he told Fallaci. “Have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid?

“Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting,” he continued. It seems the appearance of eggs was more troublesome to Hitchcock than their taste, judging by his well-documented fondness for quiche lorraine, a dish that calls for several eggs.  

Let’s hope that no one tried to prank Hitchcock during filming of The Birds. 

Nikola Tesla – Oystersaritisphobia

The Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla is remembered for his brilliant work in electrical engineering, such as developing the alternating current electric system and advancing wireless technology. He also designed the Tesla coil, a high-voltage transformer often depicted in sci-fi films including 1927’s Metropolis (pictured above), Frankenstein, and Back to the Future. He was awarded more than 700 patents for his innovations. 

Like many highly intelligent and creative people, Tesla had some quirky personal traits and preferences that can likely be attributed to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). One of these peculiarities was a strong dislike of earrings, although other jewelry wasn’t as problematic — unless it was made of pearl. 

“I had a violent aversion against the earrings of women but other ornaments, as bracelets, pleased me more or less according to design. The sight of a pearl would almost give me a fit,”  Tesla wrote in his autobiography. 

According to W. Bernard Carlson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age, the inventor “refused to speak to women wearing” pearls and supposedly once dismissed his secretary when she wore them to work. Carlson said this dislike of pearls was due to Tesla’s “very particular sense of style and aesthetics,” while other sources believe it stemmed from his hatred of “round things.”

Audrey Hepburn – Aquaphobia

Audrey Hepburn could easily be compared to a swan because of her grace, beauty, and elegantly slender neck. Unlike a swan, however, you’d be hard-pressed to find the Breakfast at Tiffany’s actress relaxing in the water.

As a child, Hepburn had a near-death experience in a pond when her foot was caught in some underwater weeds. She felt certain she would drown and was scared of water for the rest of her life. “All my nightmares, when I have them, are about water swamping me and suffocating me,” she once revealed. “It’s hideous and frightening.”

This fear affected filming of the 1967 movie Two for the Road. In one scene, Hepburn’s co-star Albert Finney was supposed to toss her into a swimming pool. Terrified, she asked if a stunt double could perform in her place but was told it would have been too obvious to viewers. Hepburn reluctantly agreed to do the scene and two assistant directors were positioned just off camera, ready to jump in and pull her out if needed. 

Books cited

Fallaci, O. (1968). Egotists: Sixteen Surprising Interviews. Grosset & Dunlap.

Tesla, N. (1982). My inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla (B. Johnson, Ed.). Hart Brothers.

Walker, A. (1994). Audrey: Her real story. Orion.