Actress Maia Campbell has battled her share of demons including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and her mother – author Bebe Moore Campbell – dying from brain cancer. Some time ago, videos of Campbell surfaced that showed her incoherent and out of it, which worried her family, friends and fans. But with the help of her stepfather and others, she’s put her life back together. She appeared on an episode of “Iyanla, Fix My Life” and was open about her struggles to take back control of her life. Campbell is featured on the next “Life After: Owning it All” airing on TV One this Wednesday at 8 p.m.
“I’m fine, I’m blessed, I’m great. I’m doing excellent,” Campbell, 36, told the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “Things have been really, really good. They’ve all turned around. I’ve been blessed enough to get my own place. I’ve been spending time with my family. I’ve been in good health. I’ve just been counting my blessings. I’ve been attending church and going to meetings. I’ve been keeping my place clean, I’ve been driving and I’ve been doing some things in the entertainment industry.”
Campbell is also working with the National Association of Mental Illness, which works to increase awareness of mental illness. They have an outreach specifically for African-American and Latino families who are impacted by mental health issues but often don’t know how to find resources or assistance. Moore’s mother co-founded the NAMI Urban Los Angeles chapter and worked steadily to help other African-American families impacted by mental illness before her death from brain cancer. Her 2006 book “72 Hour Hold,” about a parent struggling with her teenage daughter’s bipolar disorder, is believed to be based on her relationship with Maia.
Campbell, a single mother, says her relationship with her 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is great these days. She says Elizabeth wants to be an actress.
“She has a great personality. She’s getting good grades. She just did a Disney commercial recently and she had a great time. She was happy about that. She’s a doll. She’s an inspiration to me. She’s the reason that I got my health and life together and I’m a strong single mother right now, just doing the best I can in acting and life.”
Click here for resources and information about African-Americans and mental illness.
