American Actress, Heather Graham has more than six degrees of separation from her parents.
The Austin Powers star revealed she’s estranged from her parents, Joan Graham and James Graham in almost three decades due to their refusal for her to pursue a career in Hollywood.
In her words:
“My father, James was an F.B.I agent. He regularly told me that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul if I become an actress and appeared in anything with sexual content”.
And when it came to her mother, who Heather said was an elementary school teacher and author of children’s books after having kids, The 54year old added:
“To her credit, my mother supported my creative streak and acting ambition. It was a mixed message, though, since my father was strongly against them and my mother didn’t do much to protect me from him.”
Heather continued to describe how she developed an acting bug at an early age, starting in theatre productions in school that would eventually bring her to Hollywood and after getting her first movie role in License to Drive at the age 17, she knew she’d reached a turning point.
“When the movie came out, I was 18”, Heather explained. ” Living at home had become more difficult. I said to myself, I’ve got to get out of here, I’ve got to be successful and I’ve got to be a movie star”.
It was only seven years later, during which time she’d landed supporting roles on the TV series Twin Peaks and in movies such as Six Degrees of Separation and Swingers that her relationship with her parents finished for good.
“I stopped talking to my parents when I was 25 and I’m estranged from them now”, Heather confirmed. “My friends are proud of me and I’m proud of myself”.
