“Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you happy. That’s my life motto.”
After making her debut as an actress on the children’s TV show Barney & Friends in 2002, Demi Lovato, 25, later rose to popularity as the star of the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock in 2008. Since then, she has produced six albums and has won numerous awards for her music, plus a 2016 Grammy nomination.
In 2017 Lovato released a new album entitled, Tell Me You Love Me, which reached Top 10 charts worldwide. But Lovato’s accomplishments as an actress and musician are only part of what make her a true influencer. Since pulling out of a concert tour with the Jonas Brothers in 2010, citing physical and emotional issues, Lovato has been transparent with her struggles with depression, self-harm, addiction and an eating disorder. She devoted much of 2017 to advocating for others struggling with mental illness. Last year she released Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, a YouTube documentary that tells the story of her recovery. “You really have to surrender,” she says, “because that’s when the change is going to happen.”
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This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
