What do Emma Watson, David Bowie, and Sheryl Sandberg have in common? They’ve suffered Imposter Syndrome—that feeling you get when you feel like a fraud and that all your success is due to luck. But they deserve their success, right? Yes. And so do you.

David Bowie - musician

“I had enormous self-image problems and very low self-esteem, which I hid behind obsessive writing and performing. I really felt so utterly inadequate.”

Sheryl Sandberg - Business Executive, billionaire. Currently COO Meta Platforms and founder LeanIn.org

“Every time I took a test, I was sure it had gone badly. And every time I didn’t embarrass myself – or even excelled – I believed I had fooled everyone yet again. One day soon, the jig would be up. There are still days when I wake up feeling like a fraud, not sure I should be where I am.”

Emma Watson - actress

“When I receive recognition for my acting, I feel incredibly uncomfortable. I tend to turn in on myself. I feel like an imposter.”

Tom Hanks - actor

“No matter what we’ve done, there comes a point when you think;How did I get here? When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me?”

Natalie Portman - actress

On how she felt arriving at Harvard as a Freshman in 1999: “I felt like there had been some mistake, that I wasn’t smart enough to be in this company, and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove I wasn’t just a dumb actress.”

Maya Angelou - civil rights activist, author, poet and Nobel Laureate

“I have written 11 books, but each time I think: ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.’”

Lady Gaga - musician and actress

“I still sometimes feel like a loser kid in high school. I have to pick myself up and tell myself I’m a superstar every morning, so I can get through this day and be for my fans what they need me to be.”

Howard Schultz - former Starbucks CEO

“Very few people, whether you’ve been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the CEO. They’re not going to tell you that, but it’s true.”

Tina Fey - actress, comedian

“The beauty of impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I’m a fraud! Oh god, they’re onto me! I’m a fraud!’ You just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud.”

Sonia Sotomayor - first Latina Supreme Court Justice

“I have spent my years since Princeton, while at law school and in my various professional jobs, not feeling completely a part of the worlds I inhabit. I am always looking over my shoulder wondering if I measure up.”

If you need support surrounding Imposter Syndrome, explore our free online community where counselors answer your questions and members share experience, strength, and hope.