Octavia Spencer

Actress and author Octavia Spencer has not let her dyslexia stand in her way.

Octavia Spencer noticed her difference from her peers early in her education as she dreaded reading aloud during classes, aware of her frequent mistakes. But, Spencer’s mother and teachers recognized her brilliance and helped her identify her strengths. With this support, Spencer eventually chose to pursue a career in acting and movie production. Some of her most notable films include Hidden Figures, The Help, and Zootopia.

Now, Spencer has expanded her creative outlet and is authoring a series, Randi Rhodes, for middle school-aged children. She acknowledges that the writing process has not been easy and she experienced fear when having to read her works aloud for the audiobook. However, she encourages other dyslexics to persevere and pursue their dreams just as she has done.