Celebrity 2 months ago

Susan Powter Opens Up About Fame and Regret

Discover Susan Powter's journey from fitness icon to TV star, her struggles with fame, and her new documentary and memoir. Read about her inspiring comeback!

Susan Powter, the fitness icon behind the popular infomercial Stop the Insanity!, recently opened up about her challenging journey with fame and the feeling of losing control over her own short-lived talk show, The Susan Powter Show.

At 66, Powter now supports herself by delivering meals for Uber Eats and receiving $1,500 monthly from Social Security. She shared with PEOPLE that her rise to stardom in the 1990s quickly unraveled due to poor business decisions and alleged lawsuits from those around her.

Powter gained recognition after losing weight from 260 pounds post-pregnancy. She initially partnered with a manager and investor to launch a company focused on an exercise studio and clothing line. However, this evolved into a $2 million advance for a book and a single season of her talk show, which aired from 1994 to 1995.

"I wasn't running my company; it was a 50/50 deal," she explained. As financial interests grew, she felt pressure to change her persona. "They started to produce the 'me' out of me," she said, recalling how her unique style was stifled. Powter worked hard on her show, filming three episodes daily, but found the experience "mortifying." She recalled being dressed in pearls, which didn't align with her personality, and felt she had no control over the show's direction. "I can't even watch those segments now."

Despite generating about $300 million through her ventures, she admitted that she never saw that money reflected in her bank account. "I never made the money that I generated," she stated.

Reflecting on her departure from the industry, Powter described feeling betrayed by her business partners. "My heart got stomped in half," she said, expressing her frustration and decision to step away.

Beyond her talk show, Powter was parodied on Saturday Night Live, made a guest appearance on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and was set to star in a sitcom that never aired. In 2011, she appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, and her Shopping With Susan VHS tape recently gained popularity on TikTok.

These days, Powter’s outlook is more positive. She is collaborating with filmmaker Zeberiah Newman and actress Jamie Lee Curtis on a documentary about her life, slated for release in 2025. Additionally, she has self-published a memoir titled And Then Em Died... Stop the Insanity! A Memoir.