Full House actress speaks about life after sitcom

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
April 26, 2007

Jodie Sweetin, best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on the sitcom Full House, spoke to Briar Cliff University students and community members on April 19 in the St. Francis Center on the BCU campus.

Cholla Simons, Student Government Association (SGA) president, introduced Sweetin at the event on April 19. The presentation was sponsored by SGA, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and Choosing Healthy Options in College Enhances Self (CHOICES).

"Jodie Sweetin is best known for role as Stephanie, precious middle child on the hit television show Full House, which aired September 1987 until May 1995. Prior to landing the role as Stephanie, Sweetin appeared in commercials for Oscar Mayer, Sizzler, Cocoa Pebbles cereal, Barbie and others," said Simons.

Simons mentioned other parts of Sweetin's life including her alcohol and drug addictions before bringing her to the stage.

Sweetin began by saying, "I am incredibly lucky to be here tonight to talk to some really wonderful Full House fans and get to share my story about what I went through on the show as well as my life afterwards. I am lucky to get to come and speak at universities today, not only because I get to share my story, but also I am lucky to be alive today. I have been through some things that several people I know have not made it through."

She noted that some parts of her story are not easy to tell and not things that some people speak about.

Sweetin was five when she started on Full House and was on the show until age 13.

"That was a very different way for me to grow up," said Sweetin. "It brought about a lot of changes in my life. It also brought about a lot of challenges in growing up. There were certain things in my life that made me feel very different in school."

She felt she didn't relate to people her own age. She was an only child and around adults all the time.

"I always felt different and like I didn't fit in with people my age," said the actress. "That really started affecting me in elementary and middle school. I didn't know how to feel comfortable in my own skin and that was something that eventually became a huge problem."

Sweetin explained that when the show ended it was a loss for her. She didn't know what she was going to do from there. She decided to go to high school.

"I was desperate to do anything in order to fit in," she said. "For me it was the biggest problem I had in my life. For me the easiest way to fit in was to hang out with a lot older people and I partied a lot. I wanted to prove I wasn't like Stephanie Tanner, the do-gooder. I was like everyone else."

She pointed out that she took her first drink when she was 13 and it quickly became a problem for her.

"I started drinking all the time - before school, after school, on the weekends. I was lying to my parents," said Sweetin. "By the age of 17, my parents were terrified of letting me out of the house because there was a strong possibility that they were going to get a call that I wasn't going to come home. All I could think about was getting out and finally going to college because then I could do whatever I wanted to."

When she went to college, she started experimenting with harder drugs and spiraled downward faster than she imagined. She became a different person.

At 18, she decided she didn't want to continue down this path. Sweetin called her boyfriend and he took her home. She moved home and got sober for the first time.

Sweetin was sober until about 21. She got back to being herself. She got engaged, got married and bought a house.

"My life was perfect. It was back to what it was," said Sweetin. "I was really happy."

She got to a point where she thought she could try drinking or drugs again. She relapsed thinking she could "do it better this time."

"I kept going down the path again," said Sweetin. "I started lying again and having two lives. I was lying about everything to everyone."

Her husband was a police officer and worked all night. At night she would lie about whom she was with and what she was doing. She started doing meth and within one month was using it everyday, all day.

"I quickly became such an addict," said Sweetin. "Physically, emotionally, spiritually, everything in my life was affected. I became very empty."

At about the two and a half year mark, she hit bottom. Sweetin ended up in the emergency room and her husband was called. She nearly died.

"The whole ride home from the hospital I prayed the Serenity Prayer," said Sweetin. "I had learned it the first time I got sober and it was the only thing that brought me any type of comfort."

She got sober for the second time and then went to a rehabilitation facility for six weeks. Then she lived in a sober living house for six months. She is now looking to the future and what life holds for her now.

At the end of her talk, Sweetin answered questions from those gathered. Some questions were about her addiction and others about her time on Full House."We wanted to have a name that would draw a crowd to campus," said Simons. "Also, we thought that the message she spoke on was important for students to hear. As we know the rate of alcohol and drug abuse on campuses across the nation is on the rise. We wanted to do something more to help combat the problem."

Simons pointed out that she was pleased with the event. There were about 350 people in attendance.