Heather Graham Gets Candid About Decades Long Estrangement From Parents

Heather Graham has been getting candid about her personal life and explaining why she decided to go public with details of her family rift.

The 54-year-old actress recently revealed that fame resulted in her becoming estranged from her ultra-conservative parents Joan and James Graham, who didn’t approve of her Hollywood lifestyle. She admitted that they haven’t been on speaking terms for years.

Now she is opening up about why she felt it was important to publicly address her family fractures.

“It is a little vulnerable to talk about in an interview,” she admitted People. “And at the same point, I know there’s a lot of other people who are going through something like it, so I guess I just feel like being honest about my life and not pretending that everything is always fantastic.”

The star continued, “I’m okay just being who I am.” 

Her latest project is the movie Chosen Family, which she stars in, wrote and directed. Released in theaters and on demand on October 11, the movie centers on Ann, a yoga teacher played by Graham who is looking to find inner peace while dealing with a chaotic family and dating life. The film also stars Julia Stiles, John Brotherton, and Thomas Lennon. Graham admits that the flick was inspired by her own experiences.

She was just 17 when she found fame in 1980s comedy License to Drive. She soon found herself caught up in the bright lights of Hollywood, and gained sex symbol status with major roles in Boogie Nights,  Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and The Hangover.

In a personal essay in  The Wall Street Journal in August, timed to the release of her film Place of Bones, she wrote about what her dad thought of the movie business. “He regularly told me that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul,” she disclosed.

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She said she stopped talking to her parents at age 25. Now almost 30 years later she calls this the most exciting time in her career. “I’m making money doing what I love,” she said. I’m surrounded by love and support. I’m living in my dream house.” 

She added that there are other undisclosed reasons why she doesn’t talk to her parents, explaining that she “didn’t go into all the details” in her WSJ article. “But I have very great, very wonderful friends,” she says. “And so that is a really lucky thing to have in my life.”