Marilu Henner outed as having rare memory powers

[HMG Celebrity News] – With the explosion of social networks many people barely bother to remember their names, but Marilu Henner remembers it all. Recognized as one of only six people known to possess ‘Superior autobiographical memory’ she can remember every day of her life.

“For me, the closest thing to it is selected scenes on a DVD,” she told the Early Show. “If you name a year, the entire year lays itself out in order and each day is a different scene, and some are more vivid than others. But I can go to each day and it sort of…comes up.”

To test this, host Rebecca Jarvis picked 1975. In seconds, Marilu named the right days for every holiday that year.

“My birthday was on a Sunday – that was April 6th,” said the actress, without hesitation. “And Christmas was on a Thursday that year. And Thanksgiving was on the 27th.”

So how does it feel to have such recollection? Henner, 58, says it’s like time travel.

“I’m back looking through my eyes,” she explained. “I see what I was wearing on that first date and where we went to dinner, and people would say, ‘Sounds like you’ve had an exciting life.’ It just kind of lines up that way.”

You might think that’s unusual, but Marilu says she’s never known any different;

“It was a skill I developed, but I liked doing it as well,” she says. “They explained last night on ’60 Minutes’ – We have an area of our brains that’s larger than most people’s. But I know it’s also been a muscle I’ve exercised.”

Now Marilu wants to use her superpowers to help others remember;

“There are certain things people could do to take in information. I probably can’t give anybody a memory like the six of us have, but I could definitely help people,” she mused. “I know people are sometimes afraid of memories, but you empower yourself more if you remember.”

And Marilu told the host she’s laid it out in more detail in her upcoming book; “An Unforgettable Life.” It’s due out in the Spring, so if you’d like a more powerful memory, start by remembering that…

Photo: Alan Light