'90s fitness icon Susan Powter disappeared from public life after 'mortifying' Hollywood experience

While building a successful profession arsenic a fittingness guru successful nan '90s, Susan Powter, who roseate to fame arsenic nan look of nan "Stop nan Insanity!" infomercial, big of "The Susan Powter Show" and writer of galore fare and weight nonaccomplishment books, was secretly fighting her ain conflict down nan scenes. 

"They started to nutrient nan 'me' retired of me," Powter, who is promoting her caller book, "And Then Em Died…Stop nan Insanity! A Memoir," told People magazine. 

"And that happened erstwhile nan money sewage to present [raising her manus up high]. Then, it was like, 'Oh, Suze, don't opportunity that. No, no. It's a small excessively much. Oh, you're shocking. Shocking.' But that's nan aforesaid daze that sewage maine there.

"I worked very difficult connected ['The Susan Powter Show']. Shooting 3 shows a day. I did it pinch everything I had," she added. "But it was mortifying. They put maine successful pearls. Look astatine me. Do I look for illustration nan pearl type? And I didn't person immoderate say. All those segments, I can't moreover watch them now."

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Susan Powter roseate to fame successful nan 1990s arsenic a fittingness guru.  (Getty Images)

Powter's roadworthy to occurrence started astatine 1 of nan darkest points of her life. She was a 260-pound mother of 2 successful nan midst of a bitter divorce. 

"I was a frightened, angry, isolated azygous mother who dealt pinch trauma by shoving fat into my mouth," nan Australian native, who moved to nan United States pinch her family erstwhile she was 10 years old, told nan Washington Post successful 1994. "I went up to 260 pounds. I had yo-yo'd my full life, but I was ne'er obese for illustration this. I had nary energy, I was depressed, my ankles were blown up. I knew I had to resurrect myself from nan dead."

"I’m not kidding erstwhile I show you I was going to rustle my caput off," she said while speaking astatine nan Broadcast Advertising Club luncheon astatine nan Hyatt Regency Chicago that aforesaid year, according to nan Chicago Tribune. "I americium not lying. I didn’t want to unrecorded anymore. My life was successful nan toilet." 

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It was astatine that constituent Powter decided to return charge. 

Powter's profession started astatine 1 of nan darkest points of her life. She was a self-proclaimed 260-pound mother of 2 successful nan midst of a bitter divorce.   (Getty Images)

"I conscionable sewage up and said to women," she told People. "That's what I did successful nan infomercial. It was unrehearsed, unscripted. And those women responded."

Through her infomercial, Powter offered a wellness package that mixed a low-fat fare pinch an workout regimen. According to The Washington Post, nan $79.80 package included 5 audio tapes, an workout video, a look collection, a guideline to food-fat contented and a caliper to measurement assemblage fat. 

At nan time, Powter was trading astir 15,000 of these packages each week, grossing successful nan $5 cardinal range, according to nan Post. 

Before she knew it, nan fittingness guru had established a sanction for herself and signed her first statement pinch her head and an investing partner successful hopes of processing "an workout workplace and possibly a clothing line," she told People. 

Her profession unexpectedly skyrocketed arsenic she began appearing connected nan nationally syndicated daytime talk show "The Home Show" and was fixed a $2 cardinal beforehand for her first book. She erstwhile sold $50 cardinal successful products yearly, according to People.

Powter's profession skyrocketed pinch nan thief of her infomercial "Stop The Insanity!" (Getty Images)

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"Nobody expected that," she told nan outlet. 

While things seemed to beryllium moving smoothly, Powter said she slow began to suffer power of herself, her image and her business plan. 

"I wasn't moving my company; it was a 50/50 deal," said Powter, who yet attempted to abstracted herself from nan business woody she was successful astatine nan time. "There was thing but lawsuits successful nan ‘90s."

In 1995, Powter revenge for bankruptcy. 

"Yes, location was money, but I ne'er had $300 cardinal successful nan slope account," she said. "I ne'er made nan money that I generated."

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The fittingness guru revenge for bankruptcy successful 1995 and later near Hollywood.  (Getty Images)

Powter made nan life-changing determination to time off Hollywood and unrecorded a overmuch simpler life successful Seattle pinch her 3 children. 

"I didn't conscionable make a determination to leave. My bosom sewage stomped successful half," said Powter, who came retired arsenic lesbian successful 2004. "It was shocking. I was furious. And I was conscionable like, I'm conscionable out."

Powter opted for a "hippie" manner that near her emotion "very happy" for a play of time. But, earlier she knew it, she was struggling financially. 

"Try to get a occupation arsenic a 60-year-old woman," said Powter, who yet moved to Las Vegas and has been delivering for Grubhub and Uber Eats nan past six years. 

"I’ve known desperation," added Powter, who lives successful a low-income elder community. "Desperation is stepping backmost from nan use office. It’s nan daze of, ‘From there, now I’m here? How successful God’s name?’"

Despite losing hope, Powter's religion was restored erstwhile character Jamie Lee Curtis approached her pinch nan thought of documenting her life story. 

These days, Powter is delivering for Grubhub and Uber Eats.  (Getty Images)

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"I was successful tears," Powter said of first gathering Curtis, an executive shaper connected nan upcoming documentary called "Stop nan Insanity: Finding Susan Powter." "And I said 'Thank you. Thank you for believing successful me. I had mislaid faith. I had mislaid complete and absolute hope.'"

"As 1 of nan world's first existent influencers astatine nan opening of what we would now mention to arsenic nan societal media era, Susan Powter was brazen and brave, and woke america each up," Lee told People of Powter. "Like truthful galore women's stories, Susan's powerfulness and her ray was diminished, denigrated and dismissed."

Oscar victor Jamie Lee Curtis said, "Susan Powter was brazen and brave, and woke america each up." (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Powter said she's looking guardant to reconnecting pinch group astir nan U.S. arsenic she originates to beforehand her book and is eager to proceed building her legacy. 

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"Those women will perceive my voice, and they'll beryllium like, 'Well, goddamn, she hasn't changed 1 bit.'" she said. "What I consciousness now is nan anticipation of possibilities. There were days and days, months and months and years of not emotion that. I mislaid hope, but I'm filled pinch it now. I person ne'er been much excited."