Health Trivia From Films and TV

Nicole Kidman's character in 'Moulin Rouge' had this fatal disease that was widespread before the 20th century.

• Tuberculosis
• Plague
• Cholera

In the movie 'Clueless,' what does Cher's mother die from?

• An accident during liposuction
• Drug overdose
• Botched botox

In 'Rain Man,' Dustin Hoffman had the mind of small child but the amazing ability to count cards at the Las Vegas tables. What was the name of his disorder?

• Bipolar disorder
• Savant syndrome
• Rett syndrome

In 'Little Miss Sunshine,' Dwayne Hoover, played by Paul Dano, is a Nietzsche-reading teen who takes a vow of silence until he can become a test pilot. He finds out he is unqualified because he has this issue:

• Seizure disorder
• Vertigo
• Color blindness

Julia Roberts's character in 'Steel Magnolias' had this health condition that her family was worried would cause complications with her pregnancy:

• Low fertility
• Diabetes
• Depression

Will Smith's relationship guru character in 'Hitch' keeps fouling up while trying to woo his love interest played by Eva Mendes. His inability to keep his cool around his crush blows up when he:

• Has a severe reaction to a food allergy
• Gets diarrhea
• Faints

Julie Christie's character Fiona in 'Away from Her' has this aging-related health development:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Osteoporosis
• Heart disease

Jamie Sullivan, played by Mandy Moore, in 'A Walk to Remember' reveals to her reformed-bad-boy Landon Cater, played by Shane West, that she has this terminal illness:

• Leukemia
• Breast cancer
• Brain tumor

Josh Hartnett ditched his blockbuster roles, to play a character with Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder with some similarities to autism, in this movie:

• 'August'
• 'Wicker Park'
• 'Mozart and the Whale'

In the movie 'Philadelphia,' Tom Hanks plays a character that faced discrimination at his law firm based on which condition?

• Diabetes
• HIV
• Prostate cancer

Christopher Nolan's Leonard has suffered a head trauma that has left him with this form of memory loss at the beginning of 'Memento.':

• Transient global amnesia
• Retrograde amnesia
• Anterograde amnesia

What condition is Jackie, Susan Sarandon's character in 'Stepmom,' dying from?

• Heart disease
• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer

'Diving Bell and the Butterfly,' a movie based on the memoir of 'Elle France' editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, shows how Bauby learns to communicate through blinking the alphabet with his left eye, since the rest of his body became paralyzed as a result of hi

• Polio
• A stroke
• Lou Gehrig's disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Cameron Diaz's character from 'In Her Shoes' has trouble reading because of this learning disability:

• ADHD
• Dyslexia
• Illiteracy

Holly Hunter's character in 'The Piano' plays the instrument beautifully despite the fact that she has this affliction.

• Deaf
• Blind
• Mute

Eugene Simonet, played by Kevin Spacey, in 'Pay it Forward,' grapples with body image issues due to this skin concern:

• Rosacea
• Adult Acne
• Burn Scars

Leonardo DiCaprio received critical acclaim for playing Arnie, in the movie 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?', Arnie suffers from this condition:

• Cerebral palsy
• Tourettes syndrome
• Autism

In this 1976 made-for-TV movie, Sally Field plays a young woman named Sybil. And Vicki. Ruthie. Clara. The Blonde. Helen. And more. Why?

• Sybil was an octoplet
• Sybil had dissociative identity disorder
• Sybil could move through time and space

What real health issue caused the fantastic abilities of John Travolta's character George in 'Phenomenon'?

• Aneurysm
• Anaphylactic shock
• Brain tumor

Al Pacino plays a retired alcoholic U.S. Army officer who has lost something while juggling hand grenades while drunk in 'Scent of a Woman.' What did he lose?

• His sight
• An arm
• Olfaction, or a loss of the ability to smell

As Principal Gardner in the indie flick 'Charlie Bartlett', Robert Downey Jr. is just one of many whose health concerns takes over his life. He battles with this addiction:

• Sex
• Alcohol
• Cocaine

"Love means never having to say you're sorry," according to 'Love Story' lead, played by Ali McGraw. But for McgGraw's character it can mean saying goodbye. She is thought to succumb to this form of cancer:

• Leukemia
• Breast Cancer
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Michael Moore's documentary 'Sicko' follows this group of people in their search for affordable health treatment:

• Army veterans in need of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment
• 9/11 responders and volunteers who have lung-related illnesses like emphysema
• Hurricane Katrina victims who are searching for therapy

In 'Secretary,' Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a disturbed young woman who constantly tries to cover up signs of this destructive behavior:

• Alcohol addiction
• Self injury
• Sex addiction

Jason Bourne suffers from this highly uncommon problem in the 'Bourne' action series.

• Amnesia
• Dementia
• Delirium

In 'My Private Idaho' River Phoenix plays a hustler in Portland who has this non-fatal illness marked by excessive sleepiness:

• Narcolepsy
• Sleeping Sickness
• Insomnia

Bill Murray's character in 'What About Bob?' has this ailment, among others, real or perceived:

• Fibromyalgia
• Schizophrenia
• Hypochondria

Rocky, the main character in 'Mask,' has a fatal disease that has this impact on his body:

• Severe hair loss
• Skull deformity
• Facial boils

Annie Hall, from the movie with the same title, played by Diane Keaton, has an uncle who has this sleeping disorder:

• Narcolepsy
• Insomnia
• Sleep apnea

Starrring Kenneth Branagh as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Cynthia Nixon as Eleanor Roosevelt, Warm Springs,' chronicles FDR's battle with this condition:

• Scoliosis
• Polio
• Diphtheria