Curly Sue Child Star Alisan Porter Reveals She Is An Alcoholic

Alisan Porter, the former child star who shot to fame in the movie ‘Curly Sue’, has revealed that she’s an alcoholic.

In a post on her parenting blog Lil’ Mamas entitled ‘The Obligatory Child Star Gets Sober Mom Blog’, she wrote at length on her long struggle with alcohol, which ended with her becoming sober in 2007.

“Hi, I’m Ali, and I’m an alcoholic,” she wrote.

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“Yup, bet you didn’t see that one coming. Or, because you know that I’m a former child star, you totally did. Anyway, it’s the truth. I’ve been sober since Oct. 28th, 2007, and I haven’t touched a drink or a drug since.

“I didn’t have a crazy bottom where I became a stripper and wore my Broadway costumes and called myself ‘Curly Suzanna’. I didn’t shoot heroin in an alley or drink till I blacked out (well, not everyday) but my story is my story, and it was enough for me to know that enough was enough.

“I was living in NYC when I realized I needed to get sober. I was miserable and overwhelmed with life. I was heartbroken and realizing that what had always worked for me in the past was NOT working at all. Not even a little bit.

“I felt trapped, scared, and sad and I was ready to really go for broke or get better. So, I did what every good user does and I prayed to a god I had never believed in… and then called my mom.”

She admitted herself to rehab, and then underwent treatment for four years for alcohol addiction, adding that she ‘worked the steps, got a sponsor, found a god of my own understanding, prayed, meditated, and basically grew up’.

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Now 33 and a mother of two, she writes an mothering blog and lives in Los Angeles with husband Brian Autenrieth, who she married in 2012.

However, she admitted that she is still tempted to relapse, years later.

“Things got really good, hectic but really good and ya wanna know what started to feel like a good idea? A drink! ‘Cause COME ON! I was young… I was sad… I wasn’t really THAT BAD. I’m a mom now! Moms drink wine!”

But she later writes that she did not give in to the temptation.

“Blessings are abundant in this chapter and I’m sitting pretty one day at a time for as long as possible. I’m sure that someday my kids will ask me why I don’t drink and my answer will be simple: ‘I never want to lose myself and not be able to find you,” she added.

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Porter scored the lead role in the John Hughes movie ‘Curly Sue’ aged 10, alongside Jim Belushi, as a homeless pair of con merchants using their wits to survive in 80s Chicago.

Prior to that, she'd snagged a role in the Steve Martin comedy 'Parenthood'.

But while her film and TV acting work dried up in the 90s, she later went on to star in a number of musicals, notably ‘The Ten Commandments: The Musical’, with Val Kilmer and Adam Lambert.

She also pursued a career in music, releasing an album in 2009.

Image credits: Rex Features