38. Fame, Delusion and Holding It Together: A Hollywood Star’s Recipe for a Big Life | Kimberley Crossman
When a Sunshine Girl Learns to Glow in the DarkIn this electric and deeply human episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Kimberley Crossman, an actor, comedian, producer, creator of Pretty Depressed, grief survivor, mental health advocate, marine biology nerd, and the woman who somehow lives ten lives at once without losing the plot or her light.For years, the world saw Kimberley as the sunshine girl. Cheerful. Bubbly. Always on. But what most people never saw was the grief she was carrying through auditions, deadlines, miscarriages, and the pressure to stay “fine” on screen and online. This episode opens the curtain on that truth but not in a tragic way rather in a way that shows how softness and strength can co-exist in one woman who absolutely refuses a small life.We explore the wildly parallel worlds she moves through. Los Angeles sets. New Zealand bush walks. Comedy stages. Shark tagging adventures. Solo healing. Creative entrepreneurship. And a career built on resilience that would break most people long before the ten thousandth no.This conversation is bright, funny, disruptive, emotional, and full of moments that make you feel like you are sitting with a woman who has lived enough for three seasons of her own show. Kimberley brings receipts on what it means to keep going after loss, to redefine resilience, to stop performing for approval, and to let your messy and magnificent parts all have space at the table.If you’ve ever felt split between who the world sees and who you actually are or ever carried grief while still building a big life this episode feels like oxygen.---In This Episode We Explore00:00 Episode trailer02:10 The duality of being Kimberley in Hollywood and Kimberley at home07:40 How 10,000 rejections shaped her optimism without hardening her12:15 The quiet heartbreak of miscarriage and the identity rebuild that followed18:20 Why joy became her compass and not a personality trait23:50 The moment she stopped performing for approval and started choosing truth28:30 Finding purpose beyond visibility and the story behind Pretty Depressed35:10 The sunshine reputation and the shadows people never see41:20 Bees, sharks and the passions that keep her grounded and alive48:00 Living parallel lives and the freedom of being multidimensional55:40 Letting herself be loved in the mess instead of the performance01:03:00 Boundaries that saved her from burnout and performative wellness01:08:45 What resilience and delusion really look like behind the scenes01:15:00 How she chooses a big life without apology01:21:30 What she hopes her audience feels, not just sees01:24:00 Closing reflections---Episode LinksKimberley Crossman on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/kimcrossmanPretty Depressed Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/04dZVSSbP7A3hQAyHx4s2B---Follow The Powerhouse DiariesListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-powerhouse-diaries/id1791081472Listen on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/3ExGnkttIzhK8NMjyWLINwInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries
New Zealand