Weeping in her red-and-white strapless gown, now-six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald gave a shout-out to “the most important people in my life,” as she acknowledged a childhood struggle with hyperactivity.
“Thanks mom and dad up in heaven for disobeying doctors’ orders and not medicating their hyperactive girl, and find[ing] out what she was into and, instead, pushing her into the theater,” said McDonald, accepting the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her role as Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” at the 68th annual Tony Awards.
McDonald now has more Tony Awards than veteran Broadway stars Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris, who have five apiece, and has won in all four major female acting categories — as Best Lead Actress and Best Featured Actress in both plays and musicals.
It was not clear that the actress was ever officially diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, or ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder that is usually diagnosed in childhood and often continues on into adulthood. ABC News reached out to McDonald’s publicists for comment, but they did not immediately return calls or emails.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disorder’s hallmark symptoms are having difficulty paying attention, impulsive behavior and being hyperactive, but many children outgrow those behaviors. Other symptoms can include excessive daydreaming, forgetfulness, talkativeness and risk-taking.
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