NO LOOKING BACK

‘Boogie Nights’ Star Says Religious Dad Tried to Stop Her Career

Heather Graham’s father warned, “Hollywood would claim my soul,” before they became estranged.

Boogie Nights star Heather Graham revealed the childhood events that nearly derailed her pursuit of an acting career—and cost her her relationship with her parents.

Graham, 56, appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast, where she recalled how her uber-religious father had tried to steer her away from her acting dreams.

“My father was really controlling, and he would be like, ‘When you’re in my house, you have to do what I say.’ And I remember thinking, ‘I’m never going to have somebody to say that to me again,” said Graham, who now owns multiple properties on both U.S. coasts.

The star, also known for her roles in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and The Hangover, has been open about her ongoing estrangement from her parents in previous interviews. In 2024, she told the Wall Street Journal, “My father, James, was an FBI agent” who “regularly told me that the entertainment industry was evil and that Hollywood would claim my soul if I became an actress and appeared in anything with sexual content.”

Her mother, who worked as a teacher and children’s book author, “supported my creative streak and acting ambition” but “didn’t do much to protect me from him.”

Graham’s younger sister, Aimee Graham, 54, also became an actress, but she told Ferguson Thursday that they are not close.

“I’m not close with my family. I’m estranged from my family,” she said. “I feel like my friends are my family, you know, so I am very lucky. I have amazing friends. And I do have a boyfriend,” she added, referring to Italian filmmaker Michele Civetta, 49.

The star revealed to WSJ that she “stopped talking” to her parents when she was 25.

Though her career success made her self-sufficient and offered relief from her home situation, Graham hit a career snag in the 2000s, after she alleged in an op-ed that she rejected Harvey Weinstein’s sexual advances, which led to the then-powerful producer “blacklisting” her.

“At least people started talking about it, which I think is amazing,” Graham recalled to Ferguson on Thursday. “It’s cool, like he ended up in jail. I mean, that was like the most satisfying news that I feel like I ever read. Because sometimes it feels like rich and powerful people get away with things, and when they don’t, it’s so satisfying to see justice being served.”

Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack and YouTube for even more coverage.

Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.