Heather Graham Reveals Why She Hasn’t Spoken to Her ‘Estranged’ Parents in Nearly 30 Years

Heather Graham doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents. Via E! News, the Suitable Flesh wrote in an essay to the Wall Street Journal that she hasn’t spoken to her estranged parents in nearly 30 years because of her career. “My father, James, was an FBI agent,” she shared. “He regularly told me that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul if I became an actress and appeared in anything with sexual content.”

As for her mother, an elementary school teacher and children’s author named Joan supported her “creative steak and acting ambition.” Graham continued, “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.” The Milwaukee native admitted she fell in love with acting after doing theater productions in school that later brought her to Hollywood.

She landed her first acting role in the 1984 film Mrs. Soffel in an uncredited part when she was just 14. But after nabbing License to Drive three years later, she knew there was a shift at home. “When the movie came out, I was 18,” Graham 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.’”

Heather Graham made a steady career for herself, appearing in projects such as Diggstown, Twin Peaks, Six Degrees of Separation, Don’t Do It, Guilty as Charged, I Love You to Death, and Drugstore Cowboy throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s. Unfortunately, in just seven years,  her relationship with her parents greatly diminished, sharing, “I stopped talking to my parents when I was 25, and I’m estranged from them now. My friends are proud of me, and I’m proud of myself.”

While it certainly wasn’t the ideal outcome, it does seem like separating herself from her parents might have been the right choice for Graham. She knew what she wanted and knew what was best for her, even if her parents didn’t exactly see things her way. It is sad that she still hasn’t been able to patch things up, but it sounds like she is doing just fine regardless. As long as she still has a circle of support and is proud of herself, that’s really all that matters.