Celebs with Stage Fright

Think celebrities don't battle the same stage fright anxieties as the rest of us? Think again.

It can happen to anyone, says Dr. Julie Nagel, a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Mich who struggled with her own stage fright as a young performer. "It's like having an accident on slippery ice," she says. "People think that if they prepare enough it can't happen. But deep down they know it can."

Nagels says the prescription drug propanolol (Inderal) can help with the shakes, but the best solution is to talk it out in therapy. "It is not something that is forbidden," she says. "It's something that is a real issue that needs to be talked about."

Here are six celebrities brave enough to do just that.

Andrea Bocelli

The superstar tenor's stage fright problem has been as big as his voice, and he still hasn't found any good solution.

"I think I don't want to use drugs or medicine, so nothing," he said in a 2002 interview with Connie Chung. "The only way is to go on stage and to hope."

Rod Stewart

In one 1968 performance, Rod Stewart reportedly was so nervous that he belted out a tune from behind a stack of loudspeakers, according to MSNBC. But the English rocker told CNN, "I got over it eventually. When you know people love you in the audience, it makes it easier."

Barbra Streisand

After panicking during a 1967 performance in Central Park, Barbra Streisand avoiding live performances for decades, according to ABC News.

"I couldn't come out of it... It was shocking to me to forget the words," she said. So, I didn't have any sense of humor about it... I didn't sing and charge people for 27 years because of that night... I was like, 'God, I don't know. What if I forget the words again?'"

Donny Osmond

For Donny Osmond, one key to deal with severe stage fright has been to lower his own expectations. "I know when I walk out there, I'm not going to give the best performance," he said in an interview with CBS News. "I'll make a mistake. I'll trip. I'll do something stupid. But it's OK; you pick up and just move on."

Carly Simon

Cary Simon has been open about her struggle with stage fright, which at times has been particularly severe. How severe? In 1981, she reportedly passed out while performing. And it wasn't the first time. In the early 1960s, she fainted after seeing legendary folk singer Odetta in the audience. "The moment I saw her, I fainted head-on into a table of businessmen eating pasta," she told the New York Times.

Renee Fleming

Renee Fleming was so paralyzed by stage fright that the opera star's voice coach used to push her onstage. "We're not talking about the jitters," she told The Times. "We're talking about deep, deep panic, and that every fiber of your being is saying, 'I cannot be on that stage.'"