An actress who starred on Friends and Seinfeld has revealed she was routinely raped and trafficked while she was living on the streets as a teen – after fleeing foster care where she witnessed ‘violence and drug use’ on a regular basis.
Decades after she worked her way up into the bright lights of Hollywood following a harrowing childhood filled with abuse and neglect, Angela Featherstone, 57, is speaking out about the trauma that she had to overcome.
The star, who is best known for playing Chloe in Friends and the maid in Seinfeld, has opened up about the years of ‘physical, emotional, and sexual abuse’ that she faced when she was young.
Featherstone – who hails from Nova Scotia, Canada – lived with her ‘neglectful’ parents until the age of 16.
An actress who starred on Friends and Seinfeld has revealed she was routinely raped and trafficked while she was living on the streets as a teen. She is pictured in Seinfeld
Angela Featherstone (pictured in 2012), now 57, who is most known for playing Chloe in Friends and the maid in Seinfeld, is speaking out about her traumatic childhood
The star has opened up about the years of ‘physical, emotional, and sexual abuse’ that she faced when she was young. She is pictured during her childhood
‘I would characterize the first 16 years of my life to be abusive physically, emotionally, psychologically and, in the end, sexually abusive,’ she told Yahoo Life recently.
At 16, Featherstone (pictured in 2022) – who hails from Nova Scotia, Canada – ran away from her ‘neglectful’ parents, and was put into the foster care system
‘At the very least, there was criminal neglect on a consistent basis, and lots of abandonment.’
The star eventually ran away from home, and after she was arrested for stealing a pair of boots at the mall, her parents gave up their rights and she was put into the foster care system.
However, after entering the foster care system, things didn’t get better for the then-teen. She recalled witnessing ‘sexual activity, violence, and drug use’ while receiving a ‘lack of proper food and care.’
‘I kept getting put in these group homes and I kept running away because I hated the group homes,’ she explained.
‘They were really bad and I didn’t feel safe there, and so I kept leaving.’
Featherstone then decided that she would try her hand at living on the streets, where she started getting ‘trafficked’ and ‘raped all the time.’
However, after entering the foster care, things didn’t get better for Featherstone (pictured throughout her childhood). She recalled witnessing ‘sexual activity, violence, and drug use’
Featherstone (pictured during her childhood) then decided that she would try her hand at living on the streets, where she started getting ‘trafficked’ and ‘raped all the time’
At age 17, she was arrested for prostitution and the judge emancipated her. She then moved to Toronto for a fresh start, where she started modeling. She is pictured in a modeling campaign
‘Each picture that bore my face was a symbol of success and beauty. But it was a constant reminder of my childhood abuse,’ she previously wrote in an essay. She is pictured in 1997
She continued: ‘I was being trafficked, I was just being raped all the time. I wasn’t getting any money and I wasn’t standing on any street corner.
‘It was different than what I had imagined in my head of what it was. I had not sensed that it could be so subtle, as it could happen to you and you don’t even realize it’s happening to you.’
‘I wanted to leave that old pain behind me, to start my life anew. It was harder to do than I thought,’ Featherstone (pictured in 2005) admitted
The actress was eventually picked up by law enforcement and was charged with immorality – also known as prostitution.
Featherstone, who was 17 at the time, pleaded with the judge to emancipate her and when he agreed, she decided to head to Toronto for a fresh start.
She pursued modeling, and in less than a year, Featherstone became one of Canada’s most in-demand models.
‘My sudden, desired success allowed me to hide behind a new façade. The shame of years spent wearing tattered hand-me-downs that covered massive welts across my body, welts the shapes of leather belts, wooden spoons and tree branches,’ she previously wrote in an essay for Everything Zoomer.
‘The confusion from years of living with narcissists; and the pain of believing myself truly unlovable were quickly suppressed in lieu of a “mysterious-nubile” image.
‘Each printed picture that bore my face was a symbol of success and beauty throughout the world.
She then moved to New York City to pursue acting, before eventually heading to Hollywood, landing numerous roles in the early ’90s. She is pictured in Seinfeld (left) and Friends (right)
Despite her success, the 57-year-old admitted that she still struggled – turning to alcohol to numb the pain of her past. She is pictured in Friends
She eventually ‘threw all her money away’ and became homeless again. Featherstone (pictured in 1999) recalled: ‘I just wanted to start from ground zero again’
‘But it was a constant reminder of my childhood abuse. My nose was broken at age eight when my mother’s foot slammed against it in outrage.
‘The cracked curvature from that kick has graced near a hundred magazine covers. I wanted to leave that old pain behind me, to start my life anew. It was harder to do than I thought.’
She then moved to New York City to pursue acting, before eventually heading to Hollywood, landing numerous roles in the early ’90s.
She also struggled with alcoholism. She recalled: ‘I drank to forget. I drank to escape. The increased demand on my time with my new found success eventually began to encroach on my drinking.’ She is pictured in 2001
Aside from Friends and Steinfeld, she also acted in The Wedding Singer, where she played Linda – the fiancée who left Adam Sandler’s character, Robbie, at the altar, as well as comedy film My Dead Boyfriend, the Michelle Paradise-led series Exes & Ohs, crime drama What Doesn’t Kill You, CBS’ The Guardian, 2001 thriller Soul Survivor, Skipped Parts (alongside Drew Barrymore and Mischa Barton), and Zero Effect opposite Ben Stiller.
Despite her success, the 57-year-old admitted that she still struggled – turning to alcohol to numb the pain of her past.
‘I had always enjoyed alcohol since it had first touched my lips in high school. Now, with absolute freedom, I drank with abandon,’ she continued in her essay.
‘I drank to forget. I drank to escape. The increased demand on my time with my new found success eventually began to encroach on my drinking. I started to show up hours late for photo shoots feeling ill or sometimes not at all.’
She eventually ‘threw all her money away’ and became homeless again.
‘I was at the peak of my career as an actress, and a couple of really difficult instances happened at work, and I did not have the infrastructure to handle them,’ she recalled to Yahoo.
‘When they happened, I just collapsed and sought the comfort in homelessness. I became homeless.
‘I literally threw all my money away on anybody who would take it. I just wanted to start from ground zero again.’
But in 2011, she found a newfound love in writing after she joined UCLA’s writing program and began working on a memoir.
While writing her book, she revisited some traumatic moments from her childhood, and in 2016, Featherstone contemplated suicide – which inspired her to finally get the help she needed.
In 2016, Featherstone (pictured in 2015) contemplated suicide – which inspired her to finally get the help she needed. She started getting therapy, and fell in love with writing and yoga
In 2020, she created a trauma-healing school for youth who are aging out of foster care in Los Angeles called Fostering Care. She is pictured in 2022
‘I had a really hard year and I almost didn’t make it. I almost killed myself. It was so painful,’ she admitted. ‘It was time to really heal the core wounds. And it was so excruciating.’
She started getting therapy and fell in love with yoga. She also continued to write, and has since helped penned sitcoms for Sony, DreamWorks, and NBC.
Her nonfiction writing has been published in magazines like Time and The Huffington Post.
Despite everything she has been through, Featherstone has no regrets. She said: ‘Had I been receiving all of the things that every child so rightly deserves, I never would’ve had that huge drive change my life and to change the world’
She also found a passion for speaking out about her past issues and helping others who have survived the foster care system.
In 2020, she created a trauma-healing school for youth who are aging out of foster care in Los Angeles called Fostering Care.
‘I just see this image of foster care being like those holding pens for the cattle before they get slaughtered: The slaughtering is basically turning 18 in the state of California,’ she told the outlet. ‘The foster-care-to-pedophile pipeline is alive and well.’
At the school, young adults aged 18-21 can take a three-month course and receive a teaching certificate in a healing modality.
‘I’ve been interested in working on codependency, working on becoming individuated, and also working on intimacy and vulnerability skills,’ she explained of the program.
‘If you’ve had all of your physical, mental and emotional boundaries completely ignored, or completely violated, most often, it’s very difficult to ever really have a truly prosperous life.’
And despite everything she has been through, Featherstone now has no regrets.
She concluded: ‘Had I been loved … had I been receiving all of the things that every child so rightly deserves, I never would’ve left my hometown.
‘I never would’ve had that huge drive to get out of where I was and to change my life and to change the world.’
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