Susan Powter

Susan Powter (born 22 December 1957)[1] is an Australian-born American motivational speaker, nutritionist, personal trainer, and author, who rose to fame in the 1990s with her catchphrase "Stop the Insanity!", the centerpiece of her weight-loss infomercial.

Susan Powter
Born (1957-12-22) 22 December 1957
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationNutritionist, motivational speaker, writer, television personality

She hosted her own talk show The Susan Powter Show in the 1990s.

Early life

Powter was born in Sydney in 1957. Some sources give her birthdate as December 12 and others December 22, 1957, and lived there until she immigrated to the United States at age 10.[2] She left school in 9th grade.[2]

Career

Television

In 1994, Powter starred in her own talk-show style television program called The Susan Powter Show, which ran for one season. On the show, she discussed nutrition and fitness as well as other topics with her guests. She was also a special guest on the first episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, titled "Spanish Translation".

It was planned for her to be a regular on the TV sitcom Women of the House in 1995. The series was cancelled before the single episode she appeared in was shown on TV.

Motivational speaker and nutritionist

Advocate of a whole-foods, organic, low-fat diet, and regular cardiovascular and strength-training exercise, Powter also condemned the diet industry.[3]

Her platinum-white close cropped haircut, aggressive speaking manner, and habit of being barefoot while speaking in public became elements of her celebrity. She has since grown out her hair and has multiple tattoos.

Powter was originally based in Dallas, Texas at the height of her fame. She eventually sold her studio in Dallas and moved to Seattle, Washington. As of 2012, she was living in an Earthship in New Mexico. Today, she lives in Las Vegas, NM.[4]

Author and blogger

Powter is author of several books, three of which became New York Times best-sellers in the 1990s. In 2002, she returned to writing with The Politics of Stupid, a stream-of-consciousness, self-published manifesto encouraging women to take control of their brains and bodies from food manufacturers, corrupt governments, and fitness/diet industries.

Powter's website reported that she would host a radio show beginning in May 2006 and a cooking show entitled Taste My Broth within the year. She also puts out The Monthly Flow, a subscription-based multi-media e-zine.

Personal life

On January 3, 1995, Powter filed for personal bankruptcy.[5]

Powter has been married twice. She has two sons from her first marriage, Damien and Kiel. She adopted a third son after her second marriage.[6] She later came out as a lesbian, and in a 2004 interview with Curve magazine, she described herself as a "radical feminist lesbian woman.”[7] She dated the stepsister of Zach Braff, comedian Jessica Kirson in 2008.[8]

Bibliography
  • Stop the Insanity! (1993) ISBN 0-671-79598-8
  • The Pocket Powter (1994) ISBN 0-671-89456-0
  • Food (1995) ISBN 0-671-89225-8
  • C'mon America, Let's Eat (1996)
  • Sober…and Staying That Way: The Missing Link in the Cure for Alcoholism (1997)
  • Hey, Mom! I'm Hungry!: Great-Tasting, Low-Fat, Easy Recipes to Feed Your Family (1997)
  • The Politics of Stupid (2002)

Video cassettes
  • Moving With Susan (1992)
  • Shopping with Susan (1993)
  • Lean, Strong and Healthy with Susan Powter (1993)
  • Building Strength with Susan Powter (1994)
  • Burn Fat & Get Fit with Susan Powter (1994)

References
  1. "Susan Powter". Infoplease. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  2. Wichel, Alex, "The Powter Principle; Eat More and Lose Weight" The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia), 30 January 1994. LexisNexis Academic, 17 February 2011
  3. Witchel, Alex (31 October 1993). "Susan Powter". The New York Times.
  4. York, Eve Sherrill (14 September 2013). "Stop the Insanity!". Bubblews. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  5. Anderson, Stephanie (22 January 1995). "Susan Powter's Wallet Gets A Nasty Workout". Bloomberg L.P.
  6. Gemelli, Zoe (1 December 2004). "Infomercial queen Susan Powter comes out to play". Curve. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  7. Biography for Susan Powter at IMDb
  8. Bendix, Trish (11 November 2008). "Susan Powter thinks it should be obvious she's a lesbian". After Ellen.
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