Actress Katey Sagal Gets Personal About Her Struggles with Addiction

Best known for her iconic role on Married… With Children, actress Katey Sagal has remained in the public eye since the late 1980s. Today, on the heels of her new memoir’s release, she has come forward publicly to acknowledge her 15-year battle with drug addiction.

Born into a showbiz family in 1954, Sagal was no stranger to the negative effects that are often associated with life in the spotlight. In her memoir, Grace Notes: My Recollections, released Tuesday, she writes about her relationship with Lorna Luft, the daughter of famed actress Judy Garland.

Garland, who famously struggled with drugs and alcohol, died at the age of 47 from an accidental overdose. Her death was specifically linked to barbiturates.

In discussing her connection with Luft and Garland, Sagal revealed the demons that the respective families shared in common.

According to Page Six, Sagal writes in Grace Notes that she and Lorna were neighborhood friends, also stating that, “Lorna’s mom had a lot of pills on her bedside table and slept past noon just like my mom.”

She concluded, “[…] of course, I thought everyone’s mom took a lot of pills,” her early associations with prescription pill abuse proof of the lasting and crucial connections that are formed with substance use in childhood.

At age 14, Sagal began experimenting with diet pills. As time went on, she also became addicted to cocaine and alcohol—with continued memories of her mother’s abuse of prescription medication lingering.

Sagal’s personal battle with addiction worsened in her 20s. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke openly about the chaos that surrounded that period of her life, ultimately leading to the spiraling of her drug use.

“I got sober when I was 30. There were a lot of personal things going on, too. My parents passed away in my 20s. I had a lot of sh** that I just didn’t deal with. Or that I dealt with it by drinking myself into a stupor,” said Sagal.

Today, Sagal is 30 years sober, with an enduring presence in television. Her memoir is packed with honest recollection, and the reminder that life in sobriety goes on—with possibility and hope.