Heather Graham hasn’t spoken to her ‘estranged’ parents after they warned her Hollywood is ‘evil’

“Austin Powers” star Heather Graham hasn’t spoken to her parents in nearly 30 years.

Graham recalled leaving her home at the age of eighteen to move to West Hollywood, California, to pursue her dreams of becoming part of the entertainment industry.

At the time, her father warned her that Hollywood would “demand” her. [her] spirit.”

“He told me regularly that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul,” Graham said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

She noted that her parents “were part of a generation that didn’t believe in therapy or discussing personal matters, so I never felt like I could talk to them.”

After the premiere of her film “Drivers License” in 1988, Graham knew it was time to move out of her parents’ home.

“When the movie came out, I was 18, and life at home had become more difficult,” she said.

I said to myself, ‘I have to get out of here, I have to be successful, I have to be a movie star.’

“I found an apartment in West Hollywood with another girl from high school — a model who also works in real estate,” Graham continued. “It was great living with her.”

When Graham was nine years old, her family moved from Virginia to Agoura Hills, California. At the time, the actress felt she had gone from being “famous” on the East Coast to “not fitting in” on the West Coast.

“In Virginia, I was a little girl and loved to explore the woods. After we moved, I became isolated. I had to drive everywhere. Without kids to play with in the street, my social interactions became less and less safe. I turned to books and read beyond my level,” she told the magazine.

Graham graduated from high school with a 5.0 GPA and went on to study English at UCLA.

After her sophomore year at the prestigious University of Southern California, she decided to drop out to focus on her acting career.

Around this time, Graham landed major roles in the films “Austin Powers” and “Swingers”, which made her realize that she was “self-sufficient” and began to re-evaluate her relationship with her parents.

“I stopped talking to my parents when I was 25, and I’m estranged from them now,” Graham admitted.

“My friends are proud of me, and I am proud of myself. I have really good friends.”

The 54-year-old actress is proud of the life she has created for herself.

“I live in Los Angeles in a house I bought last year. I also have an apartment in New York,” she says, noting that her West Coast home “overlooks the Pacific Ocean.”

“I love the ocean,” she explained.

“I also like to sit in the back while writing or preparing for a film. Nature is inspiring.”

Graham has multiple roles in her new film, “The Chosen Family.”

The actress wrote, directed and stars in the film, which is set to be released in October.

She stars alongside Nicolas Cage in her upcoming project, “The Gunslingers,” which is set to be released in 2025.