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After the shocking loss of designer Kate Spade and Parts Unknown host Anthony Bourdain recently, actress Erika Alexander spoke at an event in Detroit just a few days ago about the topic of suicide prevention. She told the city’s NBC-affiliate WDIV, “It’s been a crisis.”
“A person may be going along their daily routine, and know how to do it. So as long as they’re doing that, people don’t know they’re suffering from a deeper problem,” she said. “It’s good and sad in a way, that we can have this conversation because of all of the new press around Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. But the truth is, this is long overdue, and needed.”
And this conversation is one that hits close to home for Alexander, as her mother tried to take her own life after dealing with abuse as a young woman.
“My mother was abused very badly when she was growing up. I think it created a well of sadness around her,” she said. “She was able to pull herself out of being a teenager who wanted to commit suicide and tried several times, unsuccessfully.”
She also told ABC-affiliate WXYZ that she felt like her mother’s struggles, not just during adolescence, but with ongoing issues pertaining to mental illness, pushed her to speak out.
“From those experiences in dealing with a family member who deals with depression, I thought I had something to say.”
She’s not alone. A number of stars, unfortunately, have been impacted by the “successful” and “unsuccessful” attempts at suicide by their loved ones, and have been open about the pain those decisions caused. See nine other well-known figures who’ve been affected by suicide.
