Lark Voorhies said Hollywood has shunned her after she openly revealed her schizoaffective disorder diagnosis six years ago.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE Magazine, the “Saved by the Bell” star said, “I feel there has been too much fear in the entertainment industry when it comes to embracing who I am. I am really focused on being an author and sharing my messages and story with others.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, schizoaffective disorder is a rare mental health condition marked by a combination of schizophrenia symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and disorganized thinking along with mood disorder symptoms, including depression, mania or hypomania. While there is no cure for schizoaffective disorder, an accurate diagnosis can help people manage their symptoms through treatment options such as medication and psychotherapy.
Voorhies was diagnosed with the disorder in 2015 but publicly revealed it in 2020 on the The Dr. Oz Show after years of speculation and tabloid rumors about her behavior.
Voorhies’s mom, Tricia Holloway, told the magazine, “I think it’s positive that she’s willing to speak out…She feels that she can rise above some of the obstacles of her condition and still perform and deliver a character that is convincing.
The National Institutes of Health says schizophrenia-spectrum disorders often show up earlier in men, usually in their late teens or early twenties, while women tend to experience symptoms later, in their twenties or early thirties.
Black communities are also diagnosed with these disorders at much higher rates than White communities, three to four times higher, according to a 2014 World Journal of Psychiatry study.
For Voorhies, now 52, she says she still wants to continue acting and pursuing her passions. In 2020, she reprised her role as Lisa Turtle in Peacock’s “Saved by the Bell” revival.
At the time, she told Dr. Oz how she managed her disorder while shooting. She said, “I put it in a bag and leave it in my room, and I come out and do the lines, and we do our thing.” She went on to say that acting is what she is “meant to do.”
