Susan Powter has skilled loads of change in her life after she rose to fame along with her health infomercials.
After her first husband, Nic Villarreal, left her for one more lady in 1986, Powter went from 130 kilos to 260 kilos — and turned to health to get her by means of.
Within the early ‘90s, Powter rose to prominence along with her “Cease the Madness!” health infomercials and went on to create an enormous wellness empire, authoring a number of books and creating her personal speak present, The Susan Powter Present.
Nonetheless, after ending up embroiled in a number of lawsuits, Powter was pressured to declare chapter in 1995, which led her to escaping from the general public eye and finally operating out of cash in 2018.
“Attempt to get a job as a 60-year-old lady,” Powter instructed Individuals in October 2024, noting that she had been delivering Grubhub and Uber Eats for the previous six years to make a dwelling.
After twenty years, Powter is shedding mild on her disappearance and chapter by means of her new documentary, Cease the Madness: Discovering Susan Powter. The movie, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, will open in choose theaters in November 2025.
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Susan Powter Has Been Married Twice and Is a Mother of 4
Powter married Villarreal in 1982, and the pair welcomed sons Kiel and Damien earlier than they ended up divorcing in 1988 following his affair with one other lady. After her ex-husband’s affair, Powter turned to meals to manage — which finally led her to affix the health business.
“I used to be in a fats coma. I used to be actually dying,” she instructed the Chicago Tribune in a 1993 interview. “I made a decision to make a change.”
Following her cut up from Villarreal, Powter tied the knot with musician Lincoln Apeland in 1989. The duo cut up in 1995.
Almost a decade later, Powter got here out as lesbian in 2004 and adopted a 3rd son, Gabriel.
Susan Powter Rose to Fame By way of Her Health Infomercials
In 1990, Powter partnered with Dallas publicity consultant Rusty Robertson to create her “Cease the Madness!” infomercials, which included her well being and wellness package with train movies and recipes.
“I simply acquired up and spoke to girls,” she instructed Individuals in October 2024. “That’s what I did within the infomercial. It was unrehearsed, unscripted. And people girls responded.”
Susan Powter Had Her Personal Speak Present and Wrote A number of Books
After the recognition of her infomercials, Powter began her personal health studio and authored a number of books together with 1993’s Cease the Madness! and 1995’s Meals. Regardless of all of her fame, Powter later admitted that she wasn’t operating her personal firm as a result of it was a “50/50 deal.”
“They began to supply the ‘me’ out of me,” she defined to Individuals in October 2024. “And that occurred when the cash acquired to right here. Then it was like, ‘Oh, Suze, don’t say that. No, no. It’s a bit of an excessive amount of. Oh, you’re surprising. Stunning.’ However that’s the identical shock that acquired me there.”
In 1994, the health teacher started filming her personal TV speak present known as The Susan Powter Present — besides the management acquired to be an excessive amount of for her.
“I labored very exhausting on that present. Taking pictures three exhibits a day,” she instructed the outlet. “I did it with all the things I had. But it surely was mortifying. They put me in pearls. Have a look at me — do I seem like the pearl sort? And I didn’t have any say. All these segments, I can’t even watch them now.”
Susan Powter Declared Chapter
After getting herself out of The Susan Powter Present contract and preventing a number of lawsuits to renegotiate her enterprise contracts, Powter was pressured to declare chapter in 1995.
“There was nothing however lawsuits within the ‘90s,” she instructed Individuals in an October 2024 interview. “Sure, there was cash, however I by no means had $300 million within the checking account. I by no means made the cash that I generated.”
Powter ended up leaving Hollywood along with her three youngsters to maneuver to Seattle the place she rented a cabin and taught cooking and health courses.
Susan Powter Misplaced All of Her Cash

Powter was dwelling fortunately in Seattle earlier than operating out of all the cash she made in 2018 and was unable to get a job. She ended up relocating to Las Vegas to dwell in a fancy the place she started delivering for GrubHub and Uber Eats.
“It’s so exhausting. It’s horrifyingly surprising. If unhappiness might kill you, I’d be lifeless,” Powter instructed Individuals in October 2024, noting that after she was approached by Curtis and filmmaker Zeberiah Newman about doing a documentary, it impressed her to share her story by means of her 2024 memoir, And Then Em Died…: Cease the Madness!. “The cash has been gone for 25 years. I’m not searching for a giant fancy-schmancy life.”
Powter shared that she simply desires to “speak to the world” and “write books.”
“I need insurance coverage, I need a bank card, I wish to pay my payments,” she shared with the outlet. “I need a dentist. But when it does occur, it’s going to be well-managed. It’s going to go to my youngsters and to me. I wish to give my youngsters again what ought to have been theirs.”