Susan Jane Powter (born December 22, 1957) 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. Powter has been described as a cross between Richard Simmons and Betty Friedan and "the Lenny Bruce of Wellness". She hosted her own talk show The Susan Powter Show in the 1990s.

Early life

Powter, who was born in Sydney, Australia on December 22, 1957, immigrated to the United States at the age of 10. She left school in 9th grade, eventually obtaining a GED. In 1980, her family relocated to Dallas, Texas. A year later, she met her first husband, Nic Villarreal; they married in 1982 and had two sons. A month after giving birth to their second son, Powter discovered that Villareal had been having an affair. The couple separated in 1986 and Powter turned to food to alleviate her stress. She went from 130 pounds to 260. Powter turned to diet books and workout tapes and found neither to be helpful. She eventually managed to slim down to 114 pounds by walking and cutting out sugar and processed foods. With the money she inherited after the death of her mother in 1988, Powter opened her own fitness studio in Dallas. In 1990, Powter approached Dallas publicity representative Rusty Robertson with hopes of promoting her business. Robertson was struck by Powter's charismatic personality and began booking her on radio talk shows, eventually securing her a book deal. The pair put together an infomercial for Powter's Stop the Insanity (based off of a catch phrase that would become her trademark) health and wellness kit, which reached an audience well beyond the Dallas area. The kit included audio cassettes, an exercise video, and recipes.

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 Powter to become a regular on the television sitcom Women of the House in 1995. The series was cancelled after just one season with Powter appearing in one episode.

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. Her platinum-white close cropped haircut, aggressive speaking manner, and habit of being barefoot while speaking in public became elements of her celebrity. Powter was originally based in Dallas, Texas, at the height of her fame. In 2012, she moved to Earthship New Mexico. More recently, she lived in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Author and blogger

Powter is an 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. She puts out The Monthly Flow, a subscription-based multi-media e-zine. Powter released her memoir, ''And Then Em Died... Stop the Insanity! A Memoir'', in October 2024.

Personal life

On January 3, 1995, Powter filed for personal bankruptcy. Powter has been married twice. She has two sons from her first marriage, Damien and Kiel. She adopted a third son Gabriel, after her second marriage. She later came out as a lesbian, and in a 2004 interview with Curve magazine, she described herself as a "radical feminist lesbian woman". She dated comedian Jessica Kirson in 2008. In October 2024, Powter revealed that due to a series of lawsuits in the 1990s and poor financial planning she had been left virtually destitute, living in an RV, and delivering food for Grubhub and Ubereats. After a health scare, she enrolled in Medicaid. An upcoming documentary about her life, Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter, co-produced by actress Jamie Lee Curtis, has been filmed.

Home media

Video cassettes

DVDs

Filmography