A late bloomer is a person whose talents or capabilities are not visible to others until later than usual. The term is used metaphorically to describe a child or adolescent who develops slower than others in their age group, but eventually catches up and in some cases overtakes their peers, or an adult whose talent or genius in a particular field only appears later in life than is normal – in some cases only in old age.
Children
There are many theories of the way in which children develop, proposed by authorities such as Urie Bronfenbrenner,"Urie Bronfenbrenner, father of Head Start program and pre-eminent 'human ecologist,' dies at age 88" Cornell University 26 September 2005 Jerome Bruner,Bruner, J. S. & Goodman, C. C. (1947). Value and need as organizing factors in perception. Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 42, 33–44. Available online at the Classics in the History of Psychology archive Erik Erikson, Jerome Kagan, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget,*Piaget, J. (1977). "The essential Piaget" ed by Howard E. Gruber and J. Jacques Voneche Gruber, New York: Basic Books and Lev Vygotsky. Although they disagree about how stages of development should be defined, and about the primary influences on development, they agree that a child's development can be measured as a predictable series of advances in physical, intellectual and social skills which almost always occur in the same sequence, although the rate may vary from one child to another.
When a child falls behind their peers at some stage of development, their teacher may perceive that the child is "backward". There is strong evidence that this perception may become self-fulfilling: although the child catches up, the teacher may continue to rate their performance poorly, imposing a long-term handicap."Early Teacher Perceptions and Later Student Academic Achievement" Journal of Educational Psychology, 1999 Thomas Edison's mind often wandered and his teacher was overheard calling him "addled." This ended Edison's three months of official schooling. His mother then home schooled him."Thomas Edison biography" ProjectShum.org. Retrieved 8 January 2008 Edison may have had some form of Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which the American Psychiatric Institute says affects about 3–5% of children."Why does the worldwide prevalence of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder matter?" American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
A notable example of a child who overcame early developmental problems is Albert Einstein, who suffered from speech difficulties as a young child. Other late-talking children who became highly-successful engineers, mathematicians, and scientists include the physicists Richard Feynman and Edward Teller.Stanley A. Blumberg and Louis G. Panos. Edward Teller: giant of the golden age of physics; a biography (Scribner's, 1990) Neuroscientist Steven Pinker postulates that a certain form of language delay may in fact be associated with exceptional and innate-analytical prowess in some individuals.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that may affect 3–10% of children. It is thought to be the result of a genetically inherited neurological difference from "normal" children, and has been diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence. Studies indicate that 20% to 35% of U.S. and British entrepreneurs have the condition: by definition, late bloomers. Researchers theorise that dyslexic entrepreneurs may attain success by delegating responsibilities and excelling at verbal communication. Richard Branson, known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies is a notable example,Branson, Richard. Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, And Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way, 1999, Three Rivers Press. as is Charles R. Schwab the founder and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation.Charles Schwab's Secret Struggle Stanford Magazine: March/April 1999. Retrieved 7 January 2008 Pablo Picasso, Tom Cruise, and Whoopi Goldberg are other examples of dyslexics, considered "slow" as children."Dyslexic? You're not alone..." dyslexiaonline.com. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
The autism spectrum of psychological conditions affects about 0.6% of children, characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, severely-restricted interests, and highly-repetitive behavior. Notable individuals with autism spectrum disorders include Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author and Vernon L. Smith, a Nobel Laureate in economics.
Adolescents
During adolescence a youth goes through physical and mental changes that lead to them becoming an adult. Adolescence is usually considered to start with the first stages of puberty and to continue until physical growth is complete, although the World Health Organization defines adolescence simply as the period between ages 10 and 20. There is a wide range of normal ages, but generally girls begin the process of puberty between the ages of 8 and 13, while boys usually start between the ages of 9 and 14. The entire process of puberty typically takes up to 4 years, with girls usually finishing around age 14, and boys at age 15–16.
"Late bloomer" can refer to children who suffer from delayed puberty, who are late in reaching their full height. W. B. Yeats (age 30)Foster, R. F. (1997). W. B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. I: The Apprentice Mage. New York: Oxford UP. and Pierre Trudeau (age at least 28),Memoirs, by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Toronto 1993, McClelland & Stewart publishers. are all "late bloomers" in this last sense.
In most public educational systems, children and adolescents of the same age are put in the same classes. Because of the wide variance in the onset of adolescence, this means that one class may include individuals who have not yet started puberty, others who are sexually mature but not fully grown and yet others who are effectively adult. During this period, there is a high risk of an adolescent dropping out of formal education (due most commonly to laziness, intellectual boredom, bullying, or rebellion) without having achieved their full learning potential."Dropout Intervention and Language Minority Youth" ERIC Digest. Retrieved 5 January 2009 The term "late-bloomer" may refer to such an individual who develops serious intellectual interests in their 20s or 30s and enrolls in college, where he or she performs particularly well and subsequently establishes a professional career.
Adults
A late blooming adult is a person who does not discover their talents and abilities until later than normally expected. In certain cases retirement may lead to this discovery.
Although there is a common perception that intellectual development peaks in a young adult and then slowly declines with increasing age, this may be simplistic. Although the ability to form new memories and concepts may indeed diminish, the older person has the advantage of accumulated knowledge, associations between concepts, and mental techniques that may give them an advantage in some fields."The Surprising Power of the Aging Brain" Time magazine
Some notable examples of late bloomers in different fields follow.
Acting It is common for many actors to not get their big 'break' into the film industry until their late twenties or well into their thirties. Meryl Streep did not graduate Yale School of Drama until the age of twenty-seven. The actor Alan Rickman did not begin his career until he was twenty-eight, having operated a graphic-design company before then. He did not get his first real break into theatre until he was in his forties. Danny Aiello did not start acting until he was forty. Peg Phillips might be one of the best examples as she first pursued acting as a professional after her retirement from accounting; she started acting professionally in her late sixties."Actress realized her dream on 'Northern Exposure'" SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER 12 November 2002. Retrieved 3 January 2009 Although not a noteworthy actress, Clara Peller might be noted for having an even later start in entertainment, in her eighties."Advertising Mascots – People" TV Acres. Retrieved 3 January 2008 Richard Farnsworth became an actor after forty years as a stunt man, although he had had a few small uncredited roles when younger."Cowboy's Way – The straight story on the life and death of Oscar nominee Richard Farnsworth" Entertainment Weekly Obituary. Retrieved 5 January 2008 Ellen Albertini Dow obtained her first screen credit when she was sixty-eight. Rodney Dangerfield was an actor/comedian who did not really start until he was forty-two. He had done clubs when he was younger, but stopped in order to work as a salesman. Zelda Rubinstein was forty-eight before she had her first role, a minor part in Under the Rainbow, but is more known for her "debut" in the Poltergeist film series starting the following year. Chicago native Chi McBride, best known for the role as the principal in the series Boston Public, only got into acting when he was thirty-one. Danny Glover had a brief stint in the career of politics before he had involved himself in acting at twenty-eight. BAFTA winning British actress Liz Smith did not become a professional actress until the age of fifty. Kathryn Joosten also got a late start, beginning acting at age forty-two in community theater. Television star Judd Hirsch from Taxi and character actor Bill Cobbs became active at the age of thirty-six. George Wendt who played Norm on Cheers became active at the age of thirty-two. Brian Dennehy had dreams of stage and screen at an early age, but chose to first pursue other interests such as service in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to becoming active at the age of thirty-eight. Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, who appeared as Mad Eye Moody in the Harry Potter films and alongside Colin Farrell in In Bruges, started acting professionally at thirty-four, having previous work as a school teacher. The Indian (Bengali) actor Paran Bandopadhyay is another late bloomer, who started his acting career in television and films at the age of sixty, after retiring from his government job. Jerry Doyle, of Babylon 5 fame, did not start acting until he was thirty-six after working as a stockbroker and pilot. Sylvester Stallone was thirty when he wrote and starred in the first Rocky. All throughout his life, he has pushed his body through rigorous training routines for his film roles. Most notably at age forty-three, he developed his now-famous Rambo 3 physique which got him named as "body of the '80s". The veteran Indian (Malayalam) actor Sathyan started his career at the age of forty, after resigning from the Police Service. He later came to be known as one of the greatest Malayalam film actors, and the actor Thilakan did not have much success until he was well into his forties, despite having started his film career at the age of thirty-seven after having worked in a drama troupe.
Art