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Sign Up for EmailsMädchen Amick
“Kids' mental health is incredibly important to me because I’ve got two kids! I wish there was an organization like The Kids Mental Health Foundation when they were young and growing up – it would've been a great support for us as parents. It’s so important to bring mental health into the early years.”
About Mädchen
After growing up in the arts, at the age of 16, Mädchen Amick negotiated with her parents to allow her to leave her small town of Reno, NV, and move to “Tinsel Town” Los Angeles, CA to pursue her dream of becoming an actress — to which they agreed. Shortly thereafter, director David Lynch, who ended up playing a pivotal role in her career, cast her in the TV cult classic Twin Peaks as ‘Shelly Johnson,’ a role developed specifically for her. A role she reprised in Showtime’s revival Twin Peaks: The Return.
Never one to rest on her laurels, after a long and successful acting career in other award-winning projects such as Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, Dream Lover opposite James Spader, Screen Gem’s post-apocalyptic thriller Priest, ER, Damages, Mad Men, and American Horror Story: Hotel — just to name a few — Mädchen has become a successful writer & director. Along with multiple short films and music videos garnering film festival laurels, she has directed several episodes of the hit show Riverdale, to which she also stars in the feisty role of ‘Alice Cooper.’ With several projects in development, she recently produced and directed the documentary Behind the Curtain, which takes a closer look at all aspects of mental health — from diagnosis and treatment, to big pharma and politics. She has also just completed post-production on her feature film directorial debut My Name Is, starring the legendary Julia Ormond and Bruce Dern. Her profound real-life experiences have inspired Mädchen to take on brave projects in order to change how mental illness is depicted in Hollywood.
Close to her heart is her mental health advocacy work around the globe. She’s worked closely with premiere organizations such as NAMI, SAMHSA, American Psychiatric Association, Kids Mental Health Foundation, and The David Lynch Foundation, and continues to advocate on Capitol Hill for mental healthcare reform. She’s a longtime global ambassador for Bring Change to Mind — an anti-stigma non-profit spearheaded by Academy Award winner Glenn Close. Because of Mädchen and her family’s firsthand experience of the inadequacies of our existing mental healthcare system, they founded the non-profit direct-impact foundation Don’t MiND Me, with initiatives focused on making mental healthcare accessible for all.