The one lesson I’ve learned from life
Actress Rose McGowan
AMERICAN actress and activist Rose McGowan, 45, has starred in Scream and tV series Nip/tuck and Charmed. She was one of the first women to speak out about sexual abuse in Hollywood when the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in 2017. In 2018 time Magazine voted her its Person Of the Year. She is currently in a relationship with non-binary model Rain Dove and lives in London.
DON’T BE SCARED TO RUFFLE FEATHERS
i NEVER meant to be an actor. My father was the leader of a chapter of an italian cult called the Children of God and my mother was one of his wives. We moved from Florence to a military base in America when i was ten and my name was changed from Rosa to Rose. i fled the cult at the age of 15 and found myself living in the back room of a friend’s house in Hollywood.
i guess i fell into acting, and in some ways Hollywood was just as restrictive. it controls what you’re supposed to look like, how you have your hair, how you dress and speak. And whatever you do, don’t ruffle any feathers or speak out of line . . . But that’s exactly what i did. Writing a book about my experience within Hollywood hasn’t been easy, but it has been a healing process.
Ernest Hemingway once said: ‘it’s easy to be a writer. Just sit in front of the typewriter and bleed.’ And that’s what it felt like writing my memoir, Brave. it almost took me out completely, but in the long run, it’s done wonders for my mental health. i feel really good and that’s a good place to be because i fought hard for it.
And it’s been totally worth it for the impact it’s had already. in the past year i’ve seen a big change where people are finding the strength in their voices, speaking up about what has happened to them and realising that it’s not their shame. That’s a pretty amazing thing to see. i’m currently in a relationship with Rain, but my faith in men isn’t destroyed. i’ve always been really hopeful about people.
some think what i’ve said about the culture of Hollywood is fantastical, and ask me if i’m paranoid — but it’s all true. i’ve had quite enough attention in my life and i don’t need this kind of attention. Whether people believe me or not is not my issue.