Jennifer Holliday appeared on Wednesday’s edition of “Tamron Hall”. The “Dreamgirls” singer, 62, discussed her battle with depression during the early stages of her career.
The 2X Grammy winner told Tamron Hall she struggled with weight when she was a young singer.
“I had to file for bankruptcy at 27 years old, my recording career just didn’t take off as I had hoped it to and a lot of that was image with the weight. You know they just didn’t want to back me or support me because they figured ‘you know, well she’s overweight,’ and back then the ’80s had just started to go into video and TV and stuff, so it’s been a long, difficult run.”
Holliday attempted suicide on her 30th birthday by overdosing on pills. In a previous interview with CBS, she said her weight ballooned over 330 pounds and she was despondent after losing everything. “I was like, ‘I don’t think that there’s any need to stay here,'” she said.
Holliday was married and divorced twice. Neither union produced children. Her second marriage ended, just four months after her mother died of cancer. “It was like experiencing two deaths at the same time,” she said. “The grief was overwhelming.”
Holliday also performed her Grammy Award-winning hit “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”
Watch the video below.
